BENTONVILLE -- City employees who have a degree above a high school diploma soon will be getting a pay increase for their additional education.
The amount of added pay depends on what type of degree. An employee with an associate's, bachelor's or master's degree will see an increase of $35, $100 or $150 per pay period, respectively, according to amendments to this year's pay plan. Master's degrees also include the certified public accountant and the professional engineer designations.
Other cities
The Human Resources Department surveyed other cities to see which reward employees with higher education degrees.
Those that do include Bella Vista, Benton, Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Hot Springs, Jonesboro and Springdale.
Those that don’t include Conway, Russellville and Washington County.
Source: Staff Report
Elected officials' compensation will not be affected by the pay plan changes.
The changes will cost $142,000, which is in the 2016 budget, according to Ed Wheeler, human resource manager. The increase will go into effect July 15, he said.
The city has 450 employees. Officials believe 37 have associate's degrees, 58 have bachelor's degrees, and 26 have master's degrees or the equivalent certification in their respective field.
Those numbers are in the process of being verified, Mayor Bob McCaslin said.
"The exact number won't actually be known until we get the actual degrees/diplomas from the employees," Wheeler said in an email. "Some employees had degrees when they were hired, and that information was captured during the new hire process. Others have achieved a degree since being employed and may not have formally submitted that information."
Bentonville isn't the first to reward employees for their education attainment. Springdale, Bella Vista and Fayetteville all offer some additional pay, though the method may be different than an additional amount each pay period, Wheeler said.
The additional pay will help recruit and retain top employees in a market where competition is high, McCaslin said.
"I just want us to be that point of difference in a very positive way because I think it serves the taxpayer better," he said. "That's what our goal is -- to provide services that exceed people's expectations."
The increase in pay was one of more than a dozen changes made to this year's pay plan. City Council approved the amendments at its first meeting in June.
Two corporal positions in the Police Department have been eliminated and replaced with two sergeant positions.
The department announced the promotions of Brent Farrer to the rank of Uniform Division sergeant and Michael Meadors to the rank of Bomb Squad sergeant in a news release Monday. Kyler Pinkley also has been promoted to shift supervisor in the Police, Fire and EMS Communications Center.
Other changes include 15 that are mandated by the recent changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act, which increased the standard salary level from $23,660 to $47,476. Five changes are conversions of part-time and temporary positions to full-time positions.
The total $246,749 cost for all the changes is covered in the 2016 salary budget.
NW News on 06/28/2016