Council presses staff on payroll and HR systems as budget adds HR staff and training investments

Council members pressed staff April 14 about recurring payroll problems and broader HR systems integration as the recommended FY26 budget funds a range of human resources additions and training programs.

What staff proposed City staff proposed the following HR investments within the recommended budget: - A class and compensation analyst to support market studies, job classification and compensation system maintenance. - An organizational development manager to build internal training capacity, succession planning and to centralize learning‑and‑development. - A new total‑rewards/deferred‑comp consultant contract to consolidate plans and reduce participant fees. - Ongoing funding for Gallup/CliftonStrengths and Gallup Boston Coach leadership development programs, and incremental expansion of the employee wellness clinic. - A proposed 5% market adjustment for non‑represented employees and ongoing MOU changes for police and fire already adopted (police market adjustments and steps; fire market and steps vary by MOU).

Payroll and system concerns Multiple council members raised that payroll errors — particularly for police and fire — have occurred in recent years. Staff acknowledged issues and described recent work: an external payroll assessment, a Kaizen review of payroll processes, and ongoing system upgrades and process fixes.

City HR and IT approach Staff emphasized they are prioritizing process and system integration before procuring a single replacement HRIS. The recommended additions include an HR class/comp analyst and organizational development manager; IT staff proposed API investments and Power BI licenses to improve integrations and enterprise reporting. Council asked staff to return with a payroll impact summary showing how the recommended market adjustments and healthcare cost changes affect employees at different steps.

Why it matters Payroll accuracy affects employee paychecks and morale; the council indicated urgency for reliable fixes. The recommended HR investments aim to reduce reliance on outside consultants, centralize training and improve market competitiveness.

Quotes "We've had some challenges with payroll that we're addressing," HR/finance staff said, adding they will present an external assessment to the audit committee and to council.

Next steps Staff said they will bring an assessment back to the audit committee and to council, provide a payroll impact table before tentative budget adoption, and continue process and systems work that could lead to a future technology investment if process fixes are insufficient.