The Carlsbad City Council has approved a new agreement with the Carlsbad City Employees' Association that includes a groundbreaking provision linking raises to specific performance goals. The "pay for performance" provision is rare among public agencies, and Carlsbad is the first city in San Diego County to implement such a system.
Although this is a first for any of Carlsbad's three employee bargaining units, city management employees have had raises tied to performance since 1998, and the City Council wanted to implement the same system for non-management employees. The county of San Diego has a pay-for-performance system for its lawyers in the county counsel's office.
The new two-year memorandum of understanding with the employees' association, which the City Council approved Tuesday, June 18, includes an across-the-board 3 percent raise effective March 1, 2013, and a 3 percent raise effective Jan. 1, 2014. Under previous agreements, employees received raises by advancing through steps on a pay scale. The raises were negotiated between the city and the employees' association and took effect automatically.
Beginning in 2014 the pay steps will be eliminated, and each position will have a set minimum and maximum salary range. At the start of the year supervisors will meet with each employee to set specific competencies and goals for the year, and raises will be determined by how well employees attain those goals. The overall budget for the raises effective Dec. 31, 2014, will be 4 percent, and actual raises will vary depending on an employee's performance.
The year prior to negotiations leading up to the new agreement, the city and employees' association formed a task force to study and implement an evaluation and compensation system that will work best for the city and its employees, said City of Carlsbad Human Resources Director Julie Clark.
"Our goal is to provide compensation that is fair and allows us to retain the best caliber of employee for our city," Clark said. "It will also mean that the city will continue to deliver the high quality of service that our residents have become accustomed to."
Pam Drew, and associate planner and president of the Carlsbad City Employees' Association, said that the benefit of the new system for employees is that "it will allow the employees to have more input into how they accomplish their jobs and the resources they need to be more efficient."
"The program will allow the employees to feel that they are part of the process, which will give employees the feeling of ownership and pride by working together to make the city and organization better," Drew said.
The Carlsbad City Employees' Association represents 331 budgeted city employees. In the previous MOU, which was in effect from Jan. 1, 2010, to Dec. 31, 2012, employees received no raises and assumed the full 8 percent share of their pension contribution. The city had previously had paid all but 1 percent of the employees' pension share.
The other two employee bargaining units represent city police officers and firefighters.
Although this is a first for any of Carlsbad's three employee bargaining units, city management employees have had raises tied to performance since 1998, and the City Council wanted to implement the same system for non-management employees. The county of San Diego has a pay-for-performance system for its lawyers in the county counsel's office.
The new two-year memorandum of understanding with the employees' association, which the City Council approved Tuesday, June 18, includes an across-the-board 3 percent raise effective March 1, 2013, and a 3 percent raise effective Jan. 1, 2014. Under previous agreements, employees received raises by advancing through steps on a pay scale. The raises were negotiated between the city and the employees' association and took effect automatically.
Beginning in 2014 the pay steps will be eliminated, and each position will have a set minimum and maximum salary range. At the start of the year supervisors will meet with each employee to set specific competencies and goals for the year, and raises will be determined by how well employees attain those goals. The overall budget for the raises effective Dec. 31, 2014, will be 4 percent, and actual raises will vary depending on an employee's performance.
The year prior to negotiations leading up to the new agreement, the city and employees' association formed a task force to study and implement an evaluation and compensation system that will work best for the city and its employees, said City of Carlsbad Human Resources Director Julie Clark.
"Our goal is to provide compensation that is fair and allows us to retain the best caliber of employee for our city," Clark said. "It will also mean that the city will continue to deliver the high quality of service that our residents have become accustomed to."
Pam Drew, and associate planner and president of the Carlsbad City Employees' Association, said that the benefit of the new system for employees is that "it will allow the employees to have more input into how they accomplish their jobs and the resources they need to be more efficient."
"The program will allow the employees to feel that they are part of the process, which will give employees the feeling of ownership and pride by working together to make the city and organization better," Drew said.
The Carlsbad City Employees' Association represents 331 budgeted city employees. In the previous MOU, which was in effect from Jan. 1, 2010, to Dec. 31, 2012, employees received no raises and assumed the full 8 percent share of their pension contribution. The city had previously had paid all but 1 percent of the employees' pension share.
The other two employee bargaining units represent city police officers and firefighters.