Waite Park council approves paygrade changes after Baker Tilly review amid criticism from members

Waite Park City Council on the evening agenda approved a set of consolidated job descriptions and paygrade changes recommended by consultant Baker Tilly, voting to authorize hiring for police records technician posts and to move two administrative positions to a higher paygrade.

City Administrator presented the review, saying the part-time police secretary and the records technician had been performing substantially similar duties and that the consultant recommended a single records technician description at paygrade 4. The administrator said staff reviewed other administrative roles and sought to correct inconsistencies so positions performing comparable duties would be graded consistently.

The changes the council approved included setting the police records technician position at paygrade 4 and moving the administrative associate (admin) and the public works administrative assistant positions to paygrade 4 so the roles are internally consistent. The motions also authorized beginning the hiring process for the full-time and part-time records technician positions.

Council discussion focused on timing and fairness. One council member pointed out that a recent hire now faces roughly a $3.40 hourly difference compared with the new scale and asked why the grading was not completed before the hire. Another member questioned the consultant—aker Tilly's accuracy. "I have no faith in Baker Tilly's ability to weigh them correctly," one council member said during debate.

Administrator said the intent was to correct internal inequities and that Baker Tilly's memo provided the recommendations now before the council. "We found a discrepancy and we're addressing it and correcting it," the administrator said, arguing that consistency across departments was the priority.

The council moved, seconded and voted on the personnel items in sequence; for several motions at least one member recorded an opposing vote when asked for ayes. The record shows the council directed staff to implement the job-description changes and to begin the authorized hiring steps.

The council did not identify specific external funding tied to these changes; salary and step adjustments were described as effective on the next payroll for affected employees. The council will handle budget impacts through regular budget processes and payroll adjustments.

Next procedural steps: staff will update job postings and proceed with the authorized hiring for the records technician positions, and payroll adjustments for the two administrative positions will take effect on the next pay cycle for incumbents moved to the new grade.