HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_Workshop_06/30/2006MINUTES
VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA
• VILLAGE COUNCIL WORKSHOP
JUNE 30, 2006
TEQUESTA, FLORIDA
I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
The Tequesta Village Council held a Village Council Workshop Meeting at the Public
Safety Facility, Emergency Operations Center (EOC), 357 Tequesta Drive, Tequesta,
Florida, on Friday, June 30, 2006. The meeting was called to order at 2:28 p.m. A roll
call was taken by Village Clerk Gwen Carlisle. Council Members present were: Mayor
Jim Humpage, Vice Mayor Tom Paterno, Council Member Geraldine A. Genco, and
Council Member Pat Watkins. Also in attendance were: Village Manager Michael R.
Couzzo, Jr., Attorney Scott Hawkins, Village Clerk Gwen Carlisle, and Human
Resources Manager Merlene Reid.
II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Mayor Humpage led in the pledge of allegiance to the flag.
III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
MOTION: Council Member Watkins moved to approve the agenda, as submitted; seconded
by Vice Mayor Paterno; motion passed 4-0.
• 1. Discussion of the Compensation and Classification Study for Village employees.
Mayor Humpage commented in reviewing the material of the PEPIE study and the Village
study, which was done by Mr. Evertson, he has come to a number of conclusions. He felt
Council has two goals; The first, he explained was in looking at both studies, the Council
would have to ask the question of whether the Village was alright at this point in the study;
and if so, then no action needed to be taken. He stated the second goal would be if the
Council would need to make changes, what would be needed to take action. He suggested if
changes were needed, Council would need to make a decision on how much and decide on
how long it would take. Mayor Humpage stated he must make mention about his
appreciation for Human Resources Manager, Ms. Reid's insight from a conference she
attended. He explained she contributed additional information that was e-mailed to Council
Members of the past employees that had been lost, or moved on. Ms. Merlene Reid, Human
Resources Manager distributed additional information. Mayor Humpage said he was in the
office picking up his mail, and Ms. Reid was looking through past employees and he asked
her for the information in its printed form. He asked what SHRM stood for. Ms. Reid
responded it was the Society of Human Resource Management. Mayor Humpage asked Mr.
Dave Evertson to explain his findings and recommendations.
Mr. Dave Evertson of Municipal Solutions, Inc started by reminding Council to keep in mind
what is valued in the community, what is valued to the employees, and the operations of the
Village.
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• Mr. Evertson asked Council to ask themselves how many ways could they determine what a
job is worth, what a position is worth, how it is relevant to the Council members, and what it
means to employees and to the residents m the community. He explained his study was
designed to address the question: What does the market pay for a life position? He explained
there are a variety of different ways to determine what the market pays for a life position. He
explained they used communities of comparable size, of comparable budget, of comparable
service types, regional factors, and locations compared to the Village of Tequesta. He stated
he wanted to back up a moment in his presentation and give Council something to think
about. He explained that in any personnel system, in compensation, in the job descriptions,
and in classification, they are all tied together. Mr. Evertson gave an example stating that 2
degrees in one direction was not a lot, but over a period of time, if someone was flying and
that person was trying to get to a location, 2 degrees is not a lot, but over 1000 miles it can be
a big distance. Mr. Evertson stated the reason he used that example was because if any one of
those factors from job descriptions to classifications, the 8 ranges, the current salaries, or the
evaluations of employees, if any one of those factors lag, the entire system becomes skewed.
Mr. Evertson explained where he started was not only an observation in methodology, but he
had to do a detailed review of job descriptions to understand what these positions require.
Knowledge, skills, abilities, education, training were looked at, and not what the person in
the specific position had, but what was required if the Village had to hire someone in that
position. He stated this in itself was not easy, and explained they had to provide a survey to
each one of the employees and ask them to respond. Some of the responses from fire fighters
from the same classification were substantially different, so they had to classify those in a
standard way of what the job required. He pointed out there were also other positions that
• were job titles that had substantially different responsibility of jobs. He used an example
stating that one may have a manager, and the manager acts as a Director, and the other acts as
a Superintendent. He explained he had to try to come up with a system that ensured those
positions were classified correctly. Mr. Evertson explained that for whatever reason if
someone decided to add titles, that single title alone may have increased their salary or may
have changed their classification or their duties. He felt certain positions were properly or
improperly classified.
Mr. Evertson continued to explain if one takes a look at the survey that was developed for the
employees, it was to help in the incorporation of the job descriptions, but also used to create
a "compensable factor criteria". He felt every position in the Village could be compared at
least on some sort of an even playing field. He said that he had to start there; and once he got
that information, he had to come up with what those factors were and then look at the market,
and the current classifications. Mr. Evertson stated there were substantial differences
between positions that looked equal on the organizational chart; and when one looks at their
knowledge, skills, abilities, education, they are further substantially apart. Then he looks at
what the market is paying for some of those positions and they could be even further apart.
He explained that what they had to do was say, they have all this information, and so they
had to come up with a system that showed what needed to be fixed. One of the things
identified was there were some positions that appeared to be below the minimum or above
the maximum (he referred to page 21). He stated the first question that should come to mind
was why, and what is the cause. He pointed out in some positions there were people wearing
multiple hats.
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• Mr. Evertson commented when that happens there should be a differential pay. He gave a
scenario stating if there was a Planning Director, and they were also wearing the hat of the
Chief Building official, that person should have a base salary, but they should also have a
differential pay. He used the example of the Police and the Fire Department in which they
have additional certification. He said there were some that really stood out, and he paid
special attention to Fire Department positions. He noted they were below the minimum and
so he wondered what was the reason for it; then it dawned on him that the Fire Department
had enough turn over that the Fire chief was bringing in new employees at the minimum. Mr.
Evertson explained in some of the departments and if somebody meets the job description or
exceeds the job description, that person could start employment at the mid-point of the range.
It works for the Law enforcement and the Fire Department, but it doesn't always work as it
gets to higher positions or to other types of departments. Mr. Evertson said he found some of
these positions were below the market average, and some were above the market average and
some were above for longevity. He felt the Village Manager's salary should not be in the
Classification and Compensation study because it is a completely different position. He
stated the Village Manager's salary is a Council position. He stated he just wanted to make it
clear just in case someone looks at it and says "gosh, he gets paid this much." He stated that
it should not even be a discussion because it is a unique position, and a contract position.
