City Council approved a budget amendment Nov. 27 to fund more than $325,000 in pay increases for public safety personnel.

Nearly $200,000 will come from salary savings from vacant or frozen positions. Money from the General Fund will pay for the remaining amount. In September, City Council approved a 41 cents per $100 property tax rate to help fund the plan, Georgetown Chief Financial Officer Micki Rundell said.

The council approved the public safety compensation plan at its Nov. 13 meeting to address recruitment and retention needs of the police and fire departments.

Along with increasing pay for officers and firefighters, the plan simplified the public safety pay scale from an 18-step plan to nine steps.

The new plan goes into effect Jan. 1.