On Tuesday, July 11, 2023, during a Nederland Board of Trustees (BOT) meeting, Town Administrator Dr. Miranda Fisher discussed the results of a Compensation Study conducted by Employers Council,
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On Tuesday, July 11, 2023, during a Nederland Board of Trustees (BOT) meeting, Town Administrator Dr. Miranda Fisher discussed the results of a Compensation Study conducted by Employers Council, third-party professionals that provide legal services, training, and human resources services to a variety of businesses. The results of the study highlight a $209,487.14 variance between the current salaries offered in Nederland and the minimum standard according to the Colorado average.
The BOT directed Town staff on April 4, 2023, during a closed Executive Session, to use $30,000 allocated for “professional services” (historically used to pay a grant writer) to hire a third party to complete a Compensation Study.
On April 11, the Town contracted additional services from Employers Council, a regular vendor previously hired for HR support, for the fixed rate of $9,035 to create job descriptions for Nederland’s municipal employees. They were also asked to complete the Compensation Study, which was billed to the Town on an hourly basis.
Jennifer Olson, consultant from Employers Council, and Kellie Kvar of HR Professional Services, have for the last two and a half months assisted Nederland in developing updated job descriptions for Town staff, and in formulating an expected minimum and maximum wage for each job, based on comparisons with average Colorado midpoint salaries.
In pursuit of establishing a statistically accurate average, Employers Council collected salary information, used data from over thirty contributors, analyzed specific surveys and data lines, such as the company’s own 2022 Public Employer Compensation Survey and 2022 Colorado Benchmark Compensation Survey, and gathered the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentile salary data from the market.
The study, examining the adjusted percentage difference of cost of labor in Nederland versus the state of Colorado, found that Colorado wages are overall lower and that Nederland’s municipal employees should be earning up to 3% more than the Colorado average. However, when compared to the average, Nederland’s municipal employees are earning below the minimum standard, with six of those employees earning well over $10,000 less than minimum.
Recent history shows that Nederland struggles with adequately compensating its municipal employees, though measures have been attempted to rectify that situation. On December 1, 2015, the BOT approved Resolution 2015-24. The resolution’s purpose was for the Board to officially express its support in providing Town staff with a “living wage.”
Resolution 2015-24 also stated an affirmation of the Board’s appreciation for Town staff, and also noted their “wish” to implement living wages of at least $40,000 per year for full-time staff by 2018. The slow pace by which the Town was bringing employees up to that $40,000 level ($19.23 an hour) did not signal to those employees that their dedication to the job was being respected.
“I got really excited, and then they said, ‘Oh wait, you didn’t think that was going to happen right away did you?’” Nederland Parks Manager Nicki Dunn told The Mountain-Ear, remembering when Resolution 2015-24 was passed and the promise of $40,000 seemed so far away.
“So I waited until the beginning of 2018 to see that $40,000 a year mark, and between then and now they’ve gotten me to about $60,000 a year.”
According to the results of the Compensation Study, Dunn is one of the six municipal employees who require an increase of over $10,000 in order for her salary to reach the minimum – $81,120 – with the Colorado average salary for a Parks Manager being $101,400.
“Over the last few years I’ve maxed out my credit cards, I’ve refinanced my house just trying to stick with a job that I really do love in a town that I really do care about,” Dunn said. “I’d like to be able to provide wages where my employees don’t have to do what I did, which some can’t because they don’t necessarily own their homes, or they don’t necessarily have credit cards; so to just give them livable wages for around here would be something significant.”
After the living wage increase in 2018, Town staff would not receive any further improvement in compensation until in September 2022, when the BOT approved a supplemental budget aimed at bolstering Town department budgets and at providing the Administrative, Finance, Clerks, Planning & Zoning, and Public Works departments with a 6% cost of living increase totaling $41,918; and 4% merit increases for all employees who did not receive a 4% salary increase in 2022, totaling $43,199.
“As a brand new person coming into Public Works, we’re pretty competitive,” Dunn told The Mountain-Ear in an interview in 2022, before the supplemental budget was passed. “But you’re looking at us spending hundreds and thousands of dollars training people to get them to a point so they’re capable of maintaining our roads, our parks, mitigating forests and all these things, and then they jump ship because the guys that are literally right in the same yard as us will pay $10 an hour more plus a better benefits package.”
The BOT’s agenda for their July 11 meeting included an Agenda Information Memorandum (AIM) concerning the Compensation Study, drafted by Fisher on behalf of the Town’s department heads, who were all present for the meeting.
The AIM states: “While as Department Heads we believe we have stable staffing in most departments, we also recognize that employees work for the Town of Nederland because they love this community as well as the work culture/ environment, which is something we should be proud of. That being said, loving your job only carries so much weight when an employee is struggling to pay their bills, feed their family, and/or find adequate housing.”
