HANDBOOK FOR AC.IIIFAINC;
ADEQUATE SALARIES FOR
STATE ENVIRONMENTAL
POSITIONS
^ s%
UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460
JUNE 1976
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HANDBOOK FOR ACHIEVING ADEQUATE SALARIES
STATE ENVIRONMENTAL POSITIONS
WPD 6-76-03
By
Blaser, Zeni § Co.
410 North Michigan
Chicago, Illinois 60611
Contract No. 68-01-3148
Prepared for
WATER PLANNING DIVISION
UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460
JUNE 1976
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PREFACE
Many state environmental agencies have had difficulties
attracting and retaining qualified environmental personnel, partic-
ularly since the enactment of the Federal Water Pollution Control
Amendments of 1972 (P.L. 92-500). Demand has tended to exceed
supply, even during recent depressed economic activity.
The result has been key positions being vacant over extended
periods of time, or filled with inadequately qualified persons.
This, in turn, has reduced the ability of state agencies to perform
required functions such as administering the $18 billion dollar
construction grant program and the Section 208 areawide waste treat-
ment planning process.
State officials reported that the chief barrier to attracting
and retaining qualified persons was an inadequate salary structure.
The purpose of this handbook is to assist state environmental
administrators in achieving adequate salaries for the environmental
positions in the agency.
This handbook was developed pursuant to the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 (P.L. 92-500) by Blaser,
Zeni .§ Co. with the supervision and support of Edward F. Richards
and other members of the staff of the Water Planning Division.
Mark A. Pisano
Director, Water Planning Division
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Washington, D.C.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The success with which this project has been met has only
been possible through the tireless efforts of many dedicated
concerned environmental managers.
The staffs of the environmental agencies and state personnel
departments in Delaware, Florida, Missouri, New Jersey, Vermont
and Virginia, the six "prototype" states, provided the labora-
tories for this project. Both the EPA and the contractor express
sincere gratitude for the cooperation, assistance and many long
hours of work provided in connection with the project.
Similarly, the state program coordinators in the USEPA
Regional Offices, Richard Kotelly in Region I, Patrick Harvey in
Region II, William O'Neal in Region III, Jim Silva in Region IV
and Eugene Ramsey in Region VII deserve appreciation for their
identification of the problems and the opportunities associated
with the project.
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HANDBOOK FOR ACHIEVING ADEQUATE SALARIES
FOR STATE ENVIRONMENTAL POSITIONS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
PREFACE i
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii
I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1
II. INTRODUCTION 9
III. FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS 14
IV. STRATEGIES FOR CHANGE 27
V. APPENDICES 41
A. Case Studies 42
Delaware 42
'Florida 47
Missouri 50
New Jersey 53
Vermont 56
Virginia 59
B. Suggested Legislation 62
C. Methodology and Technical Approach 68
D. Glossary 73
111
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I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
' Background
This handbook:has been developed for senior state environ-
mental administrators.
To them is addressed the question: "Does your agency have
a continuing series of key vacancies which are hindering your
organization's accomplishments?"
If so, this handbook offers potential solutions, drawing
upon actual, recent experience in Delaware, Florida, Missouri,
New Jersey, Vermont and Virginia.
The strategies for change outlined have worked during a
period of extreme budget stringencies under the requirements of
a series of state personnel systems.
Although salary levels are not the only determinant for an
employer in hiring and retaining qualified personnel, state envi-
ronmental officials have reported that inadequate salaries can
be and have been a substantial barrier.
Attracting and retaining qualified environmental personnel
often hinges on relatively small salary differentials. Conse-
quently, it is possible to achieve significant improvement with
minor impact on budgets. Equally important with being economical
with dollars is the importance of being economical with the
scarce time of senior environmental administrators. The progress
made in the six states did not require significant time or super-
vision from such executives.
Environmental officials who are administering agencies with
inadequate compensation structures are caught in an awkward
situation: positions that are vacant, positions that have high
turnover, and positions filled by inadequately qualified persons,
allow a cascade of problems to pour through to the senior offi-
cials, overloading them and depriving them of time that should
be used for other critical agency problems.
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The Problem
With the enactment of the Federal Clean Air Act of 1970
and the Federal Water Pollution Control Amendments of 1972, most
state and territorial environmental agencies have been required
to assume substantially increased responsibilities in the devel-
opment and operation of increasingly sophisticated and complex
programs. The demand for skilled qualified environmental
personnel increased dramatically, more rapidly than supply, and
was reflected in the market-place for employees.
To the extent that personnel systems did not adapt as quickly
as the circumstances were changed, staffing problems resulted:
widespread vacancies, positions being filled by inadequately
qualified persons, and high turnover rates.
Such problems were bound to impair the quality, quantity
and timeliness of agency decisions. Consequences could be severe:
a poor decision could affect the opening of a new factory; a late
decision could delay the construction of a sewage treatment plant
expected to provide cleaner water and unemployment-reducing jobs.
In discussions between USEPA and state officials across the
nation, it was learned that the chief barrier with which they had
to contend was salary structures which did not properly reflect
the new responsibilities of a position, the change in the market,
or both.
Purpose of this Project
Given the widespread nature and consequences of these envi-
ronmental personnel problems, the United States Environmental
Protection Agency(EPA) decided to make assistance available to
the states for their solution.
Six states were selected as prototypes through consultation
with officials of EPA headquarters, EPA regional offices, and
state environmental agencies.
The EPA engaged a contractor to provide intensive technical
assistance to these six states, to then develop a handbook drawn
from the experiences with these states. In order to maximize the
benefit from these experiences and this handbook, the contractor
is to provide, in the final phase of this project, individual
consulting visits to each of the regions and those states the
regional office designates. Such consulting visits are designed
to adapt the broad technical approaches to the specific needs
of the individual states. The methodology of the project and
experience with each of the prototype states is detailed in the
appendices.
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Major Findings
1. Throughout this century, the nation has been experi-
encing a long-term inflationary trend, eroding the purchasing
power of the dollar. To the extent the basic pay plan of a
state is not regularly and adequately adjusted for inflation,
the result is a pay reduction in real terms for state employees.
Legislatures have been reluctant to make such adjustments
because granting a "raise" in dollar schedules is* often inter-
preted as granting an increase in purchasing power.
2. During the 1975-76 period when technical assistance was
being provided to the six states', the nation was in a recession.
Unemployment was high; budgets of the states were drastically
squeezed between reduced revenues and increased expenditures.
Legislatures, which have historically been reluctant to adjust
the face value of basic pay plans to match the deterioration of
the purchasing power of the dollar, were reluctant to even make
a partial adjustment. During the recession period difficulties
in filling positions persisted, but at a somewhat lesser rate.
Nevertheless, in a few disciplines, such as engineering,
compensation in the marketplace has continued to advance
notwithstanding the recession.
With the economy apparently once again on the upswing, the
competition for individuals to fill key environmental positions
is expected to increase, aggravating existing compensation
problems.
3. State personnel agencies often are budgeted so tightly
that they do not have enough staff to reexamine compensation
levels or reexamine classifications as frequently as needed.
4. Budget limitations within state environmental agencies
often lead to inadequate staffing of qualified personnel special
ists within the environmental agency; such a specialist or
specialists are needed to gather and present environmental agency
information to the state personnel agency.
5. State departments of personnel are often asked to
perform the impossible task of reconciling conflicting forces:
a pay plan that falls behind inflation, an overall shortage of
funds in the state budget, and the realities of the marketplace
reflected in salaries paid by alternate employers.
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6. Frequently, due to existing authority, statutory or
otherwise, a state personnel agency is expected to fulfill a role
of restraining budgets related to governmental employees within
their jurisdiction. As one top state environmental official
expostulated, "Our state personnel department has confused its
role with that of the Office of Management and Budget; they think
their job is to hold down the budget rather than administer a
compensation structure based on the merit system".
7. Nearly all state personnel agencies have a reluctance
to expanding the number of payroll titles. This aversion may
extend to the creation of specialization titles, for example,
splitting an engineering title into environmental engineers and
highway engineers, even though the marketplace pays substantial
differentials for differing experience.
8. Generally, state departments of personnel are highly
reluctant to use surveys of competitive salaries to determine
what salary grade should be allocated to a class title.
9. Salaries paid by state environmental agencies vary
widely. Although terms of this project did not permit a compre-
hensive salary survey, indications are that salaries paid by many
states to engineers are significantly less than those paid by
other employers for engineers with comparable experience.
10. Where seniormost environmental officials did not give
compensation review•whole-hearted support, progress was difficult;
with full support progress was facilitated.
11. Acquiescence or active support by the Office of the
Governor can be critical; it was best achieved by describing early
the compensation problems, their consequences to good administra-
tion, and the potential solution.
An effective example was to describe the relationship between
adequate environmental staff, prompt processing of construction
grant applications, sewage treatment plant construction, and unc ,-
ployed construction workers.
12. Legislation, enacted in Delaware in 1975, provided
solutions to the continuing long-term problems, as well as
rectifying recent years erosion of the pay plan's purchasing
power.
f
13. Long hours and intense work reflect the dedication of
employees of state departments of personnel and of environmental
agencies. Such effort has, in part, offset some of the unfavor-
able consequences of a shortage of qualified staff.
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Results Achieved
Relatively small dollar amounts can significantly improve
the attractiveness of a salary as compared to other employment
opportunities; relatively modest reductions in vacancies can
make a significant improvement in agency accomplishments while
reducing staff overload.
Each of the prototype states have a merit system or civil
service system which requires all personnel transactions to be
reviewed and approved by the state department of personnel or
by a civil service board. Because these agencies generally are
overloaded, it usually takes months to get decisions on a series
of classification and pay actions.
As of June 1976, the publishing date of this handbook,
results achieved were as follows:
(1) Delaware revised the Pay Plan for state employees
twice within the past year. The first granted
increases of 8 percent, 12 percent or 15 percent
depending on pay grades; the second increase was
a cost of living adjustment of 3.064 percent.
This obviated the need for many of the individual ^
adjustments; nevertheless, one classification ^
action was granted, seven were not submitted for
lack of funding. The Agency Personnel Officer
is currently reevaluating the recommendations.
(2) Recommendations for the Florida Department of
Environmental Regulation included classification
actions involving 17 positions. The environmental
agency forwarded ten actions to the State Depart-
ment of Personnel. Three have been approved,
five are pending, and two were denied. One action
was disapproved by the DER. As funding becomes
available, the remaining positions will be re-
evaluated for submission by the agency.
(3) Recommendations for the Missouri Division of
Environmental Quality, through a combination of
classification actions, affected 42 positions.
Several months were needed to act upon the
. entire list, but all were granted.
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(4) At the end of May 1976, the New Jersey Department
of Environmental Protection and the State Depart-
ment of Personnel were presented fully documented
recommendations for classification actions in-
volving 38 positions. All these actions are
pending at time of publishing this handbook.
(5) Similarly, presentation of recommendations to the
Vermont Agency of Environmental Conservation and
the State Department of Personnel were made at
the end of April 1976 affecting 14 positions; all
are pending at this time.
(6) Recommendations affecting 79 positions were provided
to the Virginia State Water Control Board and to the
State Department of Personnel for classification and
pay actions. Increases were granted statewide by
advancing substantially all employees one or two
steps in the pay plan. The salary of the Executive
Secretary was raised $5,000. Further action on the
remaining recommendations is contemplated pending
completion of an organization study of work assign-
ments.
