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The Victoria GAZETTE

Home Page

November 2013

December 2013

PROPER PAY FOR 19 FULL TIME EMPLOYEES

VICTORIA CONDUCTS COMPENSATION STUDY

         Council listened to information at a workshop November 25th regarding a Compensation Study being conducted by Brenda Wendlandt from Walphin HR Solutions with assistance from city employee Jessica Beise.

         City Manager Don Uram said that last time the city conducted such a study was in 2006 and so he initiated the project.  At the end of the workshop, council was generally supportive of the study and its direction.  Cost to date is $8,000 which includes work on the Compensation Study plus other HR issues.  The study should be completed by the end of December.

         Said Brenda, "The objective is to develop a salary structure."  She said she talked to the city manager and other city employees and reviewed the current system.  She looked at the State of Minnesota to gather private data and the suburban metro ring to collect public data.  "If salaries vary by 5%, they are considered competitive," she said.

         "It is not an exact science," she said.  "For each position, you look at education, experience, and decision making ability.  I talked with Don, who had the job descriptions.  I scored them all and updated all the job descriptions.  Job descriptions are very important."

         In making salary comparisons, she said, "There are not a lot of private sector jobs that do sewer, water, and streets.  We don't look at actual salaries but we use the average of market maximums."

         She reported that in the City of Victoria, "You have one position that falls below the minimum and one position that lies above the maximum.  I recommend you bring the low salary up to the minimum right away."

         "We want employees to know how they are eligible for a raise," she said  "We want to recognize high performance.  It is a fairly easy system to administer.  Pay for performance really is unique to each individual city."

         Said Mr. Uram, "Our goal is to support the goals of the city council.  All of the employees will have goals.  If Council supports this direction, that would be nice to know, if the council is willing to reward employees up to the maximum."

         Victoria has 19 full time employees.

         City Finance Director Kelly Grinnell also presented information on city employee insurance.  She reported that Victoria was about to see a 17.25% increase in health insurance premiums through the cooperative with Blue Cross Blue Shield being the provider.

         But she brought that increase in health insurance premiums down to 4.6% "by shopping" and getting quotes from a small group market. 

         Kelly said that the total city-paid premium and Health Savings Account contribution will now be about $156,874 in 2014.  In 2013 the total city paid premium and Health Savings Account contribution was about $150,000. 

         "It is an overall increase, but it is a decrease in what was preliminary budgeted, she said.

         City employees also pay toward their health insurance.  The 2014 plan means a $11.76 decrease in annual premium (to $258) for a single employee plus a deductible of $125.  It means an increase in premium of $152.40 (to $2,850) for a family employee and a deductible of $250.

         The city is also saving about $1,070 in reduced dental premiums for 2014.

 

VICTORIA’S LONG TERM FINANCIAL PLAN

INCLUDES INTER-RELATED CONVERSATIONS

         Council received the Long Term Financial Plan on November 12th.  Said Victoria Finance Manager Kelly Grinnell, "The plan is updated frequently.  We are looking for comment." 

         She said there are four financial planning tools used by the City of Victoria:  1) its Long Term Financial Plan, 2) its Goals and Policies, 3) its Budget and Levy, and 4) its Capital Improvement Plan.  "All are inter-related," said Kelly.

         She said the city operates under the guidelines of many policies, some of which are related to things like investments, purchasing, credit card use, special assessments, capital improvements.  "Council has identified a need for additional financial policies related to debt management and taxation/levy," she said.

         As for city goals, "Some are ongoing and some are made with a timeframe in mind."  Those goals included maintaining a 30% general fund balance, maintaining or reducing a 39.5% tax rate, reconstructing and maintaining streets, constructing a new City Hall and Public Works building.

         She said the city is forecasting 75 new homes annually, a 2.5% market value growth, the need for additional staff and equipment, and a 3.5% inflation in expenditures.

         Annual building permit revenue is about $350,000, roughly 10% of the levy amount.  So far this year, there are 108 new homes in 2013.  "We make an effort to be conservative," said the finance manager.  "In a downturn, we do have a little bit of a cushion."