2013/02/26 City Council Resolution 2013-033RESOLUTION NO. 2013 -033
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROHNERT PARK
ADOPTING A COMPENSATION PHILOSOPHY
WHEREAS, the City Council adopted Resolution 2011 -121 on December 13, 2011,
approving the City's Strategic Plan as a guide for policy and financial decisions; and
WHEREAS, City Council recognizes the fundamental importance of establishing a
responsible and sustainable framework for the City's commitment to employee compensation
which is consistent with the City's values, vision and mission;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Rohnert Park
that it does hereby authorize and approve the the adoption of the City of Rohnert Park
Compensation Philosopy attached hereto as Exhibit "A ".
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Manager is hereby authorized and
directed to apply and utilize same for and on behalf of the City of Rohnert Park.
DULY AND REGULARLY ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Rohnert
Park this 26th day of February, 2013.
ATTEST:
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Anne Buergler, City Clerk
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Attachment: Compensation Philosophy
CITY OF ROHNERT PARK
Pam Stafford, Mayor
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CITY OF ROHNERT PARK
COMPENSATION PHILOSOPHY
Purpose
The Compensation Philosophy supports the City of Rohnert Park's Strategic Plan values of
integrity, fiscal responsibility and sustainability, innovation and leadership, accountability,
and commitment to equity and fairness. The purpose of this Philosophy is to connect the
vision, goals and values of the City with its compensation practices. Consistent with the
Strategic Plan, the Compensation Philosophy provides a responsible and sustainable
framework for the City's commitment to employee compensation.
This Philosophy applies to all represented and unrepresented miscellaneous and public safety
City employees covered by the Personnel Rules and Regulations, including unrepresented
management employees that have entered into individual at -will employment agreements with
the City.
Compensation Philosophy
The City's total compensation for any employee group or individual compensation package
for unrepresented management employees (collectively, "total compensation ") should
consider comparably situated public employees and the ability to recruit and retain
employees. The total compensation should also consider the ability over the long term to keep
pace with inflationary cost of living. Any compensation increase must be conditioned upon
the current and long -term fiscal ability of the City to pay for that level of total compensation
without compromising the City's ability to continue the level and mix of services and to
maintain prudent reserves.
1. Total Compensation
The City considers the complete picture when reviewing compensation. Total
compensation includes:
• Direct wage compensation;
• City -paid contributions to health insurance;
• City -paid retirement costs, and
• All other City -paid costs tied to salary and/or benefits including premiums, accrual
of paid leave time, including vacations, holidays, other excused time, and training
funds.
For purposes of this philosophy, the application of appropriate merit increases is not
considered an increase in total compensation.
City of Rohnert Park Compensation Philosophy February 26, 2013
2. Market Competitiveness
The City's desire is to be an employer of choice and maintain workforce stability.
However, the City's ability to offer a sustainable compensation package that attracts and
retains the highest quality candidates and employees is interwoven with its commitment to
serve the public well by maintaining sound fiscal direction. Total compensation increases
must never result in diminished service to the public or increased budget deficits.
Consistent with this philosophy, the City's intention is to typically consider increasing
total compensation through equity adjustments or cost -of- living increases for one or more
positions when the following conditions exist:
Total compensation is no longer competitive in the marketplace as measured by
the appropriate comparators; and
The City has experienced demonstrable recruitment and /or retention issues
It should be noted that Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) and equity adjustments
are not synonymous.
• Equity adjustments are negotiated with the intent of bringing total compensation
for particular jobs /classifications in line with the labor market.
• Cost of Living Adjustments, or COLAs, are negotiated with the intent of providing
general pay increases to maintain or increase employee buying power in a shifting
economy.
3. Labor Market Comparators
Labor market comparators are the City's market competition — the entities with which the
City competes for employees. The City selects comparators based upon the following
criteria, which are consistent with public sector best practice and published works on
economic factors that determine compensation.
3.1 Similarity of agencies in terms of revenue mix, size, and services provided.
This generally means:
• Other cities with comparable funding and revenue growth;
• Other cities with comparable number of employees;
Other cities that provide similar municipal services to the public and seek
similarly qualified employees to provide public service; and
Population served is also of a comparable size.
3.2 Geographical location and, often, proximity to the City of Rohnert Park.
• This reflects the typical geographic areas of recruitment and retention. Agencies
from the greater Bay Area tend to be those from which the City draws
applicants. The City's main competitors are often close by geographically, and
may have similar cost of living requirements.
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City of Rohnert Park Compensation Philosophy February 26, 2013
3.3 Regional Economic Area for purposes of establishing the Cost of Living.
• The City uses the Bureau of Labor Statistics San Francisco - Oakland -San Jose,
CA — Urban Wage Workers and Clerical Workers for data on the Consumer
Price Index.
4. Integrity, Fiscal Responsibility, Sustainability, and Collaboration
At the most fundamental level, integrity and fiscal responsibility means that overall
compensation structures must be sustainable. The City must balance competing priorities
related to the public interest without sacrificing the level of services, maintenance of the
City's infrastructure or prudent reserves. Accordingly, prior to making any changes to the
total compensation package, the City will carefully consider:
• The current and anticipated budget;
• Organizational staffing and structure issues;
• Projections of revenues and expenditures; and
• Level of service and community demand for services.
In reaching decisions about total compensation, the City will also consider the need to
maintain an engaged and effective workforce with the City's duty and responsibility to
provide services and programs that the community and the taxpayers pay for and expect.
Within the limits of sustainable compensation, the City is committed to open dialog,
innovative approaches and collaborative efforts with employee groups, unrepresented
management employees, benefit providers, and other public agencies.
The City will anticipate and plan for increases in benefit costs, either through setting aside
funds, compensation package redesign, cost - sharing partnerships or other appropriate
methods. The City will ensure that compensation information is transparently
communicated, so that meaningful collaboration can occur.
5. Employee Recognition and Support — Accomplishment of City Vision and Goals
The City of Rohnert Park recognizes that City employees exemplify the City's values.
Only through a joint commitment to those values will the vision and goals of the City be
realized. To that end, City employees possess the following qualities:
• A passion to help and support others, both citizens and coworkers;
• An ongoing practice of fiscal responsibility with public resources;
• A desire to perform work of the highest quality possible; and
• A commitment to do what is right.
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City of Rohnert Park Compensation Philosophy February 26, 2013
To foster and develop these qualities, the City of Rohnert Park offers rewards to
employees for sustained performance. Rewards for performance presently exist in the
form of retention, merit increases, promotion and transfer opportunity, special assignment
pays, and individual recognition and appreciation. The City recognizes that non - monetary
rewards are also critical to a productive and happy workforce.
The City is committed to enhancing the work experience for its employees and is
committed to:
• Fostering a culture of empowered leadership at all levels;
• Forming good working relationships and support networks between employees at
all levels;
• Providing coaching /mentoring /training to all staff,
• Developing a management culture of genuine care and concern for each employee;
• Maintaining employment policies which are sensitive to life /work balances, and a
willingness to be creative and flexible in finding solutions that balance operational
and employee needs;
• Honest and open communication at all levels;
• Respect and appreciation for excellent contributions, ideas, and customer service;
• Providing interesting and challenging work for all employees;
• Providing growth opportunities, both laterally and upward within the organization;
and
• Investing in equipment, tools and technology to increase efficiencies and aid
employees in the performance of their duties.
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