5.2 ERMUSR 12-12-2017 - Laserfiche WebLink

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The 457 deferred compensation benefit is currently offered with an employer matching contribution of 3%with a cap of$2,000. The request was to eliminate the percentage criteria of the program and to increase the cap of the employer match. After staff research and Committee discussion,the consensus is to eliminate the percent criteria of the employer match. This would allow all employees, regardless of pay grade,to reach the employer contribution cap. The Committee also supports increasing the cap from $2,000 to $2,500. Benchmarking The Commission had given direction to the Committee to perform benchmarking on the General Manager position as an action item from the 2017 performance evaluation. In conjunction this benchmarking, the Committee also conducted benchmarking for the four pay plan groups: managers, lineworkers, field, and office. The benchmarking was conducted using both national and state association data. The comparison pool for the state benchmarking was limited to eight other comparable municipal utilities, four of them larger and four of them smaller. The benchmarking was extensive and produced results consistent with expectations. The results are as follows: General Manager Salary: 14%below MN municipal market average(utility size) 14%below national municipal market average (utility size) 13%below MN municipal market average(years of experience) Management Pay Group: 2%below MN municipal market average (including the GM) 2%below national municipal market average(including the GM) 1%above MN municipal market average (excluding the GM) 3%above national municipal market average (excluding the GM) Lineworker Pay Group: 11%above MN municipal market average At MN"metro average" Field Pay Group: At MN municipal market average Office Pay Group: At MN municipal market average Related,the second half of the Performance Evaluation of Troy Adams, General Manager,will be held during a closed meeting. Cost of Living Adjustments and Market Adjustments With consideration to the benchmarking study and the consumer price index for the Minneapolis region,the Committee recommends a cost of living adjustment(COLA)for all pay groups of 2.5%effective January 1, 2018. Additionally and based on the details of the benchmarking, the Committee recommends the following market adjustments in addition to the COLA: 0.5%market adjustment for the lineworker group; and a 2%market adjustment for the Customer Service Representative position. These two market adjustments are proposed to be effective January 1, 2018. Page 2 of 3 96