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Study finds Los Lunas pay ranges largely competitive; aligning all jobs to market would cost about $595,000
Summary
A consultant told trustees the village’s pay ranges are broadly competitive; bringing all salary ranges to market midpoints would cost roughly $595,000 (about 3.8% of payroll). Councilors asked whether comparator cities should be adjusted before adoption.
The Board of Trustees received an informational presentation on Feb. 26 from Human Resources and consultant PSPC on a compensation and classification study. Consultant Kate Tisler said 98% of the village’s job classes are appropriately classified and that about 59% of job classes are within ±5% of market; closing the remaining gaps to market midpoints would cost approximately $595,000, or roughly 3.8% of total payroll.
"Our market data showed that we had about 59% of the village's jobs are competitive with the prevailing rate...It would cost the village $595,000 or about 3.8% of payroll in order to get market competitive with the external prevailing rates," Tisler said. The presentation also addressed benefits competitiveness, step ownership (the village’s preference to keep employees on their current step), and a proposed pay-grade progression with uniform 5% separations between grades.
Councilor Gino Romero questioned the comparator set, arguing that including larger municipalities such as Albuquerque and Las Cruces may inflate benchmarks; consultants replied that the comparator set reflects actual recruiting markets and that the village can choose an implementation target (e.g., 95% of market) during budget decisions. Staff said the recommendation would be brought forward with budget numbers for council consideration.
Why it matters: The study frames a policy decision for the upcoming budget season about how much to invest to maintain competitive pay and retain staff; the council sought direction about comparator choices and implementation pacing.
