Setting Standards of Excellence in ... - Helix Water District€¦ · Eastern Municipal Water...

Setting Standards of Excellence in Public Service

AGENDA SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

PUBLIC WORKSHOP COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS SURVEY Wednesday, March 27, 2019 - 6 p.m.

7811 University Avenue, La Mesa, CA 91942-0427

Assistance for those with disabilities: If you have a disability and need accommodation to participate in the meeting, please call Board Secretary Sandra L. Janzen at (619) 667-6232 for assistance so the necessary arrangements can be made.

OPEN MEETING

1. Call Meeting to Order and Roll Call

2. Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance - Director Scalzitti

3. Approval of Agenda (Additions and/or Deletions)

PUBLIC COMMENTS

4. Opportunity for Members of the Public to Address the Board on any Item under the Subject Matter Jurisdiction of the District.

Public Comment Procedure: This is the time set aside for those wishing to address the board on matters not on the posted agenda, which are under the subject matter jurisdiction of the district. No action may be taken by the board except to set the matter presented for the next regular board meeting. State your name, topic and provide the secretary with a request to speak form so you can be properly included in the consideration of the item. Kindly limit your comments to three minutes so all who wish to speak can be heard. The board is not permitted during this time to enter into a dialogue with the speaker.

WORKSHOP

5. The Board Conduct a Public Workshop to Review the Compensation and Benefits Survey Prepared for Helix Water District Board of Directors by Reward Strategy Group

Special Board of Directors Meeting - Public Workshop Helix Water District Compensation and Benefits Survey Wednesday, March 27, 2019 - 6 p.m.

ADJOURNMENT

6. Adjournment

All public records relating to an agenda item on this agenda are available for public inspection at the time the record is distributed to all, or a majority of all, members of the board. Such records shall be available at the district office located at 7811 University Avenue, La Mesa, California.

Certification of Posting

I certify that on March 22, 2019, I posted a copy of the foregoing agenda near the regular meeting place of the Helix Water District Board of Directors, said time being at least 72 hours in advance of the meeting of the board of directors (Government Code §S4954.2(a}(1)).

Executed at La Mesa, California, on March 22, 2019.

12707 High Bluff Drive, Suite 200

San Diego, CA 92130

HELIX WATER DISTRICT

Compensation and Benefits Survey - Final Report

March 12, 2019

Revised March 21, 2019

Prepared by:

REWARD STRATEGY GROUP

858 259-3800

www.rewardstrategy.com

Helix Water District Compensation and Benefits Survey - Final Report

Table of Contents

SECTION I - SURVEY METHODOLOGY 2

Helix Benchmark Classes 2

Public Sector Survey Agencies 3

Private Sector Pay Practices 3

SECTION II - BASE SALARY SURVEY RESULTS 5

How to Read Table 1 5

Table 1 - Summary of RSG's Salary Survey Results 6

SECTION III - SALARY RANGE ALLOCATION RECOMMENDATIONS AT APPROXIMATE SURVEY MEDIAN 9

Table 2 - Salary Structure with Classifications Allocated at Market Median - Sorted by Range # Low to High 10

SECTION IV- BENEFITS SURVEY RESULTS 16

Medical Benefits 16

Life Insurance and Disability Plans 17

Retirement and Deferred Compensation 17

Public vs Private Sector 18

Table 3 - Relative Importance of Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2018 19

SECTION V - FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS TO ENHANCE TOTAL COMPENSATION PLAN 20

EXHIBIT A- PRIVATE SECTOR COMPENSATION 21

•••••

~~- Page 1 March 2019



SECTION I - SURVEY METHODOLOGY

Reward Strategy Group (RSG) was retained by Helix Water District to conduct a Compensation Study assessing the District's competitiveness for salary and benefits in the San Diego County labor market. RSG conducted a public agency survey of 54 of Helix's classifications, which represent 4 7 percent of total District classes.