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State Personnel Classification and Pay Project
Key Environmental Positions Affected
Through June 5, 1976
# Classification
Actions
Recommended
# Not
Submitted
Lack of
# Granted # Pending # Denied Funding
Delaware
Florida
Missouri
New Jersey
Vermont
Virginia
8
17
42
38
14
79
1*
3
42
0
0 .
1*
7
5
0
38
14
78**
0
3
0
0
0
0
0
6
0
0
0
0
* In addition, increases were granted to substantially all state
employees in the merit system while this project was being
undertaken.
** Further action is contemplated pending completion of an
organization study of work assignments to be completed
jointly by the State Water Control Board and the State
Department of Personnel.
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Conclusion
Inadequate salaries for environmental positions can have an
unfavorable affect on the economy of the state, the accomplishments
of the environmental agency, and the workload of staff members.
Such consequences are important enough to justify the senior-
most state environmental official to determine whether salaries
are an impediment and, if so, to authorize a plan of action to
improve the situation.
A senior executive can most effectively delegate the details
"of execution of the strategies for change if he has devoted a small
jamount of time to becoming familiar with the fundamental reasons
Ifor compensation problems under state personnel systems, and the
(fundamental solutions to such problems.
The purpose of the executive summary is to communicate such
fundamentals. The balance of this handbook is to provide addi-
tional details.
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II. INTRODUCTION
Background and Purpose of the Project
With the enactment of the Federal Clean Air Act of 1970 and
the Federal Water Pollution Control- Amendments of 1972, most state
and territorial environmental agencies have been required to assume
substantial responsibilities in the development and operation of
increasingly sophisticated and complex programs.
These enlarged responsibilities have hastened the maturity
of "environmental management" as an interdisciplinary field which
requires skilled public administrators for positions of leadership
and senior management.
This requirement for increasingly skilled personnel has had
an effect upon both pollution control agencies in their attempts
to fill positions and upon individuals seeking employment or pro-
motion within them.
The response to this requirement by environmental agencies
has varied widely among the state and territorial governments.
Some of these governments have initiated programs to meet this
challenge of incorporating "environmental management and admin-
istration" into their personnel classification system, while
others have taken few steps in this direction.
There have existed, for extended periods of time, vacancies
and temporary appointments to many of these key environmental
positions.
In response to widespread vacancies in key state water pollu-
tion control positions throughout the nation, the EPA decided to
assist the states by providing intense technical assistance through
a contractor, to six states, to have developed a handbook drawn
from the experiences with these six states, and finally to brief
interested states in the techniques used.
The EPA is concerned about such vacancies inasmuch as the
EPA and the states have been jointly mandated by the Congress to
implement the sweeping provisions of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act Amendments of 1972 (P.L. 92-500) on a tight timetable.
Problems associated with adequate staffing of state water
pollution control positions go beyond a question of vacancies.
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High turnover rates and the frequent necessity to fill
positions with "someone" even if they are not fully qualified
by training and experience could result in delays in awarding
of construction grants and contract awards with attendant impact
on employment within a state.
Given the widespread nature of these environmental personnel
problems, it is necessary to focus on the more prevalent causes
which transcend any particular state or regional boundaries.
Although salary levels are not the only determinant for an
employer in hiring and retaining qualified personnel, inadequate
salaries can be a substantial barrier.
With the dramatic growth in water pollution control programs
in the past five years, qualified personnel in this specialized
field have had an increasingly large number of positions from which
to choose in private industry, the federal, state and local govern-
ments.
For people with water pollution control training and expe-
rience, it has become a classical "Sellers' Market".
Those organizations which have taken the steps necessary to
assure adequate compensation levels for this special group are
better situated to attract and retain adequate staff.
As a result of the urgency of this need, this project was
designed to go beyond a mere recital of the problems. The project
is rooted in a results-oriented approach and is seeking to actually
help bring about solutions during a "technical assistance" phase
of reclassification implementation.
The project, thus far, has dealt with the provision of tech-
nical assistance to six prototype states.
Working with these prototype states, the contractor has
assisted in the documentation of specific disparities between
classification/compensation levels and responsibility/authority
requirements for selected key water pollution control positions
within state environmental programs.
Most of the water pollution control problems in the states
and the nation can be overcome through the design, construction
and operation of adequate waste treatment facilities, whether
governmental or industrially owned.
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With this realization, private industries, the legislatures
of the states and the Federal Government have all moved to provide
massive funding for such facilities. Federal funding alone, author-
ized by P.L. 92-500, totals $18 billion dollars, which is supple-
mented by more than $4 billion of state and local funding.
Much of the funding has come relatively suddenly and is truly
enormous in terms of its impacts upon public and private organiza-
tions charged with the responsibilities for design, construction,
operation and monitoring of waste treatment activities.
This government program does not include funding provided,
and personnel required for design and construction of industrial
waste treatment facilities which result from actions of the envi-
ronmental agencies.
Nature and Extent of the Vacancy/Turnover Problem
While it is only possible to estimate the time when state envi-
ronmental agencies began to experience significant and continuing
vacancy/turnover problems, the period beginning with the implemen-
tation of P.L. 92-500 is a reasonable point of departure.
As early as the spring of 1973, during the preparation of State
Program Plans for FY 1974, the potential magnitude of the impact on
personnel needs was perceived by many state environmental and EPA
managers. These plans, prepared pursuant to Section 106 of P.L.
92-500, contained the first early warnings of the impending problems
which would strike the state agencies.
Although many states had been attempting to improve personnel
compensation levels for environmental personnel since the late 1960's
and early 1970's, success had been sporadic and frequently piecemeal.
Throughout 1974, appropriate EPA personnel in both the Regional
Offices and at Headquarters attempted to develop an improved data
base concerning the vacancy/turnover problems which have tended to
focus most heavily upon the engineering profession.
In some instances, state environmental managers surfaced the
problems in the 106 plans, while others chose to transmit such con-
cerns in less formal written and verbal communications.
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Despite the vehicles used, the same message was becoming in-
creasingly apparent: P.L. 92-500 is placing billions of dollars
in the design and construction market for water pollution control
facilities and the states are experiencing severe problems in re-
maining competitive in terms of attracting and retaining qualified
personnel.
Adequate quantification of a uniform nature was difficult to
obtain, but scattered reports of extreme situations help form clear
patterns of the problem.
Instances of severe attrition, prolonged vacancies of senior
management positions and a lack of qualified, experienced candidates
for jobs were repeated throughout the country.
The EPA, acting upon this continuing feedback from the states
attempting to adequately implement P.L. 92-500 within the deadlines,
moved to initiate a state personnel reclassification project.
The project was designed to first establish a clear picture
of the varying needs among the states as portrayed by an adequate
data base and to systematically furnish technical assistance to
those states where the need appeared most crucial, if such help
was sought by those states.
Important Restraints on Comparative Data
As originally written, the contract authorizing this project
called for the contractor to conduct a survey of compensation
patterns of all states and a representative sample of other em-
ployers. However, the Federal Reports Act requires that any survey
addressed to ten or more recipients must be approved by the Federal
Office of Management and Budget. Such approval was requested, but
disapproved; an appeal of this decision was also disapproved.
Consequently, the survey was restricted to a limited number
of states plus such information available from already published
sources.
Purpose of this Handbook
The purpose of this handbook is to assist state environmental
administrators in achieving adequate salaries for the environmental
positions in the agency.
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The various techniques are listed, required circumstances for
their use outlined, and specific steps required to execute each tech-
nique.
It is believed that this handbook can provide a systematic
approach to identify and solve the majority of the major problems
which a state environmental agency is most likely to encounter in
assessing and/or undertaking such a project.
While it is unlikely that every conceivable problem of both
a managerial and technical nature has been addressed in this hand-
book, it is envisioned that an environmental manager can use the
patterns presented, with customizing modifications, to solve many
such problems.
Mutual Problems and Mutual Needs
In some states we have detected some signs of strain between
the various managers of the state environmental agency and the
state department of personnel.
This is the natural result of the frustrations each feels;
each is highly aware of the constraints they themselves operate
under, and is somewhat less aware as to the pressures bearing
upon the other.
Those in state personnel departments are painfully conscious
of the need to preserve equitable relationships throughout the
classification and pay structure, seeing the non-ending task
of classification and pay review of hundreds of class titles.
Those in the environmental agencies know of the difficulty of
hiring properly qualified personnel, and feel the painful loss
when an experienced manager resigns. Both know there are more
responsibilities assigned to his agency than can be handled by
present staff.
Considering all the conflicting claims it is important that
both groups appreciate the other's problems and make extra efforts
to assist one another in these difficult situations.
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III. FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS
1. Throughout this century, the nation has
been experiencing a long-term inflationary trend,
eroding the purchasing power of the dollar. To
the extent the basic pay plan of a state is not
regularly and adequately adjusted for inflation,
the result is a pay reduction in real terms for
state employees.
Legislatures have been reluctant to make
such adjustments because granting a "raise" in
dollar schedules is often interpreted as granting
an increase in purchasing power.
If a tax increase is required to provide the additional
dollars to offset inflation, opposition to the tax increase will
be fierce, and such opposition will extend to compensatory pay
plan adjustments.
However, the very inflation which causes the problem provides
part of the solution.
Generally speaking, long-term inflation means long-term price
increases which yield larger sales tax revenues; similarly long-term
wage increases for the state's population means greater income tax
receipts for the state.
These long-term increases in state revenue are not automati-
cally used to maintain purchasing power for state employees; they
may be diverted to new or expanded state programs.
Part of the responsibility of senior state officials is to
effectively urge that the additional revenues accruing to the state
from inflation are used to protect damage done by inflation to the
salaries of state employees.
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2. During the 1975 to 1976 period when
technical assistance was being provided to the
six states, the nation was in a recession.
Unemployment was high; budgets of the states
were drastically squeezed between reduced
revenues and increased expenditures. Legis-
latures, which have historically been reluctant
to adjust the face value of basic pay plans to
match the deterioration of the purchasing power
of the dollar, were reluctant to even make a
partial adjustment. Generally states were
finding it easier to fill most positions than
in the past.
Nevertheless, in a few disciplines, such
as engineering, compensation in the marketplace
has continued to advance notwithstanding the
recession.
With the economy apparently once again on
the upswing, the competition for individuals to
fill key environmental positions is expected to
increase, aggravating existing compensation
problems.
Some indication of these trends is shown in job offers to
recent graduates of 156 colleges and universities, as compiled
by the College Placement Council. It is interesting to note that
substantial increases continue to be reported for state/local
government employers as well as other employers.
Data is for Civil Engineers which represent the engineering
discipline most in demand in the nations' water pollution program.
Candidates For Bachelor's Degree In Civil Engineering
National Average Annual Salary Offers
State/Local Government
10 months ended 6/30/75
10 months ended 6/30/74
Dollar Increase
Percent Increase
All Types Employers Combined
10 months ended 6/30/75
10 months ended 6/30/74
Dollar Increase
Salary
$11,712
10,716
$ 996
9.29%
$12,768
11,604
$ 1,164
Sample Size
64
T5T
2,608
3,024
Percent Increase 10.03%
Source: College Placement Council
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3. State personnel agencies often are
budgeted so tightly that they do not have
enough staff to reexamine compensation levels
or reexamine classifications as frequently as
needed.
