City staff propose new pay structure, saying reclassification and open-range changes cost about $1.5M

City staff presented the results of an internally conducted salary survey and a proposed restructured pay framework intended to standardize classifications and midpoints across positions.

The presenter said the report was not a full classification and compensation study, but used market midpoints to realign ranges and to create a consistent 7% difference between pay grades. "We built a standardized classification...so it has a midpoint," staff explained. To limit immediate budget impact staff proposed an affordability cap for large individual increases; in practice staff capped increases at 10% for the largest out-of-market positions and funded a $1.5 million package, which includes open-range adjustments and public-safety step changes. Staff also proposed a specific 1.5% step increase for fire captains and a schedule to address policing step compression by moving eligible officers to an intermediate "2.5" step over two years.

Council members pressed staff on the trade-offs between market adjustments and merit-based pay, timing of market surveys, and the impact on recruitment and retention. One councilor framed the choice as "we have to look at it from the lens of the employee," urging clearer pathways for retention and succession. Staff advised that the recommended changes are designed to preserve comp-ratio movement while acknowledging resource constraints and said a fuller classification study could be done later. Council directed staff to proceed with the recommended structure and to return with follow-up options on step consistency and public-safety pay next year.