The cost of a proposed $55,000 classification and compensation study was questioned during Monday's General Services Committee meeting.

The purpose of the study is to evaluate and update the city’s existing compensation framework, which was last revised in 2017.                   

“The issue is how much it's really going to cost, who will be doing it and once it's done, what's the plan to implement it?” committee member Christie Wood asked. “Our budget is already not as full as we’d like it to be."

The city is considering a contract with BestDay HR for a citywide classification and compensation study. Any work that exceeds the projected cost will be billed at the consultant’s hourly rate of $185 per hour.  

Wood said the study could end up costing $67,000 if it runs over the initial estimate.

"We need clarification on that," Wood said.

Wood also said there was an opportunity to use “our own professionals to do the study for a lot less money and provide a fair stipend to those people that are doing it.”

“My projected cost is only $15,000. The original cost for doing the study was only $10,000,” Wood said.

Human Resources Director Melissa Tosi said the $10,000 originally wasn't for a complete study, but for a group of exempt employees at the time.

"We kind of started that discussion a couple years ago, and now, three years later, we're at the point that we really need to look at all of our benchmark positions," she said.

Tosi said the city is struggling in some areas, like attorneys.

“It's a challenging position to fill. But we really need to look at all of our positions,” Tosi said. “So that's why the study is quite a bit more than the originally proposed $10,000.”

Tosi said she wouldn't recommend having the study done in-house.

“It’s not that we can't be unbiased, but it's generally better to take the internal positions out of those recommendations and have a consultant review that,” Tosi said.

According to a city report, all three collective bargaining groups, the Lake City Employees Association, Coeur d’Alene Firefighters Local No. 710 and the Police Officers Association, support the study. 

Wood said she agreed with the need for the study and made a motion to recommend that the City Council discuss the agreement at its Jan. 20 meeting.