Helix Benchmark Classes

1. Director of Administrative Services 2. Director of Engineering 3. Director of Operations 4. Director of Water Quality/System Operations 5. Human Resources Manager 6. Senior Human Resources Analyst 7. Board Secretary 8. Administrative Assistant II 9. Administrative Assistant I 10. Senior Accountant 11. Accountant 12. Accounting Technician 13. Customer Service Manager 14. Customer Service Supervisor 15. Customer Service Representative II 16. Customer Service Representative I 17. Meter Services Field Representative 18. Meter Reader II 19. Enterprise Applications Manager/Enterprise Architecture Manager 20. Network Administrator 21. Network Support Specialist 22. Information Systems Analyst II 23. Information Systems Analyst I 24. GIS Analyst 25. GIS Specialist 26. SCADA Instrumentation/Electrical Technician III 27. SCADA Instrumentation/Electrical Technician II

28. SCADA Instrumentation/Electrical Technician I 29. Survey & Locations Supervisor 30. Senior Survey Technician 31. Facilities Location/Survey Technician 32. Inspector II 33. Inspector I 34. Engineering Manager 35. Civil Engineer 36. Associate Engineer (PE) 3 7. Assistant Engineer (EIT) 38. Senior Engineering Technician 39. Engineering Technician 40. Reservoir Recreation Ranger 41 Water Conservation Specialist 42. Field Operations Manager 43. Utility Crew Supervisor 44. Utility Crew Member III 45. Utility Crew Member II 46. Utility Crew Member I 47. Water Plant Operations Manager 48. Plant Operations Supervisor 49. Plant Operator III 50. Plant Operator II 51. Plant Operator I 52. System Operator III 53. System Operator II 54. System Operator I




Public Sector Survey Agencies

Twenty-three agencies were surveyed:

City of Carlsbad

City of Chula Vista

City of El Cajon

City of Escondido

City of La Mesa

City of Oceanside

City of Poway

City of San Diego

County of San Diego

Eastern Municipal Water District

Metropolitan Water District

Olivenhain Municipal Water District

Otay Water District

Padre Dam Municipal Water District

Ramona Water District

Rancho California Water District

San Diego County Water Authority

Santa Fe Irrigation District

State of CA (positions in SD County)

Sweetwater Water District

Vallecitos Water District

Vista Irrigation District

Western Municipal Water District

Private Sector Pay Practices

To review private sector pay practices, which was requested by Helix's Board, RSG utilized published and proprietary surveys and existing data bases rather than attempting to conduct a special survey of private sector employers. It was agreed that trying to collect data from private sector companies was futile since employers outside the public and nonprofit sectors mostly refuse to share their compensation information for "club surveys." They have little to gain by doing so, and view salary data as a competitive advantage. Instead, RSG used data from:

~ The Economic Research Institute's (ERI) Salary Assessor and Executive Compensation Assessor databases, which aggregate salary data collected through internally conducted salary surveys and the purchase of salary surveys from survey vendors. ERI also gathers data through the digitization of Proxy and 10-K data and Freedom oflnfonnation Requests in the US. This data includes current market data for more thanl,000 industry sectors and was analyzed based on the San Diego - Carlsbad MSA.




>- United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics' National Compensation Survey. The National Compensation Survey (NCS) produces indexes measuring change over time in labor costs through the Employment Cost Index (ECI) and the level of average costs per hour worked through the Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC). The survey covers a broad range of benefits including holidays and vacations, sick leave, health and life insurance, and retirement plans. Details of employer-provided health and retirement plan provisions are also available. RSG used the most recent BLS data available:

•

•

•

May 2017 Metropolitan and Non-metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates for San Diego-Carlsbad, CA.

May 2017 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates for NAICS 221300 - Water, Sewage and Other Systems.

National Compensation Survey: Employee Benefits in the United States, March 2018 for benefits analysis.

>- California Department oflndustrial Relations Prevailing Wage data San Diego for Issue Date: August 22, 2018

The private sector survey data is displayed in Exhibit A on page 21. In general, the private sector surveys are not as precise in matching the specific minimum qualifications and duties as the public agency survey conducted by RSG. Helix and our surveyed public agencies generally had higher ranges than the private sector. RSG relied primarily on the survey of agencies selected by the District in making salary recommendations because they provided more comparable data to the surveyed job classifications .

