By Samantha Smith
Buda city employees could see a pay raise as city leaders contemplate ways to stay competitive with other municipalities in the area.
But exactly how large an increase and whether raises will be merit- or tenure-based have yet to be decided.
Buda City Council took up the topic July 19 when it reviewed results from a compensation study conducted by Evergreen Solutions, LLC. The city paid $26,500 to Evergreen. Buda’s last compensation survey was conducted in 2005.
Nancy Berkley, the manager of the study for Evergreen, gave a presentation to council with analysis of Buda’s current employee compensation system and recommendations on what the city should change in the future.
The first step of the study process was to collect data through employee outreach with surveys and focus groups, Berkley said.
Based on the two forms of outreach, Evergreen determined that most Buda city employees would support a merit-based compensation system over a tenure-based compensation system.
Berkley stressed the importance for municipalities to be competitive with each other in regard to employee compensation. He used cities such as Austin, New Braunfels, Lockhart, San Marcos and Kyle, as reference points for wage comparisons.
“In Texas we see more action toward a performance-based pay scale than a time-based one,” Berkley said.
One suggestion Evergreen Solutions made is to increase all city staff salaries by two percent across the board.
Council member Bobby Lane showed support for the suggested two percent increase for all employees, as well as bringing them to the minimum average salary that the study identified.
Mayor Pro Tem Wiley Hopkins and council member David Nuckels showed support for a performance-based system.
“Performance-based pay scale is probably the way to go,” said Nuckels.
Buda Mayor Todd Ruge also supported a merit-based compensation system. But Ruge was concerned after the study showed Buda employees make just under the “normal” range compared to other cities.
“I think that we have been very generous over the past five years with raises, but every year we somehow manage to be behind,” Ruge said.
Council also asked city staff to collect more data, such as the comparative studies on benefits packages and the livable wage in Buda.
Council member Angela Kennedy asked Berkley if Buda’s benefits package for employees was taken into account for this study. Kennedy also wanted to know how the maternity leave benefits of Buda match up to other comparable cities.
Hopkins asked staff to collect more data projecting a three or four percent raise for employees to give council more options before a decision is made.
Council member George Haehn wanted to know if a hybrid compensation system, including elements from both a merit-based system and a tenure-based system, would be a viable option.
Berkley said that a hybrid system has been used by cities, but that many cities are moving towards a merit-based system.
“The parody system is, frankly, rarely used anymore,” Berkley said.
Council members agreed that they needed more information before any decisions were made on the item.
Ruge said that the growth of Buda may affect the traditional compensation system in place, and council should consider that growth in its decision.
“We’re coming to a point where we need to look at each individual employee and rate them on their merit,” said Ruge.
