The City of Greensboro changed the way it pays its 3,297 employees in 2023.

Through Dec. 28, 2022, the City of Greensboro paid its employees twice a month, or 24 times a year.  But beginning this month the city shifted that pay period to every other week, or 26 times a year.

The first pay period to be covered by this new schedule ran from Dec. 28 to Jan. 10.

There were a number of protests from employees about the new pay schedule, because the result is that the bi-weekly paychecks are smaller than semi-monthly paychecks.  In the end, the change in the pay schedule has no effect on the amount employees are paid each year, but it does change when they receive that money.  Under the bi-weekly pay schedule, two months during the year employees will receive three paychecks.  One issue brought up by employees is that most bills need to be paid monthly.  So for employees living paycheck to paycheck, receiving less money 10 months out of the year can cause problems.

City Manager Tai Jaiyeoba sent out a message to city employees informing them of the steps the city has taken to lessen the hardship of the switch to the bi-weekly pay schedule.

Jaiyeoba stated, “One, the City has absorbed the cost of the increase in health premiums for the calendar year 2023.

“Two, accelerate the 4% pay increase for all employees originally anticipated in the FY-22-23 budget in May 2023.  This pay increase will now become effective as of February 8th with the initial allocation in the February 24th paychecks.  Thanks to our Councilmembers, especially Mayor Vaughan and Councilwoman Abuzuaiter for their guidance on this effort.”

The City Council voted to pay the additional healthcare premium costs with general fund money freed up by dumping the $59.4 in American Rescue Plan money into the general fund.

Because of that additional $59.4 million, plus the property tax increase of close to 30 percent, the city coffers are unusually full.