After receiving additional information related to a pay and classification study, Washington’s City Council decided it needed time to review that information before making a decision regarding implementing the study’s recommendations.

Councilman Doug Mercer said he received the information just hours before the council’s April 24 meeting. He asked his council colleagues to postpone making a decision on the study’s recommendations until the entire council could analyze the additional information.

“There’s a substantial amount of money involved when you really start looking at what was suggested. It’s not a one-time cost. It’s a continuing cost, and I think it’s an item we should spend a little time on in our budget discussions (this) week,” Mercer said at the April 24 meeting.

The council began a series of budget workshops Monday. They continue through Thursday.

The council voted 3-2 to delay acting on the recommendations. Mercer, Larry Beeman and Virginia Finnerty voted for the delay. Richard Brooks and William Pitt voted against continuing the matter.

The council had been scheduled to to adopt one of four proposals concerning compensation for city employees.

Those proposals range from $63,600 too $399,000.

At its April 10 meeting, the council was presented findings and recommendations included in that pay study performed by the Piedmont Triad Regional Council.

Under the first proposal, the cost of the city implanting only the new pay plan is $62,600. The study recommends doing that.

The second proposal, which the study recommends implementing, calls for adopting a compensation component (which addresses salary compression). That proposal recognizes the employees’ time in their position classifications. Implementing that proposal would cost $172,200. The study recommended doing that.

The third proposal would add recognition of the employees’ time working for the city to the mix. Its cost would be $225,900.

The fourth proposal, which combines the other three recommendations, would cost the city $399,000. Adding the amounts of the first, second and third proposals results in a sum of $460,700, but that amount is not a true reflection of the cost of combining the three proposals, according to a city official.

Matt Rauschenbach, the city’s chief financial officer explained in an email: “The proposals are not additive since they contain various combinations of components.”

Adopting the recommended pay plan would result in city employees’ pay being 3 percent higher than the average of employees working for local governments to which the city was compared to during the study, said PTRC’s David Hill, who prepared the study along with Bob Carter. That difference could change July 1 when the new budgets for the local governments take effect, Hill noted. The study compared Washington’s pay classifications and salaries to local governments such as Tarboro, Williamston, Clinton, Beaufort County, Martin County, New Bern, Greenville, the Greenville Utilities Commission and others in the region.

The recommended classification and pay study will empower the city in its efforts to recruit, retain and motivate a workforce with pay at fair, equitable and competitive rates while ensuring internal equity with other city positions, according to a memorandum Stacey Christini, the city’s human-resources director, sent to the mayor and council members.