Citrus Heights votes 4-1 for revised pay structure for most city staff

Sentinel staff report–
The Citrus Heights City Council on Thursday voted 4-1 in favor of a new compensation structure for most city staff, at an added cost of about $165,000 for the current fiscal year and an additional $91,000 next year. Councilman Tim Schaefer voted against the measure, citing costs and timing.

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The Citrus Heights City Council on Thursday will consider adopting a newly proposed compensation structure for most city staff.

The proposal, brought forward by the city’s interim administrative services director, Bill Zenoni, and Human Resources Manager Monica Alejandrez, proposes a “ten-step” compensation structure for most full-time employees, as opposed to the current “broad band” structure which sets a minimum and maximum salary range for each employee classification.

According to a staff report, employees are currently placed “anywhere within that salary range at the discretion of the employee’s supervisor, department head and/or City Manager,” whereas the proposed system would establish a series of 10 “steps” with a 2.5% increase in pay tied to each step. Employees could then “advance through the step system on an annual basis when performance metrics are met.”

The staff report says the step-based approach is used by other public agencies in the region and is “widely utilized because it is more effective as a tool in recruiting qualified employees and provides employees with an incentive to advance within their job classification, thus increasing the City’s staff retention rates and saving on turnover costs.”

The report says various “step” compensation plans were studied by the city’s Human Resources division, working with the city’s labor counsel. The 10-step plan with 2.5% pay increases between each step was selected as the best option, “as it provides needed structure that will increase retention while adhering to our guiding principle of fiscal prudence and ability to manage long term financial forecasts.”

A description of alternative plans studied were not included in the staff report.

According to the report, executive staff would be excluded from the proposed compensation plan, and the plan would only affect full-time “unrepresented employees,” referencing those employees not represented by a union.

An accompanying document lists the 10-step pay scale for about 90 different employee classifications in the city, including both hourly and salaried positions.

A police sergeant would start at $43.08/hr and would see that pay increase by about $1 with each step, until reaching $53.80/hr. A police lieutenant would start at $118,316 in salary and end at $147,760 by step 10, not including benefits.

A senior planner would start with a salary of $82,429 in step 1 and be able to work up to just under $110,000 by step 10, while a junior planner would start at $29.30/hr and could see that increase to $36.60/hr by step 10.

Related: How much do City of Citrus Heights employees make in salary and benefits?

Implementing the plan would mean affected employees would all see a slight pay increase, as the staff report says employees would be placed “at the appropriate salary step which is closest to yet above their current pay rate.”

The city’s interim administrative services director previously had told The Sentinel in a statement during budget discussions in April of this year that “There are no plans at this time for salary increases for specific positions, and any increases would need Council approval.”

The council will consider voting on the proposed compensation plan during its upcoming meeting on Aug. 12  at 7 p.m. at City Hall. A budget adjustment is not required for the proposal, as the staff report says funding for the program was already included in the budget adopted by the council in April.

See the 8-page proposal: click here

Public comments for the council’s Aug. 12 meeting can be submitted to cityclerk@citrusheights.net, with up to 250 words, or emailed directly to the city council as a whole at citycouncil@citrusheights.net. Those interested in joining the council meeting in person can now do so at City Hall, located at 6360 Fountain Square Drive. Virtual attendance is also allowed via Zoom, with links posted in the council’s agenda packet. (click here)