HARLINGEN — For the first time in years, officials here are reviewing the city’s staffing along with employees’ pay.
Earlier this week, city commissioners launched a search for a firm to conduct a study to help set staffing levels while developing an employee compensation plan.
For years, the city has set employees’ pay ranges based on job descriptions, City Manager Gabriel Gonzalez said Thursday.
Now, Mayor Norma Sepulveda is calling for the new study to determine whether the city’s departments are properly staffed and their employees adequately paid.
“There’s a labor shortage across the country, so there’s a possibility the departments are not adequately staffed, so this might be something we have to budget for — and if it seems we have excessive (personnel), they might have qualifications to serve in other areas,” she said during an interview. “I’m 100 percent behind all the employees of the city of Harlingen. We want to make sure everyone is properly compensated.”
Request for proposals
During a meeting, commissioners unanimously voted to request proposals from firms that could conduct the study.
“I want to ensure that the city of Harlingen is staffed in each department to ensure that we have enough people for each department and to ensure that we have a plan in place on how we are increasing compensation so we ensure that all our employees are being considered for increases in their pay and to ensure that they’re fair,” Sepulveda said during Wednesday’s meeting.
Firms responding to the city’s request would present their proposals before the public, she said.
“They would come to the commission to present and the public could participate or at least be able to hear what they have to say on what they would do for the city of Harlingen,” she said.
Updating employee compensation plan
The city has not conducted a study to determine employee compensation in years, Gonzalez said Thursday.
“Right now we have a system we’ve had several years,” he said. “Several years ago, we had a study on all positions and compensation. It sets salary ranges based on job description.”
Gonzalez said it was time for a new study.
“I think it’s a good thing she’s doing this,” he said. “It’s a good time.”
Budgeting salaries
At City Hall, officials have begun working to develop the budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
This year, officials set aside $35.5 million out of the city’s $51.3 million general fund budget to pay employee salaries, city records show.
Of the total pay package, they earmarked $11 million to cover non-Civil Service employee salaries.
Meanwhile, $14.4 million went to fund police department salaries while $10 million was tapped to pay firefighters.
