CAROLINA BEACH — One local beach town is trying out a new tactic to entice jobseekers to its doorsteps, following a request for action from its town manager.
Earlier this week, the Carolina Beach Town Council voted unanimously in favor of increasing merit raises from 2% to 4% to try and improve recruitment and retention in town staff.
The request to improve employment incentives came from Town Manager Bruce Oakley, who noted retaining quality workers has been challenging.
READ MORE: Lifeguard pay raises, bulkhead repairs: WB aldermen take first votes of the new year
“Especially while larger organizations in the area are competing for the same talent,” Oakley wrote in his recommendation to council. “Some of these larger organizations can offer sign on bonuses and other perks that are not practical for a town our size. Several good employees have left the town for these types of opportunities, and we have numerous applicants choosing other places for the same reasons.”
Carolina Beach currently has 130 full-time employees, 10 part-time employees and 12 volunteer firefighters. The town did not provide numbers about the rate of employee retention as Oakley said it doesn’t track the turnover, but there are currently four vacancies, including three general maintenance workers and one police officer. Oakley told Port City Daily the town mostly sees employee loss in lower-paying positions, such as first responders, customer service and utility workers.
But past solutions to entice and retain employees have included cost of living and merit increases, with town staff working to introduce other innovative solutions. The last broad sweep of wage increases happened in 2022, but the fiscal year 2025-2026 budget saw a $644,868 increase in wages and benefits.
“For instance, a lifestyle spending account was introduced last year,“ Oakley explained to Port City Daily.
Lifestyle spending accounts are post-tax benefits that reimburse employees for personal well-being expenses not covered by traditional insurance companies, like gym memberships or childcare.
However, he also emphasized to both council and Port City Daily the benefit of having a welcoming and benevolent work environment, creating happy employees.
“It’s a fun place to work, and [employees] get a lot of support,” Oakley said at the meeting. “Not just from the council, but from department heads and the community. But that only goes so far.”
Oakley explained the town can’t compare with job market competition like the New Hanover County government, City of Wilmington — with both the county and Wilmington also experiencing employee retention concerns — and Leland due to the disparity in budgetary limits. For example, the starting pay for a police officer in Carolina Beach is $54,013 a year, but the starting pay for an officer in Leland is $58,600. In Wilmington, the starting pay for a trained officer is $52,153 a year, and in New Hanover County, the starting pay for a trained deputy is $53,660. But he said it can find more fiscally responsible and reasonable ways to make working at Carolina Beach more financially rewarding.
“While we can’t always match what large municipalities such as New Hanover County and the City of Wilmington may be paying, we remain very competitive when compared to other local municipalities our size,” CB Director of Human Resources Holly Brooks told PCD.
Most recently, Wrightsville Beach increased its starting pay for the town’s ocean rescue team from $19.50 an hour to $20.50 an hour, a 4.6% increase. Carolina Beach’s starting pay is $19 an hour, plus cost of living adjustments as needed.
Aside from asking for an increase in a percentage bonus, Oakley also suggested revisiting the benefits package offered to town employees at a future meeting.Specifically, he wants to review and make improvements to healthcare and family care packages to offer more coverage, and increase the 401k match by another one or two percent from its current 3%.
He plans to bring a budget amendment proposal necessary to execute the benefits package upgrades. Some of these improvements, specifically to health insurance, would need to be stalled to the next budget season, since the town is already midway through the current 2025-2026 fiscal year.
Oakley estimated the additional salary and benefits would come to $116,000, and he plans to bring a budget amendment to the council at its next meeting which outlines these costs. The current budget for the town is $35.87 million.
In his presentation to council, Oakley said the new changes were necessary and had to happen now.
“We got to look to anything we can to compete,” he said.
Mayor Lynn Barbee agreed acting immediately was important: “If you’re ever going to do it, now’s the time to do it. The financials are as good as they could possibly be.”
According to Oakley, the town is in a secure financial position, with a fund balance of a little over 50% of the town’s budget for the fiscal year.
Both council members Jay Healy and Vince Losito cited their experiences in the corporate world in approving the merit bonus.
“Retention in everything. When you lose people, it will cost you a lot of money,” Healy said. “Back to Bruce’s point with our fund balance the way it is and the way we have managed our business in the past five or six years, right now is the time to do it.”
“It costs ten times as much to bring a new person in to train them and get them up to speed than it does to retain somebody,” Losito agreed.
Council member Wayne Rouse echoed the sentiment.
“I’ve been here so long, I know a lot of employees,” he said, “and I know that some of the employees get, at least every two months, recruitment letters. They do like working here, but we want to let them know that we want them working here.”
Have tips or suggestions for Emily Sawaked? Email emily@localdailymedia.com
At Port City Daily, we aim to keep locals informed on top-of-mind news facing the tri-county region. To support our work and help us reach more people in 2026, please, consider helping one of two ways: Subscribe here or make a one-time contribution here.
We appreciate your ongoing support.
