City hears MGT classification and compensation study; staff plans 2026 implementation

Rachel Skaggs, director of human capital for consultant MGT, presented the results of a classification and compensation study completed for the City of Fort Atkinson at the Oct. 20 council meeting.

Skaggs said the study used a job evaluation process based on nine job factors — including education, decision making, responsibility for policy development and supervisory duties — and placed every position into one of 17 grades. She said the compensation plan was developed to align with the fiftieth percentile (median) of comparable municipal markets.

The study team identified comparable communities using seven criteria: population, total equalized value, property tax levy per capita, basic spending per capita, shared revenue, per‑capita debt and proximity. Skaggs said 30 communities met the study cutoff and that most provided pay plan data for the market survey.

Skaggs recommended bringing any employees paid below a proposed grade minimum up to that minimum as soon as possible. She said employees within a range would be slotted into the new plan and receive a 4% increase budgeted by the city; no positions fell above the proposed maximums so no reductions were recommended. The report and implementation tools, Skaggs said, are intended to allow city staff to administer and update the plan annually and to slot new or changed positions into the classification structure.

During the presentation a staff member noted that only one non‑represented employee among roughly 60 was close to the market midpoint and that a small number of employees were below the proposed minimums. Council members asked whether private‑sector data was used for benchmarking; Skaggs said private‑sector responses were not included because such responses were not obtained and the study focused on comparable municipal data.

Skaggs told the council that, on average, the report showed increases to pay ranges consistent with regional market growth and that the study would position Fort Atkinson’s pay structure for stability for several years with annual maintenance. She answered procedural questions about how market midpoints are calculated and how the comparable community band was determined.

The report was provided to the council as part of the meeting packet. No action was taken on the item at the meeting; council members raised implementation and timing questions and the city will administer the plan beginning in 2026 per the presentation.

Ending: The MGT report and full data tables appear in the meeting packet posted on the city website; staff indicated tools for future annual updates are included in the deliverable.