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Prattville council reviews classification and compensation study, weighing three pay-plan options
Summary
Condrey and Associates presented a citywide classification and compensation study to the Prattville council, offering three implementation plans (A, B, C) with estimated payroll impacts. Councilors pressed consultants on comparator cities, outlier exclusion and next steps to route costs into the budget via the finance committee.
At a Prattville work session, Condrey and Associates presented the city's 2026 classification and compensation study and outlined three implementation options for a new pay plan.
The consultants said their recommended pay scale targets the market median ("100% of the market") and walked councilors through example job matches and step progressions. "We came up with a salary scale that we like to say is 100% of the market," said Steve Condrey, a lead consultant. The team presented three costed options: Plan A, estimated at $1,264,681 (about 5.42% of current payroll); Plan B, $941,652 (4.19%); and Plan C, $616,150 (2.74%). An equity-adjustment cost to address pay compression was shown separately (roughly $910,000'$940,000 depending on plan), described as an implementation-period one-time adjustment.
The study team summarized methodology and peer selection. Greg Reese, the principal consultant, said the firm collected position questionnaires, interviewed employees and supervisors and ran an external survey of peer jurisdictions. The survey list included Alabaster, Auburn, Dothan, Hoover, Madison, Montgomery, Northport, Opelika, Pelham, Phenix City, Tuscaloosa, Vestavia Hills, Wetumpka, Autauga County and the State of Alabama. Reese said the consultants excluded outliers that were two standard deviations above or below the mean so that unusually large or small jurisdictions would not skew Prattville's results.
Councilors asked detailed questions about comparators, how job descriptions were reconciled with actual duties, and whether the city could selectively raise pay for public-safety positions. One councilor asked why a larger city such as Hoover was included; consultants responded that comparator selection was made in conjunction with city staff and that mismatched jobs were rejected during the survey. On handling discrepancies between official job descriptions and day-to-day duties, the consultants said they updated job descriptions based on questionnaires and interviews and used those descriptions to find appropriate matches in peer cities.
The consultants stressed the importance of implementing an equity adjustment at the same time as a new pay plan to avoid compression. "It's very important that you implement the equity adjustment at the very same time you've implemented the new pay plan," Condrey said, noting that without the adjustment employees with more tenure could end up paid the same as newer hires once minimums are reset.
No formal vote was taken. The presiding officer and councilors directed the next procedural step: the finance committee will meet with the finance director and assistant director to model each pay-plan option in next year's budget and return a recommendation to the full council about affordability and timing. Consultants also outlined an employee appeal process: appeals would be accepted beginning 90 days after plan implementation, with instructions routed through department heads and reviewed by the consultants.
The session closed after councilors thanked the consultants for the work. The finance committee's review and the council's later budget decisions will determine whether and when Prattville adopts any of the presented options.
