Town needs to pay employees $238,796 more, combined, to be on par with similar-sized cities
Expectations of new hires, employees’ benefits and new equipment highlighted Farragut Board of Mayor and Aldermen’s budget workshop Thursday, March 27.
With an ongoing study, “the Town of Farragut reviewed the classification and compensation of all positions to ensure that employee compensation accurately reflects the job duties and market competitiveness for each position,” Town administrator David Smoak said. “Overall, the study found that the midpoint of the ranges for all positions were on average 7 percent below market rate, which means that salaries are trailing slightly behind the local governments that were benchmarked.
“The overall adjustment for wages to remain competitive with the market will be $238,796,” he said, adding the Town’s benefits for staff also were reviewed.
“The vast majority are in alignment with industry standards,” Human Resources director Michelle Pence said. “The one area that the Town is less generous than the market is in the number of paid holidays. Most cities that were benchmarked provided between 11 to 13 holidays per year while the Town currently provides for 10 holidays.
“The recommendation for (fiscal year) ’26 is to add one floating holiday to be more in line with our benchmarked cities,” Pence added, noting the floating holiday will not be specified and will be one each employee may choose.
“That’s good because that way you’re not calling out one specific holiday over another,” Mayor Ron Williams observed.”
Additionally, Smoak recommended benefit adjustments.
“The implementation of the classification and compensation recommendations only looked at current market rates to make sure the Town is competitive as of the time the study was performed,” Smoak said. “To keep up with adjustments other local governments will be making starting July 1, a 3 percent merit package is proposed for all eligible employees for FY ’26. The total cost for this adjustment is $173,410.”
He added the Town also participates in the state health insurance program.
As such, “we are projecting a 3 percent increase in health insurance costs, for a total amount of $46,634,” Smoak said.
His staff also looked at restructuring the Administration Department.
“The proposed restructuring would eliminate the assistant Town administrator position and allow for internal promotional opportunities to include an Administrative Services director and a Public Services director,” Smoak said. “These positions would help facilitate improved efficiency within the departments, help align our strategic goals with our resources, give us greater adaptability and provide a greater focus on our customer service initiatives.
“These positions would report directly to the Town administrator,” he added. “Included in this restructuring is the addition of a training and development coordinator in the Human Resources department.
“This position would implement structured training programs across all departments, manage onboarding of new hires and support the Town’s performance management program. There is a total savings of $35,162 in this program change.”
In the Public Works department, “there are one-and-a-half employee being requested,” Smoak said. “The first position would move the part-time administrative assistant to full-time.”
