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Adjustments to the salaries of city employees, recommended after a classification and compensation study earlier this year, were approved Monday in the Albert Lea City Council’s final meeting of 2023 as part of various union contracts and other action.

The study was completed by the firm of David Drown Associates, which analyzed pay equity, reviewed job descriptions and conducted an external market analysis after the city was informed it was not meeting pay equity requirements.

City Manager Ian Rigg said the new pay system meets pay equity requirements, but had the city not met the requirements it was looking at a $300,000 penalty.

Rigg said the changes will be implemented over three years, and he thanked employees for being willing to do so over a span instead of all at once.

The new system consists of 16 grades and 12 steps, with a 3% increase between each step.

All staff have been assigned grades based on job title, and step assignments were based on ending pay in 2023 with a 3% adjustment guarantee. A few employees were given adjustments for internal equity.

Rigg said all employees will receive the minimum 3% adjustment, but with the internal equity and market analysis, there are some who will be getting adjustments upwards of 20% more by the end of 2024. The police department, on average, will be receiving about 9% in adjustments. He noted library employees were others that saw larger increases.

Additional step increases will be given out in July 2025 and October 2026 if available, as well as wage adjustments of 3% in both 2025 and 2026.

He said the first step will be eliminated in July 2025 and the second step in October 2026.

The city will review the impact of paid family leave on current paid time-off options in 2025 and 2026 and is deleting probationary restrictions on paid time use.

The council approved the changes for the nonunion employees, and on top of these changes, approved additional changes for four bargaining units:

• Minnesota Public Employees Association, representing the police officers and detectives unit: Splitting the earning of holiday leave to 48 hours every six months instead of 96 hours at the first of the year; increasing uniform allowance from $850 to $1,100 in 2026; adding phlebotomist and standard field sobriety test instructor to the Tier 1 pay system.

• Minnesota Public Employees Association, representing police sergeants, for 2024-26: Will be the same as the officers.
• Minnesota Public Employees Association, representing public works, parks, arena employees and community service officers: Adding Juneteenth as a holiday; increasing various water and wastewater license compensations.
• Local 1041 of the International Association of Firefighters: Increasing carryover of annual leave from 336 to 345 hours; adding Juneteenth to the holiday schedule; increasing the training stipend 6% in 2024, 3% in 2025 and 3% in 2026.

Rigg said the new system will aid in recruitment and help people to consider jobs with the city.

Second Ward Councilor Larry Baker asked whether the new system would help the city be in a place where it wouldn’t have to have a sharp increase in the years to come.

Rigg said the city needs to make sure to do maintenance on its system, to take a look at job descriptions regularly and divide them up into thirds to make sure they’re marketable.