Human resources proposes $200,000 comprehensive classification and compensation study

Cathedral City's human-resources manager described a plan for a comprehensive class-and-compensation (class-and-comp) study estimated at roughly $200,000, to be procured through a consultant and completed in approximately one year.

Eugenia, the HR manager, said the draft RFP envisions either phasing (police and fire separate from non-safety) or a single comprehensive engagement depending on council direction and available funds. She described the vendor work as including preplanning, labor-relations preconsultation, job audits and one-on-one employee interviews to confirm duties. "It would be a consulting contract," she said, and staff would act as liaisons; she recommended a follow-up five-year review cycle.

Council members asked whether the city has performed piecemeal compensation updates in the past; HR and the city manager confirmed the city has used vacancy-triggered surveys and occasional compensation adjustments but not a single agency-wide study since 1989. The manager and HR staff described the proposed steps for implementation and said final scope and timing would be approved during the budget process if council funds the work.

HR provided staffing context: recruiting and onboarding are currently managed by a small team (about 3.5 employees) serving roughly 214 active employees and 61 retirees; recruitment workload and vacancy follow-up were cited as primary drivers of the proposed study and additional HR investments.