We, the employees of the City of Falls Church are looking to recover our forgone 3.5% salary increase from FY 2021. We are also requesting a bonus from ARPA funds to all current employees and a citywide compensation study. 

We are petitioning to make staff whole after working harder, with less, during a global pandemic. We believe merit increases positively impact long term earning potential that is so critical to a small locality, where employees rely heavily on compensation due to limited growth opportunities. We know this will improve employee morale and employee retention. 

It has been almost 7 years since our last compensation study, over two years since we have been promised a citywide comp study, and we are still waiting for answers. We know that our salaries are not competitive with surrounding jurisdictions. This, compounded with record inflation and having our salary increases taken away, leaves a large expanse in an ever growing wage gap between our City and the rest of Northern Virginia. 

We are down almost 15% in staffing citywide, a number that seems to be the norm considering how often employees take on more and more workload. Retention has been a problem in the city long before the pandemic and the EAC has fought hard for this to be addressed. As these numbers climb due to sinking morale, the fight for retention becomes harder. We see the City and HR fighting for hiring initiatives and talent acquisition. Is the City's stance that we are replaceable and more effort should be placed on hiring, in lieu of retention? An increase positively effects life insurance benefits and retirement plans, and therefore, retention. 

The bottom line: We were asked to work hard for our City. We did. We now ask that the City works hard for us. Please sign if you support our request of a 3.5% increase for eligible employees, a bonus from ARPA funds to all current employees, and a citywide compensation study.