Council meets to give final approval of worker wage & classification plan
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Mayor John Royalty opens Thursday’s special meeting of the Bardstown City Council. The meeting was set to approve the city’s classification and compensation plan and job descriptions before the start of the new fiscal year July 1.
Thursday, June 25, 2015, 11 p.m. — The Bardstown City Council met briefly Thursday to wrap up some final business before the end of the fiscal year on Tuesday, June 30.
The council approved the second and final reading of a new classification and compensation plan that reduces the number of pay ranges to 30 overlapping ranges. The lowest annual pay range is $22,277 to $33,415, while the highest is $91,738 to $137,607, based on 2,080 hours worked per year.
The pay ranges are the product of nearly a year of review by human resources consultant Paul Combs, who researched municipal employee salaries at similar-sized cities across Kentucky.
Mayor John Royalty said the study was prompted by complaints last year from city employees who learned some city jobs paid significantly less than similar jobs at other cities or work settings. The year-long review determined that the city had too many pay ranges, and that some positions were indeed underpaid. As a result of the study, a number of city employees will have pay raises, Royalty said, adding a total of about $43,000 to the city’s annual payroll, which was added to the city’s 2015-16 budget.
The council also approved 273 pages of job descriptions that also the product of Combs’ work for the city. Some job descriptions were updated and new ones created. The document adds additional opportunities for city employees to advance as they gain experience and reach training milestones in their careers.
For the first time, the city’s job descriptions were approved by municipal order rather than by ordinance, which allows updates without the need to go through the lengthy process required to adopt an ordinance.
NEXT UP. The Bardstown City Council’s next regular meeting is 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 14.
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