Westlake Ohio Approves Pay Increases for City Workers

Westlake, Ohio gave its city employees a financial boost in October 2025 - though the reality is more nuanced than simple across-the-board raises. City Council approved new compensation ordinances on October 16, 2025 that will deliver pay increases totaling 13% over three years for employees who aren't part of collective bargaining units, including department heads and hourly and salaried workers.

The increases break down to 5% in 2025, followed by 4% raises in both 2026 and 2027. The 2025 increase applied retroactively to the beginning of 2025, meaning employees received back pay for the months already worked. However, the financial benefit gets partially eaten by increases in health insurance premiums that workers pay starting in 2026 - a common trade-off that reduces the take-home impact of nominal wage increases.

Mayor Dennis Clough explained the legislation was necessary because some city employees already earn the maximum pay allowed under existing pay ranges. When workers hit their salary caps, they can't receive raises even if their performance merits additional compensation. The new ordinances establish higher pay ranges, creating room for continued salary growth.

How the Pay Structure Actually Works

Rather than setting specific salaries for each position, Westlake City Council approved pay ranges for different categories of workers. This approach gives city administration flexibility to compensate employees based on experience, longevity, and performance rather than treating all workers in the same job title identically.

For example, two employees might both work as public works supervisors, but one with 15 years of experience could earn significantly more than a newly hired supervisor with the same title. The range structure allows the city to recognize and reward that experience differential without requiring separate ordinances for each individual employee.

Three separate ordinances, first read at the September 4, 2025 council meeting, addressed different employee groups:

• Department heads (top city administrators)
• Law department employees (city attorneys and legal staff)
• Employees in all other departments (the bulk of the non-union workforce)

The segmentation reflects different market dynamics and compensation levels for these groups. Department heads command higher salaries and compete in a different talent market than entry-level administrative staff. Attorneys face unique compensation considerations compared to public works employees or clerical workers.

By establishing ranges rather than fixed salaries, Westlake can adjust individual compensation within council-approved parameters without returning for new legislation every time a worker deserves a merit increase or cost-of-living adjustment.

Union vs. Non-Union Parity

The 5%-4%-4% increase structure isn't arbitrary - it mirrors what Westlake expects to grant workers who belong to collective bargaining units. Mayor Clough confirmed negotiations with some (but not all) city bargaining units have concluded, with those agreements reflecting the same percentage increases.

Westlake's 2025 budget lists seven bargaining units whose contracts expired on February 28, 2025, and it budgeted salaries to rise by an average of 4.0% for the year.

At the time, City Council was also considering ordinances that would authorize the mayor to enter collective bargaining agreements with the Ohio Patrolmen's Benevolent Association and the Fraternal Order of Police, Ohio Labor Council Inc. These agreements were slated for a vote at the November 6, 2025 City Council meeting.

Maintaining parity between union and non-union employees serves multiple purposes. First, it prevents internal friction where non-union workers feel shortchanged compared to their unionized colleagues. Second, it provides predictability for budget planning - the city knows total personnel cost increases rather than having wildly different raises across departments. Third, it reduces complexity in explaining compensation decisions to taxpayers.

The approach also reflects political reality. If Westlake granted non-union workers substantially higher raises than union members, it would create backlash from organized labor and potentially complicate future contract negotiations. Conversely, if union workers received significantly better deals, non-union employees might push for unionization.

The Health Insurance Reality Check

The 2025 pay increase comes with an important caveat that significantly impacts workers' actual take-home pay: health insurance premiums are going up. Mayor Clough noted the raises "will be partially offset by increases in health insurance premiums that workers will pay next year."

This is a common pattern in public sector pay. Employers facing budget pressure often pair percentage raises with a larger worker share of health costs. Westlake is self-insured, and its 2025 budget says health claims rose 11.4% in 2024, compared with an average increase of 6.1% over the previous five years.

As a hypothetical example, for a city employee earning $50,000 annually, a 5% raise equals $2,500 more in gross pay, or roughly $208 per month. If health insurance premiums increase by $100 per month ($1,200 annually), the actual take-home benefit drops to about $108 monthly - less than half the nominal raise. After taxes, the real purchasing power gain becomes even more modest.

