Clovis approves new management pay scale for 36 positions, up to 10.69%

The Clovis City Council voted unanimously Feb. 17 to adopt a new salary structure for nonunion management employees that affects 36 job classifications and produces raises ranging from 0.25% to 10.69%, according to reporting by Yahoo and The Fresno Bee. Yahoo reported the total cost of the changes at $198,000.

Yahoo provided the range extremes: senior management analysts will receive a 0.25% increase while deputy fire chiefs will receive a 10.69% increase. Yahoo also reported City Manager Andrew Hussler received a 2.43% raise, with his monthly pay rising to more than $23,000 starting March 1.

The change follows a city staff-commissioned analysis last year that, according to The Fresno Bee’s summary of the staff report, found “a wide disparity between job classifications.” The staff report quoted by The Fresno Bee said, “The goal was to support standardization of the structure to enhance succession planning and employee retention,” and added, “The City has identified management positions in need of salary adjustment.”

The new structure uses benchmark positions to set pay relationships, The Fresno Bee reported, naming police captain, city planner and deputy fire marshal as benchmarks. The Bee reported monthly salaries for those benchmark positions will range from $12,141 to $14,757 depending on placement within the city’s five-step salary schedule, which is tied to annual performance reviews. The Bee also described relative pay settings: deputy police chief at 10% above the benchmark, police chief at 15% above the deputy police chief, and city manager at 15% above the highest department director.

Council procedure and public reaction were notable in local reporting. Yahoo said the council approved the structure “without any inquiry or discussion.” At the Feb. 17 meeting, Clovis resident Bill Scott told the council, “I know what I’m going to say isn’t going to make any difference tonight, but it’s just this constant thing of everybody’s always getting more and more and more,” as quoted by The Fresno Bee.

Timing and fiscal details remain partially unspecified in public reports. The Fresno Bee wrote some raises would begin “starting next week” when the city implements the new structure, while Yahoo gave March 1 as the start date for the city manager’s new monthly salary. Yahoo reported the $198,000 figure but did not clarify whether that amount is an annual recurring cost or a one-time implementation expense; The Fresno Bee’s published excerpts do not specify funding sources. City HR and the City Manager’s office would need to confirm the full list of the 36 positions, the exact percentage change for each classification, the budget line covering the $198,000, and the universal effective date for all adjustments.