Minutes - Council Work Session - 06/22/2021

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Councilmember Heineman stated that this shows that the City is not consistent in the market and would support the increases. He stated that he would also support an overall review of all employees to make Ramsey more competitive as the employees should be fairly compensated. Administrative Services Director Lasher asked if there is consensus to submit the report to pay equity as proposed. Councilmember Riley stated that this decision for $10,000 this year would be compounded in future years and therefore it is a decision that has a larger impact. He commented that he does not see Ramsey as out of the range, although it falls under the average. He stated that he does not support this right now because he does not feel there is enough information. Councilmember Musgrove commented that she would like clarification on the dates. She stated that she does not like this as it is not fair market driven and is more policy driven. She referenced thst the July 7 date and asked if there would be an additional pay increase January 1 and again July th 7 in 2022. Administrative Services Director Lasher commented that this would be a new pay scale put into th effect July 7. She stated that if the person were still in their position July 7, 2022 they would move to the next step. She stated that COLA increases would occur in January while step increases would occur in July. Councilmember Woestehoff commented that he understands that the City should review this from a market perspective, but this data shows that a female with the same number of points as a male employee is being paid less. Councilmember Musgrove commented that her understanding was that a male working in maintenance would be compared to a female working in the office. She commented that it would make more sense to compare similar positions rather than male and female employees in different positions. She stated that she would prefer to pay someone based on the market value. Councilmember Riley stated that Ramsey has been good for a number of years and has not had a pay equity problem until the change to compensation for firefighters. Administrative Services Director Lasher commented that when she ran the 2021 equity report, because the City is on duty crews those firefighters no longer meet the criteria to be included in the pay equity report. She stated that when she reran prior year’s reports removing the firefighters in a similar manner, the City would have failed those reports as well. She stated that Ramsey has been passing because the firefighter wages put that ratio above 80 percent and without them the rating drops and the City does not pass. She commented therefore this issue has existed but was hidden by including those positions. Councilmember Howell asked the additional clarification the Councilmembers felt they would need. City Council Work Session / June 22, 2021 Page 8 of 10