This leads to delays in conducting reviews of classification
and pay, and also to delays in processing transactions after such
review takes place.
Realizing this, a state environmental manager should give the
maximum assistance permitted in identifying and documenting the
need for changes in classification and pay.
4. Budget limitations within state
environmental agencies often lead to inadequate
staffing of qualified personnel specialists within
the environmental agency; such a specialist or
specialists are needed to gather and adequately
present environmental agency information to the
state personnel agency.
Questions of classification and pay in a state merit system
are highly technical, requiring extensive knowledge and experience.
Many state environmental agencies do not have a person with such
skills as a full-time member of their staff; even if they do,
rarely can full-time attention be given to such a project for the
time needed.
The work required for developing required factual material
and preparing necessary personnel documents can be massive if any
significant number of positions is to be effected.
V Fortunately, though the need is intense, it can also be brief
land the personnel specialist(s) of the environmental agency can bf
Isupplemented from outside sources similar to that done in the
[prototype states.
Occasionally, the state department of personnel will assign
\ a specialist full-time to the agency for the necessary period.
I Alternatively, use of a personnel consultant or a retired classi-
fication specialist may be feasible on a contractual basis.
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5. State departments of personnel are
often asked to perform the impossible task
of reconciling conflicting forces: a pay
plan that falls behind inflation, an overall
, shortage of funds in the state budget, and
the realities of the marketplace reflected
in salaries paid by alternate employers.
In the conflict between the marketplace and a pay plan that
does not reflect inflationary change some adjustment must eventually
take place.
One solution is to generally reclassify positions upward:
the Delaware pay plan now starts at Pay Grade 5; in 1974, Missouri,
reflecting many years of such erosion, abolished the first 26 pay
grades.
Another solution is to authorize advanced steps for entry more
and more regularly to reflect the marketplace; in 1975, Missouri
abolished Step A entirely.
6. Frequently, due to existing authority,
statutory or otherwise, a state personnel agency
is expected to fulfill a role of restraining
budgets related to governmental employees within
their jurisdiction. As one top state environ-
mental official expostulated, "Our state personnel
department has confused its role with that of the
Office of Management and Budget; they think their
job is to hold down the budget rather than admin-
ister a compensation structure based on the merit
system".
In periods of stringency, there have been cases in which an
order has been given that no reclassification or reallocation wixi
be approved unless it has been first approved by the office of the
governor, or by the bureau of the budget.
Obviously, a state must live within its revenues. However,
it is inequitable to impose a special "tax" on an individual state
employee by paying him the salary for a lower classification when
he is performing the work of a higher classification.
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7. Nearly all state personnel agenices
have a reluctance to expanding the number of
payroll titles. This aversion may extend to
the creation of specialization titles, for
example, splitting an engineering title into
environmental engineers and highway engineers,
even though the marketplace pays substantial
differentials for differing experience.
Some of this reflects a feeling common to most organizations,
of preferring to keep systems as simple as possible, compatible
with fulfilling the purpose of the organization.
Some of this reflects limited numbers of personnel staff, an
increase in the number of class titles requires increased staff
to maintain them properly.
Much of this reflects a desire to preserve exising relation-
ships among various classes within the entire system; for example,
the fear that a salary increase given an environmental engineering
class would precipitate an increase for engineering classes in
other state departments.
If ease of administration, or preserving past relationships
were the only criteria, there would be far fewer class titles.
New titles, with appropriate pay differentials, require differ-
ences in qualifications, differences in responsibilities, and
differences in pay in the marketplace.
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8. Generally, state departments of
personnel are highly reluctant to use surveys
of competitive salaries to determine what
salary grade should be allocated to a class
title.
Part of this is due to the nature of salary surveys: because
of time necessary to compile them they can never be "up-to-the-
latest-minute"; because two jobs are almost never exactly iden-
tical, they can be considered not worth comparing.
However, the reluctance has an even stronger basis. A
senior personnel officer of one state said, "I don't care if you
provide us with perfect salary surveys that prove we are paying
a class or class series below the market, we will not reallocate".
A senior personnel officer of another state said, "We pay no
attention to salaries paid by other employers when we determine
salaries for state employees".
There is a strong desire to preserve existing relationships
as to pay grades among the various class titles. In one case
it was stated that if a majority of persons subject to a pay
schedule are underpaid, all should be underpaid a proportionate
amount.
The rationale for this is that eventually legislation will
be enacted to raise the entire pay schedule and existing relation-
ships must be preserved for that time. This, in turn, is based
on the assumption that the present pay relationships among each
of the existing class titles is equitable, and hence no pay grade
adjustments should take place.
Notwithstanding the above, state departments of personnel
-were interested in the salary comparisons done in conjunction
with this study, requested and received copies of those pertain-
ing to their state.
19
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9. Salaries paid by state environmental
agencies vary widely. Although terms of this
project did not permit a comprehensive salary
survey, indications are that salaries paid by
states to engineers are significantly less
than those paid by other employers for engineers
with comparable experienced
Entry Level Engineers
Salaries offered by the states for entry level engineers are
shown for a number of states (the number limited by the restric-
tions outlined in the introduction) and that obtained from College
Placement Council. The latter is compiled from the average salary
of all job offers made to graduating seniors of 159 colleges and
universities that scholastic year. Data is for civil engineers
which represent the engineering discipline most in demand in the
nation's water pollution control program, although at least one
state strongly prefers chemical engineers. Data is shown for "all
employers" as this represents the composite alternative employment
a job candidate contemplates when about to accept a job.
Comparative Salaries
Data
Source
College
Placement
Council
Missouri
Pennsylvania
Alabama
Title
All Employers
(878 offers)
All Employers
(581 offers)
Local/State
Government
Employers
(76 offers)
Sanitary
Engineer I
Sanitary
Engineer I
Public Health
Engineer I
Minimum
Training and
Experience
B.S. Chemical
Engineering
B.S. Civil
Engineering
B.S. Civil
Engineering
B.S. Civil
Engineering
B.S. Civil
Engineering
B.S. Civil
Engineering
Salary for
Stipulated
Experience As Of
$15,264 3/76
13,392 3/76
12,132 3/76
12,132 2/76
12,049 2/76
12,012 2/76
20
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Georgia
Delaware
South
Carolina
New York
Massachusetts
Maine
Florida
Maine
New Hampshire
Vermont
Environmental
Engineer in
Training
Resources
Engineer I
Environmental
Engineer I
Junior Engineer
Junior Sanitary
Engineer
Sanitary
Engineer I
Engineer I
Assistant
Engineer
Civil Engineer I
Engineer A
B.S. Engineering 11,700 2/76
B.S. Engineering 11,587 4/76
B.S. Engineering 11,461 2/76
B.S. Engineering 11,337 2/76
B.S. Engineering 10,888 2/76
B.S. Engineering 10,686 2/76
B.S. Engineering 10,315 2/76
B.S. Engineering 9,703 2/76
B.S. Engineering 9,487 2/76
B.S. Engineering 8,840 5/76
Most state capitols are located near rural areas which
offer enticement to some job applicants as a particularly
pleasant place to live. How much salary reduction a person is
willing to accept depends on such factors as age, marital
status, temperament and interests. As a Vermont official
expressed it, "all we need to do is to find someone who loves
skiing he can live in Stowe, the New England skiing capital,
and can commute daily the few miles to Montpelier."
21
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Experienced Engineers
The best salary comparisons are generally compiled when gathered
by the same organization, at the same time, on the same basis,
and covering the same period.
Even then, such information must be used with care. No survey
data is "up-to-the-latest" minute; yet if adjusted, it can be
a useful indicator and decision-making tool.
Further, almost no two jobs are identical in every respect.
This might seem to invalidate all salary comparisons on a
theoretical basis; nevertheless, in practice, the job-seeker
compares salaries when deciding which job to seek or accept.
One of the best indicators of relative salaries in the environ-
mental field is the survey of salaries for engineers conducted
by the National Society of Professional Engineers. The effective
date of the survey was 6/30/75.
The survey revealed an average increase of 15% between
1973 and 1975.
All employers, Bachelor's degree, all ages
1975 $23,700
1973 20,660
$ 5,040
22
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National Society of Professional Engineers
Salary Survey
By Years Since Entry in Profession
Industry employers
6/75 survey
7.5% estimated
adjustment
6/76 estimate
State employers
6/75 survey
7.51 estimated
adjustment
6/76 estimate
1 ! i 5. 12 1JL
14,950 15,410 16,860 17,960 21,120 23,904
1,121
16,071
*
-0-
-0-
1,
16
3
14,
1,
15,
156
,566
100
058
158
1
18
14
1
16
,265
,125
4
,900
,118
,018
1
19
15
1
16
,347
,307
5_
,670
,175
,845
1
22
18
1
19
,584
,704
,580
,394
,974
1
25
20
1
22
,793
,697
,960
,572
.532
Consulting firm employers
6/75 survey
7.51 estimated
adjustment
6/76 estimate
2. 3_ 4- 5_ 10^ ]^
13,900 14,930 16,120 16,940 21,300 26,uOO
1,045 1,120
1,209
1,271 1,598 1,950
14,945 16,050 17,529 18,211 22,898 27,950
* Fewer than 20 cases reported
23
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A cautionary word is appropriate in comparing salaries of
a given class title with the above data. Many states have a
beginning salary with additional steps for each of several addi-
tional years employment. If the minimum required experience,
for example, is 3 years, it is the first step in the pay schedule
which should be compared with the survey data for three years
since requiring a bachelor's degree. It is true if the person
remains in the same class title, he would get an annual increase;
in that case, the comparison should be with data based on some
elapsed years in both cases.
24
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10. Where seniormost environmental officials
did not give compensation review whole-hearted
support, progress was difficult; with full support
progress was facilitated.
This is understandable when one realizes the difficulties
faced by the typical .state department of personnel when confronted
with a multitude of conflicting claims and possessing limited number
of staff. In such situations, the department of personnel must
establish priorities; if the subject is not important enough to
involve the seniormost environmental official, there is a tendency
for this to affect the priorities assigned.
11. Acquiescence or active support by
the Office of the Governor can be critical; it
was best achieved by describing early the com-
pensation problems, their consequences to good
administration, and the potential solution.
An effective example was to describe the
relationship between adequate environmental
staff, prompt processing of construction grant
applications, sewage treatment plant construc-
tion, and unemployed construction workers.
The job of the governor historically has not been an easy one;
it appears even less so in recent years. One reason for this is
that he acts as the personalized focus of the unlimited wants of
the state's population, and is asked to reconcile these with the
state's limited means.
The mere fact that one state employee, or group of state's
employees feel that they deserve "more" cannot control his deci-
sion—he is confronted repeatedly with that each day.
Instead, he needs to perceive that the desired action will
optimize the benefits to the various constituencies of the state.
It is important to note, however, that a governor's authority
is limited, by statute, by regulation, and by custom; principal
reliance must be placed on the routine administration of the merit
system.
25
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12. Legislation, enacted in Delaware in
1975, provided solutions to the continuing long-
term problems, as well as rectifying recent years
erosion of the pay plan's purchasing power.
A copy of this legislation, including introductory note,
is contained within the appendices.
13. Long hours and intense work reflect
the dedication of employees of state departments
of personnel and of environmental agencies. Such
effort has, in part, offset some of the unfavorable
consequences of a shortage of qualified staff.
