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Erie HR consultants recommend 2% market adjustment, 3% merit pool; police step plan to rise 6%
Summary
Graves Consulting presented a compensation study recommending a 2% market increase to pay structures, a 3% merit budget for eligible employees and a 6% step-plan adjustment for police; staff described implementation timing and budget impacts.
Lucille Melendez, Eriedirector of human resources, introduced Graves Consultingfor the town's annual compensation study. The consultant outlined methodology (Colorado Municipal League and PayFactors data sources), benchmarking practices, and internal-equity adjustments before delivering recommendations for 2026.
The firm recommended a 2% market increase to the town's general government pay structure and to the part-time/seasonal structure to keep grade midpoints and ranges competitive with peer municipalities and the private-sector labor market. They proposed a merit budget of roughly 3% to move qualifying employees through their pay ranges (employees must meet a performance threshold to receive merit). For the police step plan the firm recommended a larger structure increase of 6% given heightened market pressure for public-safety labor.
Lloyd of Graves Consulting and HR staff explained implementation mechanics: the market increase would be applied to the pay-structure (affecting pay minimums/midpoints/maxima) effective with the first paycheck in 2026; merit increases would be applied on employees' anniversary dates and are performance-driven; employees already at top of range would typically receive a lump-sum rather than base-pay increases. The consultant highlighted a small set of fast-moving jobs (civil engineers, planners, GIS analysts) that may require reclassification or grade upgrades outside the structure adjustment.
Council members asked detailed questions about quartile approaches, promotion incentives, how to budget for merit at the departmental level and whether to apply increases on a calendar or anniversary basis. HR staff said the town uses a hybrid system: a generally fixed merit expectation tied to performance standards ("capable and effective" or better) with HR review to ensure consistency. Staff and the consultant emphasized that the study's purpose is to place jobs on a market-driven structure while individual pay remains performance- and tenure-driven.
