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Consultant tells Friendship Heights council staff pay averages about 90% of market; recommends adjustments and a 4% budget option
Summary
PRM Consulting presented a study of 12 village positions showing an aggregate comp-ratio of about 90.3% of market; the firm recommended below-minimum and equity adjustments and proposed a salary-structure 4% increase option with an estimated implementation cost of roughly $61,800.
Joshua Hutton, a principal with PRM Consulting, briefed the Friendship Heights Village Council on a compensation study the firm completed for the village, saying the review covered 12 employees slotted into nine titles and produced a six-grade salary structure. "The market median of that data is also referred to as the fiftieth percentile," Hutton said, describing the peer‑market analysis used to place positions into grades.
Hutton said the study compared current base salaries to range midpoints and computed an aggregate comp ratio of about 90.3% of market for base pay. He recommended addressing employees who fall below the new minimums, making internal equity adjustments to correct compression, and offered an optional 4% increase to the salary structure to position ranges closer to market. "If you were to adopt those adjustments, it takes the 90.3% comp ratio aggregate percentage for employees up to a 100%," Hutton said.
The consultant also reviewed benefits and total-rewards competitiveness. Hutton told the council the village’s medical, dental, vision and retirement offerings were competitive among peers and recommended the village maintain a fixed retirement plan contribution (described in the report as 8%) and the current maximum life-insurance ceiling of $250,000 without evidence of insurability. He said benefit findings produced no immediate financial impact in the consultant's analysis.
Council members pressed Hutton on peer selection. Councilman Schafer said local comparisons such as Rockville and Gaithersburg — jurisdictions with much larger budgets and dozens or hundreds of employees — gave him pause. Hutton replied that the peer group mixes similarly sized local villages and larger nearby municipalities to ensure concrete job matches and to mirror recent peer choices made by Chevy Chase Village.
On costs, Hutton identified approximately $61,800 as the estimated one‑time fiscal impact to implement below‑minimum and equity adjustments and to apply the 4% increase across the new structure. He also recommended reviewing the salary structure annually against market data. The personnel committee will review the full report and return recommendations to the council for a possible vote at a future meeting.
The council did not vote on any compensation measures at the meeting; Hutton’s presentation was framed as an executive summary and the personnel committee will take additional questions and deliberations before bringing formal proposals back to the full council.
