Taking a look at the City's upcoming fiscal year budget

At their most recent meeting, Spartanburg City Council gave final approval to the upcoming fiscal year 2022-2023 budget in a 7-0 vote. This year's budget includes no significant operational changes and no increases to City taxes or commonly applied fees, but as Spartanburg continues to see record growth and economic development, staff projections account for a relatively modest four percent revenue growth. Meanwhile, increases this year include $1.5 million set aside for increases to City employee compensation, representing most of that projected revenue growth. The budget includes a three percent cost-of-living adjustment for all City staff, with an additional 2 percent allocated for the City's Public Works department. In his presentation to Council, Story said the additional increase is needed to bring department salaries into alignment with the overall job market. Additionally, the budget includes mandatory increases to the state retirement and health care systems covering City employees. Why, at a time of historically unprecedented growth in Downtown Spartanburg, have City coffers not been filled more yet? In an increasingly competitive labor market that sees the City spending a larger percentage of its revenue on employee compensation than it has in the past, what steps are leaders taking to retain talent and ensure that your local government is up to the task of serving a growing, dynamic community? Today on the podcast, we've got City Manager Chris Story with us to help answer those questions and provide an overview of how this year's budget seeks to address those challenges.