LONGVIEW, Texas — A new pay raise could be coming soon for some of the lowest paid city workers in Longview.
A new city budget proposal aims to raise the city’s minimum pay to 15 dollars per hour. That’s more than double the rate that the state of Texas offers.
Government pay raises aren’t out of the ordinary, Longview public safety officers like police and the fire department have seen wage increases in the past few years. City spokesperson Shawn Hara said that the main area of focus is increasing wages for entry level workers.
"That includes part-time and full-time, and we have a lot of these positions throughout the city, but especially within the library, the parks department, public works, some of those kinds of positions," Hara said. "It’s being able to raise what that entry level pay is, trying to get 15 dollars or above for all of those positions."
Hara also explained that the main reason for these pay raises is so Longview’s government can stay competitive in hiring and retaining all of its employees.
Hara said the city looks at a list of several “comparator" cities. The goal is that Longview’s pay rates are within 95 percent of what the average figure is at a comparative city.
The proposal for the new budget with these wage increases was introduced on July 20. If the proposal passes, it will come into effect in August.