The Town of Southborough Personnel Board voted Dec. 22 to approve an amended job description for the DPW business administrator, but the independent grading of the revised description did not meet the threshold for reclassification. The board recorded a roll-call vote to approve the job description; because the job description was approved, staff proceeded to the grading step and reported the scoring did not support moving the position to a higher grade.

Bill, the department representative, objected to the grading outcome and requested more transparency in the scoring process, calling it a "proprietary" or "black box" method and asking why scorers were not available to answer questions. He said the result left two similar positions with the same grade despite different day-to-day responsibilities and asked for more information on the scoring methodology. Bill said: "I would like as much information I can get on the scoring process ... I just find it to be a lack of transparency."

Vanessa and Mark explained the town's historical practice: the personnel board uses a consultant tool originating from GovHR (now part of a national company) whose detailed scoring algorithm is proprietary and therefore not released as a public document. Vanessa said members of the board do participate in grading (two board members plus the assistant town administrator score independently) but the underlying tool remains proprietary; she offered to provide additional written explanation to the board and voters.

Why it matters: The grading decision affects a department’s ability to reclassify and to adjust pay within the SAP without additional town-meeting action. Department leaders said differing day-to-day duties between similarly graded positions raise concerns about fairness and transparency. The board agreed to consider additional explanations and to avoid voting on any personnel changes that intersect with active bargaining until contracts are resolved.

Next steps: Staff will prepare supplemental materials explaining the grading timeline and provide a side-by-side of job descriptions before the next Personnel Board meeting.