Portsmouth Council to Consider Pay Changes — Here’s What City Jobs Pay

Portsmouth City Council will consider changes to its employee salary ordinance when the measure comes up for a second reading on Monday, September 28.

The proposal includes a three-year pay schedule for dispatchers, with the 2026 rates taking effect retroactively to January 1. It also revises how pay for a number of Municipal Court positions appears in the ordinance.

The documents reveal something else residents may be curious about: the pay rates listed for jobs throughout city government, from the city manager and police chief to firefighters, street crews, water workers, and court employees.

Dispatcher Raises Would Go Back to January

The proposed dispatcher rates reflect the city’s contract with General Truck Drivers & Helpers Local Union #92. The ordinance lists increases for 2026, 2027, and 2028.

Dispatcher position	2026 hourly pay	2027	2028
Probationary, 0–6 months	$19.00	$19.50	$20.00
Rookie/probationary, 6–12 months	$20.00	$20.50	$21.00
Dispatcher, 1 year or more	$23.81	$24.52	$25.26 Please Support This Local Business
Lead Dispatcher, if filled by chief	$25.37	$26.13	$26.91

The 2026 increase would be retroactive to January 1. The proposed ordinance does not state the total cost of the back pay.

The two documents supplied with the proposal help show what is being revised in the Municipal Court section.

One document, with the affected court positions highlighted in pink, lists annual compensation for those jobs. Some amounts are broken out by the court fund that pays them. The other document lists hourly rates for many of the same positions.

That does not mean every highlighted employee is getting a raise. In some cases, the proposal changes how compensation is stated—from annual amounts and funding allocations to an hourly rate. The documents do not provide enough information to calculate a confirmed raise for every position.

Here is the compensation listed in the version using hourly rates:

The ordinance lists compensation for Municipal Court judges as determined by state code rather than providing dollar amounts.

One figure stands out: The highlighted document lists the Municipal Court Clerk at $65,830 annually, while the other lists $84,115.20—a difference of $18,285.20.

The documents do not explain whether $65,830 represents the clerk’s entire current compensation or why the figures differ. Until that is clarified, it would be premature to describe the difference as a confirmed $18,285.20 raise.

City Manager, Auditor, Police Chief and Department Heads

Beyond the proposed dispatcher and court changes, the ordinance lists annual salaries or salary ranges for city leadership and department heads.

The ordinance notes that the water and wastewater director ranges include a $2,000 increase upon Class IV certification. These are the listed salary ranges, not confirmation that anyone currently receives the top amount.

What Portsmouth Police Officers Make

Police pay is listed by rank and experience. A recruit attending the academy is listed at $20.76 an hour, while a top-step patrol officer is listed at $30.85.

The police chief’s compensation is listed separately in the annual salary schedule.

What Portsmouth Firefighters Make

The Fire Department schedule includes different rates for ranks with multiple pay steps. The listed rate for a probationary firefighter is $18.26 an hour, while the deputy fire chief’s rate is $42.99.

The ordinance states that overtime, health insurance, and other benefits for bargaining-unit firefighters are governed by the city’s agreement with IAFF Local #9.

Code Enforcement, Animal Control and Other City Jobs

The salary ordinance also lists compensation for positions residents regularly encounter, along with seasonal and part-time jobs.

Temporary emergency flood defense workers are listed at Ohio’s minimum wage rather than a specific dollar rate.

Other Administrative and Professional Positions

The ordinance lists the following annual salaries and ranges for additional city employees:

The part-time plans examiner/engineer position is listed at $36.06 to $51.86 an hour.

What About Street Crews, Water Workers and Maintenance Employees?

Many positions in public service, utilities, maintenance, engineering, and clerical departments are assigned a pay grade instead of having a dollar amount beside each job title.

For example, the ordinance assigns a common laborer to Grade C, a heavy equipment operator to Grade J, and garage mechanics to different grades depending on the position.

Here are the hourly rates for the grades listed in the ordinance:

These are rates attached to pay grades, not the earnings of particular employees.

The ordinance also shows two pay amounts for each of several Finance Department positions: deputy auditor ($29.66 and $31.14), Finance Clerk I ($23.15 and $24.31), Finance Clerk II ($24.55 and $25.78), tax commissioner ($28.96 and $30.41), and deputy tax commissioner ($24.19 and $25.40). The provided schedule does not label what distinguishes the two amounts.

What Happens Monday?

Council’s September 28 meeting is scheduled to include the second reading of the salary ordinance. The proposal would replace the salary ordinance amended in 2025.

The changes under consideration center on dispatcher pay and the Municipal Court salary listings. The rest of the document provides the citywide pay schedule; its inclusion does not mean every city employee is being considered for a raise.