Vithoulkas proposes $54M pay increase for eligible employees

Henrico County officials are planning to reward county employees in a big way for their efforts during the pandemic, and in general.

Henrico County Manager John Vithoulkas tonight is proposing a $54-million series of pay raises, adjustments and bonuses beginning in April and continuing through October that will result in at least a 4.4% raise for all eligible employees – about 11,000 in total – and more for many others, the Citizen has learned.

The move will:

• essentially restore the 3% pay raise that Vithoulkas had originally proposed in the current fiscal year budget just before the pandemic began in March (officials scrapped that increase and froze all vacancies in the county’s workforce as part of a $99-million budget reduction once the COVID-19 virus arrived);

• provide market adjustments – designed to position Henrico as the local leader in pay – for public safety and education employees;

• provide merit-based adjustments for all other eligible employees;

• provide one of four levels of longevity bonuses for the 3,900 or so employees who have been with the county for at least 10 years (those with 10-15 years of service will be bumped up one step on the county’s step-based plan, which amounts to a 2.4% raise; those with 15-20 years will jump up two steps; those with 20 or more, three steps; and those with 25 or more, four steps, Finance Director Meghan Coates told the Citizen);

• establish a two-year timeframe by which Henrico will pay its hourly employees $15 an hour.

“We ask more of our employees than other jurisdictions,” Vithoulkas told the Citizen. “We employ fewer than other jurisdictions, and we want to pay them more than other jurisdictions.

“Just like we’re a magnet for business. . . we also want to be a magnet for great public servants.”

The proposal, which has the full support of the five-member Henrico Board of Supervisors, will result in as much as a 17% pay increase for the most senior educators in the county, Vithoulkas said. Police and fire officials will see increases in most cases between 9.5% and 12%, he said.

About 38% of teachers in Henrico will qualify for a longevity bonus, Coates said.

Because Henrico budgeted for a worst-case financial scenario last spring but has weathered the pandemic in much better financial shape than expected, Vithoulkas's proposal is possible without impacting any other budget items. The county has experienced an $80-million budget surplus during the fiscal year, Coates said.

In December, supervisors allocated $25 million for future employee pay increases, and that money will be part of this plan, Vithoulkas confirmed.

The timing of the pay increases will occur thusly:

• a 2% scale adjustment in April for all eligible employees;

• a 2.4% (one step) adjustment in late June for all eligible employees, which will serve as an increase for the 2021-22 fiscal year, which begins July 1;

• market adjustments for public safety and education employees in the spring;

• longevity bonuses for eligible employees in October.

Schmitt: 'We asked a lot of them'

Varina District Supervisor Tyrone Nelson told the Citizen Tuesday night that the magnitude of the proposal was significant.

“There have been many wins since I’ve been on the board,” Nelson said. “This announcement is probably the most exciting thing since I’ve been on the board.”

Board of Supervisors Chairman Dan Schmitt, of the Brookland District, said the move demonstrated the county’s appreciation for employees who persevered through the pandemic despite many challenges and no pay raise last spring.

“We asked a lot of them,” Schmitt said. “Here we are as a county 10 months later, saying ‘Remember when we asked you to trust us? Trust us.”

Three Chopt District Supervisor Tommy Branin echoed the sentiments of his colleagues, telling the Citizen that he hadn’t heard one complaint from any county employee since the pandemic about working conditions.

“It’s rewarding to know that our employees are going to reap the benefits of being dedicated to the citizens,” he said. “I’ve never been a fan of big announcements, but I think the biggest announcement is going to be when our employees open the first paycheck with the pay increase. That is the fanfare for me.”

Branin cited the value of the longevity bonus, particularly for police and fire officials who prefer to serve as patrol officers or firefighters rather than advancing to leadership positions.

“That’s never been rewarded or appreciated,” he said, citing the example of a 28-year veteran of the Henrico Police who is a lieutenant but making only slightly more than a veteran of only several years in the same rank.

Last year, the division of police lost 63 members, Vithoulkas said, but only 16 of them left for retirement. That was evidence that pay levels needed to improve, he said.

“Public service. . . it’s a tough business,” he said.

Said Nelson: “We’ve always wanted to . . . be a leader in pay and have our people, once they sign on to start working for us, want to retire as a Henrico County employee. I’m hoping the investment shows our employees that we value them.”

Nelson recounted several conversations with veteran teachers, who were frustrated that pay adjustments in recent years for teachers with less experience had left them feeling frustrated.

“This is trying to make some of those folks right,” he said.