AGENDA #4m
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Proposed Changes to Town Classification and Pay Plan
DATE: November 24, 2003
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this report is to recommend changes in the Town Classification and Pay Plan that would affect seven positions. Costs of the proposed changes would be covered within existing operating budgets of the departments involved. We believe that a different approach to job classification reviews will be more appropriate to the Town’s needs and could result in cost reduction and more effective recruitment and retention programs for Town positions.
In recent years, the Town’s practice in job classification reviews has been to conduct large-scale studies including most positions every three to four years, with little activity in the interim. These studies, conducted by outside consulting firms, have been costly and required considerable staff and employee resources to prepare new descriptions, interview employees and supervisors, and make recommendations.
DISCUSSION
Terminology
Job classification and compensation management are two separate but related aspects of effective recruitment and retention for Town jobs.
Effective recruitment is finding and hiring consistently well-qualified individuals into each open Town vacancy in the shortest possible time using the least resources necessary. Minimizing vacancy periods achieves consistent levels of staffing needed to carry out essential Town functions to meet citizens’ needs and expectations. Keeping resource requirements low achieves less expenditure for repeated advertising, interviewing and other efforts to fill the job.
Effective retention is achieving the lowest turnover rate possible after excluding retirements, disability and other non-voluntary terminations. Retaining the current employee group achieves lower costs in training and higher quality of performance and productivity by more experienced and knowledgeable employees.
Job classification is the process of identifying and evaluating the duties, responsibilities and requirements of each position, and organizing positions into groups and levels with similar or equivalent duties and responsibilities. Internal relationships within the organization are also considered and equated, both within and among Town departments.
Compensation analysis such as surveys and market-pricing occur once jobs are classified and organized. Comparisons are conducted of pay ranges for selected Town jobs (called benchmarks) and the pay ranges of the same or similar jobs in other organizations within a defined survey group or area (called the labor market) then findings are used to recommend pay adjustments to the Council to achieve a desired market position for the Town (e.g., a goal to pay at the 50th or the 75th percentile of the labor market.)
Past Practices
Some disadvantages of the prior Town practices include reviewing most if not all Town jobs even when little to no change had occurred in the duties, responsibilities and/or requirements. This uses up scarce resources to little effect and also raises employee expectations of pay increases. Disappointment and lower employee morale often follows when all jobs studied do not move upward.
The multi-year timeframe between reviews has adverse impact on those jobs where duties, responsibilities and/or requirements may have changed significantly due to the addition of new Town programs or services, rapid growth in a service (e.g., the bus system) changes in external requirements or regulations or other reasons.
If the job changes and the requirements do not, it is difficult to recruit qualified employees who can do the work to the standard required. If the job has changed and the pay is no longer competitive, it is difficult to recruit or retain employees who can go elsewhere to the same job for more pay. Updating the job description and requirements before conducting the annual market survey also increases the accuracy and validity of the survey results.
The labor market in the Chapel Hill area has become more volatile in recent years and the majority of employers with whom the Town competes for employees have ongoing and regular activity to monitor and adjust many of their jobs throughout the fiscal year. These changes adversely alter the Town’s pay position in comparison to those jobs. These changes occur in addition to the broad pay scale changes each organization may approve for the fiscal year.
New Practices
For these reasons, we believe that carrying out several cycles of job classification reviews of selected Town positions each fiscal year will be a more effective and economical practice. Reviewing smaller groups of jobs and making pay adjustments in shorter timeframes smoothes out the costs (rather than requiring large lump sum expenditures) and achieves more consistent pay equity within the organization and more competitive pay relationships with area organizations with whom the Town competes for employees.
We believe this approach will improve recruitment and retention for Town jobs and produce higher quality and productivity of work performed. We believe employee morale will be enhanced when employees can expect that significant changes in their duties and requirements will be addressed in a timely way.
Criteria and Process for Job Reviews in Fall 2003 Cycle
The Human Resources department conducted the first cycle of job reviews in the fall of 2003. Jobs were selected for review by discussion between each department head and the Human Resources department. Criteria for job reviews were either that: Job duties, responsibilities and/or requirements had changed significantly from the last job description and needed to be re-evaluated for level, title and pay grade or that the Town had experienced significant recruitment or retention difficulties in filling the job and duties, requirements and pay needed to be re-evaluated.
Job descriptions for the selected positions were updated by the employee and supervisor and an independent analyst interviewed these individuals and the department head to gather detailed information. After analysis, recommendations for change to some of the jobs studied were presented to the Manager and the Human Resources Director. The Manager then determined which changes would be recommended to the Council.