One senior environmental offical regularly begins his day
at the office at 6 am; he usually works until 6 pm, sometimes
later. He attributes his long hours in part to performing tasks
assigned to positions now vacant, in part to performing tasks
assigned to positions "temporarily" filled by persons with less
qualifications than officially required.
In varying degrees we found similar dedication in all of
the environmental agencies studied, with the burden falling most
heavily on the senior supervisors. To the extent inadequate
salaries lead to vacancies, high turnover, and positions filled
by incompletely qualified personnel, some of the consequences
are avoided by extra dedication and extra hours of agency per-
sonnel. How long such extra commitment will continue is a
serious question.
The parallel also exists in state departments of personnel.
The job of maintaining a merit system of classification and pay
requires a regular review of positions and class titles. Even
with overtime, staff is not able to conduct reviews as regularly
as necessary.
It is to the advantage of the environmental agency to support,
if asked, the need for adequate staffing of the state department
of personnel.
Until some of these longer-term problems are ameliorated,
extra time and dedication is necessary from officials of both
agencies.
26
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IV. STRATEGIES FOR CHANGE
Merit systems generally have a number of detailed rules,
regulations, and procedures, designed to prevent persons from
receiving pay increases not justified by merit principles.
Failure to adhere closely to the required details can block or
delay an increase, no matter how well-justified it may otherwise
be.
This part of the handbook will address itself to strategies
and techniques for improving inadequate salaries.
Basic strategical decisions will be discussed, an overview
of the techniques will be provided, and a detailed review of
required steps will be provided.
Although the material provided is generally appropriate for
all states covered by a merit plan, each state will have variations,
depending on their statutes, rules, regulations, procedures, and
customs. The strategies, techniques, and steps discussed should
provide considerable assistance as a guide, but must be adapted
to each state's special requirements.
Is There A Salary Problem?
Before launching into a program to improve salaries, it would
be prudent to review whether factors, other than salaries, are at
the root of an inability to attract and retain qualified people.
If there are few vacancies, little turnover, and positions
are filled with persons meeting specifications, it is difficult
to be convincing that salaries are inadequate.
Even if there are numerous vacancies, this does not auto-
matically mean that the salary structure is the principal cause-
Recruiting strategy should be briefly reviewed, an examination
of the total advertising (paid and unpaid) schedules should be
conducted to see whether ad frequency, ad wording, and choice of
placement is reasonable.
Good interviewers not only learn qualifications of the
candidate; they also build a desire for the job in the mind of
the candidate. Because recruiting in an environmental agency
is a part-time responsibility of the agency personnel officer,
they often cannot do as thorough a job as the consequences
warrant. Considering continuing turnover larger agencies could
justify a full-time recruiting specialist.
27
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Retention problems may be aggravated by uninspiring work,
poor working conditions, geography, or other factors.
However, if numerous vacancies and excessive turnover
persists, it implies strongly that salaries are not high enough
to compensate for type of work, working conditions, geography,
recruiting technique, and all other factors which determine
which job a person will accept.
The Basic Strategical Decisions
The first basic strategical question to be faced should
be the question of timing. When a project such as this is
initiated can often influence its success as much as what is
done. Decisions in this field affect and are affected by
budgets, revenues,"and taxes. This means that major projects
to improve salaries become subject to political scrutiny,
with all this entails. Political rivalries, as well as
state finances, can influence results. Although these
represent potential risks, they are by no means insurmountable,
as shown by the hundreds of times pay plans have been revised,
and the hundreds of thousands of other classification actions
which have occurred affecting salaries.
Timing is more likely to affect the extensiveness of
a review, rather than its existence. Questions of timing
consider not only the climate of opinion, but also consider
the urgency of need.
Another basic strategical decision involves deciding whether
the problem should be pursued "wholesale" or "retail". The
"wholesale" approach would be attempting to substantially
increase the salaries of all agency personnel—in other words,
getting the entire pay schedule revised. The "retail" approach
would be to examine positions or specialized classes on an
individual basis.
The third basic strategical decision is to what extent
the staff of the environmental agency should become involved
in the mechanics of evaluation of the positions and class
titles of the agency. The range of possibilities extend from
performing practically all of the functions, to relying
exclusively on staff of the state department of personnel.
The extent of involvement of the environmental agency in such
process is subject to the discretion of the state department
of personel; permission should be sought and received before
embarking on such a project.
28
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The "wholesale" approach is indicated if substantially all
employees salaries are below the market, if substantially all
agencies of a state have widespread vacancies and excessive
turnover. The "retail" approach is indicated if such vacancies
and turnover are concentrated in relatively few position or
class titles.
The magnitude of attempting to influence a "wholesale"
solution can be deterring. Yet, not withstanding the difficulties,
the need often exists on a statewide basis, and repeatedly
throughout the country, legislatures and governors have supported
wholesale revision of pay schedules.
Alternatively, salary improvement can be pursued on a
"retail" basis, or a combination of both strategies can be
utilized.
29
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Overview of Techniques
Principal Techniques
Under a state merit system, improvement in salary usually
results from one of five techniques:
(1) Reallocation: Adjustment of the scale of pay
for a classof positions to provide an increase
in rates of pay. Example: Environmental Tech-
nician I class changed from pay grade 9 to pay
grade 10.
(2) Reclassification: The reassignment .of a position
from one classto a different class to correct an
error in initial allocation or to recognize a change
in the duties and responsibilities of the position.
Example: A position reclassified from Pollution
Control Engineer II to Pollution Control Engineer III,
(3) New Job Title: Creation of an entirely new class
when the specifications of no existing class in the
pay schedules accurately reflect required qualifi-
cations and responsibilities. Example: A position
changed from Environmental Engineer III to Engi-
neering Manager (a new class).
(4) Advanced Step Authorization: Authorizing a new
employee to start at other than the minimum salary
established for the pay grade assigned to the class.
Example: Authorizing hiring Geo-Hydrologists I at
Step B rather than Step A.
Also used to authorize a pay increase of one or
more steps for existing employees.
(5) Revision of Pay Schedule: Complete revision of
Statewide pay schedule;this usually requires
legislative action.
All five techniques were used in the prototype states and
are detailed in the main text.
Additional definitions are included in the Glossary.
30
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Sequencing of Techniques For Positions and Class Titles
The analytical and action sequence for individual positions
or class titles normally follows this sequence:
(1) A meeting between the environmental agency
director and the director of the state depart-
ment of personnel to establish concurrence for
a process utilizing assistance from environ-
mental agency staff.
(2) A meeting between the environmental agency
personnel officer and the chief of classifi-
cation and pay for the department of personnel.
(3) Selection by the environmental agency of
individual positions or class titles to be
studied.
(4) Gathering information concerning competitive
salaries.
(5) Gathering requisite information concerning
individual positions and class titles.
Analysis of information gathered.
(7) Determine if reclassif ication is needed.
(8) Determine if a request for new title is needed.
(9) Determine if reallocation is needed.
CIO) A meeting between the environmental agency personnel
officer and the chief of classification and pay for
for the department of personnel to review and
evaluate initial recommendations.
(11) Determine if advanced step authorization is needed.
Each step is detailed in the following sections.
31
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Detailed Steps
(1) The environmental agency director should meet with
the director of the state department of personnel to discuss
the problems of the agency in attracting and retaining qualified
environmental employees and the impact on the state's
administration.
Information should be prepared by the agency personnel
officer for the meeting regarding number of vacancies, vacancy
rate, why employees are leaving, a list of the vacant positions,
turnover rate, type of recruiting being done by the agency, and
reasons given for candidates not accepting positions. At the
meeting, permission should be requested from the Director of
Personnel for the environmental agency personnel staff, working
with the classification and pay staff of the State Department
of Personnel, to conduct the study of key environmental posi-
tions within the agency.
(2) A meeting should be held between the agency personnel
officer and the chief of classification and pay for the depart-
ment of personnel which can serve a dual purpose. The agency
will be working closely with the department of personnel and it
is advantageous for personnel to become more familiar with the
agency. Also, if necessary, a discussion can be held and mate-
rial gathered on the classification and pay system established
in the state. (For example, how does the personnel staff
conduct audits, what forms are necessary, what are the procedures
followed, what is the system by which they determine proper
allocation of a position). Copies of specifications of similar
engineering positions in other state departments and copies of
salary surveys conducted by personnel can be gathered.
The next step would be the selection of the key
environmental positions by the environmental agency management
staff. The following criteria may be utilized:
(A) Long periods of vacancy because of difficulty
in recruiting a candidate at the salary being
offered.
(B) Difficulty in retaining employees in certain
positions or classes, reflected in a high turnover
rate for certain positions or classes.
(C) Positions which have had a change in duties
and responsibilities without a change in salary.
(D) Positions which would be difficult to fill
if the incumbent should leave. These may require
specialized expertise and would create recruitment
problems .
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(4) Gathering Information Concerning Competitive Salaries
The salary survey material provided by the State Department
of Personnel will give some guidance of the types of surveys
they find most useful. In addition, they should be explicitly
asked what type of salary survey data would be most helpful.
Salary surveys of compensation patterns can be gathered
from public and private employers, federal and local govern-
ments, other state environmental agencies, and from associations
such as the National Society of Professional Engineers. Also,
material can be gathered from universities for beginning level
engineers and engineers with Masters degrees.
Data concerning states can be gathered by telephone
interviews, which will provide opportunities for discussion
of requirements and possible exceptions.
In order to develop meaningful salary comparisons, it is
necessary to consider the fact that there are many jobs in
government which have no exact counterpart in industry; many
in industry have no exact counterpart in government. The
lack of exact counterparts does not inhibit a potential job
applicant from making comparisons as to which field will
reward him better.
The most meaningful comparison which can be applied,
encompassing both industry and government, is comparison of
compensation levels based on years since graduation with
appropriate bachelor's degree. Thus, it is possible to
compare compensation for a given state position with the
typical level in industry (on non-state government, for that
matter). Care should be taken in these categories to
differentiate between supervisory and non-supervisory
categories.
In each of the experience categories, emphasis should
be placed on salaries at the first step, as this is the
step that salary plans generally assume to be adequate to
attract candidates with the stipulated training and
experience. While it is true that additional years in
the same state position provides increases in earnings,
the same is true in industry and other governmental
employers.
Generally, state departments of personnel are highly
reluctant to use salary surveys to determine the salary
grade to be allocated to a class; therefore, the salary
surveys should be considered supporting data.
33
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(5) Steps required for gathering requisite information
concerning individual positions and class titles are outlined,
but will vary from state to state depending on the classifi-
cation system.
(A) Notify the environmental agency staff by memo
of the study being conducted by the agency and the
reasons why the study is being conducted. This is
done to minimize rumors such as "the study is being
conducted to find out what positions should be
abolished".
(B) Notify the incumbent in each selected position
that the position is being evaluated.
(C) Ask each incumbent in the selected positions
to complete an up-to-date Position Description
Questionnaire. Many states have a classification
questionnaire for the purpose of evaluating posi-
tions, each is slightly different. If there is
none available, ask the incumbent to complete a
Job Description form.
The incumbent lists, in detail, the overall
responsibilities of the position, tasks performed,
percent of time spent on each task, number and
title of persons supervised, type of supervision
received and name and title of supervisor. This
information should not be copied from the old job
description or the position specification on
file, and the incumbent should be told that this
will not be acceptable.
The incumbent completes and signs.the form,
the supervisor of the position approves and makes
comments, if necessary, and forwards to the agency
personnel office.