•••••




SECTION II - BASE SALARY SURVEY RESULTS

RSG built a salary range database by identifying classifications appropriately comparable to the Helix benchmarks in the 23 public sector agencies surveyed.

Table 1 data, following, shows that 69 percent of Helix's benchmark classifications are reasonably competitive, with current range maximums falling within plus or minus five percent of median.

~ 11 of 54 benchmarks (20 percent) have a salary range maximum> 5.0 percent above the survey median.

~ 6 of 54 benchmarks (11 percent) have a salary range maximum> 5.0 percent below median.

How to Read Table 1

The Table 1 summary of results contains the following:

Column 1: Benchmark number and page number for each of the 54 survey datasheets, provided under separate cover.

Column 2: Benchmark class title.

Column 3 - 5: Benchmark current salary range minimum and maximum.

Columns 6 - 10: Survey comparison organization's range maximum data at average and median; the percentage difference in Helix's range maximum versus the survey average and median; and the benchmark's rank order among the comparators' maximums.




Table 1 - Summary of RSG's Salary Survey Results

HELIX Range Maximum

BM# Classification Range Range Range Survey Survey Helix vs Survey

Helix Rank Min Max Average Median Avg / Median

1 Director of Administrative Services 28 151,440 193,272 193,554 195,455 -0.1% I -1.1% 10 of 18

2 Director of Engineering 28 151,440 193,272 188,896 193,179 2.3% I 0.0% 9 of 18

3 Director of Operations (DS) 28 151,440 193,272 192,370 193,179 0.5% I 0.0% 7 of 14

4 Director of Water Quality/Sys Operations (TS) 28 151,440 193,272 194,021 193,272 -0.4% I 0.0% 6 of 11

5 Human Resources Manager 23 118,656 151,440 155,400 154,808 -2.6% I -2.2% 8 of 13

6 Senior Human Resources Analyst 16 84,324 107,628 104,810 107,764 2.7% I -0.1% 10 of 18

7 Board Secretary 18 92,964 118,656 113,378 111,707 4.7% I 6.2% 6 of 16

8 Administrative Assistant II 8 57,072 72,840 75,219 76,868 -3.3% I -5.5% 9 of 14

9 Administrative Assistant I 6 51,768 66,072 63,635 63,999 3.8% I 3.2% 6 of 16

10 Senior Accountant 15 80,316 102,504 102,948 104,676 -0.4% I -2.1% 11 of 17

11 Accountant 12 69,372 88,536 84,685 86,486 4.5% I 2.4% 8 of 22

12 Accounting Technician 8 57,072 72,840 66,305 66,747 9.9% I 9.1% 7 of 20

13 Customer Service Manager 21 107,628 137,352 135,613 138,861 1.3% I -1.1% 5 of 7

14 Customer Service Supervisor 13 72,840 92,964 92,731 95,294 0.3% I -2.5% 8 of 11

15 Customer Service Representative II 8 57,072 72,840 64,090 66,768 13.7% I 9.1% 3 of 16

16 Customer Service Representative I 5 49,308 62,928 56,600 58,549 11.2% I 7.5% 4 of 16

17 Meter Services Field Representative 7 54,360 69,372 67,683 67,731 2.5% I 2.4% 6 of 14


REWAR.D STRATEGY GROUP


HELIX Range Maximum



18 Meter Reader II 6 51,768 66,072 59,518 59,384 11.0% I 11.3% 3 of 15

19 Enterprise Applications Manager/ Enterprise 23 118,656 151,440 136,269 138,278 11.1% I 9.5% 3 of 17 Architecture Manager

