Consultants recommend unified pay plan and hybrid-parity raises for Hopewell employees

Hopewell City Council heard an update on a citywide compensation and classification study from Evergreen Solutions on the work session agenda.

The study, presented by Brian Wolf, project manager with Evergreen Solutions, found that Hopewell has multiple pay plans across departments but consistent structural features — most general pay ranges use a roughly 65% spread from minimum to maximum. "Average tenure in the city was over 9 years. That's a sort of a feather in your cap," Wolf said as part of his presentation.

The consultant said the city generally falls below market pay when matched to peers: on average about 5% below at the minimum, about 11% below at the midpoint and about 17% below at the top of ranges after cost-of-living adjustments. Wolf said market survey data came from 19 peer localities and produced an average of 11.7 matches per classified position, which the firm called a robust sample for analysis.

Why it matters: City staff and council will need to account for the study's budget implications if they adopt the recommended changes. The consultant presented three implementation approaches: a ‘‘bring to minimum’’ adjustment (catch workers up to new minimums), a hybrid-parity model that blends time in position and total city tenure, and a compa-ratio approach that preserves an employee's position in a range. Wolf said the firm generally recommends the hybrid parity approach.

Cost and options: Wolf gave preliminary cost ranges. The bring-to-minimum option was presented at roughly $400,000. The hybrid-parity implementation, which Evergreen recommended as the preferred approach, was presented in the materials and the oral briefing as closer to $2.1 million. Wolf cautioned those are draft figures while the firm finalizes step plans for public safety and other details.

Recommendations and next steps: Evergreen recommended (1) adopting an adjusted pay plan that consolidates general non–public-safety employees onto a single scale, (2) retaining or developing step plans where appropriate for public safety, (3) reassigning pay grades after classification analysis and market placement, and (4) applying placements to individual employees with a follow-through implementation plan. Wolf also advised more frequent market checks — roughly every two to three years instead of the longer gap between studies Hopewell has had in the past.

Council response and procedural follow-up: Council members asked about implementation guardrails — for example capping individual raises — and discussed forming a small council/staff working group to refine the financial parameters before any formal adoption. The city HR director confirmed some baseline minimums currently reflected in the pay scale and said staff will work with the consultant to refine the cost model for council consideration.

What the presentation did not do: No ordinance or budget amendment was voted on at the meeting; the study was presented as a work-session briefing. Any formal action to change pay structures, adopt the consultant’s recommended plan, or fund implementation remains to be taken at a later meeting.