BRA board backs 6 percent employee pay raise

The board of the Boston Redevelopment Authority voted Thursday to give the agency’s roughly 225 employees a 6 percent pay raise as part of a package that officials said includes payroll reforms.

The pay increase, which is scheduled to go into effect July 1, will cost the agency about $775,000, said Brian P. Golden, the BRA’s acting director. But the agency will save $1.2 million from changes to the way sick time and vacation payouts will be calculated when employees leave the agency.

“We want to provide a talented staff with a critical, mission-appropriate pay,” said Golden. “In addition to remedying some of the past difficulties paying employees what we thought they were worth, we’ve also identified a variety of personnel issues that need to be addressed.”

Golden said the 6 percent raise is in part to make up for cuts during the recession. The pay of most BRA employees was reduced 3 percent to 5 percent in 2009. Their pay was restored 2½ years later, Golden said, but employees did not receive an annual raise again until 2013.

“If you look at the average BRA employee, they were making about 3 percent above what they were making in 2008 while inflation is over 10 percent during these past five-plus years,” Golden said.

To cut costs, the Redevelopment Authority has reduced its staff by more than 20 percent, Golden said. In 2008, it had a payroll of 283. In the coming year, the agency has budgeted for 223 employees, he said. Records show that in 2013, the BRA had a payroll of almost $17 million, with an average pay of almost $66,000.

The pay package was approved as part of a $52 million budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

The BRA is Boston’s urban planning and economic development agency. It is not funded directly by tax dollars, but derives revenue primarily by leasing property and land.

The payroll policy changes will reduce the potential vacation buy-out for departing employees to 1½ years from the current cap of 3 years, Golden said.

Employees who have more than 20 years of service will remain eligible to collect about one-third of their unused sick time as pay.

But under the new system, the sick-time pay will be based on an employee’s average salary. The current policy calculates sick-time payout on an employee’s last year of pay, which is generally the highest.

In addition, the BostonRedevelopment Authority for the first time will introduce regular employee evaluations.

“We want to encourage and reward the strong performers,” Golden said, “and we want to identify and correct the poor performers.”