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LOWER MERION – Lower Merion Township will conduct non-uniform compensation and classification studies for hundreds of its employees.
The new study will replace a previous one done over 30 years ago that township officials say is outdated.
During Wednesday night’s finance committee meeting, the commissioners recommended final approval of an agreement with HR Compensation Consultants, LLC (“HRCC”) to conduct the compensation and classification study with a base cost of $64,490.
They also included an optional fee of $3,465 for seven part-time positions in the analysis and $9,000 to analyze employee benefits for a total not-to-exceed cost of $76,955.
The study would cover about 144 full-time township positions and include approximately 280 employees.
Lower Merion originally budgeted $100,000 for the study, so it’s nearly $25,000 under the township’s estimated cost.
The township conducted a similar study in 1991-1992. At that time, all non-FOP, non-management, full-time positions were studied through a detailed job analysis questionnaire and on-site interview process.
As a result of the study, 96 new updated job titles were created. Because of labor/management issues at the time, the study was not implemented until 1999.
Township officials now say since it’s been over 30 years since the study was completed and nearly 25 years since it was implemented, the information needs to be updated and vulnerable to internal equity issues.
According to township officials, since the last study there have been new job duty requirements, including asking employees to do more complicated and varied job assignments.
In addition, non-union township employees could be receiving annual base wage increases that are lower than Workers Association employees. So unlike some private sector companies that often pay non-union workers lower rates than unionized employees, the township wants to be sure everyone is being paid fairly.
Brandon Ford, the township’s assistant manager, described the current system as obsolete.
According to Ford, because the current system is paper-based, everything must be done by hand and is very time-consuming whenever they bring in new employees or payment calculations.
Ford said the old study also no longer reflects the current responsibilities of current jobs.
“Job responsibilities today do not reflect what was in 1991,” Ford said. “Jobs have grown increasingly complex with not only the needs of the community but the technology we use in our day-to-day activities.”
The outdated system also makes it difficult for the township to determine wages.
“It makes it harder for us to make sure that we are paying our employees properly,” Ford said.
There are also 63 township employees who will be eligible to retire before the next workers’ association contract is up for renewal.
“We feel that engaging in such a study would benefit not only the senior staff but the township as a whole as we look to fill these positions and ensure that we are offering fair, equitable wages that attract the greatest and the brightest for employment in the township,” Ford said.
Ford said the study is expected to be completed by next June, so it will be ready before the township begins preparing the 2025 budget.
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