20 Network Administrator 16 84,324 107,628 112,874 113,814 -4.9% I -5.7% 11 of 16

21 Network Support Specialist 13 72,840 92,964 94,034 93,413 -1.2% I -0.5% 10 of 17

22 Information Systems Analyst II 14 76,488 97,620 104,672 105,290 -7.2% I -7.9% 10 of 14

23 Information Systems Analyst I 12 69,372 88,536 84,440 87,054 4.9% I 1.7% 6 of 12

24 GIS Analyst 15 80,316 102,504 104,297 104,728 -1.7% I -2.2% 8 of 12

25 GIS Specialist 13 72,840 92,964 85,750 88,243 8.4% I 5.3% 3 of 15

26 SCADA Instrumentation/Electrical Tech Ill 16 84,324 107,628 105,810 106,152 1.7% I 1.4% 5 of 10

27 SCADA Instrumentation/Electrical Tech II 15 80,316 102,504 92,521 94,188 10.8% I 8.8% 2 of 16

28 SCADA Instrumentation/Electrical Tech I 11 66,072 84,324 81,781 82,138 3.1% I 2.7% 6 of 13

29 Survey & Locations Supervisor (LS) 16 84,324 107,628 114,540 115,520 -6.4% I -7.3% 8 of 9

30 Senior Survey Technician (LSIT) 12 69,372 88,536 90,566 88,536 -2.3% I 0.0% 5 of 9

31 Facilities Location/Survey Technician 9 59,928 76,488 75,238 75,234 1.7% I 1.7% 6 of 13

32 Inspector II 13 72,840 92,964 91,384 92,077 1.7% I 1.0% 6 of 13

33 Inspector I 10 62,928 80,316 78,300 79,082 2.6% I 1.6% 6 of 15

34 Engineering Manager 25 130,812 166,956 155,661 156,954 7.3% I 6.4% 6 of 18

35 Civil Engineer 21 107,628 137,352 132,689 130,428 3.5% I 5.3% 7 of 17




HELIX Range Maximum



36 Associate Engineer (PE) 18 92,964 118,656 115,084 118,483 3.1% I 0.1% 10 of 20

37 Assistant Engineer (EIT) 15 80,316 102,504 97,928 101,280 4.7% I 1.2% 9 of 21

38 Senior Engineering Technician 13 72,840 92,964 89,514 90,454 3.9% I 2.8% 5 of 14

39 Engineering Technician 10 62,928 80,316 76,118 76,750 5.5% I 4.6% 9 of 21

40 Reservoir Recreation Ranger 13 72,840 92,964 96,850 92,964 -4.2% I 0.0% 5 of 9

41 Water Conservation Specialist 13 72,840 92,964 83,843 89,211 10.9% I 4.2% 3 of 10

42 Field Operations Manager (OS) 21 107,628 137,352 140,318 141,086 -2.2% I -2.7% 8 of 13

43 Utility Crew Supervisor (03, backflow/cross) 13 72,840 92,964 93,027 92,388 -0.1% I 0.6% 3 of 6

44 Utility Crew Member Ill (02, class A) 9 59,928 76,488 78,904 80,288 -3.2% I -5.0% 10 of 16

45 Utility Crew Member II (02, class A) 7 54,360 69,372 70,367 69,372 -1.4% I 0.0% 10 of 19

46 Utility Crew Member I (02 in 2, A) 5 49,308 62,928 61,954 62,633 1.6% I 0.5% 9 of 18

47 Water Plant Operations Manager (TS) 23 118,656 151,440 143,761 146,868 5.3% I 3.1% 3 of 9

48 Plant Operations Supervisor (T3/T4 in 3, TS in 5) 18 92,964 118,656 109,991 109,708 7.9% I 8.2% 2 of 11

49 Plant Operator Ill (T4, 02) 14 76,488 97,620 99,852 100,077 -2.3% I -2.5% 6 of 7

50 Plant Operator II (T3) 12 69,372 88,536 87,914 87,543 0.7% I 1.1% 6 of 12

51 Plant Operator I (T3) 10 62,928 80,316 76,792 79,117 4.6% I 1.5% 6 of 12

52 System Operator Ill (04) 13 72,840 92,964 92,880 92,964 0.1% I 0.0% 5 of 9

53 System Operator II (03) 11 66,072 84,324 84,011 86,102 0.4% I -2.1% 11 of 16

54 System Operator I (02) 8 57,072 72,840 75,209 77,512 -3.3% I -6.4% 12 of 16

•••••




SECTION Ill - SALARY RANGE ALLOCATION RECOMMENDATIONS AT APPROXIMATE SURVEY MEDIAN

RSG has developed recommendations for allocating all of Helix's classifications into the current salary range structure. The range allocation decisions were based both on survey data and RSG's evaluation of internal job content relationships. The competitiveness of these recommen dations is approximate Median of the survey data. Table 2, starting on the following page, displays the recommended allocations.

