HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Legislative Review Committee - 10/17/2022 -Compensation Policy Committee
10/17/22, 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.
Meeting Minutes
Members in attendance: Councilmember Susan Gutowsky; Councilmember Shirley Peel; Councilmember
Julie Pignataro
Staff in attendance: Kelly DiMartino, City Manager; Teresa Roche, Human Resources Executive; John
Duval, Deputy City Attorney; Kelley Vodden, Director of Compensation, Benefits and Wellness; Rupa
Venkatesh, Assistant City Manager; Gretchen Schiager, Executive Administrative Assistant
The Compensation Policy Committee (Committee) meeting was virtually held on October 17, 2022,
through a Zoom webinar.
Agenda
• Call Meeting to Order
• Approve Minutes from August 15, 2022
• Discussion Items:
o Outline Process and Timeline for Market Analysis and Salary Planning for Council-
Appointed Employees
o Overview of Colorado Family Medical Leave and Insurance Program
o Check-In re Committee:
What should we start, stop, and continue as a committee?
Schedule of Future Topics and Timing of Meetings
• Adjournment
Councilmember Pignataro called the meeting to order at 3:32 p.m.
Councilmember Gutowsky motioned to approve the minutes from August 15, 2022. Councilmember
Peel seconded the motion. The minutes were approved unanimously.
Outline Process and Timeline for Market Analysis and Salary Planning for Council-Appointed Employees
Councilmember Gutowsky would like to hear about proposed changes to the process.
Ms. Roche offered to share market information in the Executive Session and suggested the Council may
want time between hearing the market information and going into the Council meeting.
Councilmember Pignataro asked whether the market information could be provided in writing ahead of
time, along with the self-review and cover letter.
Ms. Roche explained that the process involved in gathering the market data is time-consuming, so she
could not guarantee to provide the data before the self-reviews are submitted; however, she did
commit to sending it to Council before the November 22 executive session.
There was a discussion about some members not receiving emails from the consultants at ILG because
they went into the “other” inbox rather than the “focused” inbox. Ms. Roche committed to following up
on that with the IT department.
Councilmember Peel asked how the national peer cities are determined. Ms. Roche shared that the
previous ad-hoc committee wanted high-performance cities, taking into consideration how they manage
open space, whether they have a AAA rating, whether they are welcoming to LGBTQIA plus, etc. The
final list included cities that met the foundational characteristics of being a university city, the
demographics, square mileage requirements, and the new additional factors. The full Council approved
the list in October 2019.
Councilmember Gutowsky asked Ms. Roche to send the data so they could review it before the Council
meeting.
Councilmember Pignataro requested that their direct reports provide their salary request along with the
self-review and asked whether the consultants would speak to the direct reports before writing the
summaries. Ms. Roche responded that the executives would be provided with a draft summary to
review with the consultants and that she would have the executives include their compensation
requests in a cover letter. She noted this step was also part of the resolution passed in October 2019.
Ms. Roche stated that each of the three employees sends an annual summary and that the consultant
interviews Councilmembers after reading the summaries. This year’s process also included surveying the
three executives’ direct reports. The consultants will meet with each of the executives to review the
survey results and Council interview summaries.
Councilmember Gutowsky asked whether the consultants would meet with the full Council before the
Council meeting with each of the executives.
Ms. Venkatesh suggested allowing time at the beginning of the November 22 meeting for the Council to
ask questions of the consultants before meeting with the executives.
Ms. Roche shared that she and the consultants will meet with the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem before the
Council meeting to go over the process for the executive session. All Councilmembers will receive the
summaries the Thursday before the November 22 executive session.
Councilmember Peel prefers not to have an additional meeting and is comfortable with asking questions
of the consultants at the beginning of the executive session.
Ms. Roche noted that if any Councilmember asked a question or requested information from the
consultants, the same information should be provided to all Councilmembers.
Ms. Roche and Ms. Venkatesh agreed that the process, agenda, structure, and time limits could be
reviewed at the beginning of the executive session before the individual reviews. Ms. Roche added that
the consultants would facilitate this meeting.
Ms. Roche will schedule a debrief after this year to review the process, discuss changes, and establish a
timeline for Councilmembers to receive evaluation materials, including market analysis.
Councilmember Pignataro asked whether the salaries would be discussed the same night or in a
subsequent meeting. Mr. Duval confirmed that the salaries could be left blank in the ordinances to be
filled in before approval.
Ms. Roche wants to ensure everyone can ask questions about the market analysis and be grounded
before consideration of the salary increase requests that may be submitted. Councilmembers Pignataro
and Gutowsky commented on the potential for awkwardness in discussions about salaries, noting that
appointees do not necessarily get the same percentage increase.
Councilmember Pignataro asked if anything discussed in this meeting necessitates changing the
resolution. Mr. Duval said what was discussed was consistent with the resolution. Councilmember
Pignataro asked whether the language in Section 2B needs to be changed given this dialogue, and Mr.
Duvall stated it did not appear anything needed to be changed.
Overview of Colorado Family Medical Leave and Insurance Program
Ms. Vodden explained that FAMLI is a state-run program approved by voters that begins in 2024, but the
financial impacts on employers and employees start in January 2023. Municipalities are allowed to opt-
out, and Ms. Vodden was unaware of any municipalities that have not opted out. She recommends the
City opt-out as we provide robust leave benefits at no cost to most of our employees, and it would be
cheaper for the City not to participate. Work will be done in 2023 to see about closing any gaps. This
recommendation will be brought to Council for approval in November.
Councilmember Gutowsky commented that the PFA Board approved opting out for the same reasons.
Councilmember Pignataro was curious whether the state or citizens initiated this ballot issue and
whether it was meant to force more paid family leave. Ms. Vodden said FAMILI has many similarities
with FMLA and its substantial caregiving component.
Check-In re Committee
Due to time constraints, this agenda item will be pushed to the next meeting.
Councilmember Pignataro expressed a preference not to meet in November. There was a general
agreement to cancel the November 21 meeting and use the December meeting for looking ahead.
Next Meeting: December 19, 2022
The meeting was adjourned at 4:34 p.m.
MINUTES APPROVED BY THE COMMITTEE AT THE DECEMBER 19, 2022 MEETING.