NOTE: Most employees have great difficulty
in writing a job description in the specific
language needed for evaluation purposes.
Therefore, Step E is recommended.
(D) In the study of a class of positions, it is
considered appropriate to request questionnaires
from each incumbent and to conduct audits of a
certain percentage of positions within the class.
There is a procedure usually established by the
state department of personnel stating one audit
per unit, or 10% of the positions; audit those
positions as required by personnel.
34
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(E) An audit of each selected position is conducted
by the personnel officer or an experienced personnel
classification technician. Usually 1 to 1% hours
spent with the incumbent is necessary to gather
additional information, although this will vary. It
is recommended that notes be taken during the audit.
The specific information needed when the audit is
completed, which may be on the questionnaire or
gathered during the audit, should be complete enough
to write a job description or a position specification.
The data needed may vary to some extent according
to the state classification system, but generally will
require the following:
1. Functions of the area in which the incumbent
is employed?
2. What are overall responsibilities of the
position?
3. What work is performed by the incumbent?
4. What knowledges are needed to perform the
tasks?
a. What college degree or degrees,
if any, are necessary?
b. In what field?
c. How may years of experience? In
what field? In what areas? How
many months or years on the job
training? What specialized,
technical and professional know-
ledges and skills are necesary?
d. What licenses are necessary?
5. Is the incumbent accountable for the end
result of work? What work? Does the incumbent
have the freedom to make major decisions? What
decisions? Ask for examples. What is or can
be the impact of the decisions? What does the
incumbent approve? What needs the approval of
the supervisor?
6. What type of problems are encountered?
If there is a problem, is it the incumbent's
responsibility to solve it? Does the incumbent
work out the solution and then take to the
supervisor for approval? Have examples cited.
35
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7. Name and title of employees supervised.
Type of supervision exercised over employees
(full-time or part-time). What human resource
capabilities are needed?
8. Type of supervision or direction received.
How are assignments received and with what
instructions? How is the work reviewed or
checked?
9. What contacts are made within the department,
with other departments, and all outside contacts?
Why are the contacts made? What is the result of
the contacts? What is the impact of the contacts?
10. What is the operating budget of the area
in which the incumbent is employed? Is the
incumbent responsible for any or all aspects
of budget within the area?
After the audit is completed with the incumbent, a
meeting with the supervisor of the position should be
held to modify or verify the information earlier provided.
If there are major additions or deletions, a meeting with
the incumbent, supervisor and the individual who conducted
the audit should be held.
(F) Information gathered during the audit should
be written in a format which can follow the sequencing
of questions 1 through 10, which were asked during the
audit.
(6) Analysis of Information Gathered
The position can now be analyzed. Compare the audit data
with the current job description or its equivalent. As many
of the 10 data areas as possible covered by the audit should be
compared, depending on the completeness of the current job
description, or its equivalent. Do the comparisons indicate
no changes, minor changes, or major changes in levels of job
content since the initial allocation? If there are changes,
what type level and how extensive are the changes which have
occurred? List major changes by position.
36
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Check the current job content level of the position with
similar engineering positions within the environmental agency
and within other state departments. Within the agency, check
the position descriptions; within other state departments, check
the specifications. What pay grade is established for these
positions?
On the positions with major changes which would impact the
pay grade, the next steps will be the decision as to whether
the position should be reclassified to a current established
class; or if no class exists, establish a new class at a higher
pay grade; or reallocate the class to a higher pay grade; or if
reallocation is not acceptable, ask for advanced step authori-
zation.
(7) Determine if Reclassification is Needed
If the position is assigned higher level duties, respon-
sibilities and authorities and require higher qualifications
than when initially allocated, and the position is in a class
within a class series, determine whether the position belongs
in the series. A class series is a progression of classes
in the same area of work... If it belongs in the series,
compare the current job content with the next higher class in
the series. Is the position performing at that level? Or is
it performing at an even higher class in the series? Find
out which of the classes in the series is most similar in
duties, responsibilities, authorities and requirements. Recom-
mend reclassification to the appropriate class.
If the position does not belong in the series, review
other established classes to find the appropriate class and
request reclassification to the appropriate class. If no
class exists, see Request for New Title.
37
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(8) Determine if a Request for New Title is Needed
If there were no established class similar in duties,
responsibilities, requirements and authorities, Request a
New Title. The title should accurately reflect the job and
level of the position.
A pay grade should be established which is commensurate
with the level of the overall responsibilities. The allocation
factors established by the state department of personnel is the
determinant as to what pay grade should be established for the
new title. These factors may be established as a point system;
in some states, "benchmarks" are established which provide use-
ful measurement references for other jobs; in some states, total
job content is measured through comparisons with similar classes
with pay grades already established.
The data gathered during the audits should provide the
necessary material needed to make a decision on the appropriate
pay grade.
Salary survey data can be presented as supporting data.
(9) Determine if Reallocation is Needed
Reallocation can be requested for the following: (A) One
position if it constitutes a class; (B) A class of positions;
(C) A class series. If a position is evaluated which is the
only position within the class, reallocation can be requested
for the individual position. (For example, Engineer Manager
may be a class with one position and an incumbent.) Therefore,
the evaluation of one position which shows an upgrade necessary,
can be the basis for reallocation.
Similarly, an evaluation of a class of positions or an
entire series, which show an upgrade necessary, can be reallo-
cated.
If the evaluation of the position or class or series shows
that the class title is appropriate, but the required duties,
responsibilities, authorities and requirements indicated allo-
cation factors at a higher pay grade, reallocation should be
requested.
38
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A pay grade should be established which is commensurate
with the level of the overall responsibilities. The allocation
factors established by the state department of personnel is the
determinant as to what pay grade should be established for the
new title. These factors may be established as a point system;
in some states, "benchmarks" are established which provide
useful measurement references for other jobs; in some states,
total job content is measured through comparisons with similar
classes with pay grades already established.
The data gathered during the audits should provide the
necessary material needed to make a decision on the appropriate
pay grade.
Salary survey data can be presented as supporting data.
(10) After the initial findings and tentative recommenda-
tions are completed on all the positions, it is recommended that
an informal meeting be held with the Chief, Classification and
Pay at the State Department of Personnel to discuss the initial
findings and tentative recommendations for those positions with
major job content changes. The experience and insight of the
Department of Personnel is particularly helpful at this point.
(11) Determine if Advanced Step Authorization is Needed
If reallocation is not acceptable to the Department, of
Personnel, advanced step authorization should be considered as
a possibility.
If there is difficulty in recruiting employees in certain
classes or series because of low salaries, and the pay grade
cannot be changed, salary survey data and agency recruiting
experience should be evaluated to determine a salary which would
be competitive for new employees. Recommendation would be made
for advanced step authorization.
It is highly recommended, although not always required by
the Personnel Rules, any employee who is currently below the
new salary entry level, be moved to the new salary level upon
approval by the State Department of Personnel.
It is highly recommended that consideration be given to
those employees who are at or above the new salary entry level,
who are deserving, be granted a merit increase. Otherwise,
morale problems of the trained qualified employees can suffer.
39
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Techniques for Achieving Revision of Statewide Pay Schedule
To achieve revision of a statewide pay schedule requires
concurrence of dozens of state officials. Since most such
revisions required concurrence of the legislature, no single
administrator at any level is likely to achieve such a change
alone. The contribution individual administrators can make is
dependent, in part, on their level of responsibility; generally
a cabinet officer speaking to the governor will have more
influence on such a decision than a manager within an agency
making suggestions to the cabinet officer.
Senior environmental administrators, if not cabinet officers,
however, can influence events by providing the cabinet officers
with key information as to the extent of the problem, the con-
sequences of the problem to the state's administrative image,
and perhaps by suggesting potential areas of saving within their
agency that could provide funding for their agency's share of a
general increase.
The problem is one of persuasion. The differences of
problems among states, and among the varying personalties
involved, range so widely in this area that few, if any,
specific suggestions of techniques would be appropriate.
To achieve such revision requires not only the merits of
the situation but also requires great tact in presenting the
problem, the consequences, and the solution to the various
decision makers. Critical is the need to build support with
the director of personnel, the chief budget officer, the gover-
nor's staff and the governor; such presentations generally are
best communicated in a private, informal conversation by the
cabinet officer of the agency.
Probably the best suggestion would be to look to the
recent experience of the State of Delaware included in the
Appendices. Here the needed broad support was achieved, in
part, by the Governor appointing a task force, including
legislators, to study the facts and make recommendations.
40
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! »i
V. APPENDICES
41
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CASE STUDIES
Delaware
Background
The Delaware Division of Environmental Control (DEC) was
created on March 1, 1970 as an operating division of the Depart-
ment of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. The
positions authorized in 1971 were 35. The DEC had grown to 53
authorized positions in FY 75.
As of July 1, 1975, there were seven vacant positions, or a
vacancy rate of 13.2%. The Superintendent of the Water Pollution
Section had been vacant 27 months; the Engineer Manager, Water
Resources had been vacant 4 months.
Problems Encountered
Comparison of existing State environmental salaries with
those of public and private employers for similar positions
revealed substantial disparities. Salary data was gathered and
presented to the Delaware DEC.
During the course of the study, the Delaware Pay Schedule
was revised. Therefore, it was necessary to reevaluate all key
positions for the final presentation to the Division and the
State Department of Personnel.
Strategy Utilized
Two strategies were utilized in Delaware to improve sala-
ries: (1) Revision of the Pay Plan, and (2) Study of individual
positions for classification action.
Revision of the Pay Plan
The Secretary of the Delaware Department of Natural Resources
and Environmental Control and other department heads had informally
discussed the Delaware salary structure with the State Department
of Personnel and the Governor's Office.
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The Governor established a committee, the Task Force on
Cost-of-Living Pay Increase Formulas, to conduct an in-depth
review of the pay scales for compensating state employees.
According to the Task Force report, dated May 1, 1975,
"Presently, the State cannot attract qualified employees and is
losing highly trained and experienced employees and candidates
(many of whom are qualified Delawareans) to other State and Local
Governments as a result of the current Delaware pay scales. This
is due to the fact that Delaware pay scales lag behind those of
the competing areas because there was no provision in State law
for simultaneously increasing all State employee salaries to be
competitive with the job market."
The Task Force reviewed existing pay scales, development of
cost of living formulas, cost of their proposals and suggested
implementation guidelines.
"The objectives of the pay scale analysis were to review all
current pay scales used in compensating all State employees in an
attempt to recommend changes in these pay scales, to make salary
adjustments among state employees on an equitable basis, and to
make Delaware more competitive in the job market."
It was determined that "Since 1970, the cost of living based
upon the CPI applicable to Delaware has increased 36.4%; wage and
salary increases for classified employees averaged 22.5%."
This led to development of corrective statewide pay legis-
lation submitted to the Legislature for its approval. '
Study of Individual Positions
In the Contractor's study of key positions in Delaware, the
following strategies were utilized.
The Agency chose the key environmental positions utilizing
the following criteria:
(1) Duties and responsibilities of a position had changed;
(2) Difficulty in recruiting or retaining qualified
personnel in positions;
(3) High turnover rate in positions.
43
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The following is a condensation of techniques used. A
more detailed treatment of these techniques are contained in
Strategies for Change.
Each key .position was audited.
Comparisons were made of the audit data, and the current
position description and specification. Comparisons were also
made of positions with similar, lower and higher level duties
and responsibilities within the environmental agency and in
other state departments.
