An Area Salary Study Listing The City Of Graceville Salaries And Other Municipalities

The 2025-2026 Budget Workshop will be held on Thursday, September 4. During the meeting held earlier this month and in July dealing with the Graceville Police Department Salaries and number of employees several comments and questions arose about city employee pay as well as city salaries compared to other municipalities in the area. The Graceville News reached out to the City of Graceville for its current salaries which also included the projected salaries if the requested 3% Cost of Living Allowance raise is given to all city employees. To compare to other areas, the newspaper also reached out to Marianna, Cottondale, Sneads, Malone, Chipley, and Bonifay for their current salaries. The findings are below and include the current salaries of positions (information and clarification on years of service, certifications or merit raises are not included)

Starting with the first department salaries that were spoken and discussed in previous meetings, the Graceville Police Department. The Graceville Police Chief currently earns $31.51 per hour and the GPD Lieutenant is currently making $24.80 per hour. One Sergeant is making $21.59 per hour and one patrol officer is making $21.54 per hour. The starting salary for a patrol officer is $19.13 with the one position currently filled (the other two positions were dissolved by the commission during the Monday, August 11 special city commission meeting). The City of Bonifay’s Chief currently earns $30.29 per hour and the city’s Lieutenant earns $25.50 per hour. The City of Bonifay’s Sergeant earns $22.50 per hour and most patrol officers on staff earn $22.05 per hour. Starting pay for the City of Bonifay’s patrol officers is $21.00 per hour. The City of Chipley their salary study with annual pay noted instead of hourly. The Police Chief currently earns $89,398.40 annually and its investigator earns $55,161.60. The City’s patrol officers salaries vary from $44,969.60 to $48,193.60. Starting pay for patrol officers was not listed in the salary study. The City of Cottondale’s (which has only three officer positions) Chief of Police earns a salary of $50,000 annually. The city’s two police officers earn $20.85 and $19.71 per hour. The Town of Malone is solely dependent upon the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and does not have a Police Department. The City of Marianna’s has a fairly large police department. Its Chief of Police earns $37.50 per hour and its Lieutenant earns $23.04 per hour. The department has several Police Sergeants with different pays ranging from $20.85 per hour to $21.90 per hour. The department also has more than a dozen patrol officer positions with a range of pay with the highest paid earning $20.06 per hour and the starting pay at $17.65 per hour. The Town of Sneads also has its own Police Department. The Salary Study received breaks down salaries by its annual salary instead of hourly. The Sneads Chief of Police earns $59,255.00 annually and its Lieutenant earns $50,734.00 annually. It’s Patrol Officers earn between $45,013.00 annually to $46,607.00 annually. And its starting pay for a patrol officer is $45,013.00.

Continuing in order based on the Graceville Salary Study, Administration currently has four positions. The City Manager currently earns $45.19 per hour and the City Clerk is currently making $33.53 per hour. The Assistant City Clerk is making $25.01 per hour and Payroll/Accounts Payable is making $$23.40 per hour. There are currently no open positions in the department. The City of Bonifay’s Administration is also only four positions, but titles are different. t’s City Clerk earns $30.45 per hour and the city’s Executive Assistant earns $29.00 per hour. The City of Bonifay’s HR/Finance Director earns $29.00 per hour and its Administrative Assistant earns $24.15 per hour. The City of Chipley’s Administrator currently earns $112,091.20 annually and its City Clerk earns $60,944.00. The City’s Finance Specialist earns $52,499.20 and its Finance Clerk earns $35,963.20. Chipley’s Accounts Payable Clerk earns a salary of $51,771.20. It should also be noted that Chipley has an Assistant City Administrator that is also the Public Works Director earning $106,704.00. The City of Cottondale’s Administration Office has only three positions. The City Clerk earns a salary of $44,012.80 annually. The city’s other two administration employees are the Deputy Clerk who earns $17.76 per hour and Administrative Assistant who earns $17.40 per hour. The Town of Malone also only has three employees in administration. The Town Clerk earns roughly $20.63 per hour and the Assistant Clerk earns $19.00 per hour. The Town’s Assistant Clerk II position earns $15.25 per hour. The City of Marianna’s has a fairly large administration department and it’s Finance Department which includes the City Clerk is separate. Its City Manager earns $56.38 per hour and its City Clerk earns $45.60 per hour. It’s Accounts Payable/Payroll Clerk earns $19.90 per hour and the City Manager’s Administrative Assistant earns $17.39 per hour. The City of Sneads’ City Manager earns $62,502.00 annually and its Town Clerk earns $54,296.00 annually. The City’s Deputy Clerk earns $42,500.00 annually and the Admin Clerk earns $32,079.00 annually.

