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Consultants present classification and pay-study findings to Charlestown council
Summary
PayPoint HR presented a three-part classification and compensation study for Charlestown and CTUB, recommending aligning benefits, tightening step spreads and considering an entry-level wage around $18; consultants showed estimated fiscal impacts for placing the city at the 50th–65th market percentiles.
Karen Campbell, a consultant with PayPoint HR, told the Charlestown City Council the firm was selected through a formal RFP to conduct a comprehensive classification and compensation study for Charlestown and CTUB. "We were selected through a formal RFP process to conduct a comprehensive classification and compensation study for Charlestown and CTUB," Campbell said in the presentation.
The firm said its recommendations draw on three independent metrics: an internal classification analysis, a job-analysis questionnaire completed by employees, and comparisons with external market peers. A second presenter described a statistical correlation between job-scoring results and market pay, and said Charlestown currently sits near the market median. "Relative to that middle of the market, you're 1.1% below," the presenter said.
The consultants recommended several policy options for the council to consider: aligning benefits across city and CTUB positions, reviewing vacation carryover and accrual policies to improve recruitment and retention, and narrowing the wide percentage spreads between pay grades. They noted some public-safety and finance positions were substantially below market and estimated the immediate fiscal cost of bringing those positions up would be modest compared with longer-term adjustments to grade structures.
Council members pressed the consultants for details about how contract employees influenced the comparison. One council member asked whether contracted positions skewed the results and requested an adjusted analysis that excludes or separates contract staff; the city manager agreed to ask for refined figures.
The presentation concluded with the consultants offering to provide the slide deck and the comprehensive report to council for further review. The council did not take action this evening and asked staff to circulate the full report for follow-up at a later meeting.
