All Raleigh workers may soon get a raise to address rising cost-of-living expenses
Breaking from the traditional budget cycle, Raleigh may give all city employees a 2% cost-of-living adjustment in the next month to help address rising inflation.
On Tuesday, the Labor Department said the consumer price index jumped 8.5% in March from a year earlier, the sharpest annual increase since 1981, The Associated Press reported.
“I’ll be honest,” said Mary Vigue, the city of Raleigh’s budget director. “When we talk about what keeps us up at night, employee pay keeps me up at night.”
“And even more recently, we recognize that our employees are currently experiencing increased costs associated with inflation, fuel, food, shelter, overall energy,” she said.
Vigue said the change should happen now instead of waiting for the start of the fiscal year on July 1. The city has enough in savings to cover the cost until the start of the new year, she told the Raleigh City Council during a budget work session.
The annual cost of the potential raise is $6.4 million.
“We have a number of employees — we have mapped it, we have looked at it — who are driving in and who cannot afford to necessarily live in Raleigh, and who work some of our lower-paying jobs,” Vigue said.
The City Council will likely vote on the matter during its April 19 meeting. If approved, the raise could be effective April 23 and hit paychecks on May 13.
Raleigh employees haven’t traditionally seen a cost-of-living adjustment, with city managers opting for merit-based pay increases.
This story was originally published April 13, 2022 at 3:13 PM.
