City employee salaries below par in Maitland

Concerns over city workers’ compensation were quelled after the Maitland City Council voted to confirm a pay scale to get employees paychecks back up to par. This followed a salary survey last month that revealed employees were working for an average of 8.7 percent below market average in 2012.

The compensation and classification study, done by outside company Evergreen Solutions, reviewed the compensation levels and employee classifications of the city, comparing the results with those of 11 local target cities, including Winter Park and Altamonte Springs, and nine additional target areas, including Orlando and Orange County.

Brian Wolfe, of Evergreen Solutions, presented the survey results to the Council at its Oct. 22 meeting, indicating that in general, compensation levels were below market value while tenure is above average. He said two-thirds of city employees fell below market range, with the other third above the midpoint of their pay range.

“We’ve recommended to improve the competitiveness of the pay plan… particularly to address the more critically below-market positions,” Wolf said. But, he said, the current design and implementation of compensation system is sound.

Already passed in the fiscal year 2013 budget is a overall merit-based salary increase of 2.5 percent, which follows a 2 percent merit increase in 2012 – the city’s first in two years, Assistant City Manager Sharon Anselmo said. To match the suggestions of the salary survey, at the Oct. 22 Council meeting, the Council approved a 4.5 percent change in the pay plan scale to take effect in April 2013.

Anselmo said the city last hired an outside consultant to provide a salary survey in 2001, and held an internal review in 2006. This year’s survey reviewed the city’s 204 employees, outside of the city clerk and city manager, through pay scale analysis and focus groups with workers.

The study revealed that some upper-level workers were earning up to 20 percent below the average in comparable cities. The survey concluded that with director and supervisory positions falling furthest behind, necessary pay plan adjustments were needed.

“I don’t know how people are living,” Councilwoman Bev Reponen said following the review of the city employee compensation, encouraging the city to approve the study’s proposed salary increases.

Councilman Ivan Valdes was weary of too high of increases, stating he’d prefer the city spend extra dollars hiring new employees rather than offer substantial raises to existing ones. He said the city needs to be sure that it is hiring qualified employees to work under the higher-level staff.

With the survey suggestions getting approval from Council, Anselmo said the city is now working to configure the new pay scale, taking in account changes in personnel since the survey was completed.

“I think we’ve learned we need to look internally and see where were at every couple years,” she said. “We need to look and see where we stand with our peers to stay competitive.”