Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Personnel Compensation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Consultant presents draft wage bands to Silverton finance committee; trustees ask for more local comparables and a Silverton-specific philosophy
Summary
Consultant Jennifer presented a draft compensation study with wage bands (25th/50th/75th percentiles) and a proposed compensation philosophy; trustees requested more comparable towns, clearer minimum/mid/max definitions tied to Silverton's fiscal capacity, and specifics on how employees move through bands.
A consultant presenting a draft compensation study told the Silverton finance committee that wage bands and an explicit compensation philosophy can help with hiring and retaining staff, but the committee pushed for more local comparables and a Silverton-specific approach to what is financially sustainable.
Jennifer, the consultant who conducted the study, described her methodology: she compared Silvertonpositions to regional towns (Uray and Bayfield among them), plotted the 25th, 50th and 75th percentile wage bands, and recommended the town align bands with what it can sustainably afford over a two-to-three-year horizon. "Having wage bands in place... is really a great tool not only for hiring but also for retention and growth," she said.
Trustees asked for more nuance. Dana and Jim said the two comparables were insufficient for many of Silverton's unique positions and urged use of Colorado Municipal League (CML) salary-survey data and additional mountain-tourism towns (Lake City, Ridgeway, Pagosa, Grand Lake and others) for broader context. Committee members also pressed for practical rules to define "minimum, midpoint and maximum" and clearer guidance on how employees move within bands through merit, credentials or tenure.
Committee members highlighted Silverton's constrained fiscal capacity and high local cost of living, saying the town is often a recruiting "on-ramp" or "off-ramp" for careers rather than a place that can always pay top market rates. "We need to be realistic about what our community can bear," one member said.
Next steps: Jennifer and staff agreed to refine the analysis, add more comparable data points (population, budget and region), and return to the finance committee in October with a more Silverton-specific draft that clarifies band definitions and progression criteria.
Why it matters: A compensation philosophy and transparent wage bands affect recruitment, retention and budgeting. Trustees asked for a product that balances market data with Silvertonbudgetary reality so the town can set predictable compensation pathways without risking unsustainable commitments.
