Caledonia Argus

Pay equity report reviewed by Caledonia city council

Posted: 1/28/03

by Jane Palen
Managing editor

The city council has received a recommendation on how to achieve pay equity among employees, but has not yet decided whether it will implement the recommendation.

In order to keep the information in the recommendation private until city employees were able to review it, the committee for wages, Councilman Paul Fisch and Mayor Robert Burns, told the council at its meeting Monday evening that they would not be sharing the recommendations until after a meeting with city employees. However, Councilman John Klug said that he would not be comfortable with them sharing that information with employees when the council had not yet reviewed it or approved it. The council then distributed copies of the recommendations to all in attendance at the meeting.

Council members appeared surprised to learn that almost all city positions were within one to two percent of the wage recommended by consultant Paul Ness, who surveyed towns of similar size in southeastern Minnesota, and interviewed city employees to learn about their responsibilities and the demands of their jobs. However, there were three jobs which the study found to be at wages substantially below the recommendations: liquor store manager, police secretary and secretary. It would cost the city $15,000 per year to bring those positions in line with the recommendations.

The total current annual payroll is $446,347. Police wages are not included in the recommendations but were ranked for comparisonís sake.

The recommendation also includes pay grades which range from 1-10, with 10 being the highest. There are no city employees ranked in the first two grades. The police chief and city clerk administrator are ranked the highest. The pay equity study ranks jobs with similar demands without regrd to whether the jobs are held by men or women.

The wage scale also has eight steps to reward longevity and also to give the city the option of starting an employee at a higher wage if he or she has special training or skills. New employees would not necessarily have to start at the minimum. An employee would move up one step every 18 months.

Mayor Burns noted that the council had asked for the study to be done and the recommendations made. He noted that most employees were placed at step 1 even though many have been long-term employees. He said that there would be no point in showing the report to the employees unless the council agrees to implement the plan.

Councilman Klug said, ìWe wanted the information and we got it. We donít have to implement it.î

Councilman Fisch remarked that having the study completed was a waste of time if the council doesnít implement it.

The council will discuss the matter further at its February 10 meeting.

New stop sign planned

In other news, the city has agreed to install a stop sign on Foltz Drive where the street intersects with North Sprague. A temporary sign will be placed until a permanent sign can be erected in the spring.

The council also approved the purchase of a new truck with a wing for snow plowing. The amount budgeted is $85,230.

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