City of Fishers employees will see a salary increase this year following a May 20 vote by the Fishers City Council, and Midwestern-based Meijer is looking to expand into the northeast part of the city.

The council voted unanimously to suspend the rules in order to approve raises for city staff as proposed by Mayor Scott Fadness. The adjustment will take effect immediately. Public safety employees will see an increase of $2,500 to their annual salaries and other employees will see a $1,000 raise. The additional cost to the city will be about $520,000 in 2024, and about $1 million in 2025.

Fadness stressed that the raises do not apply to elected officials.

In his presentation to the council, Fadness noted that Fishers has fewer city employees per capita than other large cities in Indiana.

“The City of Fishers has five employees for 1,000 residents,” he said. “When you take police and fire out of that, (it’s) 2.1 employees per 1,000 residents that we serve. Another great benchmark for you: our neighbor to the west, Carmel — same exact size city — they have 130 more employees than the City of Fishers does.”

In addition, he said, salaries for Fishers’ public employees are comparatively low, which can be challenging for recruitment and retention. The approved increases bring those salaries more in line with neighboring communities.

The council also introduced an ordinance that would allow a Meijer store to be built near the intersection of Southeastern Parkway and North Cyntheanne Road. The measure will come back to the council for final approval.

Fishers Planning and Zoning Director Ross Hilleary told the council that the planned Meijer store is a medium-size store, which is about 75,000 square feet, rather than one of the company’s supercenters. The proposed development would include a fuel station.

Hilleary said Meijer plans to host a neighborhood meeting in June to gather community input. The matter will go before the city’s Planned Unit Development Commission in July before coming back to the council.

Later in the meeting, during public comment, numerous residents spoke in opposition to the planned Meijer. They expressed concern about additional traffic in an area that’s already congested.

Lynne Goodin said traffic already is “unbearable” during a nearby school’s drop-off and pick-up times. She added that the development would mean removing many mature trees on the site.

“We’re losing all of our green space. We’re losing all of our habitat,” she said. “We’re losing all of our watershed. I am, as most of you know, the head of Liberty Belles and I am a staunch Republican, but I want my area to be livable and we are losing our livability.”

Also during the meeting, the council approved an amendment to the city’s ordinance related to trash collection, a required step for Fishers to move forward with citywide trash services. The council also approved a resolution allowing a former Marsh store at 12520 E 116th St. to be renovated into a 24-hour indoor pickleball venue, operated by 24/7 Dink Pickleball.

The next Fishers City Council meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. June 17 at Launch Fishers, 12175 Visionary Way. Meetings are livestreamed on the city’s YouTube channel, @CityofFishers.