By John McLoone A proposal to bring several management positions in the City of Hastings in line with what other comparable communities pays in advance of a full wage Compensation & …
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By John McLoone
A proposal to bring several management positions in the City of Hastings in line with what other comparable communities pays in advance of a full wage Compensation & Classification Study was defeated by a 5-2 vote at last Tuesday night’s Hastings City Council meeting.
City administrator Dan Wietecha called them the “5 outlier positions” that are currently 7.9 percent to 14.8 percent below market data from other communities. His proposal would have brought the pay for the positions within 7 percent of “market.”
Wietecha said that in recent hiring efforts, it’s become apparent that the city’s wages for some positions are low. The council approved the Compensation & Classification Study which will be completed by this summer.
“In a couple of recent hiring efforts and in several departing employee exit interviews, wages have been cited as a below market. In a preliminary data review, it appears that several positions, across multiple departments, may be below market. The City Council approved a Compensation & Classification Study to ensure we are paying wages competitive with the market. The study would also help with recruiting and retaining employees as well as maintaining internal consistency and ensuring pay equity compliance,” a memo from Wietecha to the city council states. “The Comp & Class Study is the primary goal, and it will be starting soon, with an anticipated completion in early summer.”
The cost of the proposed adjustments through the completion of the wage study was put at $8,075. Wietecha proposed bringing them within 7 percent of market prior to the study would mean they could get an incremental increase upon completion of the study.
“The 7% threshold both limits the amount of change inserted into the process and also demonstrates that this brings the outliers in line with broader employee population,” he wrote.
The proposal covered the pay for the finance manager, parks director, community development director, senior accountant and IT lead support positions. The proposed pay change is below.
