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Commissioners hear staffing, turnover and compensation concerns; city to start pay study
Summary
City human resources presented FTE trends, vacancy counts, benefits and recruitment challenges; staff will present a compensation study recommendation to the commission April 8 and explore pay-band, merit and retention options to address recruitment and affordability gaps.
New Smyrna Beach's human resources director gave commissioners a data-rich briefing on the city's workforce, noting both growth in staffing and immediate hiring challenges.
"This is the same chart that you see in our budget book," HR Director Heather said as she reviewed the organizational chart and the current approved FTE of 348.5 for FY2025. She reported that total FTE increased about 35.67% since 2010 while population rose roughly 39.3% in the same period, leaving the city's FTE per 1,000 population broadly steady.
Heather told the commission that personnel costs constitute about 32% of the budget and showed department-level trends: police added about 21.25 FTE since 2010 and fire about 16 FTE; building and inspections have grown but from a small base. She listed current vacancies, noting about 14 police openings but several candidates are in the onboarding pipeline.
Staff emphasized recruitment constraints: average employee salary across the workforce is approximately $54,400, while the average home price in New Smyrna Beach is around $448,000, which creates affordability pressure for staff. Heather said the city has launched a request for proposals for a compensation and salary study and expects a recommendation on April 8.
Commissioners pressed for more targeted approaches. Commissioner Perrine and others urged pay-for-performance models and clearer advancement tracks for positions such as permit technicians; Commissioner Martin pressed for incentives and certification pathways to retain key staff. Commissioner McGirt thanked Heather and noted the city's competitive benefits, including employer-paid employee medical premiums and strong pension/employer contribution levels for police and fire.
Heather outlined near-term recruitment measures (merit increases, incentive pay options, remote-work and flexible scheduling where appropriate) and longer-term work on pay band structure tied to education and certifications.
Next steps: Staff will return with the compensation study vendor recommendation for commission approval and will bring forward specific implementation options (pay-band updates, incentive programs and avenues to tie performance evaluation to compensation).
