Middletown outlines compensation and classification study; vendor market review to follow

Justin, a city staff member overseeing classification work, told the committee March 27 that the city is conducting a compensation and classification study to update a decades‑old pay and job classification plan.

Justin described the process: employees will complete position‑activity questionnaires (PAQs), supervisors will review and reconcile differences, staff will revise job descriptions and then send the package to the unions for review. After union review and final negotiation with department heads, the city will provide the materials to Baker Tilly for a market scoring and pay‑scale recommendation. “Baker Tilly has already done a market study,” Justin said, and staff selected 10 peer communities for benchmarking.

Justin explained that Baker Tilly will score positions with a rubric that captures education, duties and qualifications and will produce raw scores that map to a new pay scale. The resulting market study will show where local jobs sit relative to peers and identify positions that may be paid below market and require adjustment. He said union negotiation and council approval will be required for any changes that affect compensation.

Committee members asked about the timeline and comparison data. Justin said the union review phase is underway for some bargaining units and hoped to send the finalized job descriptions to the vendor within about a month; the final study would then be used as the basis for any negotiations over pay or reclassifications.

The committee did not vote on compensation action at the session; staff said the study will proceed through the union review and council processes before any pay changes are implemented.