Laserfiche WebLink
properly compensating its employees. In all departments, it is clear based on the annual comparable <br />pay studies that we participate in for other communities that the City of Paris compensation plan has <br />not kept up with providing a fair compensation by way of both wage and benefits as compared to similar <br />situated communities in Texas. In almost every study I saw, the City of Paris was either the bottom or <br />next to the bottom in most every department when compared to our peers. When diving further in to <br />this matter, I learned that the City has given three (3) Cost -of -Living Adjustments (COLAs) in the last <br />ten (10) years. This number is not much better when going back twenty (20) years. In many of our <br />departments, we have consistently seen multiple positions remain vacant for the last five (5) or more <br />years, relying heavily upon temporary workers to fill the void. While there are of course any number <br />of reasons for why someone leaves a job, I do believe that pay is a primary issue. While we value our <br />temporary workers, this does not allow for consistency or development of internal knowledge and <br />experience to allow the City to move beyond just providing the most basic of services. In addition, in <br />several departments, instead of filling a few fulltime positions to do the work, we are budgeting large <br />amounts of funds for temporary workers in order to get the job done that a fulltime would have <br />performed. In other cases, we are budgeting large amounts of Overtime pay due to an inability to keep <br />positions filled. It is only natural that as positions become filled — and stayed filled — both Overtime <br />and Temporary Worker expense will begin to drop. I want to find a way to retain employees across all <br />of our Departments. <br />To combat this problem, I would like to implement a program that I used in my last community. The <br />goal is to move the compensation and benefit plan to a fair and marketable level when compared to peer <br />positions while balancing it financially through carefully planned and strategic phases in order to <br />acclimate the budget over a matter of a few years. This will ultimately benefit the citizens of Paris as <br />we will begin to retain skilled and quality staff who will develop a growing experience to better achieve <br />the Financial Policy stated above. At the same time, we have to be mindful of the tax payer dollar and <br />the rise in property valuations and the impact of a higher tax rate. Therefore, I propose that we begin a <br />multi-year process starting with a COLA and a Comparable Pay Study in FY20/21. In order to figure <br />out where we need to go, we need a roadmap. I have proposed that we hire a Professional Consultant <br />in FY20/21 who will study the City's wage and benefit plan and compare it to several comparable peer <br />communities. Then, over the next several years, we will phase in the adjustments to get ourselves back <br />to the midpoint. There is no way we can erase twenty years of falling behind in one single year, but by <br />beginning the process now, we can develop the long term impact we are seeking. In addition, there are <br />mechanisms we can put in place as we make these phases each year to soften the impact to the tax payer. <br />This must be done one step at a time, and we will have to modify the plan each year for the next several <br />years, but I have absolute confidence that we can get ourselves to where we need to be. <br />Therefore, the Proposed FY20/21 Budget has a 2% COLA factored in as well as $30,000.00 for the <br />Comparable Pay Study, spread out pro -rata between the General Fund, Water/Sewer Fund, and <br />Sanitation Fund. It must be made completely clear that a COLA has been applied to all Full-time <br />positions except the City Manager position. The City Manager's pay is not scheduled to change in <br />FY20/21. <br />Replacing Outdated Equipment Through the process described in item 44 below, the City has freed <br />up a significant amount of funding through efficiency of this proposed budget in order to dramatically <br />impact the lagging replacement of key equipment in several departments. In order for the Employees <br />to do their work and fulfill the Financial Policy, they must have adequate equipment. Once again, much <br />of the work the City provides its citizens is labor intensive. Therefore, the proposed FY20/21 budget <br />includes a series of equipment purchases, some of which are outright, others will be done through either <br />a loan or lease -purchase as allowed via Local Government Code Sections 271.005 and 271.903. <br />Page 5 of 15 <br />