Continuing to Graceville’s Streets Department. There are currently five positions in this department. It is unclear how many of the positions are filled based on the Salary Study. Graceville’s Public Works Director currently earns $24.88 per hour and one service worker is currently making $19.90 per hour. The other three positions listed all earn $14.31 per hour. The City of Bonifay shows that employees in the Streets Department under the title Mechanic earn $21.00 per hour. Those that are Heavy Equipment Operators earn $22.05 per hour and those under the title of Maintenance earn $19.90 per hour. The City of Chipley listed its Assistant City Administrator as also holding the position of Public Works Director with the salary listed in the paragraph above. It also notes that the Assistant Public Works Director earns $78,728.00 annually. The City’s Assistant Public Works Director The City of The City of Chipley’s Street Foreman currently earns $49,982.40 annually and its Street Crewman earn between $33,987.20 to $38,792.00 annually. The City of Cottondale does not have a Streets Department listed on its Salary Study. The Town of Malone only has three other positions listed on its Salary Study which includes Maintenance Supervisor who earns $22.00 per hour and two Maintenance Workers who earn $16.50 and $15.00 per hour. The City of Marianna’s Street Maintenance Department includes Street Facility Maintenance Supervisor who earns $30.96 per hour. Its Streets Maintenance Workers positions earn from $14.00 per hour up to $$16.67 per hour. The department also has a Landscape Maintenance Worker who earns $16.76 per hour. The Town of Sneads only shows one Maintenance Supervisor on its Salary Study who earns $46,830.00 per year.

Moving on to Graceville’s Parks and Rec Department, the Recreation Director currently earns $28.41 per hour and the two other service workers in that department earn $15.19 per hour and $14.73 per hour. The City of Bonifay only shows one position in that department listed under Maintenance (it is unclear if this is a title held by many in the department or one single position) who hourly rate of pay is $22.05. The City of Chipley listed its Recreation Director as earning $67,828.80 annually. It also has a Park Attendant listed as earning an annual salary of $32,260.80. The City of Cottondale’s does not have a Parks and Rec Department listed. The Town of Malone also does not have a Recreation Department listed. The City of Marianna’s Recreation Director earns $15.00 per hour and the position listed as Recreation Foreman earns $17.89 per hour. A position listed as Recreation Specialist earns $15.00 per hour and the positions listed under Recreation Aide earns $14.00 per hour. The Town of Sneads Recreation Department only has one employee listed whose salary is $31,744.00 annually.

Graceville’s Water Department only has one employee listed under the title Service Worker and he earns $20.48 per hour. The City of Bonifay has several positions listed under its Water Department including its Public Works Director who earns $30.29 per hour. Also in that department is an Assistant Public Works Director who earns $27.30 per hour and several PWD Techs whose hourly rates range from $15 per hour up to $19.95 per hour. It also has a Utility Billing Specialist who earns $22.05 per hour. The City of Chipley has a Water Utilities Director listed who earns $79,435.20 per hour as well as several Water Crewmen who earn from $32,344.00 to $41,142.40 annually. It also has a Water Meter Technician who earns $37,148.80 and a Water Foreman who earns $53,040.00. Cottondale’s Water Department is listed with Sewer as only one department. Malone does not have a Water Department listed separately. Marianna’s Water and Wastewater Operations Departments are also intermingled together, however it’s Water Utility Technicians salaries range from $14.00 per hour up to $19.10 per hour. The Town of Sneads also has its Water and Wastewater departments combined.

Finishing off the study is Graceville’s Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) Department. The department currently holds six positions. The WWTP Director earns $55.00 per hour. One WWTP Operator earns $25.84 per hour, while two other positions earn $19.87 per hour and the last position earns $19.27 per hour. It is unclear if all of the positions are currently filled. Bonifay’s Wastewater Treatment Facility Operator earns $30.29 per hour. The Assistant WWTF Operator earns $25.00 per hour and the employees listed under Maintenance from $17.00 to $20.00 per hour. The City of Chipley’s Plant Operator earns $57,948.80 annually and another employee under the same title earns $53,040.00 annually. Another position listed as Sanitation Crewman earns $39,291.20 annually. The City of Cottondale’s Water and Sewer are listed as one department. It’s Department Head earns $24.62 per hour while its Lead Maintenance Tech earns $18.50 per hour. Two other Maintenance Tech Positions earn $14.63 per hour and $15.99 per hour. The Town of Malone does not have a WWTP department listed. Marianna’s Wastewater Operator earns $30.96 per hour and its Water/Wastewater Foreman earns $27.86 per hour and another one under that same title earns $24.46 per hour. Wastewater Utility Technician salaries range from $14.00 per hour $16.38 per hour. Sneads has a handful of Wastewater positions. Its Wastewater/Water Operator earn $54,600 annually and its Wastewater Operator who is currently working on earning a Water License earns $46,800.00 annually. They also have listed a Mosquito License position who is also working on earning a Wastewater License with an annual salary of $34,350.00.

Because different municipalities are set up different, from the departments to the amount of employees in each department as well as the city or town’s budget, it is highly encouraged for readers to come by The Graceville News office to pick up their own copy of the area Salary Study. This allows for a clearer picture and comparison analysis that can be done by each reader individually to become better informed on not only Graceville’s city budget and salaries but those in the Tri-County area.

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