City uses TechNet market data for pay comparisons; staff urges verification as some roles lag market

City staff presented how the Human Resources department uses a subscription compensation tool (TechNet) to compare North Ogden salaries with peer cities and to guide pay-range decisions.

Why this matters: the committee heard that some positions—especially frontline police and specialized operators—compete with nearby cities and private employers, and that the city’s current pay policies and caps have left some employees below market levels.

Katie, the HR representative, explained the process: the tool produces peer-city averages for job codes (often comparing cities with populations of 10,000–25,000 or a 75‑mile radius for certain frontline roles). Staff then record the market average and evaluate each individual against the market, aiming to place employees in a target band. John said the city’s current policy is to target an internal range described in the system (staff characterized it in the meeting as policy around “90%” and an upper limit), and leaders use tenure, certifications and performance to decide where a person sits within that band.

Committee members and staff reviewed common data anomalies in the TechNet reports, including input errors where some cities submit only range maximums or mis-enter pay that skews averages. John and Katie described quality-control steps (removing obvious outliers and checking inputs) and recommended the committee review suspect entries. The group discussed a recent trend of faster market increases for some job categories; staff said Ogden City completed a full salary study recently and that such large projects can be costly.

On benefits, staff said North Ogden currently covers about 90–95% of employee health premiums depending on the plan. The committee flagged that total compensation (wages plus benefits) matters when comparing recruitment and retention costs. Staff recommended two follow-ups: (1) verify TechNet inputs where anomalies were found and report back to the committee and (2) provide council with a concise summary showing where employees fall relative to the adopted market policy so council can weigh budget trade-offs.