MARSHALL — Members of the Marshall Municipal Utilities Commission will be considering a possible pay increase for MMU employees later this month. Members of the MMU Commission’s personnel committee voted this week to bring a proposed 4.5% pay adjustment forward for more discussion.

MMU General Manager David Schelkoph said the proposed increase would help keep pay scales at a “middle of the road” level for utilities workers.

The MMU Commission looks at adjusting employee pay every year, Schelkoph said. On Wednesday, he presented personnel committee members with information like consumer price index data, pay data from similar-sized utilities in the region, and employee survey results.

Schelkoph said his own salary was not included in proposed employee pay increases. It is set separately by the Commission.

“What we’re going to be proposing to the committee, and to the Commission as a whole, is a 4.5% increase across the board,” Schelkoph said. “We believe that’s required for us to maintain the middle of the road,” he said.

Last year, a 4.5% pay increase was proposed for MMU employees, but the MMU Commission approved a 3.5% increase.

In his presentation, Schelkoph said he believed a proposed 4.5% employee pay adjustment for next year would help MMU keep up with inflation and rising costs of living. It was important for the utility to be able to retain skilled employees, he said. A total of 18 MMU employees have retired over the past five years, Schelkoph said this week.

“We have a lot of young employees here now,” Schelkoph told committee members Wednesday. Those young employees were facing challenges like increased housing costs, he said.

“We’ve been working very hard, and with your help we’ve been trying to keep ahead of the cost of inflation to our employees,” Schelkoph told committee members.

If it was approved, the proposed 4.5% pay adjustment would not have a big impact on MMU customers the next time the utility sets its rates, Schelkoph told the Independent Friday. He said the proposed pay increase would mean a rate increase of about 0.37% starting in 2026.

On Wednesday, personnel committee members discussed whether to wait and talk about the proposed adjustment at the regular MMU Commission meeting later this month. Committee members weren’t certain about recommending the full 4.5% increase, and asked whether the proposal would actually bring MMU pay rates above “the middle of the road.”

“Last year, I think you said you wanted to just make no recommendation to the commission, and then at the Commission we hashed it out. If you want to do that, you can,” Schelkoph said.

Committee member Cindy Verschaetse said the personnel committee could recommend the 4.5% increase, and then still have further discussion with the full MMU Commission.

Committee members voted to recommend the 4.5% increase, but then have more discussion with the Commission.