Data will Help Inform Employee Compensation Plan and Will be Presented to Audit Committee Today 

 Baker Tilly International, a consulting and public accounting firm, has completed a salary study commissioned by the Ulster County Legislature in 2022 to assess the overall structure of compensation for County employees and how salaries compare internally and with peer organizations. The study will help inform the development of a pay plan for the County’s 1,452 employees and negotiations currently underway with the County’s five unions. The report is being presented to the Audit Committee of the Legislature at 5 p.m. today. To view a livestream of the meeting, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYtg6uV_SqI

Baker Tilly compared Ulster County salaries to Albany, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, and Sullivan Counties, as well as to the City of Kingston and to New York State agencies and departments. In addition, Baker Tilly conducted an analysis of private sector data provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Economic Research Institute, Comp Analyst and Pay Factors. 

The study also considered job requirements specific to each position in Ulster County government, such as education level and years of experience required, the degree of difficulty of work performed, the physical demands of the job, and other characteristics. 

“The Baker Tilly report provides data for understanding how we compare with other public employers, and also provides a framework for the County’s overall compensation structure, which has evolved organically over many years and could be made simpler, fairer, and more transparent,”  said Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger. “We are evaluating the report’s data in collaboration with our union counterparts. It is important to keep in mind that this study is just one input into a new pay plan and not the pay plan itself. Our goal at the end of the day is to ensure that our hard-working employees are fairly compensated, and that we are able to recruit and retain a quality workforce.” 

Baker Tilly’s presentation includes three recommended implementation scenarios for evaluation, ranging in cost from $2.1 million to $5 million in salary expense. Under no scenario would an employee’s pay be reduced from their current compensation. Each of these scenarios are being evaluated by the County in collaboration with union leadership through the negotiation process.

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