Bloomington city council sets 2026 pay scales for general employees, police and fire, clerk’s office

At its regular Wednesday meeting, Bloomington’s city council approved three salary ordinances establishing the pay for city employees in 2026. The council’s action covered all the jobs in city government—including police, fire, utilities, public works, and the city clerk’s office—except for the eleven elected positions of city council, clerk, and mayor.

Police, fire salaries

In 2026, the maximum base pay for police and fire department employees will remain on the same structure adopted for 2025, which consolidated all non-union positions in the two departments into a single ordinance. That’s according to a memo from human resources director Sharr Pechac.

Police officers and firefighters are receiving a 3% increase in 2026 under the terms of their collective bargaining agreements reached last year.

For the police department, the maximum base salaries for 2026 include $124,128 for deputy chief, $119,320 for captains, $114,513 for lieutenants, and $98,162 for sergeants. Officers first class will earn up to $84,626.

Certified recruits will receive a $5,000 incentive during their first year, while non-certified recruits will receive $3,000. The ordinance also reallocates funding by eliminating a vacant evidence-clerk position to add a third crime-scene technician, a move expected to cost about $38,000.

Longevity pay for sworn police officers comes tops out at $5,000 after 25 years. Specialty pay for detectives, field-training officers, and similar assignments is capped at $4,800 annually.

For the fire department, top administrative pay includes $121,000 for deputy chief and $113,000 for assistant chiefs. A first-class firefighter will earn $83,503. Longevity pay for firefighters also tops out at $12,500 after 25 years. Education pay ranges from $500 for an associate degree to $1,200 for a bachelor’s degree or higher.

General city employees

A separate ordinance established the 2026 maximum salaries for non-union employees and members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). For non-union staff, the amounts specified in the ordinance for the salary grade ranges reflect an increase compared to last year’s pay, amounting to 2.7% for a cost of living adjustment (COLA).

Even though the collective bargaining agreement with AFSME is not yet complete, according to a memo from human resources director Sharr Pechac, the two sides have agreed to a 5% hourly pay increase starting Jan. 1, 2026. That could mean the city council will be asked to approve revision to the salary ordinance early next year

The ordinance includes several staffing and structural changes that, according to the memo from HR director Pechac, are intended to reduce the city’s dependence on consultants. New positions include a project engineer and construction inspector in the engineering department; a long-range planner and alternative-transportation coordinator in planning; and a deputy director of public works.

Other changes include reclassifying and converting several positions in the utilities department, such as the creation of a lead communications operator and the conversion of two part-time roles to full-time status.

The salary grade for the city’s top administrative posts—Grade 14 positions including deputy mayor, corporation counsel, and some department directors—specifies a range of $135,216 to $175,780.

Grade 1 positions go from $36,387 to $43,664, but the lowest grade of any position in the salary ordinance looks like it’s Grade 3, which has a range of $40,883 to $49,061. There are six communications operators in the city of Bloomington utilities at Grade 3. There are also four positions in the public works department’s animal care and control division that are set at Grade 3.

The minimum hourly wage is $16.66, which matches the living wage for 2026 that is calculated under Bloomington’s living wage ordinance. Councilmember Isabel Piedmont-Smith expressed an interest in revising the living wage calculator to bring it in line with the amount that it actually takes to live in Bloomington.

Council president Hopi Stosberg said that in the future she would like to consider alternatives to a set percentage COLA, because the benefit from a fixed percentage is so much greater for those at the higher end of the salary range.

City clerk salaries

A separate ordinance sets the 2026 pay scale for employees of the city clerk’s office. The chief deputy clerk will earn a maximum of $78,818, while other deputy positions range from $61,607 to $73,992. Interns in the clerk’s office will be paid $17.15 per hour. The positions in the clerk’s office received the same basic 3% COLA increase that other city employees did.

Up to last year, the clerk’s office staff were included in the general salary ordinance for all employees. But beginning last year, the city council started to reflect in its procedures the fact that under state law, it’s the clerk who determines the compensation for deputies in her office, subject to the approval of the city council.

The same state law gives responsibility for setting salaries for other city positions to the mayor, subject to approval by the council.