Eunice council postpones adoption of compensation plan pending budget impact analysis

A compensation study prepared by Audrey Davis of Grayson Mathews Consulting was presented to the Eunice City Council on March 23; the council voted to postpone adopting a final compensation plan until staff could provide fuller budget-impact figures and placement for employees who perform multiple roles.

Davis described the methodology used to gather comparative pay data from surrounding municipalities and private-sector oilfield positions, presented three alternative pay structures (she recommended the second option) and explained how multi-hat employees would be placed in the structure by allocating percentages of job duties across roles. She recommended updating the plan every two to three years and noted that cost-of-living adjustments could still be applied separately under wide pay bands (roughly a 60% span).

Council members repeatedly asked for concrete budget numbers tying each option to estimated salary and benefits costs. Councilor Ty Chanley and others emphasized the need to use statutory wording and correctly classify which positions are appointed officers versus administrative staff before adopting structural changes to job titles or pay grades. Manager Cummins said she and staff (including Rocio Garcia) would calculate the budgetary impact and return with figures for the different options.

Councilor Gustavo Castaneda moved to postpone Resolution No. 3540 adopting the compensation plan pending additional information; the motion, seconded by Councilor Erica Jones, carried on roll call.