Carmel council adopts at‑will compensation and benefits plan to address CalPERS findings

The Carmel‑by‑the‑Sea City Council adopted a resolution on Nov. 3 establishing an at‑will compensation and benefits plan intended to bring the city into compliance with California Code of Regulations provisions governing reportable compensation after a CalPERS audit.

Marissa (staff) said the issue arises because represented employee units have formal labor agreements, while at‑will employees historically received individual contracts that sometimes reference provisions in other documents. California regulations require written labor agreements to be self‑contained and accessible to members of the bargaining unit. The new plan formalizes compensation practices for unrepresented at‑will classifications and removes references that create a reporting gap with CalPERS.

During council discussion several members supported the compliance step but requested a deeper, council‑wide review of compensation methodology for unrepresented employees. Council members asked staff to prepare benchmarking against peer jurisdictions, to document the methodology used for comparisons, and to return with a white paper so that the council can consider whether at‑will positions should continue to mirror negotiated represented‑unit terms or retain more local flexibility.

The council moved and unanimously voted to adopt Resolution 2025‑094 to approve the at‑will compensation and benefits plan. Staff said the annual salary approvals required by state law would continue and that the city will provide the benchmarking information requested.

What happens next HR and finance staff will prepare comparative benchmarking data and a methodology white paper for the council’s Financial Stewardship Work Group and the full council, as requested by multiple members.