The Philomath City Council on Monday unanimously approved a new three-year collective bargaining agreement with its public works employees and adopted pay schedules for nonrepresented and management positions for fiscal year 2026-27.
A resolution that ratifies a successor agreement between the city and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3543, Council 75 — the union representing public works employees — covers the period July 1 through June 30, 2029. The current contract expires at the end of June.
The agreement includes a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment, the addition of a half-day holiday, updated pay for working on holidays, and changes to certification and licensing pay. Assistant City Manager Chelsea Starner, who led the negotiations, said the certification pay changes serve a dual purpose.
“We have updated some incentive pay to be more consistent with the market and also to try to incentivize some employees to start getting some certifications that some of our managers have had that are going to at some point retire,” Starner said. “So we’re trying to look ahead for that succession planning.”
City Manager Chris Workman praised the working relationship between administration and public works employees and credited Starner for the tone of negotiations.
“Not that there aren’t issues that come up but we talk through them … We don’t use the contract as a weapon, we use it to get clarity and to be specific up front,” Workman said. “We set expectations and Chelsea just embodies that. She’s got a great relationship with public works and the employees and she was the right person to be negotiating this.”
The union membership ratified the tentative agreement on June 12.
A second resolution adopted pay schedules for nonrepresented and management positions for fiscal year 2026-27, including a 2.8% COLA — the same rate negotiated in the union contract.
Police sergeants received an additional one-grade increase, equivalent to 5%, to better align with police officer pay and reduce compression within the department.
The salary survey presented to council showed most city positions are within the city’s target range of 10% of comparable jurisdictions, with a few exceptions. The geographic information systems technician position sits above the target midpoint due to competitive market conditions in that field, while the police chief position falls slightly below, though staff recommended leaving it at the current grade consistent with how other director-level positions are compensated.
One position drew council questions — Municipal Judge Larry Blake Jr., whose pay is structured differently from other city positions and does not include step increases.
“It’s because that position has been around for a long time … there are old agreements, old documents on how we got the judge and what we signed and so that is just the rate,” Starner said.
Blake is approaching 18 years as Philomath’s municipal judge and does receive cost-of-living adjustments. Workman indicated the current arrangement is likely to change once Blake moves on.
“When he retires at some point, we’ll more than likely end up having to do contracted services for a judge, that’s more common,” Workman said. “Anytime you’re doing that, you’re paying a little bit of a premium for that, so we feel good with the number and we don’t really want to monkey with it because we feel like we’re still getting a really good deal right now.”
Workman also reflected on Blake’s tenure with the city.
“We were one of the first places that Judge Blake kind of cut his teeth on coming to Philomath and since he’s been able to grow that and now that’s primarily all he does,” Workman said. “He’s a traveling judge and does a great job and so I think we get some of the benefit of that initial experience he got with us.”