The Compensation Study elicited recommendations from both Town staff and Employers Council that included raising salaries to the minimum level in an effort to increase retention, and for Nederland to take action towards becoming more competitive in the market. The study results also recommended reviewing employee wages annually and for adjustments to be made as the market dictates.
Town Treasurer Rita Six drafted a 2023 Supplemental Budget, proposed to the BOT, that provides immediate increases for Town staff who require $10,000 or less for their salary to meet the recommended minimum. Those six employees who require more than a $10,000 increase to reach the minimum will receive half of their necessary increase in 2023, and the second half in 2024.
The Town Clerk, Parks Manager, Streets Manager, Utilities Manager, Town Treasurer, and Town & Zoning Administrator positions all require an increase of more than $10,000 in order to reach the minimum. The Town Clerk requires an increase of $18,359.98 in order to reach that minimum salary base of $70,900 a year, while the Town Treasurer requires a $44,917.76 increase to reach the minimum salary base of $119,440.
According to the recommendations, the Treasurer would receive $22,458.88 in 2023 through approval of a supplemental budget, and then another $22,458.88 in 2024, pending review and approval of the 2024 Town Budget.
During public comment at the July 11 meeting, concerns were raised about honoring first those members of Town staff who have worked for Nederland the longest, and who also require the biggest increase in salary, to be brought up to the minimum.
Nederland Community Center Manager Dawn Baumhover responded to the concerns by explaining how all of Town staff came together to agree to a compromise with the proposed 2023 Supplemental Budget.
“We met as department heads individually and as a group, and we were all in agreement. Because of the Compensation Study and data that was gathered we understand our roles and the value of each position,” Baumhover said. “We all agreed with the wages; there’s unity here.”
If the 2023 Supplemental Budget were to be approved, the immediate financial impact to the 2023 budget would be $128,808.33. The General Fund balance would show a total decrease of $83,830 from law enforcement and grants revenue, as well as a $511,000 increase in public works revenue; and increases in expenditures for Administration and Finance, the Clerk’s Office, Planning and Zoning, Public Works, and the Parks Department.
Most other fund balances remain unaffected by the Supplemental Budget, save for a $16,643 decrease in the Community Center Fund because of an increase in personnel expenditures. The financial impact to the 2024 Town Budget, for the remaining half of salary increases for those employees who require more than $10,000 to be brought to the minimum, will amount to $80,678.81.
As for longer-term goals, in order to reach the average Colorado midpoint salary for every member of Town staff, making Nederland a competitive employer, more than $400,000 would have to be additionally budgeted.
“I biasedly and unbiasedly would argue that your greatest assets are Town staff,” Fisher said to Trustees during the July 11 meeting. “Those are the individuals who should be invested in.”
Also within the 2023 Supplemental Budget, the funds for law enforcement were adjusted by a $70,928 decrease in revenue and $46,060 decrease in expenditures, indicating that coverage from Boulder County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) has increased. This also accounts for money already spent this year on extra duty shifts and on the previously existing contract for overnight coverage.
The contract with BCSO for full law enforcement coverage has yet to take effect, as deputies dedicated to Nederland will not be hired and trained until January 2024. The adjustment also accounts for the cost of extra duty shifts as BCSO continues to recruit new deputies, for what those deputies will be paid once hired and in training, and for what the cost of overnight coverage will be once the hired deputies move to 12- hour shifts.
With the Town still relying on extra duty shifts and overnight coverage, the cost of the contract has been adjusted to $908,548, but will not be budgeted until 2024.
The $511,000 increase in revenue for Public Works shown on the Supplemental Budget is intended to cover the cost of entering into a five-year loan agreement with Clayton Holdings LLC to purchase new equipment for the Streets Department.
On April 4, the BOT approved the request from the Streets Department to purchase a new water truck with a 4,000 gallon capacity tank for $84,500, a 2023 Caterpillar Model 140 LVR motor grader for $338,000, and a 2023 Dodge Ram Model 3500 truck for $83,395.20.
As a result of the Compensation Study, Employers Council also provided a Certification Chart to assist Nederland’s Public Works employees in visualizing a trajectory for the certification required to move from an entry level position into a leadership role in the Parks, Streets, or Utilities departments.
“One thing the Town has always struggled with is building a professional development path for the Public Works employees,” the official AIM stated about the Certification Chart. “The hope is that the pay ranges and this certification chart help establish longevity among the Public Works staff.”
“My employees are referring to it as a path forward,” Dunn told The Mountain-Ear. “They know that they’re not just stuck in a worker position, but that there are actually clear goals to achieve for being promoted and to become a better employee for the Town.”