The Resources Engineer T through IV series were evaluated
and salary data gathered for comparisons. The evaluations showed
that the positions were in appropriate titles, but the level of
the assigned duties and responsibilities plus qualifications
necessary indicated a higher pay grade. The salary survey data
also indicated that the pay grades established for the series
were not competitive. Initial recommendations were for reallo-
cation to higher pay grades for the series. Meanwhile, a revised
state Pay Plan was enacted. A second evaluation of the series
was completed which showed that the Resources Engineer II through
IV were now being competitively paid for the overall level of
responsibilities. This was not true for the Resources Engineer
I class. Therefore, a recommendation was made for reallocation
of the Resources Engineer I class to a higher pay grade.
The Geo-Hydrologist series was evaluated in the same manner
as above.. After the Pay Plan was revised, the pay grades
established were competitive pay for the overall level of respon-
bilities. One of the positions in the series was found to be
assigned higher level duties and responsibilities and requiring
higher level qualifications than the current class. The duties
and responsibilities of the position were at a higher level than
the initial allocation; therefore, reclassification of the posi-
tion was recommended.
The Engineer Manager, Water Resources, Air Resources and
Technical Services (three positions) were evaluated and compari-
sons were made. The evaluations showed the positions were
appropriately titled, but the level of the assigned duties, and
responsibilities plus qualifications necessary indicated a higher
pay grade. Responsibilities had changed1 from those initially
listed in the position specifications; therefore, new specifica-
tions were written and a recommendation was made for reallocation
of each of the three positions in the class to a higher pay grade.
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The Director's position was evaluated and a recommendation
was made for an increase in salary. The evaluation showed that
the position had assumed additional responsibilities as new
and expanded programs had been delegated to the environmental
agency. The position was assigned duties, responsibilities,
and authorities at a higher level than indicated by the s.alary.
Therefore, the recommendation was made for a salary increase.
Results Achieved
According to the Governor's Task Force report, "The analysis
of existing State Pay Scales indicated substantial disparities in
salaries between certain groups of State employees and comparable
positions in the respective "communities" or labor markets".
The first element of the legislation was designed to rectify
past erosion of purchasing power not already adjusted.
The following table shows the increases recommended for
classified state employees by the Task Force and the increases
granted by the Legislature as of September 1, 1975.
Increases Increases
Recommended Granted by
by the Task the Legislature
Pay Grades . Force 5/75 Effective 9/1/75
5 to 18 8% 81
19 to 25 * 12% 12%
26 to 31 20% 15%
A copy and discussion of the legislation is included in the
appendices.
The second element of the legislation was designed "to
prevent further erosion of the Delaware public employee's buying
power due to continuing inflation".
The system of annual increments was eliminated and a built
in Cost-of-Living Formula was adopted which would provide for
semi-annual adjustments of State salaries and wages. A cost of
living increase of 3.064 percent was given on April 1, 1976.
The combination of both elements represents an increase
totalling 18% for the positions of Engineer Manager of Water
Resources and Superintendent of the Water'Pollution Section;
since the increases, both vacancies have been filled.
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Beyond the Statewide increases in the Pay Plan, the Con-
tractor's final recommendations included classification actions
affecting eight positions (one reclassification and seven
reallocations).
One action was approved and the remaining actions are
currently being reviewed by the DEC Personnel Office.
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Florida
Background
On May 22, 1975, Governor Reuben Askew signed new legislation
creating the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation (DER).
Subsequently, the law became effective on July 1, 1975 when
the following previous entities of state government were merged
into the new department:
Department of Pollution Control
Bureau of Sanitary Engineering
Bureau of Trustees of the Internal
Improvement Trust Fund
Bureau of Water Resources
The merger resulted in the wholesale transfer of 169 posi-
tions and responsibilities into DER. The Secretary of DER was
given a deadline of March 1, 1976 to organize and realign these
positions into a system and a hierarchy consistent with the
constraints of the law.
DER was in the process of reviewing positions, duties and
responsibilities and making changes, as necessary, to promote
efficiency and economy within the Department.
The DER had been experiencing difficulty in attracting and
retaining qualified environmental staff. The authorized positions,
as of May 1976, were 479; 36 positions were vacant, or a 7.5 per-
cent vacancy rate. There were 22 professional level positions
vacant.
Problems Encountered
When the law became effective, there were no provisions for
additional funding for classification actions. It was necessary
that DER work within the current fiscal budget to organize and
realign the positions.
The first trip was made to Florida the week of December 13,
1975. The final presentation was made to the Florida Department
of Personnel on February 20, 1976. Therefore, the time frame
in which to complete the audits, evaluate the positions, write
recommendations, obtain DER approval and finalize recommendations
was limited.
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Strategy Utilized
The Florida DER was in the process of reevaluating each
position within the department. New position descriptions and
specifications, as necessary, were being written and evaluated
for proper classification by the personnel staff within the
agency.
This is a mammoth task to be undertaken by a personnel staff,
but a necessary one for proper classification of positions during
a major reorganization.
To provide assistance to the DER, the Contractor studied
certain key positions.
The Department chose the key environmental positions utilizing
the following criteria:
(1) Duties and responsibilities of a position had changed;
(2) Difficulty in recruiting or retaining qualified
personnel in positions;
(3) High turnover rate in positions.
The following is a condensation of techniques used. A
more detailed treatment of these techniques are contained in
Strategies for Change.
Each key position was audited.
Comparisons were made of the audit data, and the current
position description and specification. Comparisons were also
made of positions with similar, lower and higher level duties
and responsibilities within the agency and in other state
departments.
The evaluation of five of the positions showed assigned
duties and responsibilities which were similar to those in the
position specifications for the class. Therefore, there were
no recommendations for change.
In the evaluation of four of the positions, the positions
had higher level duties and responsibilities assigned than those
for the class title; however, the supervisors of the positions
were only one pay grade higher. In discussions with the envi-
ronmental agency, it was decided that no action would be taken
on these positions because of budgetary constraints. At a later
date, the supervisors positions plus these positions may be
reevaluated by the agency.
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In the evaluation of two of the positions, the comparisons
showed the positions to be appropriately titled, but the level
of the assigned duties, and responsibilities plus qualifications
necessary indicated a higher pay grade. Therefore, recommenda-
tions were made for reallocation of these positions to a higher
pay grade.
The evaluations of the remaining 15 positions showed the
positions were assigned higher level duties and responsibilities
and required higher level qualifications than the current class
to which they were assigned. The duties and responsibilities of
the position were at a higher level than the initial allocation;
therefore, reclassification to an established class was requested.
Results Achieved
The Florida DER disapproved one recommendations and submitted
10 of the recommendations to the State Department of Personnel.
Three recommendations have been approved, five are pending,
and two were denied by the State Department of Personnel.
As funding becomes available, the remaining positions will
be reevaluated for submission by the Department.
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Missouri
Background
As of July 1, 1974, the Missouri Division of Environmental
Quality (DEQ) was created as an operating division of the Depart-
ment of Natural Resources.
In April 1975, the Division consolidated the Regional Office
Programs for Water Supply and Swimming Pools, Solid Waste, Water
Pollution Control, Air Quality Control, Soil and Water Districts
and Land Reclamation. A Director for Regional Environmental
Programs and six Regional Administrator positions were to be
established.
The Division had difficulty in attracting and retaining a
qualified environmental staff. There had been a necessity to
fill high level positions with incumbents not fully qualified
by training and experience (In one instance, a position whose
responsibilities required a Sanitary Engineer III was being
filled by a Sanitary Engineer I; at least 5 years of experience
was considered necessary, but it was filled by a person having
less than 2 years experience).
Within the Sanitary Engineer Series (SE I-V), there were
48 authorized positions, 13 were vacant, or a vacancy rate of
27 percent, as of April 30, 1975.
Problems Encountered
Comparison of existing State environmental salaries with
those of public and private employers for similar positions
revealed substantial disparities. Salary data was gathered
and presented to the Missouri DEQ.
During the course of the study, the Regional Office respon-
sibilities were being finalized by DEQ so that new position
descriptions and specifications could be written by the Contractor.
Strategy Utilized
The Missouri DEQ had requested and received approval for
advanced step entry at the fourth step of the pay grade for the
beginning level engineer.
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When the key positions were chosen in Missouri, the Con-
tractor was asked to study the Engineer Series.
The environmental agency chose the key positions utilizing
the following criteria:
(1) Duties and responsibilities of a position had changed;
(2) Difficulty in recruiting or retaining qualified
personnel in positions;
(3) High turnover rate in positions.
The following is a condensation of techniques used. A
more detailed treatment of these techniques are contained in
Strategies for Change.
Each key position was audited.
Comparisons were made of the audit data, and the current
position description and specification. Comparisons were also
made of positions with similar, lower and higher level duties
and responsibilities within the environmental agency and in
other state departments.
The Sanitary Engineer I through V series were evaluated by
the Contractor, and salary data was gathered for comparisons.
The evaluations showed the level of the assigned duties and
responsibilities plus qualifications necessary indicated a higher
pay grade. The salary data also indicated that the salary ranges
established for the series were not competitive. The initial
recommendations were to reallocate the series to higher pay
grades, but this was not acceptable to the State Department of
Personnel.
As an alternative, recommendations were made for advanced
step entry for all new hires; increases were recommended for
current employees who had been hired below the advanced step
entry level to bring them to the new entry level; and for those
employees who were at or above the entry ler^el salary, and who
were deserving, merit increases were requested. This affected
34 positions, both beginning and high level environmental posi-
tions. New position specifications were written and the series
was changed to Environmental Engineer series.
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A Request for New Title, at a competitive pay grade, was
recommended for the Director, Regional Environmental Programs.
The incumbent, who had established the Regional Environmental
Program, was promoted to the new class at the higher pay grade
and was recommended for a merit increase.
A recommendation was made that the six Regional Administrator
positions be reclassified to the Environmental Engineer series at
a higher pay grade than their current class.
New position descriptions and specifications were written
reflecting increased responsibilities within the Regional Pro-
grams.
A Request for New Title at a competitive pay grade was
recommended for the Director of Laboratory Services.
A total of 42 positions were affected.
Results Achieved
The entire package was approved by the State Department
of Personnel.
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New Jersey
Background
The New Jersey Division of Water Resources (DWR) was created
on January 1, 1971 as an operating division of the Department of
Environmental Protection. The Division was reorganized effective
February 1975.
As of February 1976, 219 positions were authorized, 31
positions were vacant, or a vacancy rate of 14.2 percent. There
were 15 professional level positions vacant.
As of May 27, 1976, there were 50 vacant positions, or a
vacancy rate of 22.8%.
The DWR has an Acting Director who is Deputy Commissioner
of the Department. The position of Director has been vacant for
33 months. Recruiting efforts have been made but the established
salary has been a deterrent to finding a qualified environmental
administrator.
During the period July 1, 1974 to September 30, 1975, 29
professional employees were hired, but 11 professionals left
the Division.
Because of the difficulty in attracting and retaining quali-
fied environmental staff, it was necessary that the environmental
agency request a downgrade of many of the engineering positions
so that an individual could be hired and trained who was willing
to accept the salary offered by the state.
Problems Encountered
Comparison of existing State environmental salaries with
those of other public and private employers for similar positions
revealed substantial disparities. Salary data was gathered and
presented to the New Jersey DWR.
