MARLBOROUGH – The city is about to add several new positions.
During the City Council’s Finance Committee meeting on Oct. 16, members reviewed requests for job descriptions and salary ranges.
The requests include the following:
Marlborough Public Library – Head of adult services and programming and outreach librarian. Both are non-union positions. There’s also a request to raise the hourly wage for library pages from $10.77 to $15 to align better with the state’s minimum wage.
Assessor’s Office – An increase from 35 to 40 hours per week for the senior assessor.
Public Facilities – An increase in the hourly wage by $2.50 for the city’s houseworkers to more closely align with school houseworkers. The current rate for city houseworkers is $17.80, which is about $5 lower than the school Houseworkers’ rate of $23.32. The request calls for a $2.50 adjustment for fiscal 2024, and $2.50 for fiscal 2025.
There is also a request for a plumber at an hourly rate of $34.34.
Councilor Mark Oram said he supports the requests, but he would like the city to conduct a full review of salaries.
“They’re overdue,” he said, adding that it’s getting more difficult for municipal employees to afford housing in the city.
Several department heads presented more details for each request. For the library, Assistant Director Morgan Manzella said the requested positions are needed to help with staffing coverage.
On the Public Facilities front, interim Commissioner of Public Works Theodore Scott said the city’s houseworkers budget “has been underfunded for years,” and “it’s been difficult to attract” potential employees at the current rate.
The Finance Committee approved the requests; these will be brought before the full City Council in the near future.
