Compensation Objectives
The objectives behind the City's compensation program are to —
• Maintain internal equity by objectively evaluating jobs to assure that a position's responsibilities are valued fairly as compared to others within the organization.
• Ensure external competitiveness by developing and maintaining compensation levels that reflect current market rates of pay.
• Promote a pay-for-performance philosophy by providing incremental pay increases that distinguish between levels of performance.
• Ensure that compensation actions comply with federal, state and local legal requirements.
• Provide employees with information on the compensation process, the overall pay structure and market target pay or step rate pay for each job.
• Provide flexibility so the system remains responsive to changes in the marketplace, the organization and the economic conditions within our industry.
Salary Surveys
As a further guide in establishing equitable salaries and wages, the city periodically conducts comparable wage and salary surveys. Such studies help to ensure that our rates of pay compare favorably with rates for work of a similar nature within the City and in similar job situations in this area.
The city compares salaries for benchmark positions on a local basis and extends this comparison for certain exempt-level positions and all senior-level management positions to a regional and national market. Benchmark positions are comparable jobs found in other organizations requiring similar knowledge, skills and abilities to jobs within the city. The comparison mix is 70 percent public sector and 30 percent private sector data, where applicable.
The city generally conducts its own surveys of local public, local private and nationa ...