Some cities call them cost-of-living increases. Others call them inflation adjustments. In Lawrence, the annual pay increases designed to keep pace with rising prices are called general wage adjustments.

In the city’s proposed 2004 budget, they’re called a thing of the past.

“We have to find a balance,” Commissioner David Schauner said, “between being fiscally responsible to our taxpayers … and meeting our employees’ expectations.”

Those expectations apparently have dropped in recent years. Mike Tubbs, a city management analyst and father of five, said he wouldn’t mind not getting a pay raise next year, as long as he still had a job.

“Every employee would want to get a raise,” Tubbs said. “But I’m willing to forgo that increase if it means the city doesn’t lay people off.”

While he’s willing to pass on the typical annual pay raise of about 3 percent this year, Tubbs’ opinion may change if the city went without wage adjustments for several years. And that is a very real possibility given the dire projections for future budgets.

“I can always go to the private sector,” Tubbs said.

Gary Jones, a mechanic at the city of Lawrence's maintenance garage, removes a front brake rotor on a city pickup. Jones repaired the truck's rotors Friday. Like other city employees, Jones won't be seeing a pay raise next year as the city tries to manage a budget crisis.

In Lawrence, according to figures from the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce, only three employers have larger work forces than the city. Those are Kansas University, Lawrence public schools and Pearson Governmental Solutions.

David Burress, a KU economist and vice chairman of the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission, said the city was a major player in the employment market.

“If you took away the city jobs, unemployment would double,” Burress said.

Because of the city’s status as a major employer, the lack of a wage adjustment for its employees would ripple through the economy. The city’s 972 workers all spend money locally.

“What you’ve got is a loss in real wages,” Burress said.

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The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows inflation hovering around 3 percent, meaning a worker who makes $30,000 a year would lose about $50 a month in buying power next year.

Burress said the city would have to raise wages to stay competitive, and one year shouldn’t cause many employees to leave. But if wages stay stagnant for several years, Lawrence could begin to experience a brain drain as quality city workers find better-paying jobs elsewhere.

“We’re not out of the woods yet,” Burress said. “The future is still unknown.”