Mr. Evertson referred to Benefits on page 22 and 23 and explained one of the things they
wanted to do was get an idea of the percentage of the total operating budget that goes to
personnel expenses. He pointed out the Village's total percentage of the fiscal budget is 63
percent personnel related, and the average going to the community is 57%. He expressed it is
not a bad thing but it is a reflection of where the Village currently places value. He said some
• communities like Jupiter Island, their Council wanted to have the best benefits possible
because they wanted to retain their employees for the longest period of time. That is the way
their culture was established and maintained. The new employees in the Town of Jupiter
Island wanted greater income. The older employees wanted obviously to retire with 25
percent of the benefit plan. He stated it is pretty good but if someone is a baby boomer or if
someone is a generation `X'er, or if someone is a newer generation employee, those values
were now different; and so once again he went back to the question what does Council value.
He felt it is important what the Staff values.
Mr. Evertson referred to Table 7; the percentage of personnel cost and benefits. He stated it
appears the Village puts less towards salaries than the average, and a little more towards
benefits. The benefit package is competitive and has some wonderful attributes to it. He
asked Council the question of whether the current salaries were appropriate. He stated he
would spend some time discussing the findings on that: Specifically the recommendations
were there are certain positions that are obviously below the range. He questioned why that
was, and said it could be for a variety of reasons; for example in the Fire Department those
are new employees and lower positions. He referred back to page 21, and felt it was a
reflection on whether the person had been accurately evaluated over the years, or whether
there was a policy that says they have a maximum 7% increase in salary. Council Member
Genco asked what does that mean; to which Mr. Evertson explained a maximum amount of
salary increase could give 3% percent to the CPI (COLA) plus 3% for merit. So the
maximum increase employees could get a year is 5 or 6 percent. If policy is unclear there is
no specific defining range.
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• Council Member Genco asked how would this be compared to the Village's policy. Mr.
Evertson answered it can be found in the benefits section. He referred to Appendix B, under
the heading of Salaries on page 2. He explained some cities use the range, and then they
increase the employee salary on an annual basis by whatever the CPI is, but in the meantime
what is forgotten is to adjust the range by the CPI. The pay scale is a complete grid, they do
not adjust the whole grid based upon the CPI, they adjust the salary within it but the grid
remains the same. The adopted salary range becomes obsolete, because it is not adjusting to
the grid. Council Member Genco asked if Council needed to adjust it across the board every
year. Mr. Evertson answered it should be adjusted in addition to salary, and Council should
make sure that it does not create a deviation.
Council Member Genco felt the last four years Council had been adjusting the Village
salaries. Mr. Evertson responded the study shows based on the communities used the
Village's positions were average to slightly above that position. He went on to explain that
each position, for example the Finance Director; the market range was between $67,900 and
$144,000 dollars but the Village's range was between $66,000 and $106,497. He commented
it is pretty close to being right on. Mr. Evertson used Martin County communities but when
one also looked at the types of services that the Village was providing, the Village by all
comparisons it is more like Martin County on paper. He told Council they initially looked at
those signs; he used the example of the Parks and Recreation Director; so in many respects
the Village is compared to the types of services that it is providing while the Village's size is
like that of Martin County. He stated the service that the Village is providing is more like
Palm Beach County, and because of this, when the Village is trying to attract employees to
provide these services, it is competing against communities in Palm Beach County. He stated
• one of the challenges Council has, is to decide what the benchmark is going to be. He said
the PEPIE study shows Palm Beach, Broward, Tequesta and some of Martin County as part
of it. Mr. Evertson wished he could say the Village was well above average, but it is not. One
of the key issues that was discovered is there is a challenge finding good people for these
jobs. The Village may have 4 or 5 people applying to a job, but it is the people that Council is
not aware of who do not apply, because of the competitive salary range. He stated it is
interesting that in the last 3'/z years the Village has lost 37 full time employees. He
commented that is significant. Council Member Genco stated it was not because of a salary
issue. Mr. Evertson responded the feedback that he received in the survey and from the heads
of the Departments, is that salaries were a significant issue all across the board. Council
Member Genco said she has heard it was because they were married, they wanted to live in a
different region, closer to family, or that they wanted a different job, or a higher paying job,
but not because of the salary. She said from looking at the study obviously some of the
minimum salaries were below, but in a lot of cases the maximum ranges were significantly
higher. Mr. Evertson explained in some communities there was a strict adherence to a salary
range, or a salary range as used as a guide. He elaborated by explaining that some
communities increase above a minimum, or they have increased it to a certain maximum
dollar amount, or a certain percentage increase above the minimum.
Mr. Evertson used the example of the City Manager's position. He said that $85,000 was the
maximum, and they increased it to $125,000 and they did it all across the board for all
employees. He explained they expanded the maximum cap. Council Member Genco
commented the Village was adjusting the maximum cap. Mayor Humpage commented in
. looking at the two studies the high-end people were ok.
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• Council Member Genco commented what surprised her is that Mr. Evertson agreed the
PEPIE study was not a good one to utilize for comparisons, and for some reason or the other
he decided to use it. She felt the PEPIE study does not apply comparatively to the
demographics of the Village of Tequesta. Mr. Evertson explained what they used from the
PEPIE study, he was not able to get information from the municipality to include in
comparable positions, and it was less than 5% of the case, but he wanted to make sure he had
the information in there. He used the information provided by the PEPIE study for that
position and for that community. Council Member Genco responded it seemed strange to her
he decided to include that information. Mr. Evertson explained the information was not as
complete as it should be, and the goal was to make the information as complete as possible.
He stated it is relevant and it would be foolish not to include it in the study, and he did not
have the results of the PEPIE study at the time. He said he found out about it after the study
was discussed at the Council Meeting, so he wanted to make sure he had it to at least look at
it. Council Member Genco stated she was happy an independent consultant was going to
bring to the table their own work experience and evaluation without the input of internal
steering. Mr. Evertson stated he always gives both Council members and Staff members the
opportunity to give feedback, and whether he decides to include that feedback or not, it is at
his own discretion. He stated he hoped Council Member Genco did not think that Staff
influenced his report. He elaborated that in Jupiter and Palm Beach Gardens there were
several of these positions, for example, the Parks and Recreation Director, there would have
been only 3 comparables, and as he stated in the Methodology, there always had to be a
minimum of 6 to be comparable in results. He commented the information was gathered
independently, but where the PEPIE was used, he wanted to make sure the information
collected was absolutely current.
• Council Member Genco said she agreed with that, but out of 94 employees there were 2 that
come from Broward, and the study basically was of Broward County. Mr. Evertson agreed,
noting a lot of the communities that were used in the PEPIE study, the reason he thought it
was not appropriate to use it was that Council asked for comparable Martin County
communities to be used, and second, the Broward County communities are so far away they
were not comparable. He explained the only reason some of the PEPIE numbers were used
was if he had the primary or alternate communities that were applied in the initial study, or to
double check the current information. Council Member Genco stated she just wanted to know
because she was following up on the study even though she did not talk to Mr. Evertson
every time, she remembered they talked quiet a bit on the phone.
