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The vote Monday included retroactive pay to July, which is when employees normally receive an increase, according to Rapid City Finance Director Daniel Ainslie. According to the latest Midwest Urban Consumer Price Index (CPI), inflation increased by 3.04% in 2024.

The council had delayed a vote on the item two weeks before it approved the first raise for council members in 14 years. Council members said Monday the delay was not intended to be a denial.Ā 

Councilman Kevin Maher (Ward 3), said he believes the employees deserve the raise, and noted Rapid Cityā€™s low unemployment rate, which is at 1.9% as of May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. He also said the raises were already budgeted.

ā€œThis is not a time to not take care of our employees. They take care of us,ā€ he said.

Councilwoman Lindsey Seachris (Ward 2) made the motion to approve the raises. She said there were last minute questions raised from constituents and employees, but since she had her chance to spend some time with the human resources director, she felt comfortable passing it.

ā€œOur city employees are our greatest asset. I do believe this is 100% fair,ā€ Seachris said.

Councilor Rod Pettigrew (Ward 5), who was not present for the vote in June to increase council wages, said he would have voted against that, but agreed it was ā€œbad opticsā€ to move the vote on employee raises.

ā€œRelative to the COLA increase, the motion was not to deny it, it was to move it. We all had questions. I got probably more nasty emails than anyone up here, but I want to remind everyone, six people agreed with me,ā€ Pettigrew said. ā€œ...Our intent was never to deny it.ā€

Pettigrew emphasized that 80% of the cityā€™s budget goes towards wages and benefits, and there was some confusion about how many employees the raises would impact.

ā€œIf the city goes broke, the council is going to be blamed for it. If it shines, the administration takes the glory. Weā€™re just doing our due diligence,ā€ he said.

Evans said cost of living increases should not be automatic because of raises for someone making six figures versus lower wages, and there should be block raises to make up for inflation.

ā€œI believe this is opening a conversation,ā€ Evans said.

Councilor Greg Strommen (Ward 3), said he appreciated the human resources director, Amber Cornella, who took the time to educate council members on the raises.

ā€œWe just wanted some more time to consider it. Weā€™ve had that more time to consider it, and I think itā€™s been time well spent,ā€ Strommen said.

Non-union employees working for the city in 2025 had a cap of receiving up to a 6% raise in 2025, 3% of that merit-based, and 3% of that for cost of living.Ā 

An individual with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employee (AFSCME) union could receive up to a 4.5% raise in 2025, broken up between up to a 1.5% longevity adjustment in January, up to 1% for merit-based assessments in June and up to 2% in July for cost of living.

The Fraternal Order of Police union negotiated a cap of 5% raises for employees in 2025. For sworn officers, that was broken down between a 2% longevity raise in January and a 3% cost of living raise in July for professional services. For sworn officers, that metric was flipped to a 3% longevity raise in January and a 2% cost of living raise in July.

For the International Association of Firefighters union, their cap in 2025 sits at 4%, 2% in January for longevity and 2% for cost of living in July.