Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Compensation Study topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Lake Stevens Council, consultant begin 2025 salary study; council asks for comparator budgets
Summary
The City of Lake Stevens engaged Compensation Connections to refresh a 2022 market salary study for nonrepresented and Teamsters positions. Council members pressed consultants to add municipal budget and salary‑to‑budget metrics to the comparator list and asked for preliminary results in August and final recommendations in early September.
Lake Stevens city officials on June 24 began a refresh of the city’s market salary study for nonrepresented and Teamsters job classes, with consultants from Compensation Connections presenting a draft comparator list and timeline.
The study, a follow‑up to a 2022 market analysis the council approved earlier, will update comparable city data, review pay range structures and model budget impacts if pay schedule adjustments are recommended. Shannon and Kathy from Compensation Connections told the council they expect preliminary numbers in August and final results in early September.
The nut graf: Council members said comparator choices should reflect not only population and assessed valuation but also municipal budgets and the share of budget spent on salaries so comparisons reflect what peer governments can actually afford. Several council members urged adding budget and “percent‑of‑salaries‑to‑budget” metrics before the final recommendations are presented.
Compensation Connections explained its approach: targeted research using direct pay data from comparator cities (and collective bargaining agreements for represented jobs) supplemented by published surveys such as the Association of Washington Cities survey. The consultants said they benchmark pay at the 50th percentile and also examine the 60th and 75th percentiles to show where Lake Stevens sits in the market.
Council members questioned the comparator list used in 2022 and shown at the meeting. Some said cities with much larger sales‑tax bases or staffing complements (for example, Lynnwood and Everett were discussed in council remarks) can distort comparisons because they can pay different salary levels. Consultants said the usual comparator selection considers commutable distance and “competitors for talent” and that a 50 percent over/under population band is a typical starting point; they said they can add budget and FTE metrics to the final package.
Council and staff discussed practical needs for the final deliverable. Compensation Connections said their final report will include (1) job‑to‑job pay comparisons where available, (2) summaries by job class and department, (3) recommended adjustments to salary schedules and (4) modeled implementation costs. The consultants emphasized they provide detailed data to staff and a distilled presentation for the council.
Council direction: Members agreed to proceed with the same comparator list used in 2022 as a starting point, but asked staff and the consultant to add municipal budget information and a salary‑to‑budget percentage to the materials returned with preliminary numbers in August.
What’s next: Compensation Connections will return with preliminary figures in August and a complete recommendation package in early September for council review during the budget season.
