Housing authority adopts new pay scale, reclassifications and phased raises to fill staff gaps

The Housing Authority of the City and County of San Francisco voted to adopt a new pay scale and move forward with reclassifications and phased pay increases intended to help recruit and retain staff after a multi-year period without general increases.

General counsel and executive staff presented an 8-step salary schedule aligned with market comparisons to other housing authorities. Staff said the schedule will formalize titles, support hiring for vacant budgeted positions and create a more competitive baseline for roles such as analysts and legal/project administrators. The authority requested two scheduled 2.5% increases, effective Oct. 1, 2024 and April 1, 2025, to narrow gaps with peer organizations.

Finance staff said the immediate reclassification and step adjustments would produce an estimated budgetary impact of about $260,000 for the current staffing complement (22 employees cited) and noted that each 2.5% raise is estimated to cost up to about $150,000 in recurring expense. Commissioners asked for the authority's compensation philosophy and how the new pay scale links to the strategic plan and vendor-performance monitoring; staff said the office of program excellence will report metrics and that the strategic plan will be presented in January.

Commissioners debated whether some functions required licensed attorneys and where specialized counsel remains necessary for redevelopment work; staff said the authority will continue to use outside counsel for highly specialized matters while building internal capacity. The resolutions adopting the pay scale and the CalPERS-required public posting were approved by roll call.