There are eleven classifications in Table 2 where RSG has recommended salary grade increases and three currently vacant positions that have one grade reductions:

Classification

Survey & Locations Supervisor

Range Change

+2

Customer Service Supervisor +1

Equipment Operator I +1

GIS Analyst +1

Information Systems Analyst II +1

Management Analyst +1

Reservoir Recreation Ranger +1

Sr ROW Agent/Environmental Analyst +1

Senior Survey Technician +1

System Operator I +1

Network Administrator +1

Administrative Assistant I -1

Human Resources Technician I -1

Warehouse Coordinator I -1




Table 2 - Salary Structure with Classifications Allocated at Market Median - Sorted by Range # Low to High

Recommended Helix Range

Range# Min Max Classification Survey Median

Current Range

Current Range Max

% Change Max

1

2

3

40,560

42,588

44,724

51,768

54,360

57,072 Senior Maintenance Ranger

Meter Reader I

Maintenance Ranger

4

5

46,956

49,308

59,928

62,928

6 51,768 66,072

7 54,360 69,372

8 57,072 72,840

Administrative Assistant I

Utility Crew Member I

Human Resources Technician I

Warehouse Coordinator I

Customer Service Representative I

Equipment Operator I

Meter Reader II

Meter Services Field Representative

Utility Crew Member II

Operations and Maintenance Technician

Valve Maintenance Technician II

Administrative Assistant II

Customer Service Representative II

GIS Technician I

Human Resources Technician II

Engineering Aide

63,999

62,633

58,549

59,384

69,372

67,731

76,868

66,768

~~- Page 10

3 57,072 0.0%

3 57,072 0.0%

3 57,072 0.0%

6 66,072 -4.8%

5 62,928 0.0%

6 66,072 -4.8%

6 66,072 -4.8%

5 62,928 0.0%

5 62,928 5.0%

6 66,072 0.0%

7 69,372 0.0%

7 69,372 0.0%

7 69,372 0.0%

7 69,372 0.0%

8 72,840 0.0%

8 72,840 0.0%

8 72,840 0.0%

8 72,840 0.0%

8 72,840 0.0%

March 2019




Range# Min Max Classification Survey Current Current % Change Median Range Range Max Max

8, cont 57,072 72,840 Equipment Operator H - 8 72,840 0.0%

Plant Operator Trainee - 8 72,840 0.0%

Accounting Technician 66,747 8 72,840 0.0%

9 59,928 76,488 System Operator I 77,512 8 72,840 5.0%

Facilities Location/Survey Technician 75,234 9 76,488 0.0%

Water Conservation Technician - 9 76,488 0.0%

Facilities Maintenance Technician 9 76,488 0.0%

Warehouse Coordinator II - 9 76,488 0.0%

Mechanical System Technician I 9 76,488 0.0%

Utility Crew Member III 80,288 9 76,488 0.0%

Valve Maintenance Technician III - 9 76,488 0.0%

10 62,928 80,316 Plant Operator I 80,316 10 80,316 0.0%

Inspector I 79,082 10 80,316 0.0%

Engineering Technician 76,750 10 80,316 0.0%

Assistant Board Secretary 10 80,316 0.0%

Customer Service Specialist - 10 80,316 0.0%

GIS Technician II - 10 80,316 0.0%

Equipment Operator III - 10 80,316 0.0%

Network Support Technician - 10 80,316 0.0%

Cathodic Protection Technician - 10 80,316 0.0%

Right of Way Agent I - 10 80,316 0.0%

Equipment Repair Technician - 10 80,316 0.0%

Senior Meter Maintenance Technician - 10 80,316 0.0%

11 66,072 84,324 SCADA Instrumentation/Elect Tech I 82,138 11 84,324 0.0%





Range# Min Max Classification Survey Current Current 0/o Change Median Range Range Max Max

