The Haines Borough Assembly Tuesday approved new contracts for clerk Julie Cozzi and chief fiscal officer Jila Stuart, increasing wages for both borough officers.
Cozzi’s annual salary increased from $62,940 to $67,500.
Stuart is paid hourly for 36 to 40 hours of work per week. Her hourly wage increased from $28.46 to $30.
Manager David Sosa and the assembly’s personnel committee met several times in executive session to discuss the contracts. Sosa told committee members that Cozzi and Stuart received lower salaries than peers in other Alaska municipalities of similar size and responsibility.
“The terms of these contracts seek to remedy this discrepancy and recognize the capabilities, performance, and professionalism of the clerk and the chief fiscal officer,” Sosa said.
Both Cozzi’s and Stuart’s contracts expired in March. Cozzi and Stuart agreed to work under the conditions of the expired contracts until new ones could be developed.
Because of the delay in developing new contracts, Cozzi’s and Stuart’s pay raises will be retroactive to July 1, when the new fiscal year began.
Cozzi’s contract calls for a 3.5 percent increase on July 1, 2015, and additional increases of between 1.5 percent and 4 percent, depending on performance, each subsequent year.
Cozzi’s contract expires in 2017; Stuart’s expires next year.
Sosa said most chief fiscal officers are salaried employees, not hourly. Stuart’s contract reflected a “compromise” between Sosa and Stuart on how to “most effectively allocate time for a wage chief fiscal officer,” he said.
“Limiting the term to one year allows both the manager and the chief fiscal officer to determine if this arrangement meets the needs of both individuals before settling on a more long-term arrangement,” Sosa said.