Southborough personnel board deadlocks on salary reset for building department employee

The Personnel Board of the Town of Southborough considered on June 17 a request from Kelly O’Brien, a building department employee, to reset her hourly pay under the town’s Salary Administration Plan (SAP) Section 11 after a short transfer to the deputy town clerk position.

The request followed O’Brien’s move into the deputy town clerk role in early March and her return to the building department about 10 calendar days later. George Bonnen, representing O’Brien, said the offer letter placed her in the deputy clerk position effective March 3 and that she moved back to the building department around March 12. Bonnen cited paragraph 11 of the SAP — transfers and promotions — which states an employee “transferred to a position with a lower range or rate of pay shall enter it at the rate of pay of the employee’s previous position, or at the maximum rate of the grade for the position, whichever is lower.”

Personnel Board members and staff parsed the SAP schedule during the hearing. Town staff confirmed that the building department position is graded as a grade 4 and that the current maximum for grade 4 in the FY25 grid is $35 per hour (the grid will adjust on July 1). O’Brien said the town clerk appointment letter listed a starting rate of $34.76 per hour with a scheduled step increase to $36.52 on July 1 assuming a successful evaluation.

Board and counsel discussion centered on two questions: whether O’Brien’s return had been voluntary and whether the SAP language requires the board to restore the higher pay. O’Brien testified she asked Deputy Clerk Hale to return to her prior role after she decided the deputy clerk job was not a good fit. Town labor counsel Kate Federoff told the board it has discretion under the SAP to approve or deny the request and urged the board to consider equity among employees.

A motion to reset O’Brien’s pay to the higher rate by placing her at grade 4, step 15 (the maximum for grade 4) was made and seconded. After a roll-call vote — Tom (yes), John (yes), Vanessa (no), Dorian (no) — the motion resulted in a 2-2 split and did not pass.

Board members also discussed related administrative details: whether a performance evaluation from the town clerk’s office would be required to substantiate the higher rate and whether department heads can submit revised evaluations to support such requests. Staff noted that a building-department performance evaluation exists from the previous review cycle but that, because O’Brien had been out of the position during part of the cycle, the evaluation period would need to be segmented to reflect both periods of service.

The board did not adopt any further action on the item at the meeting and asked staff to note the need for clearer SAP language on transfers for a future town meeting update.