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Consultant recommends nine‑step salary schedule; implementation cost estimated at about $1.05 million
Summary
CPS HR recommended a nine‑step market‑based salary structure to replace the city’s five‑step schedule; staff said the one‑time estimated cost to move to the new structure is about $1,053,444 and that final fiscal impact depends on labor negotiations.
CPS HR Consulting presented the final report of a citywide classification and compensation study to the Norwalk City Council on June 16, recommending a new nine‑step salary schedule to address market alignment and internal compression.
Vicky Quintero Brashear of CPS HR told the council the analysis matched city classifications to comparable municipalities and found 36% of benchmarked classifications lagged the market while 64% were at or above market. The consultant identified limitations in the current five‑step system — inconsistent grade separation, limited room for wage growth, and pay compression — and proposed a nine‑step structure with consistent 5% grade separation, 3.33% step increments and an overall bandwidth near 30%.
CPS HR said the restructure would give more opportunities for wage progression and reduce the number of employees topped out in their ranges (staff told council that 57% of current employees are at the top step under the five‑step system). The consultant estimated a one‑time implementation cost of about $1,053,444 to transition to the new salary schedule; the estimate excludes potential benefit cost impacts and any negotiated increases beyond structure implementation. Staff emphasized that final costs would be determined through labor negotiations and included in the FY 2025–26 budget process.
Council members and employees in public comment raised concerns about step spacing and how incremental increases would affect retention; employees urged the council to consider higher annual increases or alternative step schemes. CPS HR and staff said the nine‑step design is intended to protect current earnings while providing more steps for future growth.
Why this matters: The study addresses employee retention and wage compression that staff and the consultant said increase turnover risk; implementation timing and exact fiscal impact are subject to collective bargaining and budget action.
Next steps: Staff will finalize cost calculations in negotiations and incorporate any agreed changes into the FY 2025–26 budget for implementation.