Vice Mayor Tom Paterno said one thing he finds about the study is sometimes the outside
people who consult do dispute the inside people. He explained if one speaks to certain people
more, influence is inevitable without even knowing it, so he can understand what Mr.
Evertson is saying. He added another thing is there are few Parks and Recreation positions to
compare to; and second the Village Parks and Recreation is not on the same scale as some of
the comparables. He commented it is trying to take someone in two different cities, without
making judgment on what they make, but that the maximum in Palm Beach County may be
$100,000, with 500 full time employees, compared to someone with 3 employees. He
specified if they compare title to title that is irrelevant, so they have to look at the positions
and say a Water Plant Superintendent in Highland Beach makes so much, and a Water
Resources Division Manager in Palm Beach makes so much.
•
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Vice Mayor Paterno commented that is not easy to compare. Mr. Evertson said he took care
to ensure they were comparable positions, with similar responsibilities, and hierarchy and
duties in those municipalities.
Mayor Humpage commented excluding the department heads, he thought the Village was in
pretty good shape. He said he looked back and compared benefit factors, and felt the Village
was right there with everybody else. He added the biggest thing he saw was it came down to
the actual salaries of the individuals. So for his own benefit he took the biggest goal that he
thought the Village had, and that was Public Safety. He described it as the biggest consumer.
He tried to look at the police officers and fire fighters, but he had difficulty just saying
police, because there were police officers that have 3 years experience with the Village, and
then there are police officers who have 7 years experience. He expressed there is no such
thing as Police Officer I, II III positions in the Village. He stated he did not want to say an
increase in salary was based on longevity, there are programs in the Village related to
reimbursement for education, but he felt performance was more valuable than longevity.
Mayor Humpage explained he was at a meeting for the Palm Beach County Fire Department.
He spoke to Chief Brice and Lt. St. Pierre and they were talking about what was coming up
with the fire department. It appeared to him in October, Palm Beach County would be hiring
120 fire fighters or more. He explained he went in 3 directions, not to say that everyone in
the Village does not get some consideration, but he wanted comparisons for clerical, police
and fire from the PEPIE study, and Mr. Evertson's study. He mentioned he tried to come up
with some kind of average that the benefits being equal, it comes down to money. He stated
typically it is easier to see when one looks at the PEPIE study because of the way it is lined
up, that when one looks at Tequesta. He commented when one looks at police officers in the
28 municipalities, the Village ranks 24, but the Village typically thought it was in the top 30
percent. He indicated when he looked at the PEPIE study and Mr. Evertson's it had some
correlation, it gave the Village of Tequesta a higher range, but still a range that was lower
than he would prefer to see those employees. Mayor Humpage felt the Village was well
below where they should be.
Council Member Genco felt it depended on the position, for example the fire department,
which holds to more than any other department in the Village. Mayor Humpage specified the
numbers show that the fire department was the biggest part of the Village's budget. He
continued to say he thinks the higher positions, for example, the detectives are in the top 30
percent, but the patrol officers and the fire fighters, and the average paramedic is where the
problem is, and needs to be addressed. He suggested they should scrutinize it. Council
Member Genco referred to page 1 and 2, just before Appendix C. She stated she did not
know if Current Base Salary was averaged among the positions. She stated she understands
what it is, but when she tries put those into the grades she can not, based on what Mr.
Evertson was saying. Mr. Evertson referred to page 1 of 2 in Appendix D, and explained the
spreadsheet showed all the positions, the current base salaries, the ranges the market showed,
and then next to it the current grade, and the proposed grade. He pointed out how out of order
some of the classifications were, some of the pay ranges based upon the market, based upon
the internal classification system. He said he used the compensable factors as one tool, the
second one being the market study, and the third being the current classification system. He
explained that is why it is the number one thing in the findings that the positions did not
match up.
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Council Member Genco asked if they averaged, because typically when she averages she has
• the highs and the lows, and then she averages it. Mr. Evertson explained on the pay ranges
there are a variety of ways it can be done. One can take the low of the low, and the high of
the high; so if one goes back to each of the positions and picks any one of them, the low of
the low can be taken, or one can take the average and use that as the new range. Mr. Evertson
referred to page 8 of 23 in Appendix A. He stated some communities he has worked with
have adopted that as the range, and some of them have adopted an average; some of them
have adopted 10 percent above the average, or 20 percent above the average as their policy.
Council Member Genco asked if all of his findings were based on market range averages.
Mr. Evertson said there are both the highs, and the averages. Council Member Genco
specified she was referring to Appendix D, item 1 of 2. She pointed out Mr. Evertson was
proposing the standardized scale, which means there was a choice of either. Mr. Evertson
responded yes. He pointed out those are two examples on one spreadsheet of what the result
would have been if two were chosen. He explained the averages, or the high/low can be
adopted, or something completely different. Council Member Genco explained she was not
certain of what it was depicting. She pointed out it shows some variances, and in some
conditions there was quiet a different range. Mr. Evertson stated the policy comes down to
the Village Manager. He explained the Village could believe the average was acceptable or
the Village could say they want to be 10 percent, or 20 percent above the average, or they
want to beat the average. Council Member Genco stated for the best part the average was
more accurate than the demographic salaries ranges were.
Council Member Watkins commented in looking at the study she was very enthused at what
• the study showed about the Village of Tequesta because the Village was a unique
municipality, and it is difficult to do a study such as Mr. Evertson's because they have a lot
of services a town the Village's size does not usually have. She expressed the reason for such
a study and subsequently her concern was the Village do the best job to attract the best
employees and keep the salaries up. She recommended taking a serious look at what could be
done to make sure the employees were in the top third, which would take time; but indicated
she would like to direct the Manager to move in that direction to both keep and attract the
best employees. Council Member Watkins suggested all of this be studied, and it would be
up to the Village Manager to implement it. Council Member Watkins advised that the
second issue now hurting everybody was the housing market, a crucial factor that would have
to be considered along with salaries. She commented she wanted to do whatever could be
done to let employees know the Village valued them and keep their salaries at a place so that
the Village could keep the employees they had. Mr. Evertson agreed, and responded that a
factor was the competitiveness of the private sector. There were a number of jobs in the
private sector that had the same positions-planning and zoning, plans examiners, building
inspectors, finance personnel, etc., and the gap was widening nationwide between private and
public sector salaries. From his own observation and conversations with personnel
managers, he saw a future loss of public employees to the private sector. The Village was
not only competing with other cities, but a lot of cities were beginning to adjust their salaries
to try to retain employees rather than losing them to private employers. Council Member
Genco agreed with the retention issue and thought it came into play basically with loyalty of
longer term employees, and stated she did not think you could take someone who had just
started and pay them in the upper quadrant unless they had ten years experience.
