Medina Council Approves Raises for Non-Union Employees

City aims to maintain pay parity across all workers after approving union contracts.

Published on Feb. 12, 2026

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The Medina City Council has approved a 4% pay increase for non-union city employees in 2026, 2027, and 2028, following the approval of new three-year agreements with two collective bargaining units representing certain city workers. The council president stated the raises are intended to ensure fair treatment and parity across all employees, though the increases were not originally planned for in the city's five-year financial projections.

Why it matters

Maintaining competitive pay and benefits is crucial for Medina to attract and retain quality municipal workers, especially as the city faces rising costs and budget pressures. The council's decision to align non-union raises with recent union contract agreements reflects an effort to promote fairness and prevent pay disparities between represented and non-represented employees.

The details

Under the updated salaries and benefits code, Medina's non-union city employees will receive a 4% pay increase in 2026, 2027, and 2028. This comes after the council approved new three-year agreements with two collective bargaining units, including a 4% raise in 2026 and 3% raises in 2027-2028 for the city's police patrol and communications officers, and a 2% raise in 2026 with the city picking up increasing portions of pension contributions for Teamsters Local 436 members.

  • The Medina City Council approved the non-union pay increases on February 12, 2026.
  • The new three-year union contracts were also recently approved by the council.

The players

Medina City Council

The governing body of the City of Medina, Ohio, responsible for approving municipal budgets, policies, and contracts.

John Coyne

The president of the Medina City Council, who stated the raises were intended to ensure pay parity across all city employees.

Teamsters Local 436

The labor union representing Medina city employees in the street, sanitation, water, park, cemetery, building, engineering and service departments.

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What they’re saying

“Council does this every time we approve new union contracts so we can have parity throughout the city and make sure everyone is treated fairly.”

— John Coyne, Council President (cleveland.com)

“Since these are 4 percent raises, that is $1.8 million of additional money over the next three years that was not planned for. But we want to be fair to all employees.”

— John Coyne, Council President (cleveland.com)

What’s next

The city will need to incorporate the unplanned $1.8 million in additional personnel costs into its five-year financial projections.

The takeaway

Medina's decision to align non-union raises with recent union contract agreements reflects an effort to promote fairness and prevent pay disparities across the municipal workforce, though the unplanned costs will require adjustments to the city's long-term budget planning.