Margate commissioners back consultant pay‑grade changes; implementation cost about $495,000

A consultant presentation at the City of Margate's July 9 budget workshop drew commission consensus to adopt new pay grades and wider salary ranges that aim to make city pay more competitive. The Gareng Group recommended slotting more than 400 city positions into newly designed pay ranges and widening those ranges to a 50% spread; the initial cost to implement the recommended changes is about $495,000 when payroll taxes and retirement costs are included.

The study, presented by consultant John Mueller of Gareng Group, benchmarked more than 200 city positions against 16 neighboring agencies, including the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, City of Coral Springs, City of Fort Lauderdale and City of Pompano Beach. "We benchmarked those 200 plus positions," Mueller said, and concluded Margate's pay-range minimums were generally near the market median but that many ranges were narrow. "Your minimum salaries... were very competitive, but you were topping out much faster," he said, noting Margate’s typical range spread was roughly 33–35% compared with the 45–55% spreads the firm saw elsewhere.

The firm proposed new pay grades built around the 50th percentile of the market and recommended slotting each incumbent into the appropriate new grade. Mueller told commissioners that about 426 employees would require some adjustment during initial implementation and that the citywide cost before payroll taxes and employer contributions was "a little bit over $400,000. But then when we really look at everything and add in your insurance and taxes... the number to implement is closer to 500,000. It's about 495,000." The consultants and city staff said that figure will vary with normal hiring, promotions and separations before implementation.

City staff and commissioners discussed timing. The consultants recommended adopting the new pay plan in the fiscal 2026 budget process and applying cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) and step increases afterward so the city does not fall behind the market during a phased implementation. The city manager sought commission consensus to "implement the pay grades that you see in the background of the agenda item... for fiscal year 25 and then COLAs going forward" and commissioners confirmed support; no formal vote was taken at the workshop.

Commissioners who spoke in support framed the changes as retention and recruitment measures. "I've always felt it's important to make sure that you are competitive... I have no problem with it," Commissioner Casciano said. Commissioner Simone called the study "very, very fair for our employees" and said she was "fully in support of this." City staff noted bargaining-unit employees—police and fire—also appear in the proposed plan but said any changes that affect those units would require collective bargaining before implementation.

The manager said the recommended pay-grade implementation will be incorporated into the budget document that is presented for adoption in September and that city staff will begin negotiations with bargaining units where changes affect contract-covered positions. Commissioners did not take formal action at the July 9 workshop; the report and the implementation cost will be included in fall budget updates and any negotiated settlements will be brought back to the commission for approval.

Implementation clarifications provided at the workshop: the changes would apply citywide (not only to employees who are topped out), the consultants recommended immediate slotting to new grades followed by future steps and COLAs, and the quoted implementation cost excludes future annual COLAs and step increases.