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• Council Member Genco thought consideration must be given to the fact that everyone got
paid for experience, and not just for having a degree. Council Member Genco commented
most although not all of the Village employees were getting compensated, depending on the
position, at least at the minimum, and most of them at midpoint or above. Council Member
Genco felt the focus should be on entry level salaries for some of the positions that were
underpaid and she would really like the Village to encourage management to give everyone
cost of living increase which everyone was entitled to, but not to automatically give merit
increases, since merit increases should based on dedication and contribution, not only for the
job but how good they were about getting the work on time. She was not sure that had been
the policy, and she was against giving everybody across the board the same thing every time,
which did not encourage people to try to do better. In her career, she had never worked for a
company that gave the same merit increases across the board.
Mr. Evertson noted there were two issues: performance based versus merit. Payment for
knowledge, skills and abilities usually came down to evaluations. Performance based
systems were highly effective, but they were affected by your ability to implement and
maintain the system. If you did not strictly adhere to a standard it could slip away,
particularly in a small community, and it just became a standard evaluation, just giving
possibly 3% as opposed to a tangible performance measuring system that was always
applied. The second part of it was dedication, skill, and abilities were a part of any job and if
you took a group and looked at their dollar skills and abilities and experience in the job, and
asked, if we were to hire this person as a new employee what would they be paid; four or five
of those he had looked at would be paid at a higher rate. Council Member Genco commented
• that was a call that had to be made, but the Fire Department might be an exception, because
you want to hire someone based on having as many skills and as much education as possible
versus bringing them on as a trainee and then providing them with the skills and education.
She expressed a lot of other positions could be looked at as entry level-clerical would be the
best example-you would need initially someone who could write letters and file, but after
three years you might find out this person was doing a lot more than that, and they had been
compensated hopefully by the merit increases and by the COLA, but maybe they could move
into a position that would be a higher pay grade.
Mr. Evertson commented a position like Police Chief, Planning Director, or Director of
Community Development was based on not only on knowledge, skills and abilities, and the
candidate pool, but if the person had additional skills that might be utilized. There was a lot
more massaging or evaluating and looking at individual positions on a management level
than on entry-level positions. He was sometimes torn between what the market said a
position was worth, and what value the Village placed on that position, which was really the
essence of what was being discussed here.
Council Member Genco stated that was where the Manager had to reevaluate initial job
expectations, but from an entry level position, which was much different than a department
manager, unless you needed to replace someone with ten years experience; she thought hiring
someone at entry level would be acceptable. Mr. Evertson commented he had seen some
cities adopt aperformance-based system for management and none for non-management-
• and there was a range of options that could be done.
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Council Member Genco commented Mr. Evertson had provided the Village with a way of
evaluating and ranking people for increases for job performance, evaluation ranking 1 to 5.
She asked if that what the Village would be adopting.
Village Manager Couzzo commented the evaluation system used to be based on who was
rating, and who had an inclination to rate high, with 0 to 5% giving everyone in the system
the same analysis. He noted the average rate was 4.2%. When he came to the Village,
salaries were jumping at a rate of 13% to 15% to 18% annually. One of the Council goals
had been to contain costs to a degree. Then when talking about the plan currently in place,
both unions had completely embraced it, because it treated everyone basically equal and did
not leave the discretion to the manager. Council Member Genco commented unions were a
whole different matter. She commented if that was what they chose to do, the Village knew
what their salary expectations and costs were. The employees had decided that and the
Council had not, and she thought it was a very altruistic way of dealing with things, and it did
not represent what happened out in real corporate life.
Mr. Evertson responded the evaluation process provided was a suggestion based on the
discussion of the performance-based system. A problem with the evaluation system was a lot
of times it was one person doing the evaluation and if the employee did not get feedback, that
evaluation became meaningless. Vice Mayor Paterno commented he liked merit. The
problem he found in this system was managers were sometimes put into an awkward position
if they were the only one doing the evaluationif they only gave someone 1 % that was a
reflection on them since you could ask why was the person still here. It took a very strong
. manager to make those decisions as opposed to having more people doing the evaluation, so
maybe the system had to change--there was pressure on a manager to keep his employees.
Mr. Evertson asked to turn to page 3, section M, explaining the whole purpose of this
evaluation was to allow the employee and the manager, plus two peers selected by the
employee and two peers selected by the manager, to do an evaluation, and it could be done in
20-30 minutes tops. The issues were practical knowledge, theoretical knowledge, quality of
work, quantity of work-a lot of times an employee would think his manager wanted him to
put out a lot of work, when in reality what the manager wanted was quality rather than
quantity. Many times those things were not clearly communicated-but assumed or
misunderstood. In an example, evaluators evaluated what they thought the relevance of
quantity of work was to that position, but also what they thought the person's performance
was. The employee thought the relevance of quantity was relevant but not important or
crucial-the manager had evaluated at a 3 while everybody else evaluated at 2-3. In that
case the manager could say, we need to discuss this because his perception of the position
was it required a higher quantity of work, the peers as a whole had the perception it required
a higher quantity of work, but the employee's perception was below that; however, the
average showed this position required a higher quantity of work. Each item on the list could
be evaluated this way. The other thing was quality of work based on performance.
Sometimes a person rated themselves higher, but in a survey were continually evaluated
lower.
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He had discovered this unintended consequence with the survey and that there was an issue
here. Sometimes an employee constantly thought they were doing worse than they really
were, and through this process a manager could say, look, not only did I evaluate your
performance high, your peers evaluated it high, give yourself some credit that you are doing
a good job;' and then he could note tangible areas where the employee could improve and
then could tie it to performance, by saying, I want you to improve in this specific area, I want
you to go to this training and get this certification, and if you do that your hourly wage will
increase if you can perform accordingly. Ms. Reid commented she had gone to all the
department heads and gotten feedback from within and found there was high pressure.
Council Member Genco asked to go back to exhibit D regarding proposed grade. In cases
she had randomly selected, the proposed grade in a lot of instances did not result in any
changes to salaries; yet if she looked at the material under appendix A, a lot of the positions
did require increases, and she asked how to work with these two things.
