The Columbus-Bartholomew County Planning Department is looking to potentially add two part-time positions that could supplement the work of one full-time staffer.
Columbus City Council recently approved the first reading of an ordinance to amend salaries and wages of city officers and employees for 2022. Ordinances must pass on two readings to be fully approved.
The legislation would add two hourly “Associate/Senior Planner” positions to the planning department. The recommended starting wage for these positions would be $21.78 per hour, with the maximum set at $32.67. The midpoint is $27.22.
According to City Director of Finance, Operations and Risk Jamie Brinegar, these would be part-time positions and not cause any budgeting changes.
In discussing the request, Jeff Bergman, director of the City of Columbus-Bartholomew County Planning Department, said that offering flexibility is an important part of employee retention and attraction.
“This proposed change in the salary ordinance is really all about us providing that flexibility,” he said. “It’s going to give us, in the planning department, the ability to have two part-time staff members do the work that we might associate now with one full-time position. And as Jamie said, we’re not asking for a total increase in our headcount, in our staffing. We don’t anticipate any request to increase our budget. Really just some additional options in how we use our resources and how we do our work so that we can hopefully continue to be successful with the changing times.”