Strategy Utilized
As a result of the reorganization in February 1975, the
New Jersey Division of Water Resources was evaluating certain
key positions for classification actions. To assist in the
evaluation of the positions, the Contractor evaluated 41
positions.
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The Division chose the key environmental positions utilizing
the following criteria:
(1) Duties and responsibilities of a position had changed;
(2) Difficulty in recruiting or retaining qualified
personnel in positions;
(3) High turnover rate in positions.
The following is a condensation of techniques used. A
more detailed treatment of these techniques are contained in
Strategies for Change.
Each key position was audited.
Comparisons were made of the audit data, and the current
position description and specification. Comparisons were also
made of positions with similar, lower and higher level duties
and responsibilities within the environmental agency and in
other state departments.
In the evaluation of 10 of the positions, the assigned
duties, responsibilities, and authorities had changed and were
at a higher level than the current classification of the posi-
tion. In reviewing the higher level classes, there was an
appropriate class sufficiently similar as to requirements,
duties, authorities and responsibilities. Therefore, a reclas-
sification was recommended on each of the 10 positions.
In the evaluation of 21 of the positions, the assigned
duties, responsibilities and authorities had changed and were
at a higher level, but there were no specifications of any
existing class sufficiently similar which accurately reflected
the required qualifications and responsibilities. Therefore,
a creation of a new class with a Request for New Title at a
pay grade commensurate with the overall responsibilities was
recommended.
The evaluation of seven of the positions indicated they
were in the appropriate title, but the pay grade established
did not adequately compensate the level of the duties, respon-
sibilities, authorities or requirements of the positions.
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Results Achieved
The final presentation to the State Department of Personnel
was made by the Contractor and the Division of Water Resources
on May 27, 1976.
The presentation included seven reallocations, 10 reclassi-
fications, and 21 requests for new title.
The classification actions requested are currently being
evaluated by the State Department of Personnel.
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Vermont
Background
The Vermont Division of Environmental Engineering (DEE), an
operating division of the Agency of Environmental Conservation,
had reorganized on July 1, 1975 and was in the process of evalu-
ating each position in the Division.
As of May 1976, the positions authorized in water pollution
control were 111, there were 13 vacant positions, or a vacancy
rate of 11.7 percent. There were 10 professional level positions
vacant.
Problems Encountered
Comparison of existing State environmental salaries with
those of other public and private employers for similar positions
revealed substantial disparities. Salary data was gathered and
presented to Vermont.
Strategy Utilized
The Vermont agency personnel office was in the process of
reevaluating each position in the Division of Environmental
Engineering. New position descriptions and specifications, as
necessary, were being written and evaluated for proper classifi-
cation by the personnel staff within the agency.
This is a mammoth task to be undertaken by a personnel staff,
but a necessary one for proper classification of positions during
a major reorganization.
To provide assistance to the agency, the contractor studied
certain key positions.
The agency chose the key environmental positions utilizing
the following criteria:
(1) Duties and responsibilities of a position had changed;
(2) Difficulty in recruiting or retaining qualified
personnel in positions;
(3) High turnover rate in positions.
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The following is a condensation" of techniques used. A
more detailed treatment of these techniques are contained in
Strategies for Change.
Each key position was audited.
Comparisons were made of the audit data, and the current
position description and specification. Comparisons were also
made of positions with similar, lower and higher level duties
and responsibilities within the environmental agency and in
other state departments.
The evaluations determined that the current position specifi-
cations did not adequately describe the duties and responsibilities
of the engineering staff in the Division of Environmental Engi-
neering. The overall level of responsibility of the supervisory
positions were higher than that shown by their classification.
In some cases, a supervisor was at the same pay grade as the
subordinates. After discussion with the Agency, new position
specifications were written by the personnel staff of the Agency.
Each incumbent completed a new position description for submission
to the State Department of Personnel.
The recommendations included the establishment of an
Environmental Engineer series, which included Environmental
Engineer A, B, C, Environmental Engineering Supervisor, Envi-
ronmental Engineering Section Chief and Executive Engineer.
Pay grades were recommended depending on the level of the
overall responsibilities.
An Air Pollution Control Engineer series was also recom-
mended, which included Air Pollution Control Engineer A, B and C,
and Chief of Air and Solid Wastes Programs. Pay grades were rec-
ommended depending on the level of the overall responsibilities.
The Contractor requested 10 new titles, which would reallo-
cate 14 positions to the higher pay grade.
The final recommendations by the Agency, as a result of the
Agency-wide evaluations, was an additional 10 reallocations, 18
title changes (no change in pay grade), one title change with a
request for classification review and classification review
requests for four positions.
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Results Achieved
The final presentation to the State Department of Personnel
was made by the Contractor and the Division of Environmental
Engineering in late April 1976.
The classification actions requested are currently being
evaluated by the State Department of Personnel.
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Virginia
Background
The Virginia State Water Control Board (SWCB) was estab-
lished in 1946. In July of 1972, the Division of Water Resources
(Department of Conservation and Economic Development) merged with
the State Water Control Board, the emergent agency, which con-
tinued as the State Water Control Board.
The authorized positions of the Board had grown from 28 in
1968 to 351 in 1976. In March 1975, with 355 authorized posi-
tions, 12 were vacant, or a vacancy rate of .3.4 percent. As of
May 31, 1976, with 351 authorized positions, vacancies had grown
to 28, or a vacancy rate of 8 percent. Professional level posi-
tions accounted for 13 vacancies.
The SWCB was having difficulty attracting and retaining
qualified environmental employees. Virginia has a policy that
if a position is vacant more than one year, it is abolished.
During calendar year 1974, competition had been so fierce for
candidates to fill certain key positions that the Board had
six important professional level positions which were abolished
on December 1, 1974 for this reason. Because of difficulty in
recruiting and retention, there had been a necessity to fill
positions with an incumbent not fully qualified by training and
experience, and the necessity to lower the qualifications of
certain classes.
Problems Encountered
Comparison of existing State environmental salaries with
those of other public and private employers for similar positions
revealed substantial disparities. Salary data was gathered and
presented to the SWCB.
Strategy Utilized
Fourteen classes were chosen by the State Water Control
Board which affected 79 positions. Classes, rather than posi-
tions, were chosen by the Board because of the disparities
between salaries established for the environmental classes
and that paid by the public and private sector.
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The key environmental classes were also chosen utilizing
the following criteria:
(1) Difficulty in attracting and retaining qualified
environmental employees.
(2) High turnover rate.
The following is a condensation of techniques used. A
more detailed treatment of these techniques are contained in
Strategies for Change.
Certain positions within each class were audited, and these
were chosen by SWCB.
Comparisons were then made of the audit data, and the
current position description and specification. Comparisons
were also made of classes with similar, lower level and higher
level duties and responsibilities.
The evaluation of 13 of the classes showed that they were
appropriately titled, but the level of the assigned duties,
requirements, responsibilities and authorities plus qualifications
necessary indicated a higher pay grade. The salary survey data
also indicated that the pay grades established for the classes
were not competitive. Therefore, reallocation of the 13 classes
was recommended.
The Executive Secretary's position was evaluated and a
recommendation was made for an increase in salary. The evalua-
tion showed that the position had assumed additional respon-
sibilities as new and expanded programs had been delegated to
the SWCB. The position was assigned duties, responsibilities
and authorities at a higher level than indicated by the salary.
Therefore, the recommendation was made for a salary increase.
Results Achieved
The increase of $5,000 to the Executive Secretary's position
was approved in 1976. The remaining recommendations were denied
by the State Department of Personnel.
As of August 1975, Virginia was placed in a total hiring
freeze. This was modified in April 1976, permitting hiring if
special permission was obtained. There were no professional
employees hired by the Virginia State Water Control Board from
October 1, 1975 through May 31, 1976, although five professional
employees left during that period.
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On July 1, 1976, a Statewide cost of living increase will
be given to all Virginia state employees. The clerical employees
in Virginia will receive a 2 step increase in pay (approximately
10 percent); all other employees will receive a 1 step increase
in pay (approximately 4.8 percent).
Further action is contemplated on the classes evaluated
during the Contractor's study in Virginia pending completion .
of an organization study of work assignments to be completed
jointly by the Board and the State Department of Personnel.
6.1
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SUGGESTED LEGISLATION
In many ways each state is different from all others; yet,
there are some problems all states have to face. One series of
problems involve the long-term decline of the purchasing power
of the dollar, its affect on state budgets, and its affect on
pay plans for state employees.
In the main body of this handbook, Findings and Conclusions
#1 states: "Throughout this century, the nation has been exper-
iencing a long-term inflationary trend, eroding the purchasing
power of the dollar. To the extent the basic pay plan of a state
is not regularly and adequately adjusted for inflation, the
result is a pay reduction in real terms for state employees".
"Legislatures have been reluctant to made such adjustments
because granting a "raise" in dollar schedules is often inter-
preted as granting an increase in purchasing power."
"However, the very inflation which causes the problem pro-
vides part of the solution."
"Generally speaking, long-term inflation means long-term
price increases which yield larger sales tax revenues; similarly
long-term wage increases for the state's population means greater
income tax receipts for the state."
Each state has legislation establishing its pay schedule,
each state has enacted, in the past, legislation modifying the
pay schedule from time to time to reflect, among other things,
changes in the purchasing power of the dollar.
The legislation suggested in this handbook is not generally
of the above type designed to provide intermittent temporary
solutions to a repetitive problem; instead it is designed to
relieve legislators, governors, state officers and other state
employees of the recurring crises as pay plans repeatedly
become distorted by inflation.
Failure to adjust the pay plan promptly, leads at best to
sudden, massive readjustments--at worst to loss of best-qualified
personnel, an inequitable "tax" on an existing employees, and
even avoidance of merit personnel principles.
Because no two states are identical, it would be presumptuous
for one unfamiliar with its uniqueness, to propose model legis-
lation.
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However,, some familiarity with problems common to all states
can lead to suggested legislation, to be modified and adapted by
members of that state's legislative and executive branch.
In order to cope with the repetitive problems arising from
the impact of inflation on a pay schedule, corrective legislation
should have two main purposes:
(1) to rectify past erosion of purchasing power
not already adjusted;
(2) to prevent further erosion of the state's
employees buying power due to continuing
inflation.
If legislation fulfilling these two purposes is successfully
enacted, the state department of personnel can then better pursue
corrective action involving individual positions, classes, and
class series.
As suggested legislation, there follows a copy of Delaware
Senate Bill 395, which was enacted in 1975, embodying both main
purposes.
As enacted, it limited the adjustment for inflation to 10
percent in any one year. If inflation exceeds this amount, such
excess generally would also be reflected in state receipts. It
can be argued that state employees are equally justified in
having their purchasing power protected, during high rates of
inflation as well as low.
As enacted, it provided the cost-of-living adjustment in-
stead of, rather than in addition to, the annual step increase.
The step is usually thought to provide an increase in purchasing
power to reflect increased value to the state resulting from the
employees increased experience. In practice, these steps came
to be considered, at least in part, as an inflation adjustment.
Legislators need to consider whether they want to provide auto-
matic steps, or merit step increases as an issue separate from
inflationary adjustments.