Mr. Evertson responded to look at market survey results along with appendix A, page 4, for
Parks and Recreation Director. The average salary range for Parks and Recreation Director
based on the study was $60,000 to $90,000. The current salary was $52,200, which told him
that either that employee was improperly classified or improperly compensated. That
brought him back to a comment from Vice Mayor Paterno as to whether that person was
functioning as a director or as a recreation supervisor. Ms. Reid noted you must look at both
internal and external factors, because people judged their peers both internally and compared
to external peers, so when you were doing classification studies you were really looking at
the value and stating this is what we value and you are here, here, and here, compared to
• what we are looking for. The scale being presented was only addressing internal workings,
and not how much of a role of responsibility you had. After you had decided on your
internal workings and everybody was evaluated, then you took that and looked at it with the
market. For example, in an insurance company there might be a position that was so scarce
outside that you had to pay high to attract someone, and you must understand classification
internally then take that job externally, matching it to the market, and the market would
determine the external salary. Also, one could have a lot of responsibility internally but the
market might not be paying that high for that position.
Mayor Humpage distributed information from 1993 when the Fire Department had been
established and by using other departments to compare came up with the recommended
Tequesta wage, but now it was 30% below market. Council Member Genco noted that on
some positions where they were topped out and only getting COLA, there was an opportunity
to go into a higher salary range. Mayor Humpage commented in his business he went to the
county to pull permits and felt there were not enough people in Building and Planning,
because they had lost positions, and the same thing was happening here. The overtime that
had been paid could be distributed in another fashion, and Tequesta would no longer have the
issue with people leaving, since some people had left because of the money. He thought that
in October the Sheriff's department was going to be hiring people, and he thought the Village
should get serious about what they paid people, and if you wanted the quality of life and
quality of service to remain, you must pay the people.
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June 30, 2006
Page 11
Council Member Genco stated she agreed, but questioned that the Village seemed to have a
• label that they were not paying reasonable wages, which she felt was unfair. Mr. Evertson
responded the Village was paying reasonable wages but the question was whether it was
enough. Council Member Genco commented the classification system Mr. Evertson was
giving the Village allowed more ability to give increases-the example she was looking at
paid $52,000 and by changing the classification from 12 to 14 it would go as high as
$54,607. That told her there was $2,000 worth of ability in there for all those people. Mr.
Evertson explained that was an adjustment to the range but did not mean anything in regard
to actual salary.
Council Member Genco commented if most people were making salaries in the maximum
range, why did the salaries need to be adjusted, and looking at the majority of positions with
the exceptions of those that were minimum, most of the people were being paid well-they
were in the mid or maximum of every range. She was looking at page 6 and 7 of 23, which
showed fair salaries, and the majority was that way. Council Member Watkins noted that you
were going to have some people that met the criteria and they were trying the address the
ones that didn't. Council Member Genco responded she looking at an executive assistant
who had the job a year and was within less than $500 of everyone's range average, and asked
how much appendix D affected making changes in entry level with those grades. This was
her area of most concern. Council Member Watkins expressed her opinion that some of
Tequesta's employees definitely fell below where she felt they needed to be and that was
what should be addressed.
Vice Mayor Paterno commented some adjustments needed to be made, but the Village must
operate within budgets. For the people who had most value, no matter where they were, it
was very difficult. Using the Manager as an example, if you gave him more money he might
save the Village more money by getting grants, using one person versus two, etc., and it was
a difficult thing. Some positions were more routine, but in some a person made a bigger
difference, and that was when they should move into a higher category. Council Member
Watkins noted this would take time to evolve. Council Member Genco commented if people
would stay with the Village long term and came in at entry level or a little higher, they would
end up in the maximum salary ranges, as it should be.
Vice Mayor Paterno commented some people only wanted to do their job and go home, and
did not want to supervise, they just wanted to do their job, while others with incentive wanted
to go higher. Mayor Humpage stated his opinion it was middle-of--the- road people-using
Public Safety as an example since it was the largest middle-of-the-road group-that needed
to be looked at, and it was a serious issue that the county was going to try to steal those
people. Council Member Genco agreed the Manager must look at that and the Fire Chief
must look at that, but if new hires didn't have accreditation you couldn't expect them to
come in at mid-range. Mayor Humpage indicated he did not expect them to come in at mid-
range but he also did not expect them to come in at what they were coming in at now.
n
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Council Member Genco commented she did not disagree on entry level ranges, what she did
disagree with was that everyone deserved to be in the top max. She thought that was
something you attained by staying with the job, by proving your worth on the job, getting
educated on the job, and working your way into, and she did not think it was an entitlement.
Mr. Evertson commented in his opinion one of the most important things was you had the
internal and external issues and the external issue was whether the Village's ranges were
comparable and high enough to keep employees from going to another job. In talking with
the department heads he found they had challenges in training new employees and were
starting to see an increase in inability to get what they perceived as a good candidate. Vice
Mayor Paterno pointed out that was not a unique situation, it also occurred in the private
sector-if you were an electrician and wanted to hire a really good electrician you had to pay
to get that person. The problem was everyone could not be top, so with length of time and
knowledge it must be staggered across the spectrum, and sell something outside the box.
Village Manager Couzzo cautioned you also take into consideration you were dealing with
collective bargaining units for half of public safety, all utility employees, and the dispatchers.
Mayor Humpage responded it was their call if they decided to share among themselves and
the Village could do nothing about that. Mr. Evertson reminded everyone the discussion was
only for salaries that were too low to be regionally competitive. Council Member Genco
noted she could not agree because there were 50% --eight that were competitive and eight
that were not. Mr. Evertson clarified they should consider the employee salaries that were
currently below the market, and this was addressing current employees, some of who were
misclassified.
It was noted the Manager wore two hats-that was the reali -and the Mana er at Ju iter
tY g P
did not, and a differential needed to be considered. Each employee should be evaluated as to
whether their salary was appropriate to what it should be, also considering the market range.
Council Member Genco commented that was valid. Mayor Humpage expressed his opinion
the department size mattered, and in the police department officers, sergeants, lieutenants,
and corporals should each have requirements to do different things to get more money, to
give them something to work for, just like there were requirements for the Chief. There was
now only one classification for paramedics, and they needed different categories to split this
up and give them something to work toward. Discussion ensued. Village Manager
commented a fireman could become a fire paramedic, there were different ranges with
different pay ranges and it was usually large corporations that had all the classifications.
There were also budgets and contract negotiations to consider.
Mayor Humpage commented there had to be revenue available to do this; sometimes taxes
might even have to be raised. Right now reserves were going for the bridge. Village
Manager Couzzo commented that only a section of the bridge might have to be replaced as
opposed to the whole bridge. Attorney Hawkins commented the character of the Village
might be changing, in terms of demand for services, which no one had mentioned.
Population was changing, the values of homes were increasing, the demand for real estate
had tripled prices, and the Village had taken on a radically different character from when he
first started here as an attorney, and he was curious that no one had said anything about that.