Westlake employees aren't unique in facing this squeeze. According to the KFF 2025 Employer Health Benefits Survey, annual premiums for employer-sponsored family coverage reached $26,993 in 2025, 6% higher than in 2024, and workers contributed $6,850 of that on average.

The retroactive nature of the 2025 raise does provide a one-time windfall - employees received lump-sum payments covering the difference between what they were paid and what they should have been paid since January 1. This creates a nice bonus check, though a lump sum can be withheld at a higher rate on the paycheck it arrives in.

The Wage Study Debate

Westlake planned to conduct a wage study in 2026 to compare the city's compensation with similar communities - a proposal that exposed differing perspectives among council members during the October 16 meeting.

Council President David Greenspan supported the study, seeing it as a useful tool for ensuring Westlake remains competitive in attracting and retaining qualified employees. Wage studies typically examine compensation at comparable municipalities based on population, budget size, and regional labor markets. For Westlake, that might mean comparing salaries with places like Rocky River, Bay Village, Avon Lake, and other Cleveland-area suburbs of similar size.

Councilman Duane Van Dyke expressed disappointment the city hadn't conducted the study earlier in 2025 - before approving the new pay ranges. His concern appeared to be that council was approving compensation increases without solid data showing whether Westlake workers are currently underpaid, appropriately paid, or overpaid relative to market rates.

Councilman Dennis Sullivan took a more skeptical view, arguing a wage study would likely prove inconclusive because job descriptions vary significantly across municipalities. What Westlake calls a "Public Works Director" might have substantially different responsibilities than someone with the same title in another city. Comparing the salaries without accounting for these differences produces misleading conclusions.

Sullivan's point has merit. A city with its own utilities (water, sewer, electric) requires more complex public works management than one where private companies or county agencies handle those services. A community with extensive park systems needs different recreation department staffing than one with minimal green space. Direct salary comparisons ignore these underlying structural differences.

Nevertheless, wage studies remain standard practice in public sector compensation. They provide elected officials with political cover ("we're just keeping pace with neighboring communities") and help HR departments make evidence-based recommendations. Even if imperfect, comparative data beats pure guesswork when setting pay scales.

What It Means for Westlake Employees and Taxpayers

For Westlake's non-union city employees, the ordinances provide welcome certainty about compensation through 2027. Workers know they'll receive 13% cumulative raises over three years (assuming they don't hit the new pay range maximums), allowing for financial planning around major purchases, savings goals, or debt repayment.

The retroactive 2025 payment delivered an immediate cash infusion - helpful as 2025 holiday expenses approached and inflation continued affecting household budgets. Even after accounting for higher health insurance costs, most employees should see net income gains, though less dramatic than the 5%-4%-4% figures suggest.

Experienced workers particularly benefit from the range-based structure. Someone who's been with Westlake for decades and consistently performed well can earn more than a new hire in the same position, within the council-approved range. This rewards loyalty and institutional knowledge while creating incentives for strong performance.

For taxpayers, the raises add to municipal operating costs. Westlake's 2025 budget projects that 35.6% of total 2025 revenue will come from city income tax and 22.7% from property taxes. Westlake will need to cover these costs through some combination of revenue growth (from property value increases and income tax collections), spending cuts elsewhere, or modest tax increases.

Income tax collections, a significant revenue source for Ohio cities, depend partly on keeping large employers in the community. Hyland Software, one of several companies headquartered in Westlake, cut about 1,000 jobs globally in 2023, roughly 20% of its workforce, according to Cleveland 19.

The collective bargaining agreements with police unions, still pending at the time, will reveal whether public safety workers receive similar 5%-4%-4% increases or negotiate different terms. Police and fire typically command strong public support, giving their unions negotiating leverage. If those agreements include substantially higher raises, it could create pressure to revisit the non-union compensation already approved.

Looking ahead to the 2026 wage study, council will face decisions about whether to adjust the recently approved pay ranges based on comparative data. If the study shows Westlake significantly trails neighboring communities, pressure will mount for accelerated increases. If Westlake already pays above-market rates, taxpayer advocates may push back on the automatic 4% raises scheduled for 2026 and 2027.

Through 2027, Westlake city employees can count on predictable raises - even if health insurance costs and inflation eat into the purchasing power those increases represent.

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