Plain City Council recently approved a compensation plan that will gradually increase the number of village employees. A flow chart depicting the future organizational structure of the village is illustrated above. Shaded boxes are future employees, with the year of their anticipated hiring in parenthesis. (Graphic submitted)
As Plain City continues to grow, its administration is preparing to expand the village’s staff.
Council unanimously approved a resolution Monday to accept a 2021 compensation plan that will gradually increase the number of village employees over the next five years. Eight positions are expected to be added by 2024.
According to a memo from Village Administrator Haley Lupton, the 2021 update was completed in-house and will be updated again in 2022 by a consultant.
Lupton also wrote that employee retention and succession planning are a focus of the 2022 operating budget.
“It has continually been council’s goal to ensure that current and future employees are compensated competitively compared to similar communities,” she wrote.
Three positions will be added in 2022: an engineer, economic development manager and parks and recreation coordinator. Each will be subject to final council approval before the hiring process is initiated.
A projection for the engineer salary is not included in the compensation study, as it will be covered by development fees. This position will report to the public works director.
The economic development manager will serve as a department head and report to the village administrator. Their projected salary is $65,416.
The parks and recreation coordinator will be a full-time position who reports to the parks director. Their salary will be approximately $41,641.60.
Several positions will be added to the village in 2023 and beyond.
The plan also anticipates adding an accounting/finance clerk in 2023, a communications clerk in 2023 or 2024 and an assistant administrator, HR generalist and additional public works staff member in 2024.
The accounting/finance clerk’s starting salary will be $52,228.80.
The base pay for the communications clerk, HR generalist and public works staff member are each expected to be $46,488.
The assistant administrator will make $65,520 in their first year.
The five-year plan anticipates Plain City paying $139,174.88 in salary and benefits for new staff members, not including the engineer. This figure includes raises for some current department heads and the administrator.
The number will bump to $210,706.23 in 2023; $482,954.44 in 2024 and $496,879.87 in 2025.
As staff continues to expand, the village will eventually pay over half a million dollars – $511,211.79 – in salary and benefits in 2026.
Approval of the plan will also result in an increase in wages to “mid-point” for two administrative assistants, the finance director and parks director.
In total, the village will pay an additional $29,182.40 in salaries for these positions in 2022.
The resolution will also result in the removal of a “Pay Grade 1” category, though no dollar amounts will be changed in any other pay grades. An “Acting Pay” category will also be added.
Other minor wording changes will be made, as well, to align documents with the Plain City Charter.
Lupton noted that all staffing and wage changes have been accounted for in the 2022 operating budget.
She said a complete salary survey will be conducted in 2022, which will be implemented in 2023. It will use new data to compare wages.
In other business:
– Council approved four motions to accept planning and zoning committee recommendations for the final plats of Madison Meadows, Section 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B.
According to a memo from Village Planner Taylor Brill, the plat applications include suggested changes from the village’s engineer, including the labeling of easements along 10 lots. They are now stretched to meet setbacks outlined in the approved zoning text.
Madison Meadows is a residential development located on Lafayette-Plain City Road. The four plats approved consist of 165 lots intended for single-family residential units.
– Council approved a resolution authorizing the village administrator to dispose of village property no longer needed for public use.