After city employees expressed dissatisfaction with their salaries in a 2022 review, the city is considering updating its wage system to remain competitive.
The review was initiated in 2022 following a 9.5% job vacancy rate in Helena’s local government, indicating that one-tenth of positions were unfilled. This rate is higher than Montana’s average of 7.5% and the national average of 6.6%.
In conjunction with a 2021 survey that revealed a lack of perceived career growth opportunities for local employees in Helena, the reviewer recommended implementing some changes.
During an administrative meeting on August 7, Jim Kerins, a managing consultant for Communications and Management Services, and Caleb Lewis, a human resources consultant at CMS, proposed four major ideas for implementing change.
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The first idea is to raise the entry rate to 90% from the previous 80%, providing higher wages to new hires.
Another suggestion is to restructure how wage growth is handled by introducing staggered salary increases. Instead of four increments of 5%, it could be extended to nine years with a 2.5% annual increase.
These staggered increases would be accompanied by job training to facilitate quicker advancement, gradually assigning more responsibilities to enable individuals to enhance their market value.
The aim, as stated by Kerins, is to encourage individuals to remain with the city for 10-12 years.
A third proposal is to reduce the number of pay grades from 73 to 24, grouping grades together and ensuring a 7.7% difference between them instead of the previous 2.5%. This approach would amplify the financial impact of promotions.
The target is to implement this new system by fiscal year 2026, starting on July 1, 2025. To achieve this, Kerins suggested updating all job descriptions and organizational charts to align with the revised pay systems, grouping employees based on market value and job content.
These groupings and “classifications” should be transparent to current and potential employees, according to Kerins. Providing clear benchmarks or understanding the basis for their compensation may motivate employees to stay, as they can anticipate their progression over five years.
While the ideal scenario would involve making this information accessible to the public, the current plan restricts it to internal viewers, such as managers.
Kerins also recommended that city commissioners advocate for annual raises matching the cost-of-living adjustments, emphasizing the need to stay competitive in response to changing conditions. This year, the City Commission tentatively approved a 3.5% cost-of-living adjustment for city employees, with City Commissioner Emily Dean advocating for a 4% adjustment.
Dean indicated she would revisit the cost-of-living adjustment discussion later in the summer during the budget review and push for a 4% adjustment.
The proposed wage changes will be subject to a vote at an upcoming City Commission meeting.
The Helena City Commission chambers in the City-County Building
Christine Compton is a reporter for the Helena Independent Record.
