By Parker Leavitt | The Arizona Republic
In a move likely to rile some of Gilbert’s staunchest conservatives, the Town Council on Thursday agreed to pay about $12 million more annually for employee raises after an independent study showed that the salaries of many town workers lag the market.
The new compensation plan, approved on a 5-2 vote after a tense and emotional debate, will give police officers, firefighters and others bigger paychecks, including back pay to Jan.7.
Most Gilbert employees have gone nearly five years without a pay increase while the Great Recession choked off municipal revenue. Merit-based raises were last given in 2007, and cost-of-living adjustments last came in 2008.
A sustained recovery in sales-tax revenue has since put the town in a stronger financial position, leading to budget surpluses in recent years and allowing the council to give one-time bonuses to employees in December 2011.
