5.3 ERMU 12-12-2023 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Elk River Municipal Utilities UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING TO: FROM: ERMU Commission Mark Hanson — General Manager MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: December 12, 2023 5.3 SUBJECT: Compensation Study Update ACTION REQUESTED: Approve Compensation Study Professional Services Agreement with Baker Tilley BACKGROUND: At the October 2023 commission meeting, staff presented an in-house, utility -wide compensation study as part of the Wage & Benefit Committee update. After discussion and clarifying questions, the Commission directed staff to identify a third -party consultant to conduct a compensation study with all ERMU positions reviewed. For 2024 budget planning, staff were also directed to include $30-$40K for consultant fees and $133K for possible salary adjustments (pending study results). DISCUSSION: HR Generalist Megan Zachman and General Manager Mark Hanson met with, and received proposals from, three industry leading public sector compensation consultants: DDA Consulting, Gallagher Consulting, and Baker Tilley. Consultants were interviewed to provide additional insight into their process, timeline, and experience. The interviews also focused on their approach to resolving differences with potential comparable utilities regarding geographic location, utility size/type, and competing labor markets. The table below summarizes the proposed fees, as well as the identified pros and cons, for each of the three consultants. Name Fee Pros Cons DDA $19,475 Price; local Least adaptable process to manager/analyst; shortest account for unique positions, timeline geographic challenges, and local market conditions Baker $25,100 Experience; adaptability; Manager is not local (but Tilley semi -local; moderate fee analyst is) Gallagher $35,500 Utility -arena experience; Price; national firm with non - adaptability local analysts/managers; longest timeline Page Iof2 151