Vigo County council hears Baker Tilly pay-study options, hears cost estimates and next steps

Vigo County Council convened a special, informational meeting to receive a presentation from Baker Tilly on a countywide compensation study that mapped internal job evaluations against market pay and outlined implementation scenarios and estimated recurring costs.

The presentation, delivered remotely by Jada Kent, practice leader for Baker Tilly’s compensation consulting group, explained the study’s methodology: employee position-analysis questionnaires (PAQs), supervisor review, SAFE (systematic analysis and factor evaluation) job scoring across nine compensable factors, and a market assessment using peer organizations adjusted for local cost-of-labor differences. Kent said the market data were pulled in April and that the firm applied Economic Research Institute and Bureau of Labor Statistics sources to create adjusted market midpoints.

Why it matters: the council must decide whether to adopt new pay plans and grade assignments and how to implement them in the budget cycle. Kent recommended approving the proposed pay structures, adopting grade assignments, and establishing an appeals process and ongoing maintenance so pay plans stay aligned with market conditions.

Key findings and options

Kent said the study included roughly 153 benchmark positions; nine benchmarks had insufficient matches, leaving market values for about 94% of…