Personnel Board approves scope for townwide salary survey funded from free cash

The Personnel Board of the Town of Southborough voted April 17 to approve and release the final scope of services for a townwide salary survey, with the work to be funded from free cash. Chair Jason moved the motion, saying the scope will shape vendor proposals and the study that the board will later review.

The board and staff debated which positions to include in the study. Staff noted the survey will focus on Schedule A titles and will not include certain contract positions that will remain under contract terms. Board members discussed whether part-time positions such as police dispatchers should be treated separately and whether upcoming changes (including a potential regional dispatch transition) justify collecting additional data now.

Members discussed procurement details and outreach strategy. Because the project is under the $50,000 informal‑procurement threshold, staff explained it requires soliciting quotes rather than formal advertising, and outreach will be targeted to a small number of firms that specialize in municipal salary studies. The board agreed the scope should include the town’s performance-review form and an escalation/remediation process so employees who disagree with a consultant’s findings have a clear path to raise concerns.

Jason moved to “approve and release the final scope of services, study for the salary survey, subject to the edits discussed in this meeting.” The motion was seconded and passed on a roll‑call vote recorded in the meeting minutes.

The board discussed vendor payment structure; staff said some towns use phased payments (for example, a partial payment after interviews and a final payment upon delivery and board acceptance of the final report). Members suggested building quality controls and a clear timeline into contracts to reduce past follow‑through problems and to ensure the town has opportunity to interview finalists and negotiate scope prior to contract execution.

The next steps are to distribute the scope to targeted firms, collect quotes, evaluate proposals and determine whether interviews of finalists are needed before awarding a contract. The survey’s findings and any recommended changes to the salary administration plan (SAP) would be presented to the board and, if necessary, to Town Meeting for approval.