The legislation was developed as the result of the appoint-
ment, by the Governor, of a Task Force on Cost of Living Formulas,
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DELAWARE STATE SENATE
128TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
FIRST SESSION - 1975
SENATE BILL NO. 395
AS AMENDED BY
SENATE AMENDMENT NO. 3
AN ACT TO MODIFY CHAPTER 65, TITLE '29, DELAWARE CODE, TO
PROVIDE FOR A COST-OF-LIVING SALARY SUPPLEMENT AND A SUPPLE-
MENTAL APPROPRIATION TO MODIFY CERTAIN STATE PAY SCALES.
i
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF
DELAWARE:
1 Section 1. Amend Chapter 65, Title 29, Delaware Code,
2 adding a new S6532, which shall read as follows:
3 "S6532. Cost-of-Living Salary Supplements
4 (a) All employees of the State shall be paid a
5 salary supplement as a percentage of their base pay
6 equivalent to the percentage change in the Consumer
7 Price Index for the Philadelphia region. The Consumer
8 Price Index figure at the beginning of each calculation
9 period shall be subtracted from the Consumer Price
10 Index at the end of the calculation period, multiplied
11 by one hundred and divided by the Consumer Price Index
12 at the beginning of the period to determine the per-
13 centage of increase or decrease for cost-of-living for
14 that period. This calculation shall be made each six
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1 month period ending December 31 and June 30 and become
2 effective for each succeeding six month period begin-
3 ning April 1 and October 1 respectively. The supplement
4 percentage may not exceed ten percent on an annual
5 basis.
6 (b) The Governor shall create an Advisory Council
7 on State Salary Administration to administer this
8 Section.
9 (c) For purposes of this section, an 'employee'
10 is defined as one who works the regularly scheduled
11 full-time hours of the employing agency or at least
12 30 or more hours per week or 130 hours per month (with
13 allowable interruptions) throughout the year and is
14 compensated with a regular State pay check.
15 (d) For purposes of this section, 'base pay' is
16 defined as all salary, wages and fees, including
17 overtime payments paid to an employee."
18 Section 2. Effective September 1, 1975, the following
19 changes shall be made to the designated pay plans:
20 (a) The pay plan of the State Personnel Commission
21 shall be increased as follows:
22 (1) Pay Grade 5 through 18 - 8%
23 (2) Pay Grade 19 through 25 - 12%
24 (3) Pay Grade 26 through 31 - 15%
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1 (b) The Faculty salaries of Delaware State College
2 shall be increased by 2 and %% and the Faculty salaries of
3 Delaware Technical and Community College shall be increased
4 by 7%.
5 (c) The pay plan for employees of the Judicial Branch
6 other than the State Juduciary shall be increased by 8%.
7 Section 3. All increments to State employees based
8 on merit, years of experience or time-in-grade are hereby
9 suspended for one year from the effective date of this act
10 to allow for the determination of a proper and equitable
11 system of incentive increments. Employees other than
12 school employees whose pay plans were not changed by
13 Section 2 of this Act shall be entitled to whatever incre-
14 ments were included in the Fiscal 1976 Budget Act.
15 Section 4. Employees of the school sector involved
16 in prior contractual agreements shall be exempt from the
17 incremental suspensions as set forth in Section 3 of this
18 Act with the exception that any cost-of-living formula
19 application on or after April 1, 1976 shall be reduced
20 each pay cycle by the amount of the annual increment
21 applicable to that pay cycle.
22 Section 5. In order to carry out the provisions of
23 this Act, an ampunt of $1,560,000.00 is appropriated to the
24 Budget Director for payment of salaries, cost-of-living
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1 adjustments and fringe benefits. Funds appropriated by this
2 Act cover only those portions of base pay paid from State
3 General Funds and are not intended to supplement portions
4 of base pay paid from other sources. Such amount shall be
5 paid by the State Treasurer out of funds in the General *
6 Fund of the State of Delaware not otherwise appropriated.
7 Any monies appropriated herein which are unexpended as of
8 June 30, 1976 shall revert to the General Fund.
Signed by the Governor on June 30, 1975.
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METHODOLOGY AND TECHNICAL APPROACH
This part describes the methodology applied under the
terms of the EPA contract to develop1 the material for inclusion
in this handbook.
The fundamental pattern projected was for a comprehensive
nationwide survey to be conducted, technical assistance to be
provided to prototype states, a handbook to be written incor-
porating lessons learned from the prototype states, and a series
of meetings with state and regional officials to discuss use of
information gathered and techniques applied.
The contract contains specific requirements which channel
the methodology and technical approach used. In the following
sections these tasks, as officially modified, are quoted verbatim,
with discussion of contractors approach.
In the Introduction there was an important note under the
heading Important Restraints On Comparative Data: "As originally
written, the contract authorizing this project called for the
contractor to conduct a survey of compensation patterns of a^ll
states and a representative sample of other employers. However,
the Federal Reports Act requires that any survey addressed to
ten or more recipients must be approved by the Federal Office
of Management and Budget. Such approval was requested, but
disapproved; an appeal of this desision was also disapproved^
Consequently, the survey was restricted to a limited number of
states plus such information available from already published
sources".
The purpose of the survey was to define the extent of the
problem, to help select the prototype states, and to provide
comparative salary data for use by state environmental agencies
and state departments of personnel.
Since most of this information was necessary to perform
the contract, tasks had to be modified to provide needed infor-
mation without conducting prohibited surveys.
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Task No. 1 "is changed to read as follows: Utilizing
information contained in publicly available publica-
tions, the Contractor shall gather all pertinent data
regarding compensation/classification levels of em-
ployees in water pollution control agencies of the
states and territories of the United States, as well
as pertinent data concerning compensation levels of
public and private employers who may compete for the
services of these employees."
Task No. 2 "is changed to read as follows: The
Contractor shall analyze this data in a manner
suitable for inclusion in the handbook required
under Task No. 4."
Data was gathered from published sources, from the six
prototype states, and from telephone interviews limited to less
than ten respondents. Under limitations prevailing there is
considerable difficulty in utilizing data from varied sources
for comparative purposes due to differing definitions and
differing dates.
Data gathered was analyzed and compiled in a form suitable
for fulfilling the original purpose, although in a limited form.
Task No. 5 was changed to provide that "The project
officer and contractor shall jointly select"...(six)
..."States with different classification/compensation
problems. The contractor shall provide the necessary
manpower, supplies and materials to provide intensive
technical assistance to those States to reclassify
selected environmental control positions and to
up-grade salaries. This technical assistance will
be carried out until this task is well on its way
to completion."
In consultation with the EPA Headquarters and with the
concurrence of the potentially selected states and appropriate
regional offices, the states were selected using the following
criteria:
(1) "problem model" diversity;
(2) state pollution control agency size diversity;
(3) geographic dispersion.
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A Contractor team performed the majority of its work at the
offices of the prototype states, specifically reviewing, develop-
ing recommendations and implementing modifications relative to a
thorough compensation and pay review of the key environmental
management positions which exist or were being created within the
state government.
The projects generally contained the following elements:
(1) overview discussions with the agencies' chief
executive officers;
(2) reviews of the scope of legal authorities
attendant to the positions;
(3) reviews of the scope of budgetary authorities
attendant to the positions;
(4) reviews of the training and experience
requirements as specified by law, regulation
or policy;
(5) desk audits of the work performed by the
incumbent in the positions under study;
(6) reviews of the actual training and experience
possessed by the incumbents to the position,
where appropriate;
(7) utilization of a salary survey of business
and other governmental bodies (with similar
positions) within the states receiving
technical assistance;
(8) consultation with the environmental agency,
recommending what action, if any, was appro-
priate;
(9) Preparation of necessary documentation and
forms;
(10) Presentation, with environmental agency
personnel, of recommendations to state
department of personnel.
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Task No. 4 "is changed to read as follows: Uti-
lizing the experience gained in accomplishing Task
Nos. 2 and 3, the Contractor shall prepare a hand-
book to guide State agencies through the necessary
steps to reclassify positions to up-grade salaries.
Different strategies shall be designed to overcome
the different types of problems revealed in the
completion of Task No. 3. Such assistance as
preparation of standard job descriptions, as well
as the writing of model legislation, shall be
included in the handbook."
Based on the experiences gained in accomplishing the first
three tasks, this handbook was prepared. Experience showed that
some elements originally thought to be suitable for inclusion in
the handbook did not have general application suitable for use
by other states. Overall strategies and techniques for change
have relatively universal value, and hence were discussed exten-
sively. However, even though extensive assistance was provided
in developing job descriptions for'the prototype states, it
became apparent that standardized job descriptions were not
feasible. Each state divided and subdivided differently its
environmental responsibilities among units and among individuals;
these differing approaches call for differing responsibilities
and qualifications for each of the positions.
"{he model legislation most appropriate was legislation
which would rectify past erosion of purchasing power of state
employees salaries or legislation that would prevent such further
erosion. Since Delaware successfully combined both provisions
in one bill, and succeeded in having it enacted, this was chosen
as the example for this handbook.
Task No. 5 was changed to "An appropriate member of
the Contractor's project team shall deliver to each
of the ten (10) EPA regional offices, the findings
and conclusions of the study and discuss them with
appropriate regional office personnel. The Project
Officer, after consultation with the Contractor and
appropriate regional office personnel, will select
twenty-five (25) states, which are most in need on
on-site meetings with a member of the project team.
After selection of the twenty-five (25) states, a
member of the Contractor's project team shall visit
each of the twenty-five (25) states to discuss the
findings and conclusions of the study and to pro-
vide general guidance to appropriate senior officials
regarding their State's undertaking of similar work."
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These visits represent an important supplement to the hand-
book itself, for they provide an opportunity to further expand
the detail provided, to clarify questions that may be in the
minds of the EPA regional and state officials, and to provide
opportunities to assist each state in developing a strategy to
match its unique problems.
This phase has not as yet begun, but is expected to begin
shortly after the handbook is printed and distributed.
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GLOSSARY
Advanced step authorization - Authorizing a new employee to
start at other than the minimum salary established for the pay
grade assigned to the class. Also used to authorize a pay
increase of one or more steps for existing employees.
Class or class of positions - A group of positions sufficiently
similar as to requirements, duties, authority, and responsibi-
lities, as to be similarly treated for compensation purposes.
Classification - Analysis of the duties and responsibilities of
a position and its assignment.
Classification Action - A personnel action requested as a result
of change in a position.
Class Series - A progression of classes in the same area of work
reflecting different degrees of responsibility and difficulty
of duties.
Class Title - The title used to officially designate a class;
sometimes referred to as job title.
Compensation Plan - The scale of pay authorized for each class
in the classified service and the rules providing for appli-
cation of the scales in fixing the rates of pay for individual
employees.
Job Title - See Class Title.
New Job Title - Creation of an entirely new class when the speci-
fications of no existing class in the pay schedules accurately
reflects required qualifications and responsibilities.
Pay Grade - Grades established within which all classified
positions in the state are designated.
Pay Schedule - The pay scales authorized for each class of
positions in the s.tate.
Position Description - A written description of the duties and
responsibilities of a position.
Reallocation - Adjustment of the scale of pay for a class of
positions to provide an increase (upgrade) or a decrease
(downgrade) in rates of pay.
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Reclassification - The reassignment of a position from one class
to a different class to correct an error in initial allocation
or to recognize a change in the duties and responsibilities of
the position.
Revision of Pay Schedule - Complete revision of Statewide pay
scales.
Salary Range - Minimum/maximum salaries established for each
pay grade within a pay plan.
Specification - A written description of the distinguishing
characteristics of all positions in a class.
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