Drexel employees to see pay increases in March

Following a lengthy pay and classification study, Drexel employees will soon see the benefits of new job classifications, updated position titles, and salary increases.

At their regular meeting Tuesday, the Drexel Board of Aldermen approved a resolution to update the town’s pay plan and classification titles.

The resolution includes reclassifying current employees into a new pay grade scale, adding incremental steps within individual classifications; title changes; and classification changes in the administrative department. 

Town Manager Sherri Bradshaw said she will be meeting with each employee to fully explain the plan well before the changes go into effect with the March 17 payroll. 

The new pay plan moves employees into grade levels more closely aligned with similar classifications in other local governments. 

Within their newly assigned grades, employees will be compensated at the same percentage of achievement as their current grade. For example, an employee who is currently making 15% more than the minimum salary will receive 15% above the minimum salary of the new grade. 

Limited grade levels, lack of growth opportunities within grades, and out-of-date position titles have contributed to the hiring challenge.

Like many other employers, Drexel has current openings they struggle to fill. 

“After the retirement of our senior [electric] lineman, we promoted from within, leaving two lineman positions open,” said Bradshaw. 

There are also two openings in the Public Works Department.

Drexel’s newly adopted resolution specifically calls for the town to “compensate its employees at a level sufficient to encourage excellence of performance and to maintain the labor market competitiveness necessary to recruit, retain, and develop a competent and diverse workforce.”

Another update in the resolution is dividing each pay grade into 12 incremental steps per classification. Having 12 steps within each pay grade instead of the current six gives employees more growth and promotional opportunities. 

The resolution also includes a new classification within the Police Department. The new classification, Police Officer II, will be a pay grade 22. This is intended to increase opportunities for growth within the department, which currently has only three job titles.

The Public Works Department will also have new classifications which should be more representative of various roles in the workplace. General Laborer will be updated to Public Works Field Technician. Lineman positions will move to Electric Line Technician Class C, Electric Line Technician Class B, Electric Line Technician Class A, and Electric Line Technician Trainee.

Due to pending retirements planned over the next few months, the resolution includes a special provision for changes within the Administrative Department. The current Tax Collector designation will be reclassified as Assistant Finance Officer/Tax Collector at grade 22. Upon achieving credentialing as a local government finance officer, the position will go to grade 25.

The Town Clerk will be assigned grade level 25 until her retirement. Thereafter, the position will be pay grade 23 to be more in line with a new hire with less experience. 

The overall cost to implement the changes for the remainder of the 2022/2023 fiscal year is $11,600. 

In other business, the town received a request from Tim Newton to amend the text of the existing M-1 manufacturing designation to include the sale of vehicles. The board will hold a public hearing regarding the request at their regular meeting on March 7 at 6 p.m. at Town Hall on Church Street. 

The board received an update on Drexel Properties, the former Drexel Manufacturing facilities adjacent to the downtown. Bradshaw said survey work continues on both the front and rear portions of the property. She expects a new plat map will be recorded soon for the brownfields (previously developed land that is not currently in use) in the front. 

In the back portion of the property, several surveys are in progress, including boundary, topographic, and recombination surveys. Details are available on the town’s website www.ci.drexel.nc.us.

The board will meet for a budget workshop on Feb. 21 at 3 p.m. at Town Hall. At the workshop, the board is expected to review budget needs for the newly implemented pay and classification resolution, personnel requests, updates on Drexel properties, current open positions, and the status of a bucket truck purchased for the electric department. 

According to Bradshaw, during the budget workshop the board will consider a request by Police Chief Steven Ritchie for an additional patrol officer and a request for a full-time fireman. 

The Police Department has five full-time officers and four reserve officers. The Drexel Fire Department is currently 100% volunteer.

Last August, Drexel ordered a bucket truck for the Electric Department, opting to purchase a “demo” model to lessen the cost and the wait. “We purchased the truck last August and knew we’d be waiting until fall of this year. It will be September or October before we can take delivery of it,” said Bradshaw.

Drexel is a full-service town and a member of Electricities. The town provides police and fire protection, water, sewer, trash pickup, recycling, recreational facilities and programs, and electric service. 

Pam Walker is the Central Burke reporter for The Paper. She may be reached at pam@thepaper.media or 828-443-6103.