Management Analyst - 10 80,316 5.0%

Public Affairs Representative - 11 84,324 0.0% Equipment Maintenance Coordinator - 11 84,324 0.0% Field Services Coordinator - 11 84,324 0.0% System Operator II 86,102 11 84,324 0.0%

12 69,372 88,536 Plant Operator II 87,543 12 88,536 0.0%

Information Systems Analyst I 87,054 12 88,536 0.0%

Accountant 86,486 12 88,536 0.0%

Right of Way Agent II - 12 88,536 0.,0%

Cross Connection Control Coordinator - 12 88,536 0.0%

Mechanical Systems Technician II - 12 88,536 0.0%

13 72,840 92,964 Network Support Specialist 93,413 13 92,964 0.0%

System Operator III 92,964 13 92,964 0.0%

Utility Crew Supervisor 92,388 13 92,964 0.0%

Inspector II 92,077 13 92,964 0.0%

Senior Engineering Technician 90,454 13 92,964 0.0%

Water Conservation Specialist 89,211 13 92,964 0.0%

Corrosion Specialist 13 92,964 0.0%

Senior Survey Technician 88,536 12 88,536 5.0%

GIS Specialist 88,243 13 92,964 0.0%

Human Resources Analyst - 13 92,964 0.0%

Mechanical System Technician III 13 92,964 0.0%

14 76,488 97,620 Plant Operator III 100,077 14 97,620 0.0%

RS~- Page 12 March 2019





Customer Service Supervisor 95,294 13 92,964 5.0%

Reservoir Recreation Ranger 92,964 13 92,964 5.0%.

Senior Public Affairs Representative - 14 97,620 0.0%

Field Supervisor I - 14 97,620 0.0%

Biologist - 14 97,620 0.0% 15 80,316 102,504 Information Systems Analyst II 105,290 14 97,620 5.0%

Senior Accountant 104,676 15 102,504 0.0%

Assistant Engineer 101,280 15 102,504 0.0%

SCADA Instrumentation/Elect Tech II 94,188 15 102,504 0.0%

Engineering Design Associate - 15 102,504 0.0%

Inspector III - 15 102,504 0.0%

Construction Services Coordinator 15 102,504 0.0%

16 84,324 107,628 Senior Human Resources Analyst 107,764 16 107,628 0.0%

SCADA Instrumentation/Elect Tech III 106,152 16 107,628 0.0%

GIS Analyst 104,728 15 102,504 5,0%

Facilities Supervisor - 16 107,628 0.0%

Senior Chemist 16 107,628 0.0%

Sr ROW Agent/Environmental Analyst - 15 102,504 5.0% 17 88,536 113,004 Network Administrator 113,814 16 107,628 5.0%

Field Supervisor II - 17 113,004 0.0%





Range# Min Max Classification Survey Current Current % Change Median Range Range Max Max

18 92,964 118,656 Associate Engineer 118,483 18 118,656 0.0%

Survey & Locations Supervisor 115,520 16 107,628 10.2%

Board Secretary 111,707 18 118,656 0.0%

Plant Operations Supervisor 109,708 18 118,656 0.0%

Construction Supervisor - 18 118;656 0.0%

System Operations Supervisor - 18 118,656 0.0% 19 97,620 124,584 Safety/Risk Administrator 19 124,584 0.0%

