Alderman Advocates For Gainesboro Employees

Gainesboro approved a new Town Employee Performance Plan to try to encourage upward mobility for its staff.

Gainesboro Alderman Beth Young said the city should mentor new employees as they grow. She said she would love to see an annual salary increase for employees. Young said annual increases, based on budgetary expenses, will help improve retention rates and overall life in Gainesboro.

“How do we expect for employees to grow,” Young said. “How do we want them to continue to not only build the city with there actions and what they’ve learned, but to help them and continue to and grow pay.”

Young said the plan is based on measurable work. Young said a mentor signing off on an employee completing a class would be a way to support the growth of city employees. Young also said employees would be required to complete various classes, as part of the process.

“It may be not be always taking classes, and it doesn’t have to be a paid class, it could be a free class on MCAST or it could be whatever,” Young said. “It could be mentoring, someone could go mentor with each other and get signed off that they did what they were suppose to and learn something.”

Young said the Employee Performance Plan is designed to ensure employees demonstrate that they have earned the increase. She said that while she strongly supports the plan as a way to benefit the city by encouraging professional growth and retention, implementing such a plan depends heavily on the city’s budget. Young said fiscal constraints could make the plan challenging to execute.

“It’s not always the way it is,” Young said. “But I would love to see us be able to provide an annual increase on employees if they are meeting there goals and growing themselves out.”

Young said that by offering livable wages and providing the right training, the town can continue to grow. Young also said the training program is designed to not only reward employees but also to create qualified replacements for current positions, ensuring the city’s workforce remains strong and capable for years to come.