•
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June 30, 2006
Page 13
Mr. Evertson commented laborers in Tequesta had always been the neighbors, but that was
• going to change and the Village would be pulling in labor from 50-60 miles away instead of
within the Village. This happened very, very slowly and often times you did not see a
service level deficiency until it was too late, and by the time you saw it, it was too late.
Turnover might slowly increase, and it might seem like a normal transition, but if the
demographic was changing, then that whole service level could completely change.
Attorney Hawkins noted his firm represented Jupiter Island, which was a very different
place, and they had made a value choice as to personnel, which was the issue here. Human
Resource Director Reid commented you had to make a decision regarding compensation as
to whether you were going to get that much more value by leading the market. Mayor
Humpage noted it was sometimes circumstances with the employee's situation that dictated a
changea policeman's wife might be having another baby and if he could get $8,000 more
by going to the Sheriff's Department, he had to make a choice, and it was difficult to make
that choice. Vice Mayor Paterno recommended utilizing technology and to keep moving that
along by putting money into technology. The Village Manager agreed that was part of the
equationit was not just one or two components.
Mayor Humpage asked Council if they would like to take a short break. Mayor Humpage
recessed the meeting at 4:10 p. m., and reconvened the meeting at 4:18. P. M. Mayor Humpage
indicated he needed to leave the meeting for a few minutes to take care of some business. He
passed the gavel to Vice Mayor Paterno, and left the meeting.
• Mr. Evertson reviewed Section 3. Pages 17-25.
Finding #1- "Some position Titles in Classification System, Organization Chart, Job Surveys
and Payroll System do not match". Mr. Evertson recommended the Human Resources
Manager and the Village Manager implement this by clarifying all the titles and positions
within the organization chart and the payroll system, and job titles. Consensus of Council
agreed.
Finding #9 - "Use of "Director", "Manager", "Supervisor", and "Superintendent"
designations are unclear appear to be used interchangeably and inconsistently.
Mr. Evertson recommended the Village Manager along with the Human Resources Manager
be allowed to implement these changes, as appropriate. Consensus of Council agreed.
Finding #2 - "Some very similar positions have different Job Descriptions while other
positions with considerably different duties are covered by the same Job Description".
Mr. Everstson noted he spoke with the Human Resources Manager last week regarding the
job descriptions and how they are properly classified. He recommended increasing the
number of pay grades from 26 to 30, so this could accommodate part time and seasonal, and
hourly positions.
•
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He noted looking at Appendix D Table of pay grades he recommended Council direct the
• Village Manager to look at all the positions, and also consider the classified positions. He
noted for example take the Village Clerk, there was no Deputy Clerk Position, and the
Village really needs to have a Deputy Clerk classification. Vice Mayor Paterno mentioned
the Village does not have a Deputy Clerk position. Mr. Everston mentioned these are things
there are no classified positions where someone is wearing the hat, or multiple hats what
would normally be two or three separate classifications. He recommended adopt a
classification, even though they are not filling the position, the Village would have the
appropriate classification in place, so that Council knows this person is fulfilling job duties of
this classification and that classification.
Council Member Genco asked whether Mr. Evertson was proposing a Stormwater
Superintendent. Mr. Evertson responded no, this would just allow for the adoption of the
classification. He recommended this Finding be done internally. Ms. Merlene Reid, Human
Resources Manager asked Mr. Evertson the difference between part time classification versus
full time designation. Mr. Evertson commented part time is a designation of frequency, and
benefits. He noted positions should be classified whether they are part time or full time. Ms.
Reid questioned Appendix D, Page 1 or 2 regarding the part time classifications. Mr.
Evertson mentioned there currently is no classifications or pay grades for part time positions
or seasonal. He commented the reason he included Grade 1 through 5, because if you are a
classification of 6 do you really want to be at the bottom. Mr. Evertson noted a part of this is
a reflection of where you are, and so what that did was basically to start the scale at Pay
grade 6, instead of starting at Pay grade 1. He indicated the Village could hire a part time
• person that would be annually starting at $16,000 a year that could be a Pay grade 2. He
noted not only is it cosmetic but there is some function to it as well. Consensus of Council
agreed.
Finding #3- "The Village of Tequesta's current job descriptions varied in format. Most
descriptions were not uniformly consistent or tied to compensation in any quantifiable
method, and many were not consistent with the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act
(FLSA) and the American with Disabilities Act (ADA)". He mentioned he wanted to make
sure the current job descriptions were consistent with the FLSA, such as if it says the position
needs to be able to lift 25 pounds occasionally; the employee will sue the employer because
the Village said occasionally, and they hurt their back, so the job description states the
employee must be able to lift 25 pounds, or heavy objects. He noted he has gone through to
make sure the education, the experience, the knowledge and duties are all refined. He
commented Assistant Village Manager Robert Garlo did an exceptional job on half of them,
but the rest have not been updated. He recommended all of this could be done and completed
internally by the Village Manager. Consensus of Council agreed.
Finding #4 - "The Village of Tequesta's current pay structure appears to be "internally"
consistent and appropriate. Externally however, current Pay Ranges are at or slightly above
the Market Range, but are not competitive enough to attract and retain high-quality
employees. Appendix B".
•
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June 30, 2006
Page 15
Mr. Evertson suggested coming back to this item, because there was a lot to it. Council
• Member Genco asked is this where the Village Manager needs to give Council the input.
Village Manager Couzzo agreed, noting Council could do (2) regarding the Consumer Price
Index (CPI) and the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA). He pointed out he felt the Village
was very consistent with the COLA. Ms. Reid commented the first sentence in Finding 4,
seems fine, because it is internal versus external, and the pay structure appears to be
internally consistent, so they could adopt the first sentence. She felt the Village was fine with
the internal. Council Member Genco noted the discussion would be how to handle the
external part. Vice Mayor questioned if the internal within the same classification or across
the proposed pay scales. He commented some of Council may not agree to Mr. Evertson's
pay grades. Mr. Evertson stated for example in Appendix D Market Survey Pay Ranges,
there were a few identified that appeared to be misclassified or mispaid, but under those they
identified that appeared to be possibly misclassified, the rest of the system appeared to be
internally consistent.
Vice Mayor Paterno asked if Mr. Evertson was recommending the Village Manager be
allowed to adjust the grade and range on some of the positions. Mr. Evertson stated yes in his
observation; he noted the Village Manager might want to tweak this some. Vice Mayor
Paterno indicated he would like to see this information before it is implemented. Council
Member Genco suggested holding off on item (1) under later in the meeting, and move
forward with (2). Consensus of Council agreed.
Finding #5 - "The Village of Tequesta's current salary ranges are too low to be regionally
• competitive in employee attraction and retention. Eight (8) of Village employee salary are
below the comparable market average minimum salary and eight (8) are above the maximum
average".
