City approves jobs study

Classification and compensation analysis to compare public, private sector
The Healdsburg city council approved spending $60,000 this week on a Classification and Compensation Study.
The study will compare public and private job descriptions, pay and benefits, leaving the city with an updated analysis on the employment market.
It has been 10 years since the city of Healdsburg has had a compensation study performed, and according to a report by City Manager Marjie Pettus, “as agencies change compensation packages and consolidate classifications it becomes difficult to equate positions for comparison. Generally speaking, it is necessary to perform a compensation and classification study every five years to ensure plans remain relevant.”
This study, Pettus said, “will drill down to the point where we know we are comparing apples to apples.”
Two of Healdsburg’s five bargaining units — Mid Management and Professionals (MMP) and International Brotherhood of Electric Workers (IBEW) have contracts requiring the city to conduct the study this year. During negotiations with the police and fire unions, it was agreed that those positions would be included in the study.
City councilmember Tom Chambers said he is looking forward to the study and is interested to see the full comparison between the public and private sector compensation packages, that includes a full picture of all the components “fleshed out as much as possible.
“There’s salary, but then there’s benefits, pensions, bumps for this, bumps for that. I want to see as much as they can really laid out there in a comprehensive and understandable way.”
The changing job market and recession have altered conditions in the employment market in both the public and private sector.
in Healdsburg, Pettus reported, “concession bargaining, broad-banding, elimination of the Miscellaneous Employees Association and the demise of the pay-for-performance compensation system have all impacted the city’s current classification and compensation plan.”
The analysis will take be conducted by Fox Law and Associates and will take about six months to complete.