Thursday, March 28, 2024

City Council approves new pay plan for Granbury employees

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The Granbury City Council is investing $1.7 million in a new employee compensation plan in hopes of attracting and retaining top-notch staffers for the city.

The vote to approve the plan followed a study conducted by Public Sector Personnel Consultants. The company was commissioned by the city to create an “apples to apples” statistical database for the elected officials to consider.

PSPC identified 12 cities with similar characteristics in terms of population growth, number of staff, budget, and proximity to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

Salary minimum, midpoint, and maximum numbers were calculated for each “job family and class” in the 12 cities and compared with Granbury’s actual numbers.

The approved plan adjusts Granbury’s salary ranges closer to what employees working similar jobs in nearby cities are paid.

The vote taken at the City Council’s regular meeting on Dec. 20 followed a presentation and discussion that lasted almost two hours.

City Manager Chris Coffman urged the council to approve higher pay for city staff. He said that Granbury has a “bustling economy” and expressed confidence that sales tax revenues and property tax revenues will continue to grow.

“We’re not shrinking. We’re not condensing,” he said.

Coffman indicated that when determining pay for city employees, “We’ve got to be fair. We’ve got to be equitable.”

He further stated, “There’s people out there trying to recruit my people. They’ve done it, at every level.”

Coffman noted that the pay increases were not about his own salary, which is determined separately by the City Council.

“We’re not talking about me, we’re talking about everybody else,” he said.

Mayor Pro Tem Trish Burwell said that she would love to see a third-party company conduct a survey of Granbury’s city employees to determine what is important to them and what their needs are. She indicated that for some people, working in Granbury where they are closer to home is preferable to jobs that would require commuting to such places as Fort Worth.

“Right now, we’re looking at throwing money at people and we don’t even know that that’s the problem, in my opinion,” she said.

In response, Deputy City Manager Michael Ross stated, “That’s why we hired professionals” — an apparent reference to PSPC. He also stated, “That’s why you hired Chris and the rest of us is to find those things out for you.”

Coffman weighed in again, expressing the view that just because someone is willing to work for a low wage doesn’t mean they should be paid one.

“That’s not right. It’s not fair,” he said. “Why can’t our employees make as much as someone who works at Taco Casa?”

Burwell replied, “I just want to be clear that we are trying to do the right thing.”

Council member Greg Corrigan made a motion to approve the employee compensation plan. It was seconded by council member Bruce Wadley.

The motion passed 5-1 with Burwell casting a nay vote.

Funds for the $1.7 million plan will come from the General Fund and Utility Fund Unrestricted Reserves, which is also known as “rainy day” funds.

Payroll adjustments will become affective in the first pay period of 2023.