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Acting HR chief outlines 2.18% COLA and pay-for-performance plan in FY27 budget briefing
Summary
At a May 26 work session, Ally Workman explained Ogden City’s FY27 compensation plan: a 2.18% cost-of-living adjustment and a 0%–4% merit pool allocated via a new performance-evaluation system; staff budgeted roughly $3.35 million for COLA and pay-for-performance. Council asked for more detail on communication and peer benefit comparisons.
Ally Workman, acting HR lead for Ogden City, told the City Council at a May 26 joint work session that the administration’s recommended fiscal-year 2026–27 compensation package includes a 2.18% cost-of-living adjustment and a pay-for-performance program designed to allocate a 0%–4% merit pool based on newly implemented employee evaluations.
Workman said the city is using a market-informed, data-driven approach that builds on a 2020 McGrath study. She told council members the pay-for-performance design will produce a bell-curve distribution within departments so “high performers see meaningful increases and low performers receive clear signals that they are not meeting expectations.” The tentative budget includes approximately $3.35 million to cover COLA and pay-for-performance adjustments.
Workforce metrics raised during the presentation included about 700 full-time budgeted positions in FY26, floating placeholders for police and fire positions, and a reported full-time turnover rate of 13.71% this year. Workman said the city has seen more retirements and resignations and highlighted succession planning and the cost of onboarding as factors the compensation strategy aims to address.
On benefits, Workman said medical insurance plan design remains largely unchanged for the coming year; the primary adjustment is an embedded individual HSA deductible increase to $3,400 to align with IRS rules. She estimated the city will absorb a portion of a roughly 6% overall insurance increase and said the FY27 cost to the city for benefits changes is estimated in the mid-six-figure range.
Council members questioned how merit outcomes will be communicated to employees. Workman said merit decisions are tied to annual reviews and are discussed in one-on-one meetings between supervisors and staff so employees “should not be surprised” by their performance outcomes. Members also asked whether Ogden’s benefits compare favorably to peer cities; staff said employer medical-cost share and other benefit metrics are broadly comparable to surrounding municipalities and to the Wasatch Compensation Group benchmarks.
The council did not take a formal vote on the recommendations at the work session. Staff said the schedule-A technical adjustments and any policy changes will return during June budget work sessions, where council members can direct modifications to the tentative budget.
