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Friday's Internet Edition, November 21, 2008.
Pay for Performance raises issued for top Galt officials
City clerk left out, so far
By Rachael Ackerman
Herald Editor
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It took two years of discussion and planning, but eight top Galt officials received their first-ever Pay for Performance salary adjustments last week, taking a huge step away from the negotiated cost of living adjustments and step and grade raises of the past.
Approved by the Galt City Council in September 2006, the city’s decision to shift from more traditional methods of recognizing its top brass through statistical annual salary adjustments, has not come without its critics, including Galt City Manager Ted Anderson, who has been discharged the duty of determining annual performance salary adjustments for his administrative staff.
“I was not for this program, not a great supporter of pay for performance for government employees,” said Anderson. “It has taken a tremendous amount of my time to manage it, because it fell to me to do the whole program.”
That being said, Anderson added, “Having gone through it now, if the council stays with the strategic planning goals and measurable objectives, I think it could work.”
Anderson’s primary concern for a pay for performance program for municipal employees is the sometimes subjective nature of government work, and the limits to goal setting and tracking, as required annually on pay for performance.
“While the goals and objectives make performance easier to measure, the process is still subjective,” said Anderson. “The problem with government work is sometimes it can’t be quantified. I mean, how do you measure? By the number of reports written or yards of asphalt laid?”
As intended, pay for performance was structured to reward department heads based solely on their performance. They would no longer receive automatic salary increases such as steps or COLAs (cost of living adjustments), rather their opportunity for salary adjustments would be based on individual merit.
Led through council by Barbara Payne, it was approved 4-1 by then council members Payne, Darryl Clare, Tom Malson and Randy Shelton.
Councilman Tim Raboy, who voted against the motion, has been outspoken against pay for performance since 2006, and continues to protest its application today.
“I do not believe people employed in the public sector should be paid for their performance,” said Raboy. “They’re coming to work every day and should do their job to the best of their ability every day, for the amount of money they have negotiated a contract to do so. There shouldn’t be room for a bonus if you are doing the job you were hired to do to the best of your ability every day.”
Raboy said he has pursued reversing council’s decision to use pay for performance for department heads since it was approved and will continue to do so now that the 2008 cycle has been complete and the council configuration has changed.
“I think it should go back to the way it has been for the past 20 years,” said Raboy. “Department heads should get no more or no less of a salary adjustment than those we negotiate through the unions for all other employees. What they get, or don’t get, our department heads should get. It’s that simple.”
As part of the pay for performance program, the city conducted a salary survey for department heads and set salary ranges for the city of Galt based on the results of comparator cities. Should an employee reach the ceiling of their salary range, pay for performance rewards become lump sum payments of earned salary adjustments above the maximum of the salary range. Salary ranges will be reviewed annually.
This year, five department heads not only reached the top of the salary scale for their departments, but also received lump sum bonuses.
Left out of the cycle of salary adjustments, so far, is Galt City Clerk Elizabeth Aguire.
As an elected official Aguire’s salary adjustments would have to be determined by the city council, not Anderson.
To that end, Aguire had placed her request for a Pay for Performance salary adjustment on the March 18 regular calendar for the Galt City Council. Aguire included her performance targets and documentation of how she had met, or exceeded, most of the target goals agreed upon for her annual performance review.
At that meeting, Councilman Don Haines pulled the request for approval, asking it be brought back to council at the first regular meeting of council in April.
Aguire said she did not want to comment on the issue until after that meeting.
Monthly salary adjustments and bonuses for city of Galt department heads for 2008
• Assistant City Manager Jason Behrmann: $9,861 - $10,453/ six percent
• Chief of Police Loren Cattolico: $10, 995 - $11,102/less than one percent/at top of salary range; plus $5,313 bonus
• Community Development Director Curt Campion: $10, 354 - $10, 814/4.4 percent/at top of salary range/plus $692 bonus
• Galt Building Official Robert Goss: $7,891 - $8,142/ 3.2 percent/at top of salary range/plus $775 bonus
• Human Resource Administrator Paula Islas: $7,891 - $8,286/five percent
• Public Works Director Gregg Halladay: $11,150 - $11, 426/ 2.5 percent/at top of salary range/plus $4,716 bonus
• Director of Parks and Recreation Boyce Jeffries: $9,855 - $9,938/less than one percent/at top of salary range/plus $3,734 bonus
• Galt Finance Director Inez Kiriu: $10,354 - $10,705/3.4 percent/at top of salary range/plus $757 bonus
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