6. SR 03-13-1995 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Comparable Worth Memo Page 4 March 13, 1995 • will be receiving wage increases in the seven percent (7%) range (cost of living plus a step) for at least two years. Some employees will be receiving this type of wage increase for more than two years, while a few employees will see this type of increase for only one year. When "slotting" the employees into the proposed pay plan at their current wage level, the City Council should not think of each pay step in a range as being equivalent to a year of service. We should look at the situation as being the adoption of a brand new pay plan. If we had to pay employees according to the pay plan based on longevity or their years of service, it could get very difficult to be fair or consistent. If we are to pay a 'few employees at the top of their pay range simply because they have been with the City for more than ten (10) or fourteen (14) years, then we could also have a problem with the pay of other employees who are near the top but which have only been with the City a year or two. If we look at the pay steps as years when slotting the employees, some employees would receive only inflationary increases for two to three years until their Elk River years of service match their pay step. Just because an employee has only been with the City for a year or two doesn't mean that he/she hasn't had numerous years of similar experience in another community. By slotting all of the employees at their • existing pay into their proposed range and then allowing the employees to move up a step each year, everyone is being treated the same. We should look at this proposal as the beginning of a new pay plan and the steps being equal to years only after the employees are placed into the plan. Currently, twenty-eight (28) of our top paid thirty-two (32) employees are at the top of their pay plan. Under the current adopted pay plan, the only pay increase these employees would receive in the future is for cost of living reasons. By approval of a new pay plan, and slotting of these employees into their pay range, only three (3) employees will receive just cost of living increases in the future. All the other employees will receive at least a step and a cost of living increase for the next few years. However, in five years we will be back to our current status where most employees are at the top of their range. The Council should note that during our 1995 budget discussions, it was stated that the three percent (3%) cost of living increase translated into approximately $63,000 worth of increases. This figure includes a few step increases. In 1996, if either new pay plan is approved, and the slotting process is approved, the three percent (3%) increase, plus all the steps, will cost the City approximately $145,000, ($63,000 for cost of living and $82,000 • for steps). We will be seeing similar total increases for the next few years until the employees reach the top of their pay ranges. Any increase given