By Rick Palsgrove
Southeast Editor
The city of Groveport adjusted its employee compensation plan in an effort to retain and attract quality workers.
Groveport City Council approved increasing the employee pay scale for minimum and maximum levels and all steps in between for all positions by 8 percent.
“This does not mean everyone is getting an 8 percent pay raise,” said Groveport Finance Director Jeff Green. “Raises are still determined by annual performance evaluations same as every year.”
Green said the existing pay scale was causing some employees to “top out too quickly” in their pay range.
“We’ve also had trouble the past few years attracting seasonal help,” said Green. “This change will help make us more competitive across the board as we compete with other municipalities in Central Ohio for potential employees.”
“Adjustments to the wage scale are designed to allow us to continue to recruit and retain quality employees,” said Groveport City Administrator Marsha Hall in a written report to council.
According to that report, the city’s compensation plan, adopted in 2012, states that every two years the city must determine if there is a need for a cost of living adjustment. In 2014 city employees received a 3.55 percent cost of living adjustment, but no cost of living adjustment in 2016.
The plan also requires a wage study/survey be done every five years, which was recently done by Clemans Nelson and Associates. (In the future the wage study will be done every three years in order to stay current.)
The wage study compared Groveport’s pay ranges to 12 other Central Ohio communities, such as Upper Arlington, Canal Winchester, and Gahanna.
“According to the study our (existing) wage rates were ‘significantly low’ compared to the survey responses,” said Hall.
Clemans Nelson and Associates noted in their study that, even with the 8 percent increase in the pay ranges that council approved, “the city’s minimum and maximum wage rates remain below market.”
Hall said the city currently has 24 employees who are at 95 percent or have reached the maximum of their pay grade.
“Increasing the grades by 8 percent will reduce the number of employees at top grade to two,” said Hall.
Hall noted the increased pay ranges will raise the pay of 80 current full time and part time employees who were not at the new minimum in their pay grade. She said Clemans Nelson and Associates estimated the total cost to bring all of these employees up to their new minimum pay level this year will be $42,374.
“The vast majority of these are seasonal and recreation and aquatics employees,” said Hall, who added that in the past the city has struggled to attract employees such as lifeguards and seasonal park maintenance personnel. “This (pay range adjustment) will help in this cause.”
