The RFP expects the study to finish about four months after Council approval, scheduled for December 14, 2026. Our dates assume a notice to proceed on Monday, January 4, 2027. If the start moves, every date moves with it, day for day.
Confirm goals, the study's pay philosophy questions, communication plan, the meeting calendar and who signs off at each step. Agree how employees hear about the study and when.
Class specifications, the incumbent file (class, step, hire and class dates, FTE), the three MOUs and side letters, benefit plan summaries and rates, CalPERS valuation reports, premium pay rosters, turnover and vacancy history. We validate the incumbent file against Salary Schedule A-27 before anything else uses it.
We bring a proposed list with the rationale written down (population, distance, services, structure, the labor market Atwater hires from, and whether the agency runs its own police and fire). The City approves it. Scope B.1 and B.2.
The week of January 25 in Atwater: the City Manager, Human Resources, each department head, and the bargaining representatives if the City wishes. Employee focus groups or a short online survey run the same week if the City asks for them (scope G.2).
Every class specification read against current duties as described in the interviews and by HR. We flag specs that no longer describe the work, classes whose relationships look wrong, and series that need a level added or removed. Scope A.
Published salary schedules first (much of that file exists already, see the peer market page), then a short survey to each comparator for what schedules leave out: benefit premiums and caps, CalPERS formulas and cost sharing, leave, deferred compensation match, and premium pays. Scope C and E.
Each class placed below, at or above market on base pay and on total compensation. Recommended ranges built from market data, class responsibilities and internal relationships, with the method stated. Scope C.3 and D.
Supervisor and subordinate gaps, entry to journey to senior steps, and the director tier, checked against the recommended structure. Turnover, vacancy and time-to-fill data read alongside the market results to find the classes where pay is driving losses. Scope F and H.
Cost of every recommendation by class and by fund, with salary-driven benefit costs (CalPERS, Medicare, deferred compensation) included. Employees below a new minimum, inside the range, or above a new maximum each get a stated treatment. Phased options where the full cost is more than one budget year can carry. Scope I.
We walk the City Manager, HR and Finance through the draft, number by number. Changes are logged with their reason.
Executive summary, methodology, comparator rationale, salary and total compensation tables for every class, internal equity findings, the implementation matrix, and the electronic workbooks with formulas intact. A maintenance guide so HR can age the market data and place new hires consistently between studies. Scope J and objective 7.
Presented in person by the project manager, on the Council agenda date the City sets (we expect a regular meeting in May 2027). Scope K.
Status goes to HR in writing every other week, with the next two weeks' asks named. The comparator list and the data request close in the first three weeks because every later step depends on them. The draft goes out a month before the final so the City has time to read it. The one risk to the schedule we cannot control is data arriving late; we name that risk at kickoff and track it in every status note.