Consultant tells Crookston City Council proposed pay plan would align most jobs with market, cost about $32,000 to implement

Michael Mooney, a manager with ABDO, told the Crookston City Council on Dec. 15 that a recently completed compensation and classification study recommends a new step‑and‑grade pay plan for city staff and that the proposed plan meets Minnesota pay equity standards.

The consultant said the recommended structure has 23 grades and nine steps and is designed so that the average minimum pay in each grade equals market minimums while average maximum pay is about 2% above market. "If we implement January 1, phase‑one implementation would result in approximately a 2% increase to the overall payroll," Mooney said, adding the citywide cost in the study totaled roughly $32,000 based on current headcount.

Mooney said the work combined updated job descriptions, a classification scoring exercise tied to Minnesota pay‑equity rules, and a market analysis using the League of Minnesota Cities salary survey (June 2025) and supplemental surveys where needed. He explained that scoring categories included education, years of experience, onboarding runway, human‑relations duties, sensory attention, accountability and the impact of decisions.

Council members questioned how the market analysis accounted for employee tenure and merit. Mooney replied that the market comparison uses established pay ranges reported by comparable cities (minimum and maximum for a position), not individual employee salaries, and therefore does not reflect how long any individual employee has been at a job. "We look at the range established for that position," he said, "because we don't have a way to determine if that employee has been there one year or 10 years."

The consultant noted special handling for non‑bargained staff who currently lack defined pay ranges; those positions were placed on grades by matching current pay to the newly designed steps so employees are not moved backward in pay. Mooney also said both the current and proposed plans were tested and found compliant with Minnesota pay equity, which the city must report every three years.

The study packet in the council packet includes full tables showing proposed scores, suggested grade assignments and the market data used. Mooney said final plan materials list recommended step differentials (a 5.25% increase between grades and about 3.75% between steps) and that the city could phase a separate 4% cost‑of‑living adjustment on top of the first phase if it chose.

Council members asked for clarifications about assumptions used in the cost estimate (the study used current headcount and did not include open positions or subsequent turnover) and about the distinction between negotiated union rates and consultant recommendations (union pay scales are negotiated and were included only for context). Mooney closed by thanking Crookston staff for their cooperation and offering to answer follow‑up questions as the council considers next steps.

Council action: none required that evening; the presentation concluded and council moved on to other agenda items.