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Elk River <br /> Municipal Utilities UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING <br /> TO: FROM: <br /> Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Wage and Benefits Committee: <br /> John Dietz—Chair John Dietz, Troy Adams,Mark Fuchs, <br /> Al Nadeau—Vice Chair Theresa Slominski <br /> Daryl Thompson—Trustee <br /> MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: <br /> November 17, 2015 5.2 <br /> SUBJECT: <br /> Wage and Benefits Committee Update: Cost of Living Adjustment and Other <br /> BACKGROUND: <br /> In October 2011, the Utilities Commission formed a Wage and Benefits Committee. The <br /> Utilities Commission created the committee to be comprised of one appointed Commissioner, <br /> currently John Dietz—Utilities Chair, and three Utilities managers, Troy Adams—General <br /> Manager, Theresa Slominski—Finance and Office Manager, and Mark Fuchs—Electric <br /> Superintendent. The intent for the creation was to have the committee review and analyze wage <br /> and benefits information, receive comments and questions from employees relating to wage and <br /> benefits, function as a forum for discussion, and ultimately present select wage and benefit <br /> information to the Utilities Commission for action. <br /> DISCUSSION: <br /> On November 2,the Committee reviewed: commissioner compensation, ERMU's electrical <br /> contractor license and ongoing need for a master electrician, cost of living adjustments (COLA) <br /> numbers from our market, and organizational structure and personnel projections. <br /> Commissioner Compensation <br /> The current Commission compensation is $150/month. Of the Minnesota municipal utilities, <br /> approximately half are governed by council. Generally speaking,these are the smaller <br /> cities/utilities. A survey of the Minnesota municipal utilities governed by a commission indicated <br /> that the majority of them do not receive monthly compensation. Of those that do compensate <br /> their commissioners, the most common monthly compensation amount was $150. The highest <br /> level of monthly compensation was $500/month for chair and$400/month for commissioner. For <br /> a statutory city,the monthly compensation is set by the council. <br /> Separate from the monthly commissioner compensation,the commissioners may be reimbursed <br /> for expenses due to travel or representation of the utilities for work that falls outside of the <br /> regular commission meetings and committee meetings. ERMU reimburses for qualifying <br /> expenses with supporting documentation. ERMU also compensates commissioners for <br /> IP-OVIERE0 0 Y <br /> U44 Page 1 of 4 NATURE <br /> Reliable Public <br /> Power Provider P 0WE 0.E D To S ERV E <br /> 133 <br />