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ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — SEPTEMBER 9, 2024 8 Public Works Director and City Engineer Swearingen said they will request that they stay within the original $150,000 budget. B. Comp and Class Study Update Tessia Melvin began the discussion by stating that nothing has changed from the previous discussions. She said Council has selected the pay philosophy and pay grid. Three steps will be cut from the bottom of the grid and three will be added to the top. Next steps are implementation. She anticipates that with the change in City Administrator, there will likely be some savings as the previous Administrator was maxed out and a new one would most likely be hired around the third step range. Councilmember Holden disagreed. She stated it's hard to find a good City Administrator and usually the offer must be high. Tessia Melvin said that is a discussion Council can have when the time is right. She thought typically you aren't going to start someone at the top step. She said savings also come depending on when the position is hired. There will be some savings because that salary will only be paid out when the position is filled. It won't be for the entire year. Tessia Melvin outlined the recommendation for implementation be the 3% cost of living adjustment (COLA), cut the bottom three and add three to the top then move employees into the closest step that benefits the employee. If the adjustment is made to the scale and employees stay at the same step, which would be a bigger cost up front. The first option would give employees a bump of 4-6%, the second option would give a higher percentage. Mayor Grant asked staff if either option could be implemented. Finance Director Yang confirmed it could be implemented either way. Councilmember Holden asked if the cost of $155,000 included social security and Medicare. Finance Director Yang confirmed. Councilmember Holden said she thought earlier the amount for FICA and PERA was $26,000 and $6,000 for the insurance. Finance Director Yang explained that a portion of it allocated to the General Fund and another portion to the Enterprise Fund. Councilmember Holden asked for confirmation this only includes non -union staff. Finance Director Yang confirmed.