Bill establishing new base salary schedule introduced

House floor leader Ralph Demapan (R-Saipan) introduced yesterday a bill that will establish a new base salary schedule for classified civil service government employees as well as increase the salary ceiling for government employees.

With the help of the Civil Service Commission, the Legislature recognizes the need for revisions to the compensation plan for civil service employees, House Bill 18-213 states.

“The increasing federal minimum wage has made the first 10 pay levels in the salary schedule no longer applicable. In addition, the current compensation plan provides for mandatory within-grade increases for each year of satisfactory performance, which the government has not been able to implement since 2002 due to lack of funding.”

Under the proposed new base salary schedule, a 35-pay level structure with 12 steps is used as the framework for the classification of civil service positions.

It starts with $6.25 per hour salary ($12,584 per year) for pay level 1, step 1 and increases by at least $0.10 until it reaches pay level 35, which is $17.95 per hour ($37,331.96 per year), step 1. Step 12 for the former is $8.60 per hour ($17,889.96 per year), while the same step for the latter is $25.52 per hour (53,072.73 per year).

Demapan said it’s about time that a new base salary schedule is enacted given that the last one conducted was 1991, while the last actual salary increase was implemented in 2002.

“The increase in minimum wage continues to grow every year as well as the increase in prices of commodities and other things. A lot of these civil service employees have been stuck into this salary scale. Some couldn’t come up because they reached their maximum. Because of the current law that they have, they couldn’t move up unless they move to another job or promoted to a higher position,” he said.

The two-term lawmaker said that implementing a new base salary schedule would help the government in the long term because it would result in more content and efficient staff.

“Rather than allow the government to grow further, if we provide an incentive for current government employees and take care of them they could be more productive and be more efficient. Rather than recruit more government employees, why don’t we take care of who we have, give them incentive by increasing their salary so they can be more productive and efficient and perhaps there could be some cross-training within the department. Doing that it would create a good working relationship. We really need to take care of them now,” added Demapan.

He said he has no illusions that HB 18-213 will pass during the lame duck 18th Legislature.

“It’s not going to be passed, but nonetheless I will officially introduce it. If this bill doesn’t go through in the 18th Legislature I will reintroduce it again in the 19th Legislature. I’m introducing it now so current members can have an idea already so when the 19th comes they pretty much know it already.”

Demapan, who won a third term in the Nov. 4 elections, said that other members are always welcome to co-sponsor the measure. “It’s a good bill as it provides incentive for civil service government employees.”

The House will hold its last session probably next week and its sine die is on Jan. 5, 2015.