4.1. ERMUSR 12-13-2016 - Laserfiche WebLink

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�/ Elk River 1/4LMunicipal Utilities UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING TO: FROM: Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Wage and Benefits Committee: John Dietz—Chair John Dietz, Troy Adams, Mark Fuchs, Al Nadeau—Vice Chair Theresa Slominski Daryl Thompson—Trustee MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: December 13, 2016 4.1 SUBJECT: Wage & Benefits Committee Update: Cost of Living Adjustment and Other Considerations BACKGROUND: In October 2011,the Utilities Commission formed a Wage & Benefits Committee (W&BC). The Utilities Commission created the committee to be comprised of one appointed Commissioner, currently John Dietz —Utilities Chair, and three Utilities managers, Troy Adams—General Manager, Theresa Slominski— Finance and Office Manager, and Mark Fuchs—Electric Superintendent. The intent for the creation was to have the committee review and analyze wage and benefits information, receive comments and questions from employees relating to wage and benefits, function as a forum for discussion, and ultimately present select wage and benefit information to the Utilities Commission for action. DISCUSSION: By employee request during the open form of the October Regular Commission Meeting,the W&BC met prior to the November Special Commission Meeting. This meeting was open to employees to attend for the purpose of discussing wage and benefit concerns and requests. This open meeting will be held annually during the budget preparation prior to the budget adoption in December. This will give employees an opportunity annual to address the Committee directly. Additional open meetings will be considered on the circumstances. And employees always have the opportunity to talk with their supervisor regarding wages and benefits as any concerns would be passed along to the Committee based on merit. On December 2,the W&BC met to review the following: employee request for changes to the employer match for deferred compensation; wage survey data analysis regarding cost of living adjustment(COLA) and specific job position market adjustments, and salary compression issues for management pay group. Deferred Compensation During the open W&BC meeting in November, employees requested an increase in employer matched contribution for ERMU's 457 Deferred Compensation Plan. The match is currently 2% with a cap at $2,000 annually. The request was made to increase the cap to $3,000. This was researched and discussed at the December 2 W&BC meeting. It was determined that the requested benefit change would not be equitable for all employees. Data indicates that not all employees utilize this benefit to its full potential. Discussion indicated that any addition to deferred compensation benefits would result in a reduction in 2017 COLA. The option of employee choice between additional deferred compensation employer match Page 1 of 2 IiiAVür 8Y 1.. pw POWERED T , See ;_ Al