Additionally, Fisher is asking the BOT to consider allocating funds in the 2023 Supplemental Budget to cover the $70,000 to $75,000 salary needed for Nederland to have a full-time Sustainability Coordinator. The Boulder County Sustainability Grant has partially funded this contracted position for over three years, with the Town matching the $15,000 grant from its Zero Waste budget. Sustainability Coordinator Leah Haney has worked with the Town part-time since the beginning of 2023 and is currently paid $33,750.
Fisher proposes that the $15,000 grant can potentially be used to continue to cover wages, and that the match from the Zero Waste fund could be used to fund other projects and services provided by Nederland’s Sustainability Advisory Board, including to help the Zero Waste Subcommittee (ZWS) fulfill their goals.
“Leah Haney has been extremely busy this past year in organizing the Town’s community solar campaign to convert Xcel electricity subscribers over to a 100% solar provider; working with Boulder County on its important programs on EV chargers and rooftop solar construction for homes; exploring new weed-control and composting venues in Town; reaching out to local businesses on a variety of issues; writing a complicated grant application for home composting to state funders; attending many sustainability-issue meetings with a long list of groups, agencies and committees; and helping our ZWS immensely to plan for its future programs,” Larry Tasaday, Chair for the ZWS, wrote to the BOT on behalf of the Subcommittee.
“We on the Subcommittee are very impressed by Leah’s work and are grateful for her obvious dedication. However, we also feel that it is not fair or honest for us to expect this half-time work position to perform a full-time workload. We believe that all of our Town workers must be paid adequately and cannot be pushed to do extra work for ‘free.’ This creates a burnout environment.”
“It is reasonable at this juncture to expect that any new funds supplied by the Town for a full-time Sustainability staff position will be supplemented by the County. We also believe that a strong Town Sustainability Coordinator can generate new community goodwill, new tourist visitors, and new business success that will help balance the salary she receives,” Tasaday’s letter concluded.
After the BOT heard a presentation on the results of the Compensation Study and reviewed the draft 2023 Supplemental Budget, Fisher led a discussion concerning how the Town can afford the salary increases proposed for 2023 and 2024, and how the focus moving forward should be on completing capital improvement plans currently in development and on increasing revenue to the Town.
Fisher recommended operating on a minimal budget in 2024, carrying over the same budget from 2023 without any department increases unless the adjustments needed on certain line items have previously been noted. Fisher also asked that the Town refrain from adding any new capital improvement plans to the 2024 budget unless necessary, in which case the Town should pursue grant funding.
“One question the BOT has previously asked when increasing staff wages has been brought up is, how is the Town going to fund it.” As explained in the official AIM, “Currently, the Town has $5,285,000 in reserves (of that $1,234,000 is restricted), which would be used to balance the budget.”
On Tuesday, July 18, Fisher and Trustees will be discussing the Town of Nederland’s Strategic Plan for 2023 and 2024. The plan lists six objectives, outlining a focus to “stabilize, plan, and grow revenue,” with each objective to be approached “with a commitment to public engagement and sustainability.” The plan is a result of joint work sessions between the Town’s department heads and the BOT held on April 15, May 24, and June 23, 2023.
The first objective is to create and foster a work culture where Town staff feels valued, which is underway, as it directly involves the Compensation Study and the 2023 Supplemental Budget for salary increases.
The fifth objective involves a focus on revenue generation in order to “support desired levels of services and to ensure upkeep of the town’s infrastructure.” The suggestions made under this objective mirror comments made by Trustees on July 11 when discussing revenue generation to fund the increases.
Such suggestions include paid parking, EV charging fees, parks and recreation participant fees, franchise agreements with private utilities for use of Town’s rights-of-way, increased water and wastewater user rates, as well as wastewater plant investment fees, maximizing tourism, and the promotion of special events.
Trustees were unanimously in favor of raising Town staff wages and at this preliminary stage gave a nod of four in approval of the 2023 Supplemental Budget and the proposals made therein.
“I feel pretty comfortable with all of this, knowing how good the Town has been at saving despite how revenues have been down since May,” Trustee Eric Coombs-Esmail said during the July 11 meeting. “It’s just a testament to the work that you all have done that makes it such an easy decision to make here.”
“I’m just shocked at how far we got off track over time, but then again I’m shocked every time I go to the grocery store,” Mayor Pro-Tem Tom Mahowald said. “So I think we’re making a step towards equity and I think we’ve got a plan for getting there.”
“I’m really proud of us for being able to do this and I’m really proud of all of you for what you’ve done,” Mahowald said to the department heads present at the meeting. “I want to thank each of you for how you’ve stepped up to the plate.”
The 2023 Supplemental Budget will return to the BOT’s Agenda for final review and vote for approval on Tuesday, August 1, 2023, at 7 p.m. at the Nederland Community Center. The meeting can also be viewed live via WebEx or YouTube on The Town of Nederland’s page.
For more information: https:// townofnederland.colorado.gov/board-of-trustees.