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Riverbank adopts classification and compensation updates, approves MOU adjustments for employees
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Summary
Council accepted a citywide classification and compensation study and approved related MOU amendments updating salary schedules for miscellaneous and mid-management bargaining units; staff estimate one-time implementation in the low hundreds of thousands and recommended ongoing market monitoring.
The Riverbank City Council approved a set of personnel actions to implement a citywide classification and compensation study and amended two memoranda of understanding (MOUs) to update pay grades and salary schedules.
Consultant Stacey Witchell of Evergreen Solutions presented findings from a comprehensive review of the city's job classifications, pay plans and market position. The study recommended consolidating a large number of narrowly spaced pay grades into a simpler structure, expanding the grade progression from roughly 1% to 2.5% between grades, and creating several new or retitled classifications (for example, a meter technician series, recreation and events coordinator, senior accounting technician and human resources specialist) to support career ladders and succession planning.
Witchell said the market comparison showed mixed results: at the organization level Riverbank's pay ranges were slightly behind average peers (a few percent), but some contract-group positions trailed market rates by larger margins (approx. 6—0+% in some cases). The city's benefits contribution is relatively generous compared with peers (city contribution ~36.2% of total compensation vs. peer average ~27.2%), which partly offsets salary gaps.
Staff estimated an illustrative implementation cost to place current employees into the new structure at about $211,000 (a one-time snapshot figure across the dataset) and recommended periodic targeted salary surveys for hard-to-fill classifications and routine annual reviews.
Council then approved two separate resolutions to amend MOUs for miscellaneous employees and mid-management employees, adopt the updated salary schedules (effective April 17) and implement the classification realignment. City staff said there would be no base-salary reductions and that employees would be slotted to the step nearest their current pay to maintain internal equity. Roll-call votes passed on both MOU amendments (5-0).
Councilmembers praised the engagement with staff during the process and asked for written confirmation of implementation steps and budget impacts; staff committed to returning with job-description updates and administrative guidelines for pay administration.
Next steps: Human Resources will finalize job-description updates, complete the compensation crosswalk for each employee, and implement the revised salary schedules consistent with the adopted MOUs.