Mr. Evertson recommended considering an immediate increase in the employee salaries that
are below the market minimum, misclassified, or fulfilling the duties of multiple job
classifications. Council Member Genco noted she found information on 1(a) but did not see
information on 1 (b) or 1(c). Mr. Evertson commented this would be done on a case by case
basis with the information he provided, such as the Parks and Recreation Director. He
pointed out the position is called Director, but it may not serve at the same level as the rest of
directors in other municipalities. He felt the Village Manager and the Human Resources
Manager should be able to make the call whether the classification was based upon the
person's capabilities and experience, not what the job required. He commented the job was
designed as a Director, and it should be a classification of something else, but if the person
does not function within that capacity then the Village should adjust the classification, or
adjust the salary. He recommended the Village Manager and the Finance section review this
position.
Council Member Watkins asked whether the Village Manager would just change it or bring it
back to Council. Village Manager Couzzo stated it does not necessarily have to come back to
Council if they give direction.
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June 30, 2006
Page 16
He mentioned he did not believe Council could do it across the board, because of the existing
union contracts. He agreed it had to be looked at, other than those that would be restricted by
collective bargaining. Council Member Genco suggested the minimum entry-level positions
were the ones that the Village Manager needed to address. Council Member Genco asked if
the Village Manager was going to identify recommendations for Finding 5, item (2). She felt
there was not much that could be done since the people were on the top, because the Village
could not take it away from them. Mr. Evertson mentioned the Human Resources Manager
was going to look at that over the next year. Council Member Genco commented unless there
is attrition in the job the Village can not decrease someone's salary. Vice Mayor Paterno
pointed out at least the Village could identify them. Council Member Genco commented they
are identified already in the report. Vice Mayor Paterno commented the other thing that could
happen, if their salary is higher, there may be an opportunity for some of those people to take
on more responsibility to bring the position in line. Mr. Evertson agreed if the salary is higher
they could add additional duties or responsibilities to compensate, as opposed to reducing
their salary.
Village Manager Couzzo asked for clarification that all of these recommendations were
based on Mr. Evertson's market. Council Member Genco commented that is what she
understood. She explained Mr. Everston gave Council the averages, highs and lows, so that is
what she would like to see if the Village Manager is going to make the adjustments that it
comes back to Council with what he plans to do with each one of the grades. Village
Manager Couzzo agreed to bring back the information. Council Member Genco commented
it would also help if he could give titles to go with the grades.
• Vice Mayor Paterno asked the Village Manager his opinion on how he planned to make this
study work. Village Manager Couzzo stated the first thing was to determine the level of
service; he believed everyone had determined the service level, the quality, be toward the
top. He stated Council has to determine the market, noting every study has a market, and that
they have to be sensitive to changing factors in a variety of markets. He noted one thing the
Mayor mentioned was the Sheriffs Department and the County Fire Rescue departments will
be hiring tremendous amount of people. He felt it would put a strain on the Village in
recruitment with all the same people in those markets if the Village's benefits and pay were
not comparable. Vice Mayor Paterno commented at the same time everyone is talking about
new employees, what about retaining the great employees the Village has. He commented the
hardest part, the reason we need new employees is because the Village can not retain the
ones that they want to retain. He stated turnover creates a need for new employees. Council
Member Genco commented the majority was not leaving because salary issues. Vice Mayor
Paterno agreed, and stated maybe the Village needs to go about this in a way that is a
combination of salary and some other benefit.
Council Member Genco commented she did not know what the attrition levels were for a
normal corporation versus a municipality. She noted that would be an appropriate thing to
look at. Council Member Genco commented our municipality is not growing, and there is not
a lot the Village can do about that.
•
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June 30, 2006
Page 17
Village Manager Couzzo commented that is one of the things that makes it harder, we are not
• growing at a different rate, but somehow the Village has to compete with everyone else for
policemen, firemen, and building inspectors. He pointed out the Village had to go to The
Keys to get our current Community Development Director, and Delray to get Police Chief
McCollum. Council Member Genco noted for Department Directors that was not bad.
Village Manager Couzzo agreed, and felt they probably would not do that with a police
officer, but with firefighters they might, because of their schedule so many days off and so
many days on, they could make the drive. He explained the Village was going to have to find
out what the market bears, and be sensitive and adjust to it.
Mr. Evertson felt item 1 was very straight-forward; the Village currently has in their current
pay ranges employees below the minimum that need to be adjusted. Village Manager Couzzo
agreed it could only be done with those employees not covered by collective bargaining.
Consensus of Council agreed they are good with that. Village Manager Couzzo stated the
Village would be going into contract negotiations with police department and communication
workers very soon. Mr. Evertson mentioned on items 1(b) and 2, he recommended those be
done over the next year as part of the normal HR process; and item 3, he commented may
take a full year to evaluate all the other positions and then they could come back to Council
next budget season and say this is what we wanted to do with ones we did not previously
adjust. Council Member Genco indicated she would like to see item 3 information. Village
Manager Couzzo asked for clarification if anyone who makes a recommendation to change
the pay status, do they want that to come back to Council.
. Council Member Genco commented Council agreed anyone below the minimum, the Village
Manager have discretion on, but on all the other employees that is what Council would like
to see back. Vice Mayor Paterno suggested Council should have a brief discussion about how
this would economically impact the Village.
Village Manager Couzzo stated the ones below the minimum would not be that much, but
could create a situation this year some additional funding would be needed, but felt it would
not be a burden on the budget. Council Member Genco agreed, and stated it would not be
essential as the other issue could end up. Mr. Evertson clarified Finding 5, any adjustments
that are made are based upon current ranges, it is assuming no adjustments are made the
ranges, and that any of these recommendations are within the current ranges. He commented
it is separate from Finding 4, because on Finding 4 when you adjust the ranges to a certain
number, then it applies to Finding 5. Consensus of Council agreed (2) and (3) are on hold for
feedback, and (1) do immediately, adjust the below market to at least the minimum market.
Finding #6 - " h1 comparison to other communities, employees benefits in the Village of
Tequesta are better, but more costly".
Mr. Evertson commented this finding was recommending there be an internal committee to
review benefits and recommend changes. Council Member Genco commented she would
love to see a committee, and suggested someone from the public participate in the committee.
Village Manager Couzzo indicated he was open to suggestions.
•
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Page 18
Mr. Evertson pointed out the Manager has been great in keeping the Village costs unchanged
• on the health insurance. Council Member Genco noted the Village has been very lucky. Mr.
