Consultant tells Ashland board pay is near market median; recommends new salary structures and step system

Ryan Blackwell, director for compensation consultant CBIZ, told the City of Ashland Board of Aldermen that the firm’s pay study finds the city’s average pay is close to the market median but slightly below it.

"The overall comp ratio comes out to 93.9%," Blackwell said, meaning current pay levels average about 6.1% below the 50th percentile of comparable local markets. He recommended the city adopt two tailored salary structures—one for staff and one for law enforcement—each built around range minimums, midpoints set at the market median and maximums, and step progressions that typically advance one step per year.

The presentation described a job-analysis questionnaire used to capture up-to-date duties, and a market-pricing approach that compared Ashland positions to peers drawn from the Missouri Municipal League and CBIZ’s proprietary data. Blackwell said the study used a standard aging factor (3.3%) to bring older survey data forward to present-day values and matched jobs to market benchmarks based on duties rather than titles.

CBIZ proposed 10 grades for staff and three grades for law enforcement (police reserve officer, police officer and police sergeant), with the police chief placed in the staff structure for informational context. The report identified four employees paid below the proposed range minimums and recommended bringing those employees to at least the range minimum to lower turnover risk. For any employee paid above a proposed range maximum, Blackwell recommended freezing base pay and providing any increase as a lump sum.

Blackwell outlined implementation costs: raising 15 staff members to an appropriate step would cost about $56,217 (roughly 6.3% of that staff payroll), and bringing eight law-enforcement employees onto steps would cost about $5,005.17 (about 1.4% of law-enforcement payroll), for a combined implementation total of just over $61,000—about 4.8% of total city payroll. He noted that the implementation approach assigns employees to the closest step that does not reduce pay.

The presentation also reviewed benefits: the city covers 100% of employee-only medical premiums (noted as richer than the market), offers vacation accruals above market on average, and provides retirement contributions that are low from a city-cost standpoint but require a higher employee contribution (about 4% of base salary) compared with many peers. Blackwell said these benefit details affect total compensation comparisons and recommended the city consider options to enrich retirement or benefit offerings.

Blackwell closed by recommending the city update ranges annually (CBIZ will send an annual planning letter with recommended range increases and suggested budget targets for salary increases) and conduct a full market study every three to four years to avoid grade drift caused by differential job-growth rates.

City staff invited questions and asked that they be submitted by email for follow-up; Blackwell said he would respond as questions arise.