MOUNT VERNON — The final compensation survey delivered to city council members on Monday equips them to make decisions on wages for city employees.
Heidi Miller of Clemans Nelson & Associates reviewed the survey in an Employee and Community Relations Committee meeting. She noted the survey is the first step in designing a wage package that retains and attracts city employees.
What went off course, she said, was the rush on needing data. In addition to surveying 16 comparable municipalities, she pulled in regional data from four jurisdictions.
“In my opinion, it gave us plenty of information,” she told council.
When tabulating the results, Miller took into account the salary adjustments city council members approved several months ago.
“In my opinion, it really put you in a good spot. It left some things we still need to adjust, but overall I think that adjustment was a solid adjustment,” she said.
Miller also reviewed internal equity, factoring in education, experience, work responsibilities, and other intangible factors that affect pay rates.
She recommends setting a pay structure that includes a minimum and maximum rate per hour. To reach her suggested pay scale, with all positions paid at least the minimum, the city would need to spend $22,904.
“That is the only adjustment we need at this point,” she told council.
Compensation Review Commission
In their legislative session, council members adopted an ordinance establishing a Compensation Review Commission that was up for a second reading.
Safety-service Director Tanner Salyers said that given the robust conversations on compensation, it was time to establish a commission to keep the conversation going routinely.
Salyers said that instead of outsourcing, the commission could do much of the initial work in-house, such as periodic reviews or future compensation surveys. One goal is to answer and eliminate questions before compensation issues come to council.
The commission would also serve as an information-gathering resource in collective bargaining negotiations.
Shade Tree and Beautification Commission
Council members expanded the members of the Shade Tree and Beautification Commission from nine to 11. The expansion adds two more resident citizens to help prevent volunteer burnout.
Council members suspended the second reading and took the ordinance to its third and final reading, which council passed unanimously.
Council took the following additional actions:
•Held an executive session relating to land acquisition
•Suspended the three readings and appointed Samantha Ramsey as a regular member of the Zoning Board of Appeals
•Gave first reading to legislation authorizing the safety-service director to contract with Environmental Consultants Inc. for design services relating to the West End sanitary sewer replacement project
•Suspended the three readings and adopted legislation authorizing supplemental easements to American Electric Power on city property
•Appointed Hanna Ford to the Civil Service Commission after suspending the three readings
•Postponed indefinitely an ordinance banning the sale of recreational marijuana
•Adopted a new zoning code on the third reading
•Gave a first reading to an ordinance creating a credit card use policy
•Heard a quarterly update from Health Commissioner Zach Green
