On Tuesday, March 5, 2024, during a City Council meeting, a detailed presentation was given on the classification and compensation study aimed at evaluating the city’s salary structure in comparison with other public entities. Before this presentation was made to the public, the City Council, including the Mayor, was briefed in a closed session. This preparatory step enabled Mayor Tessa Rudnick to craft a congratulatory message for the occasion, highlighting the study’s recommendation by the state auditor. The council members collectively expressed their pride in completing this significant study. However, Councilmember Fadelli, while acknowledging the study’s value, expressed some questions regarding the implementation process.
Although the Mayor reminded us that the state auditor recommended the study, she neglected to recite the entire recommendation. In March 2023, the state auditor recommended that El Cerrito should evaluate its staffing levels before undertaking the Classification and Compensation Study. Despite this sage advice, El Cerrito proceeded with a comprehensive classification and compensation study.
As a result, the City missed many significant opportunities. When properly conducted, evaluating an organization’s structure and staffing levels brings a multitude of benefits, central to enhancing overall business performance and sustainability. Such an evaluation streamlines operations and reduces operational costs by eliminating redundant processes, and optimizing efficiency. It also provides the organization with the flexibility and scalability needed to adapt to market changes and adjust operations accordingly. This process plays a critical role in improving employee satisfaction and retention by clarifying roles and responsibilities and ensuring workloads are balanced, which in turn, contributes to a more harmonious workplace environment.
Furthermore, it ensures resources are allocated efficiently, highlighting areas that are underutilized or in need of additional support. The adaptability and innovation within an organization are bolstered through regular evaluations, encouraging a culture that embraces new technologies and business practices swiftly. This clarity in organizational structure and staffing enhances communication and the flow of information, leading to more informed decision-making and effective strategy implementation. Additionally, it aids in compliance and risk management by aligning with legal standards and mitigating financial inefficiencies. Lastly, it supports talent development and succession planning, identifying talent gaps and preparing employees for future leadership roles. Regular assessments of organizational structure and staffing are indispensable for fostering efficiency, adaptability, employee morale, and strategic alignment, positioning the organization for long-term success.
El Cerrito missed a critical opportunity to not only adjust the size, shape, and performance, and improve employee satisfaction, but also to utilize this as a strategic tool for ensuring financial sustainability. By analyzing its staffing requirements, the city could have gained insights into the cost implications of different job classifications. This would enable informed decision-making regarding the staffing levels and types of positions the city can sustainably support, along with the services it can feasibly provide.
El Cerrito overlooked a pivotal chance to refine its organizational structure, enhance workforce performance, boost employee morale, and leverage these changes as a strategic mechanism to secure financial stability. Through a thorough analysis of its staffing needs, the city had the potential to uncover valuable insights regarding the financial impact of various job classifications. Such insights would have facilitated informed decisions about the sustainable support of different staffing levels and job types and the types of services the city could realistically offer.
City leaders hold off on the victory celebrations for now. It is crucial to recall that El Cerrito is grappling with a structural imbalance, with expenses consistently surpassing revenue. Hiking salaries and pension costs without the comprehensive insights from that study could, in the worst-case scenario, lead the City to bankruptcy. At best, it would swiftly push the City towards resorting to municipal payday loans once again.
El Cerrito Committee for Responsible Government (ECCRG) 
RE: “Councilmember Fadelli, while acknowledging the study’s value, expressed some questions regarding the implementation process.” What did he say?
Did the study only compare salaries to other cities, or did it also look into whether El Cerrito employees in a particular job classification are doing the same type and amount of work as in other cities, and whether we have a similar ratio of managers to staff? It is meaningless to say that, for example, Planning Manager II in El Cerrito is paid less than a Planning Manager II in other cities, unless you also look at whether they are doing the same type and amount of work and are managing similar numbers of employees.
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You will need to watch the video for an exact quote. He posed a question to the city on how to implement salary increases in light of the financial situation. Although she talked a long while she did not answer the question asked of her.
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