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Simi Valley Council directs phased pay adjustments after compensation study
Summary
Simi Valley's City Council voted unanimously to start aligning city salary ranges with market medians using a phased approach after a consultant found pay is roughly 9% below market on average; the first-year budget impact is estimated at about $880,000 under the 50% gap option.
The Simi Valley City Council voted unanimously to direct staff to begin aligning the city's salary ranges with market medians and to apply employee salary increases using a phased "50% of the gap" method, council members said Tuesday.
Doug Johnson, a consultant with Public Pay LLC, told the council the firm's survey compared Simi Valley's pay ranges to a peer set of municipalities and factored employer-paid benefits into a single market position. "The main objective in doing a survey is to provide data so that you can make an informed decision and be very strategic about where you position your compensation plan relative to peer organizations," Johnson said during his presentation.
Johnson presented three targets (median, 5% below, 2.5% below) and several implementation mechanisms. The full cost to move all ranges to median was estimated at about $3.78 million ongoing; adopting the council's chosen, mid-range approach (move 50% of the gap now and let normal progression close the remainder) produced an initial-year near-term cost of about $880,000, the consultant said.
Deputy Human Resources Director Jennifer Gutierrez said the recommendation follows council direction to reduce recruiting and retention gaps identified during an off-site goal-setting session earlier this year. "Our insurance benefits keep us a lot more competitive compared to market," Gutierrez told council members, noting the consultant had included health and other cash benefits in the market comparisons.
Council member Judge moved the directive and framed the choice as fiscal and operational: adopt a multi-year, data-driven plan that raises pay toward median while smoothing budget impact. The motion passed on a unanimous roll call vote.
City staff will implement the range adjustments administratively for unrepresented employees, and proceed with meet-and-confer discussions for represented groups whose contracts require bargaining before salary changes take effect. Council members said they expect staff to return with an implementation schedule and budget details for the coming fiscal cycles.
Mayor Kavanagh praised the outcome after the vote: "I can tell you staff will be very happy with this action tonight," she said.
