Old Town hears results of pay study Report advises council on equal compensation for 92 municipal employees

OLD TOWN – What do firefighters, police officers and the children’s librarian have in common? Not much right now, but if the city adopts the recommendations of a recently completed classification and compensation study, all three will be receive the same pay.

Warren J. Rutherford of Bennett Associates in Norwell, Mass., Thursday night outlined the results of the $21,000 study for City Council members. Implementation of the results would cost the city $34,000 in increased salaries during the first year, according to Rutherford, and require agreement from Old Town’s three employee-bargaining units.

“I’m impressed with it,” said council Chairman Scott Cates. “We aren’t locked into any salary figures. We could implement the structure of the plan with our own numbers. Even if we do this as presented, $34,000 is not a lot of money to provide for a fair and equitable pay system.”

Rutherford said that one of the goals of the study was to achieve pay equity for all 92 municipal employees, union and nonunion. He said that firefighters, who also work as paramedics, now are paid “well below” what police officers are paid.

Using a rating system based on 14 factors such as education and basic knowledge, work environment, occupational risks and supervisory responsibility, jobs were assigned a total number of points. Job titles with the same number of points were placed at the same level on a 10-grade salary schedule.

Library assistant is the only job listed on Grade 1, while Grade 10 includes the finance director, director of public works, fire chief and chief of police. Grade 6 includes the deputy tax collector-deputy treasurer, firefighter-EMT, maintenance foreman, children’s librarian and police officer.

The study also recommended the city incorporate a 70 percent spread between minimum and maximum pay rates, develop a performance appraisal process and adopt a merit pay system.

Surveys of 20 communities revealed that Old Town’s minimum pay is 7 percent below that of other municipalities, but its maximum is 4.6 percent above that found in other towns.

City Manager Paul Mazzaccaro said Thursday the study also included rewriting job descriptions. Current ones were outdated, inaccurate and, in some cases, nonexistent, he said.

The council will discuss implementation of the study next month.

The council will meet at 7 p.m. Jan. 25 with members of the school committee in the middle school library to begin preliminary budget talks.