Salary increases based on merit? No boost in 2013; Greenwood mayor wants city employees to earn pay raises after that

Greenwood employees won’t get a raise next year, and whether they get future raises might depend on how well they do their jobs.

The city traditionally has given employees across-the-board raises aimed to keep their salaries in line with inflation and rising cost of living. But Greenwood has a new mayor who favors a policy in which employees would have to earn raises.

Such a change would help ensure that city employees are productive and offer residents friendly customer service, Mayor Mark Myers said. Most private businesses handle raises that way because it gives employees more incentive to do their jobs well, he said.

The city’s more than 200 employees all got a 2 percent raise this year, their first in years. The salary hike cost taxpayers about $400,000.

Under the city’s proposed 2013 budget, Greenwood employees won’t get any salary increases next year but could in the future, Myers said. Greenwood currently can’t afford to spend more after facing a $1.8 million shortfall, he said.

Myers said he would like to offer raises when the economy improves and revenue increases.

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