The City’s championship workforce understands that public service is still a noble calling, and our employees’ commitment to making life sweeter and more refined for businesses, residents and visitors, is simply known as “The Sugar Land Way.” Not only do we hire the best, we only reward the best!
City services are not comparable to the oil industry, and our employees chose public service for stability predictability. The City doesn't pay like the oil industry- we don't give huge increases or bonuses when times are good, and we try to avoid any reductions in force as it directly impacts the services provided. The oil industry is just not a fair comparison to local government.
For this reason, the City offers annual performance-based merit increases to employees; we do not offer any cost of living increases. The FY2019 budget includes a 3% merit pool – just slightly above the February 2018 CPI and even with the June CPI for the Houston- Woodlands- Sugar Land MSA. This merit pool is an important tool that allows the City to reward employees for excellent performance and to retain our championship workforce. Cost of benefits are increasing for employees in 2019- without an opportunity for a merit increase, some employees would potentially take home less money to support their families.