City earmarks $4M for one-time bonuses

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – In June, City of Rochester employees will find more in their paychecks.

Rochester Mayor Malik Evans announced the one-time retention bonus on Tuesday.

It comes after officers in the Rochester Police Department received a $4,000 retention bonus last month.

Some City Councilmembers argued that city employees should also get a bonus. Fast forward four weeks, and Evans says one of his administration’s core values taking care of public employees.

He says the payment is a reward for employees’ efficiency, dedication, and commitment to providing essential programs, services, and events that make Rochester a great place to live, work, and play.

Approximately 1,500 full-time employees will receive a $2,000 payment and 600 part-time employees will receive a $1,000 payment next month.

The initiative will cost nearly $4 million, funded by a surplus from the city budget this year.

Evans says hopefully this will help inspire, keep, and attract people to work for local city government.

“We hope that that will be another tool to show our support for public employees, and more importantly, to try to keep our employees working with the city of Rochester. We’ve done this for police and fire – last month that was announced – and now we are doing that for the rest of city employees,” he said.

Evans adds that there has been difficulty in filling positions, and with the number of employees putting in overtime and doing the job of two people, it was important for his administration to stay competitive.