Coming this year: A major pay increase for city employees.

Richmond City Council has yet to agree on the timing or the amount, but recommendations for a 4 percent or 5 percent increase starting either in July or in October are on the table.

If finalized, it would be the biggest increase for general employees in at least 10 years.

In addition, City Council is poised to provide the first city salary supplement for attorneys with the public defenders office who represent a large majority of people facing criminal charges in Richmond. Proposals to invest between $1 million to $1.4 million in supplements are on the table.

The action came Wednesday afternoon as the council continued its review of the mayor’s budget proposal for the fiscal year 2021-22 that will begin July 1.

The key decision was to junk Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s proposal to provide a 3.25 percent raise across the board to all general employees, plus increasing pay for about 900 employees whose pay is substantially below salaries offered for those jobs elsewhere.

Fourth District Councilwoman Kristen N. Larson won support in arguing for a larger percentage increase to come closer to matching the state’s plan to raise its employees’ pay by 5 percent.

Earlier this week, the council tabled for further study a proposed overhaul in the pay plan for sworn personnel that police and firefighters had advanced, but which has yet to be vetted by the administration.

The Stoney administration advanced its pay increase proposal for general employees in a bid to both improve overall pay and also to raise pay for a variety of positions to address recruitment. The administration noted that a wide range of employees, from planners to technology specialists, are underpaid based on the market.

Lincoln Saunders, acting chief administrative officer, pointed to problems recruiting experienced people to work in the procurement office because of the below-average salaries the city now offers.

The issue has become increasingly serious for City Hall. During the past three years, on average, the city must replace one in six employees.

The administration had proposed to implement the changes in October to reduce the total cost in the first year.

At this point, a council majority has agreed to support the mayor’s proposal to award a two-step pay raise to the 1,122 sworn police officers and firefighters at a cost of $2.5 million.

Brendan Leavy, president of the Richmond Coalition of Cops, and Keith Andes, president of Richmond Local 995 of the International Association of Fire Fighters, had argued the current pay plan is broken and pushed for the council to reject that increase and instead fund the first phase of a plan that would pay sworn personnel based on rank and years of service.

Both the police and fire agencies are facing shortages and have had to go to mandatory overtime to provide coverage. Eighth District Councilwoman Reva M. Trammell, chair of the Public Safety Committee, noted that pay was a key factor in the departure of at least 75 police officers in the past 12 months.

However, the majority agreed with their budget analyst, William Echelberger, that the council should carefully and critically review the new plan first to avoid mistakes.

As a result, City Council accepted council President Cynthia I. Newbille’s proposal to spend $100,000 to have a consultant review and report on that pay proposal, with further consideration likely to be delayed until next year.