Elgin council to consider employee pay study

All those who think Elgin city employees are unfairly compensated may soon have data to guide their opinions.

City council members will consider funding a compensation study during the committee of the whole meeting Wednesday. The study will cost up to $40,000 and provide a comparison between all Elgin employees and their counterparts elsewhere looking specifically at the duties of each employee.

Mayor David Kaptain said it will give the city the chance to compare “apples to apples.” If Corporation Counsel Bill Cogley, for example, has more responsibilities than his equivalent in another municipality, the study will show the pay differences in the context of the jobs being done.

Kaptain said Cogley has responsibilities in the Code Enforcement and Community Development offices that other municipal lawyers may not have.

“People believe that employees are overpaid compared to other communities and this is one way for us to determine as a city council where our pay structure is in relation,” Kaptain said.

The recommendation council members will consider Wednesday is to award the contract to The Archer Company, which is based in South Carolina but has a Chicago area representative. The firm offered its services for $32,530 but city staff members are suggesting the council approve $40,000 just in case extra requests are made based on the study’s results.

If there is no follow-up, the city will only pay the proposal amount.

Based on the contract, The Archer Company will do more than just compare pay. The consultants will identify equity issues with pay compression where, for example, the gap between new hire and veteran employee is too small to be fair. They will assess equity for the nonunion employee pay plan, provide recommendations for changing pay and benefits and evaluate job descriptions for full-time, nonunion employees.

Overall, the study will give officials a look at pay comparisons and bring job descriptions up to date for employees whose responsibilities may have changed greatly over the last few years with budget cuts and staffing changes.

Kaptain committed to the study during the 2012 budget discussion last fall and expects to have the data in hand before the 2013 discussions begin.

“I know the community had some concerns, some of the council members expressed some concerns,” Kaptain said. “It’s a good reflection for us.”