VTA Consulting recommends 2.8% pay-grade increase and consolidation of part-time pay in Hendersonville pay study

At a May 12 General Committee meeting, Beth Thompson of VTA Consulting presented the results of a city-wide pay study and recommended moving Hendersonville’s pay grades up approximately 2.8%, merging part-time and seasonal positions into the general pay scale where duties match, and making a handful of reclassifications to better align jobs with market rates.

Thompson described the firm’s methodology as a job-analysis questionnaire for incumbents, department-head interviews and market benchmarking using municipal peers and a national business salary database projected to July 1, 2026. “We want to be a leader in the market,” Thompson said, adding the firm targeted roughly the 60th percentile when setting market ranges.

The consultant said most employees are paid at or above appropriate market levels, but about 12% of incumbents fall below 85% of the market for their positions; those were identified as the chief targets for adjustment. Thompson said part-time and seasonal jobs should be moved onto the general pay scale when duties match the full-time equivalent so staff performing the same work are paid consistently.

On costs, Thompson reported that the COLA portion of the proposal would be “just under $903,000,” classification adjustments would total about $34,356, and she cited a total estimated cost of $3,937,176 for the combined changes. The presentation projected the city’s structural market index to move from about 100.8% to roughly 103.8% after the adjustments.

Committee members asked about implementation logistics and frequency of future studies. Thompson recommended regular benchmarking—reviewing a subset of benchmark jobs every two to three years and conducting a full study about every three to five years—rather than redoing the entire pay study annually. She also advised shifting the framework from strictly “cost-of-living” to a “cost-of-labor” approach that tracks peer cities’ pay practices.

Jason Gallo, administrative services director, told the committee the administration and department heads had been involved throughout the process and that the city expects to use the consultant’s recommendations to inform budget planning and any required policy changes.

The presentation concluded with committee questions about step structures, treatment of new hires and how pay compression might be addressed over time. No formal action on the pay-study recommendations was recorded at the committee level during the meeting; committee members thanked the presenter and indicated follow-up discussions would occur as the administration prepares budget materials.