No mention of the step increases, merit raises and/or promotions. The reporter picked her words carefully. If he had received NO raises at all, you can bet she would have said that.
So this guy is looking at a $1200/month decline ,, probably looking at his net because that’s what people do , makes his gross about $6k/month $72k/year ,, back in all the benefits (about $40k) and taxes (maybe another $35-40K) and the fact that he’s basically a janitor that changes air conditioning filters in a spotless gov’t building with no restraints on purchasing the latest and greatest (easiest to maintain) equipment ... This guy has a SWEET GIG making approx $130k a year... yeah ,, and those “step” increases and merit raises that aren’t mentioned can be up to 25% of the base pay for the GS level he’s at.