City council will vote on increasing wages for Title 3 city employees at their meeting tonight.

The changes to the pay structure are the first step in implementing the recommendations of a city-wide compensation study done last year.

That study was done by an outside firm. It said the city needs to make its wages more competitive and bring them in line with the national market and the current economy.

Council will have to pass two budget ordinances as part of the Title 3 changes: one to do away with the current wage matrix, and another to replace it with the new one.

The new pay structure includes raises of about two to three percent for Title 3 workers. But it also gives the city more flexibility in setting those salaries -- meaning Title 3 wages could vary more broadly.

The ordinance implement the new matrix also includes boosts for maintenance funding and for the airport.

Council will also take up a proposed settlement agreement with Granite Construction over problems with the city paving project last year.

Granite was hired to do milling work and add two inches of asphalt on Airport Beach Road, along with repairs and paving on East Broadway.

But the city says Granite’s work quickly showed signs of breaking down. They say parts of the work weren’t completed, and the rest wasn’t done well.

City manager Chris Hladick says suing Granite isn’t worth the time or money. Instead, he wants to settle with them. That’s the move council will consider tonight.

In his memo to the council, Hladick says the settlement agreement “includes a payment from Granite for basically half of what it will cost to repave the road from Airport Beach to East Broadway.”

The settlement has the city pay Granite about $1.4 million by the end of the year for the work they did do. In return, Granite would pay the city about $1.6 million to settle the dispute.

The settlement also makes the City responsible for future repairs. Hladick says in his memo that they’re planning to work on those with their current contractor, Knik’s.

Hladick writes that the council’s alternative to passing the settlement would be to “go to court and take our chances.”

Tonight, Council will also have to approve a donation to typhoon relief efforts in the Philippines. The Fil-Am Association first asked council to make a contribution from its discretionary budget last month. The proposed donation is $5,000 to Catholic Relief Services.

The council will also consider a change to rental agreements at the city 8-plex. The city wants to incorporate shared utility costs into the rents. Right now, tenants pay those costs separately. Including them would mean 8-plex rents would jump up a few hundred dollars depending on the size of the unit -- to $1,600 a month for a 2-bedroom, or $2,000 a month for a 3-bedroom.

Also tonight, council will vote to accept a $3 million state grant to finish upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant.

And they’ll consider a new agreement with the Qawalangin Tribe. The agreement would make it easier for the city and tribe to work together on replacing Summer Bay Bridge.

The council meeting is at 7 p.m. at City Hall.