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Smyrna staff propose pay-plan overhaul and midyear budget changes, $3.4M annual cost
Summary
Town staff presented a revised pay classification and market-adjustment plan that would raise employee pay to the top tier of Middle Tennessee for many jobs, separate public-safety pay plans, set a 3% minimum increase and cost about $3.4 million annually; council was told implementation could be retroactive to March.
Smyrna town officials presented a proposed revision to the town's pay classification and compensation plan that would realign salary grades to the local Middle Tennessee labor market, create separate pay plans for police and fire, and set a minimum pay increase of 3% for all affected employees.
The proposal would raise pay ranges across general employees, police and fire and is estimated to cost about $3.4 million per year in total: roughly $1.7 million for general employees, $1.0 million for police and $630,000 for fire, with an estimated $424,000 impact to enterprise funds and the remainder to the general fund. Finance and HR staff told the council those are annual operating costs, not one-time amounts.
Town Manager David Santucci framed the change as a shift in pay philosophy to remain competitive in the town's immediate labor market. "We are proposing to be in the top tier of Middle Tennessee," he said, calling Middle Tennessee a separate labor market that has been rising faster than statewide averages.
HR and finance staff described the mechanics: the proposal adjusts grades and pay ranges based on a local peer group of 10 municipalities (including Murfreesboro, Brentwood, Franklin, Lebanon, Metro Nashville, Hendersonville, Mount Juliet, La Vergne, Spring Hill and Gallatin). Jeff (HR staff) said the market review showed the town had fallen behind in many job categories and that the changes are market adjustments for position alignment rather than performance-based raises. "The minimum increase that any employee would receive if this is adopted is 3%," Jeff said.
Officials recommended moving the effective date forward rather than waiting for the July budget cycle. If approved at the council's March 11 meeting, managers said they would retro back to the first pay cycle in March so employees would see the change on the March 21 paycheck. Finance Director Rex told the council he had reviewed the numbers and said he felt the town could afford the change.
Council members and staff discussed implementation details: department-level briefings, a town-hall meeting for employees, and HR letters describing individual adjustments. Staff said job grades would change for some positions and that market adjustments do not replace merit pay or change the town's performance-evaluation system.
The town manager and HR staff said the revised system would make future annual updates easier by preserving a consistent job-to-peer-city mapping, but they did not commit to a fixed schedule for outside audits. Several council members urged periodic independent reviews.
The compensation item was presented alongside proposed midyear budget amendments that staff said are driven in part by the pay-plan implementation and by timing for capital items that rolled into the current fiscal year (including a fire truck, portable radios and equipment replacements). Finance staff characterized the midyear package as reallocation and additional appropriations to cover items that were underbudgeted or delayed from the prior fiscal year.
No formal vote was taken at the workshop; staff said the compensation ordinance and related budget amendments are scheduled for the March 11 council meeting for formal consideration.