Evertson explained he has kept it at bay for 4 years, but felt it was going to change. He
mentioned Ms. Reid suggested sending a general survey out to the employees to address
benefits versus salaries. He mentioned in a national last year survey benefits were the number
one choice, and compensation was second, but this year the survey found compensation is
now the number one issue, and benefits are number 2. Council Member Genco commented
lets see what the Village employees say. Ms. Reid indicated she was going to use the same
scale for determining importance of the issues to the employee.
Mr. Evertson recommended for Finding #6, (1) and (2) to direct the Manager to implement
the changes appropriate over the next year. Council Member Genco indicated she would like
some feedback on this also.
Mayor Humpage returned to the meeting at 4:45 P. M. Vice Mayor Paterno returned the gavel to
Mayor Humpage.
Council Member Genco felt Findings 7 and 8 should be reviewed together.
Finding #7 - "The Village of Tequesta pays more of its budgeted personnel expenses towards
benefits (5% higher) and less to salaries (5% lower) than the comparable average".
Finding #8 - "Without conducting personnel performance interviews, it was difficult to
• determine whether the Village's personnel evaluation format encourages higher performance
or is tied to pre-determined pay increases".
Mr. Evertson explained it sounded the direction of Council was to have the Village Manager
and the Human Resources Manager to come back with some performance incentive type
solutions, something other then merit.
Council Member Genco indicated that would be great; she suggested setting aside a
percentage of what the Manager is holding for merit, and let the employees vote on how to
give it out. Village Manager Couzzo commented that is an interesting idea, and noted the
Village tried the performance recognition compensation with both unions, and both unions
said no, because they did not want a differentiation between what the employees were going
to get, because you have a manager determining it, and the variables were subjective. Vice
Mayor Paterno suggested taking the union people, and only discuss the non-union people.
Village Manager Couzzo stated as it stands today the managers have that discretion for
outstanding performance. Council Member Genco stated the Village is spending 33% versus
the median of 23%. Village Manager Couzzo stated there are factors associated with that. He
pointed out the Village is a full service community, a lot of the communities, Jupiter for
example is not a full service community as Tequesta is, they contract out for fire service. He
commented what they are paying for fire service is a different category, which is a huge
number.
•
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June 30, 2006
Page 19
He indicated Tequesta has the cost of personnel, so that kicks the percentage up. He noted so
. Jupiter's number looks down. Mr. Evertson commented another thing is when a city is
working with a huge Capital budget. Village Manager Couzzo stated everyone's number is
different. Mr. Evertson commented this was just an illustration; there are so many other
factors in each municipal budget.
Mr. Evertson indicated Finding #4 was the only remaining item to discuss.
Finding #4 - "The Village of Tequesta's current pay structure appears to be "internally"
consistent and appropriate. Externally however, current Pay Ranges are at or slightly above
the Market Range, but are not competitive enough to attract and retain high-quality
employees. Appendix B".
Recommendation (1) - "Adjust salary ranges to the proposed market-based Pay Grades for
all job classifications and consider ranges that are 5 to 10% above thaos market ranges to
remain regionally competitive in attracting and retaining quality employees".
Mr. Evertson noted if Council uses his study, he recommended Council consider using a 5%,
10% or 20% instead of that average and use it on a regular basis. He commented if they use
the PEPIE study, he recommended that Council use the Palm Beach County communities,
and that they decide on a certain core the where they would want the Village to always
remain. He stated it does not matter to him it could be either way. Council Member Genco
clarified what he was saying was to take the low, median, high and adjusting that percentage
• every year. Mr. Evertson commented the communities that he used in his study; what he was
saying is the Village approve policy that states the Council wants to remain, for example, at
10% higher on the minimum and maximum; that they want the ranges to be 10% higher than
that average for every position. Council Member Genco asked whether the Human Resources
Manager would look at these on a set date every year, average them, and let Council know
what the numbers are. Village Manager Couzzo noted the adjusted numbers would be placed
in the budget.
Council Member Genco asked since the Village already has a minimum, and if they adopt
Finding 4, that means all the numbers they already got for the minimum and maximum
would be adjusted 5 or 10%. Mr. Evertson felt what Council had agreed on was the ranges
would change, the relative position of the employee in that would remain constant, and they
would have to go back and change the employee. Council Member Genco commented they
are trying to get them to what the minimums are. She suggested Council may not want to do
this now; she felt it may be something Council would want to look at next year, and see how
the Village was holding compared to what the minimum and maximum were for these same
communities. She commented if Council feels there is disparity, then at that time it would be
appropriate to do an adjustment. Mr. Evertson recommended giving the Village Manager
direction to look what the impact would be on a 10% adjustment on the market range. Vice
Mayor Paterno commented Council had agreed the Village Manager would go to the
minimum, as it is current. Consensus of Council agreed. He asked how long would it take to
get a study on what it would cost to go to the 5 or 10% above the averages.
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Village Manager Couzzo stated certainly by the next Regular Council Meeting date. Vice
Mayor Paterno suggested August 1, 2006, then Council could review the numbers and
discuss it. Mr. Evertson clarified that is 5% and 10% of the market range that he used; he
asked if Council also wanted aside-by-side comparison of Palm Beach County communities.
Village Manager Couzzo stated they could do that.
Council Member Genco asked if the communities would be the same as listed in Mr.
Evertson's study. She felt the communities in Mr. Evertson's study were really the regional
demographic comparatives. She suggested keeping everything consistent, so that something
new was not thrown into the mix, unless for some reason it was no longer in existence.
Village Manager Couzzo commented what the committee would do if Council desired was
look at Mr. Evertson's study, but would also show aside-by-side comparison of where it fits
with the PEPIE study. He indicated they would just recreate the data, but that it would be
unadjusted for the upcoming fiscal year. He stated that would show what they are doing as it
currently stands for this year, but the data would be a year old in three months. Council
Member Genco asked if all the adjustments they were doing now were based on what is
currently in Appendix A or Appendix D. Mr. Evertson stated the ranges are based on the
current Appendix A. Vice Mayor Paterno clarified not the new pay grades. Council Member
Genco indicated she agreed, but commented if the adjustments are based upon what Mr.
Evertson was adjusting based on the minimums in Appendix D and Appendix A, otherwise
there would be no adjustments. Mr. Evertson stated the adjustments would be based upon the
average of his study. Vice Mayor Paterno commented the market range average. Mr.
• Evertson agreed. Village Manager Couzzo indicated he would provide Council with the
numbers at 5% and 10% from Mr. Evertson's study.
Consensus of Council agreed the average of the market according to Mr. Evertson's study.
Vice Mayor Paterno returned the gavel to Mayor Humpage.
IV. ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Humpage noted the meeting is adjourned.
MOTION: Council Member Genco moved to adjourn the meeting at 4:50 P.M.; seconded by
Council Member Watkins; motion passed 4-0.
wen Carlisle
Village Clerk
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