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Personnel board backs pay adjustments for long‑tenured Southborough employees; special town meeting next step
Summary
Commissioners were briefed that the personnel board voted to support Town Administrator Mark Purple’s recommendation to move employees with eight or more years to a minimum of step 8 and to consolidate Business Administrator grades; the proposal must still clear the select board and a special town meeting.
The personnel board voted on June 17 to support Town Administrator Mark Purple’s recommendation to adjust pay for long‑tenured employees and to consolidate two business‑administrator grades, Southborough Youth Commission Director Sarah Mikas told the commission on July 8.
Mikas described the personnel board’s action as an endorsement of a recommendation rather than a final implementation. "At this stage, this is just a recommendation," Mikas said. She said the recommendation would next be briefed to the select board and is expected to be brought forward at a special town meeting this fall; Mikas added that the personnel board discussed making the changes effective at the start of the calendar year 2026.
The specific recommendation described in the personnel‑board discussion would move employees with eight or more years of service to a minimum of step 8 on the town’s salary grid. Mikas also said the recommendation called for combining the existing Business Administrator 1 and Business Administrator 2 classifications into a single Business Administrator position at grade 5; under that change the commission’s business administrator, Janet Bartolane, would move from grade 4 to grade 5 if the change is finalized.
Mikas noted the recommendation affects two staff in her department — herself and Megan (last name not stated), the program coordinator — who would be among those moved under the step‑8 provision if the plan is approved. She said the personnel board and town administration flagged that some longer‑tenured employees had fallen behind market rates and that this adjustment is intended to correct inequities ahead of the next full salary study, which is scheduled for 2027.
Commission discussion included concerns about how regrading could affect internal pay relationships. Mikas said the change "may create some need to reevaluate everybody's grades" and described the possibility of a domino effect on other positions, such as the program coordinator role, which the director said carries different responsibilities and educational qualifications.
No formal vote on implementation occurred at the July 8 commission meeting. Mikas told commissioners that the action will require further approvals: briefing to the select board, inclusion on the special town meeting warrant, and a town‑meeting vote for final authorization. She urged commissioners to help inform residents about the proposed changes ahead of the special town meeting in the fall so that voters are aware when the item appears on the warrant.
