Northport City Council OKs Hefty Cost-of-Living Raises for All Employees

The Northport City Council unanimously approved a large-scale universal cost-of-living raise for all of its full-time and part-time staff members during their regular meeting Monday night.

The resolution passed adopts a 5.4 percent cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for all staff members effective immediately.

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Northport City Administrator Glenda Webb said the move was recommended by the city's finance committee and its administrative committee earlier Monday afternoon.

"As you know, every time you go to the gas pump and every time you go to the grocery store, you feel the pinch of the inflation that has materialized over the last year," Webb said. "This will help keep good employees here at the city of Northport with enacting this COLA."

Northport Mayor Bobby Herndon said Monday night around 300 people work for the city, and Webb said all of them would immediately benefit from the cost-of-living adjustment adopted Monday night.

Webb also said city employees can likely expect more benefits to come in the future -- the city council has commissioned a study of municipal pay plans to make sure their staff members are compensated fairly across the board, and that study will likely lead to action items further down the road.

"We believe that there will be other necessary adjustments in the future," Webb said. "We look forward to working with the departments and getting the feedback we need to complete that study."