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Elk River <br /> Municipal Utilities UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING <br /> TO: FROM: <br /> ERMU Commission Wage & Benefits Committee <br /> MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: <br /> November 12, 2019 5.2 <br /> SUBJECT: <br /> Wage & Benefits Committee Update <br /> ACTION REQUESTED: <br /> Approve all action items as outlined below to be effective January 1, 2020. <br /> DISCUSSION: <br /> On October 8, the Wage & Benefits Committee (W&BC) held an open meeting for employees to <br /> submit wage and benefit suggestions for consideration by the Committee.The Committee met <br /> on October 28 to review and research topics from the open meeting.The Committee also <br /> performed market analysis in preparation for making a cost of living adjustment (COLA) <br /> recommendation to the Commission.The Committee also followed up on other miscellaneous <br /> outstanding issues. The Committee submits the following for Commission consideration: <br /> Employee Requests <br /> A number of requests were submitted to the Committee by employees.The following items <br /> were requested by field staff: "metro average" benchmarking for lineworker position and to <br /> create a "comp" time off policy. And the following items were requested by office staff: paid <br /> time off for volunteerism. Additionally, there had been a request by field staff to evaluate <br /> having a second option for a higher deductible with lower premium health insurance plan. <br /> 1. Metro Average -The metro average cost of living adjustment used for benchmarking <br /> lineworker market pay compares the base compensation of four metro municipals and <br /> three metro cooperatives with ERMU. The comparison utilities are:The City of Anoka, <br /> The City of Chaska,The City of North St. Paul, Shakopee Public Utilities, Connexus <br /> Energy, Great River Energy, and Wright-Hennepin Cooperative Electric Association. <br /> The projected 2020 metro average for base compensation would result in a 4.2% <br /> adjustment (COLA plus market adjustment) for the ERMU lineworker pay group.This <br /> benchmarking system for this group has improved stability in ERMU's market <br /> competitiveness for this pay group. The Committee recommends awarding the metro <br /> average increase for the lineworker pay group as requested. <br /> 2. Compensatory time off policy- Similar to when this was reviewed last year, the <br /> Committee reviewed the request for a "comp"time-off policy.The Committee discussed <br /> benefits and disadvantages of implementing a similar policy. <br /> Page 1 of 4 <br /> 191 <br />