The Bloomington City Council has approved a new salary grade system expected to have a combined $10 million fiscal impact per year.
The council voted unanimously Tuesday to adopt a new 14-grade pay system for non-union employees, replacing the existing 12-grade system. It affects 430 positions.
The changes, made possible by a council ordinance, are not immediate. By approving the ordinance, the council took the first step in a process allowing the changes to occur, according to City Human Resources Director Sharr Pechac.
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Pechac said the city must first evaluate the affected positions and determine where each will fall in the new 14-grade system.
“First, we had to get approval for the expanded pay grades,” she said. “We will have to come back once we do this work, to do recommendations on any adjustments to the (2024) salary ordinance that will reflect the new grades align with the new pay structure.”
The 14-grade system includes maximum wages higher than and minimum wages lower than those that exist in the 12-grade system.
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For example, a Grade 12 position in the 12-grade system can make a maximum of $150,927 annually. A Grade 14 position could make up to $166,174. A Grade 1 position in the 12-grade system makes a minimum of $37,507 annually; the same Grade in the 14-grade system can make as little as $34,398.
Pechac wrote in a staff memo that the new 14-grade system will “relieve pay compression between mid-level employees and their supervisors” and “better differentiate between grades.”
The structure came from a 2023 compensation study conducted by Crowe LLP, which the city contracted with in January of that year.
The council also approved a new deputy clerk position, which will focus on communication with city boards and commissions.
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The position is budgeted at about $88,000, including benefits, under the 12-grade system. Pechac said the city will later re-evaluate the position under the 14-grade system.
The changes are effective Jan. 1, 2025, after the council approves the 2025 city budget.
