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Consultant warns city pay compression will cost hundreds of thousands to fix
Summary
A contracted compensation consultant presented a pay study showing Floresville’s pay structure is about 10% behind market overall and recommended a multi‑year plan; estimated upfront costs range from roughly $15,000 (minimum increases) to about $565,000 (to correct compression).
Mr. Worley, a compensation consultant hired to review city pay practices, told the Floresville City Council at its meeting that the city’s pay structure is out of alignment with the market and recommended a structured pay plan and annual maintenance.
Mr. Worley said the city’s overall compa‑ratio is about 0.90, which he described as “about 10% behind the averages in the marketplace.” He said the study found long‑term employees are most behind market, warning the gap results largely from recent wage inflation and infrequent pay studies. “The cost to, for the for the compression management, the inequities is 565,000,” he said, adding that the “minimum increase is about 10,000.”
The consultant outlined the proposed system: a pay structure with 18–25 pay grades, a 50% range for each grade, and a 6% differential between grades. He recommended an individual pay model that accounts for previous experience, tenure and limited managerial discretion to generate consistent starting pay and promotion decisions. He also recommended training staff to run the survey and a yearly update using provided survey tools.
Council members asked about implementation and budget impact. Mr. Worley acknowledged that fully correcting compression in one year could be infeasible and suggested multi‑year options. “Most of my clients do a 2 year, 3 year plan,” he said, adding the model can be phased so the city can raise employees to grade minima over time rather than all at once.
Council discussion emphasized fairness to long‑term employees and the need to budget for ongoing market updates. Councilperson Jessica Rodriguez Green asked whether a phased approach would get the city to midpoint; Mr. Worley said yes if the council budgets for the multi‑year plan and maintains annual updates to prevent recurrence of the problem.
The presentation did not include a council vote to adopt the consultant’s recommendations; council members thanked the consultant and signaled intent to consider budget options in coming meetings.
