ARLINGTON — The last time Arlington’s non-represented employees got a cost-of-living adjustment was at the start of 2009.

Arlington’s City Council vote on Dec. 21 could change all that.

Kristin Banfield, human resources and communications director for the city, presented a proposal Dec. 14 to give the city’s non-represented staff — defined as those employees who are not under contract or part of a collective bargaining unit — a COLA of 3.5 percent retroactive to July 1, 2015, and another COLA of 1.6 percent starting Jan. 1, 2016.

She elaborated that this COLA is consistent with the city’s settlements with the International Association of Fire Fighters local 3728 and the Arlington Police Officer’s Association.

Banfield noted this would still be lower than the average COLA of 2.14 percent for non-represented staff in comparable cities.

“And almost every one of those jurisdictions has given its staff COLA since 2012,” Banfield said. “Because of our budgets and our need to rebuild our reserves, we weren’t in a position to grant COLA to anybody.”

When council member Jesica Stickles expressed her appreciation that the proposed COLA for non-represented staff would match those of police and fire personnel, Banfield cited it as evidence of Mayor Barbara Tolbert’s commitment to equity.

If approved by the council, this would impact 20 employees and cost $23,649.27, which was already assumed in the development of the 2015 and 2016 budgets.