We believe that three cycles of job reviews each fiscal year will be most effective in maintaining effective job classification and compensation for Town jobs. It is our goal to develop sufficient expertise in the staff of the Human Resources department to carry out part if not all of the reviews and market pricing work with the minimum amount of outside assistance necessary.
Of the ten jobs accepted for review in this cycle, seven jobs are recommended for change in classification title and/or pay grade. Two jobs are located in the same department. These include:
1. Parks and Recreation Department:
We recommend change of the Recreation Planner/Program Administrator from Pay Grade 40 ($43,275-$64,912) to Pay Grade 41 ($45,439-$68,158), change of title to Assistant Parks and Recreation Director and adding a master’s degree to the requirements.
The position plans and directs the Parks programs of the Town, prepares and monitors the Department budget and serves as Acting Director in the Director’s absence. Pay Grade 41 is consistent with other Assistant Director positions in the Town. A 5.0% pay increase is recommended for the employee. The annual cost would be $3,014 and this fiscal year cost would be $1,739. This would be funded by the Department from the current budget.
2. Finance Department:
We recommend change of an Accountant position from Pay Grade 38 ($39,252-$58,878) to Administrative Analyst at Pay Grade 40 ($43,275-$64,912). The position’s increased duties and responsibilities in budget preparation, analysis, reports, and systems development are equivalent to other jobs at grade 40 in the Town. A 5% pay increase is recommended for the employee. The annual cost would be $2,325 annually and cost for this fiscal year would be $1,342. This would be funded by the Department from the current budget.
3. Manager’s Office:
We recommend change of the Executive Assistant from Pay Grade 33 ($30,755-$46,132) to Pay Grade 35 ($33,907-$50,861) to recognize increased duties and responsibilities. We recommend a one step pay increase for the employee. This would cost $2,272 annually and $1,311 for this fiscal year and would be funded by the Department from the current budget.
4. Attorney’s Office:
We recommend change of the Executive Assistant from Pay Grade 33 ($30,755-$46,132) to Pay Grade 35 ($33,907-$50,861) to recognize increased duties and responsibilities. We recommend a 5% pay increase for the employee. This would cost $1,962 annually and $1,132 for this fiscal year and would be funded by the Department from the current budget.
5. Planning Department:
We recommend that the career progression for Planning Technician be changed from Pay Grade 30($26,567-$39,851) and Pay Grade 32 ($29,290-$43,935) to Pay Grade 31 ($27,895-$41,843) and Pay Grade 33 ($30,755-$46,132) to recognize increased technical duties assigned to the position. We recommend a 5.0% pay increase for the employee. This would cost $1,869 annually and $1,078 for this fiscal year and would be funded by the department from the current budget.
6. Engineering Department:
We recommend that the career progression for Engineer be changed from 41 and 43 to a three-tier progression of 41, 42 and 43. The added tier would require a master’s degree. This additional educational requirement would be added to the job description of the career progression. We recommend a 5% increase for each of the two employees affected. This would cost $6,594 annually and $3,804 for this fiscal year and would be funded by the Department from the current budget.
7. Administrative Changes: In addition to the changes recommended above, the Parking Division is being moved from the Transportation Department to the Finance Department to reflect the Council’s decision to transfer responsibility for the Parking function to the Finance Department effective November 1, 2003.
RECOMMENDATION
That the Council approve the changes to the Town Classification and Pay Plan proposed in the attached document effective November 24, 2003.
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE POSITION CLASSIFICATION AND PAY PLAN AND LONGEVITY PLAN FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE TOWN OF CHAPEL HILL AND BONDS OF OFFICIALS BEGINNING OCTOBER 1, 2003; SUCH AMENDMENT TO BE EFFECTIVE NOVEMBER 24, 2003 (2003-11-24/O-8)
BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the following amendments are authorized effective November 24, 2003:
Section III
The pay grade assignments of the following classes are changed as noted
Class Title Present Pay Grade New Pay Grade
Planning Technician 30 31
Planning Technician, Senior 32 33
Executive Assistant 33 35
The title and pay grades of the following positions are changed as noted
Present Title New Title Present Pay Grade New Pay Grade
Recreation Planner/ Assistant Parks and
Program Director Recreation Director 40 41
Engineer Engineer I 41 41
The title of the following position is changed as noted
Present Title New Title
Engineer, Senior Engineer III
A new class title is being established as noted
New Title New Grade
Engineer II 42
Section IV
The pay rates of the following positions are changed as noted
Class Title From To
Town Manager $131,852 $135,807
Town Attorney $119,865 $123,461
These amendments shall be effective November 24, 2003.
This the 24th day of November, 2003.