Kettering officials said the pay hike is consistent with agreements the city signed off on earlier with collective bargaining units, including those representing public safety workers.
“The original 2021 personnel budget included no wage increase for all employees as we anticipated the collective bargaining process,” Kettering City Manager Mark Schwieterman told council recently.
Earlier this month a Dayton Daily News analysis of public payrolls found the city of Kettering paid 155 employees more than $100,000 in 2020.
Records also showed Kettering pays its police officers and firefighters more than other departments in the region and its firefighters are among the top paid in the state.
“We go through the bargaining process with our various unions and then we take the…amount and then we pass that same percentage on to our non-union employees,” Kettering Mayor Don Patterson said.
“That’s the way we’ve done it for years,” he added. “We had our union negotiations earlier in the year…that will (transfer) to our non-union employees.”
Among the highest paid Kettering employees for 2020, records show, were: Law Director Ted Hamer, $158,119; Assistant City Manager Steve Bergstresser, $157,712; Parks and Recreation Director Mary Beth O’Dell, $144,188; and Finance Director Nancy Gregory, $143,943.
Schwieterman topped the list at $211,634.
“Mark is without a doubt the best city manager in my opinion in the state,” Patterson said. “He’s involved in the community. He’s president of the Ohio Municipal League. He’s involved in all kinds of volunteer-type committees and things he does outside the scope the city.
“He comes from an accounting background. As a city manager, that’s important,” Patterson added. “He understands how things work, how things need to be done. And he’s regarded across this state as far as his quality of service.”
Kettering’s city council is expected to vote on the measure next month. In May, the council approved 50% pay hikes for future mayors and city council members.
The approved pay increase changed the annual salary for future mayors from $12,000 to $18,000 and the pay for future council members from $8,000 to $12,000.
At-large Councilwoman Jacque Fisher is the only current member eligible to seek re-election and she is this fall. Fisher abstained from the vote.
