City personnel pay discussed

A city committee is comparing city employee salaries with cities similar to Clovis to see if the pay and benefit of some city employees need adjustment.

But Employee Compensation Review Board committee member and city commissioner Robert Sandoval said the committee will have to take the city’s budget into consideration.

The committee was formed in December and met a month later, according to Sandoval.

City Manager Joe Thomas said the committee is made up of 14 members — including a representative from every department, a commissioner, the human resources director and the city manager.

“What they have done so far is obtain information from other entities and communities and try to compare various positions to see if the various benefits are competitive in Clovis as compared to other entities both private and public,” he said.

Sandoval said cities under review include Hobbs, Roswell, Carlsbad.

The next meeting will be April 17, and the committee will present a recommendation to the commission in May, according to Thomas, .

Thomas said the city hired a consulting company four years ago to evaluate benefits and salaries of city employees. He said the city still uses the compensation plan that resulted from that evaluation.

Former Mayor David Lansford suggested forming the committee in November two months after fire department representatives presented commissioners with a petition to approve a compensation plan that would enhance the pay for some fire fighter positions to help with employee retention.

Clovis commissioners voted down 4-3 in September a compensation plan for the fire department.