Consultant presents compensation study recommending raises, new fire classifications and compression adjustments

Delaine Honeycutt presented the results of a classification and compensation study to the Mebane City Council and recommended market adjustments, compression corrections and a small set of new job classifications to improve recruitment, retention and internal pay equity.

Honeycutt, introduced by staff, said the study compared city job classes with 16 benchmark municipalities and applied median-based statistics to identify where pay ranges and incumbent salaries fall short of market. She said the review covered public safety and parks job classes this year (following a prior review of utilities and public works) and found several job classes below market, particularly in fire and police classifications.

"So the job classes that were at market were one fire class, the firefighter, and that was at market for job rate, but not minimum hiring rate," Honeycutt said, outlining her methodology and the proposed moves. For fire classes she proposed a 10% increase across most classes with two exceptions: the firefighter class would increase 5% because the market did not support a full 10% increase for that entry-level rank, and assistant fire chief would increase 15% to create space in the pay scale for a proposed fire battalion chief job class.

In police classifications Honeycutt recommended 10% increases generally with smaller exceptions for ranks that were already at or near market. In recreation and parks most classifications were proposed to increase by 5%.

Honeycutt also proposed creating a firefighter II job class (retitling the existing firefighter to firefighter I) with a 5% premium, a three-position fire battalion chief (one per each operational shift) and a fire inspector II to reflect plan-review responsibilities. She said recommended public-safety compression adjustments would affect 18 employees at an estimated implementation cost of about $42,430, and that market-adjustment implementations for eligible incumbents were estimated in the presentation (figure reported in the session and to be reflected in the recommended budget).

Honeycutt recommended the adjustments be effective July 1, 2025, with public-safety compression adjustments implemented first and market adjustments phased in alongside an updated pay plan and the approved annual COLA. Council members asked whether exit interviews capture where the city is losing staff; Honeycutt and staff said exit data are collected and that some turnover is to neighboring municipalities that compete in commuting distance.

Staff said the study recommendations can be included in the manager’s recommended budget and brought forward for a council vote as part of that process. No formal pay changes were adopted at the work session.