Personnel committee approves two job-description changes; continues wider pay-plan review

The Franklin City Personnel Committee approved changes converting two secretary job descriptions to administrative-assistant titles and continued work on a multi-year classification and compensation plan.

The committee voted to accept revised job descriptions for the administrative assistant to the director of inspection services and the administrative assistant for community development. The motion was made, seconded and approved by voice vote.

Committee members and staff said the changes reflect current duties and aim to improve morale and pay alignment. Committee staff described the changes as “cleaning up” old titles so duties and pay ranges match actual work.

Discussion focused on a longer compensation overhaul the committee has been developing since 2015. Staff explained the existing pay philosophy places Franklin near the “top third” of comparable communities (a 60th–65th percentile target in the plan adopted in 2015) but also noted a legacy cap that has prevented employees from reaching the full top of salary ranges. Under the current structure, employees commonly reach only about 65% of the range midpoint as a practical maximum; that cap, combined with a slow 16-year step progression, has left many long-tenured employees below market.

Staff shared several data points: after the January pay adjustments, 29 employees remained in the bottom 30% of their salary ranges and 14 were between the 30th and 50th percentiles. Staff estimated fully “maxing out” the compensation plan would cost roughly $1 million; a phased plan discussed earlier would require roughly $450,000 spread over several years. Committee members suggested targeting managers and other hard-to-fill leadership roles first and using multi-year steps (for example, compressing progression so employees reach top step in eight years rather than 16) as a feasible near-term approach.

Members also discussed revenue-side measures to help fund changes, including updating fee schedules, implementing pass-through charges for engineering review on private development, and capturing more revenue from net new construction. Staff said efforts are under way to review permitting fees and other revenue opportunities and that several development projects in progress could increase future tax and fee revenue.

The committee agreed staff should return with a spreadsheet showing each employee’s position in the pay range, modeling options (eight-step versus five-step progressions and targeted boosts for management), and projected budget impacts to inform the 2026 budget process. The committee’s next scheduled meeting is April 21.

Ending: The approved job-description changes take effect as administrative updates to position titles; no immediate across-the-board pay increases were approved at this meeting. Staff plans to bring detailed cost models and targeted recommendations back before the committee as budget planning for 2026 advances.