SCADA Programing & Wireless Network - 19 0.0% Administrator

20 102,504 130,812

21 107,628 137,352 Field Operations Manager 141,086 21 137,352 0.0%

Customer Service Manager 138,861 21 0.0%

Civil Engineer 130,428 21 0.0%

Programmer Analyst - 21 0.0%

Senior Systems Administrator 21 0.0%

Facilities Manager 21 0.0%

Information & Process Systems Supv 21 0.0% 22 113,004 144,228

23 118,656 151,440 Human Resources Manager 154,808 23 151,440 0.0%

Water Plant Operations Manager 146,868 23 0.0%

Enterprise Applications Manager 138,278 23 0.0%

Finance Manager 23 0.0%

Operations and Construction Manager 23 0.0%

System Operations Manager - 23 0.0%






24 124,584 159,012

25 130,812 166,956 Engineering Manager 156,954 25 166,956 0.0%

Asst Director Admin Svcs/Finance Mgr - 25 0.0%

26 137,352 175,308

27 144,228 184,068

28 151,440 193,272 Director of Administrative Services 195,455 28 193,272 0.0%

Dir of Water Quality/Sys Operations 193,272 28 0.0%

Director of Engineering 193,179 28 0.0%

Director of Operations 193,179 28 0.0%

•••••




SECTION IV - BENEFITS SURVEY RESULTS

Overall, Helix has an appropriately competitive benefits package when compared to both the public and private sectors. Details of the benefits survey results have been provided to Helix under separate cover.

Helix is somewhat more competitive in

>- Health insurance, dental and vision

>- Deferred compensation match to all employees

Helix is appropriately competitive in

>- Life insurance

>- Long-term disability and short-term disability

>- Paid time off

Helix is slightly less competitive in

>- Classic retirement formula

Medical Benefits

Helix is somewhat more competitive in its provision of health insurance, since it provides at least one option with 100 percent District-paid premiums for employee and dependents. Nine of 23 comparators (39 percent) have a similar option and another three comparators offer 100 percent for employee only. All but one of the water districts offer retiree health insurance, but none of the cities offer this retiree benefit. Seven of the comparators, all non-water agencies, offer Cafeteria plans that include medical, dental and vision.

Helix is at market for dental and vision benefits, paying 100 percent for employees and 50 percent of dependents' dental and 100 percent vision for both employees and dependents. Thirteen of the 16 non-Cafeteria comparators pay 100 percent of dental for employees, and nine pay 100 percent dental and vision for dependents. Vision is not covered by four comparators, and all but one of the remaining comparators offer 100 percent vision for employees. Dependent vision coverage is 100 percent for six comparators.




Life Insurance and Disability Plans

All the surveyed agencies contribute 100 percent cost of premiums for employee life insurance. Helix provides an above-average death benefit of monthly salary times 20, with a $200,000 cap. Of the comparators that listed maximums, San Diego County was the lowest at $10,000 and Rancho California Water District was the highest with $375,000. The survey average death benefit value is $142,000. Seven agencies provide employer paid life insurance for dependents.

Helix employees pay a small portion of the long-term disability premium (1110th of 1 %). Of the 17 comparators that pay long-term disability premiums, only one does not pay for 100 percent of the premium. Only seven of the agencies offer short-term disability.

Retirement and Deferred Compensation

Only four of the 23 comparators have a paid time-off policy rather than sick leave and vacation. In comparing combined paid time off, Helix is competitive with a starting rate of 24 PTO days/year and a maximum rate of 3 7 PTO days/year. The agency with the most paid time off is the City of Escondido with 25.5 days at hire and 40.5 days of vacation and sick leave maximum. Seven agencies have a maximum of 37 days; the remain der are somewhat lower. Helix is at average with 12 paid holidays. Nine of the agencies surveyed offer administrative and/or management leave for exempt employees, while Helix does not.

Like Helix, all of the comparators are under PEPRA for employees hired after January 1, 2013. Compared to the 13 water districts, Helix's CalPERs formula for Classic employees is lower than eight districts and the same as five others at 2.5%@ 55. Eight of the ten non-water agencies have at least one tier of Classic employees higher than Helix. This could make it more difficult for Helix to recruit and retain more experienced and higher-level employees from other, more competitive agencies.

All agencies had some form of a deferred compensation plan, with ten offering matching funds to at least one cohort of employees, either a specific bargaining group(s) or management. Of the comparators with a matching contribution, Helix's benefit is relatively low with a $500 matching contribution. In the survey, matching dollars vary from two to three percent of base salary to a fixed dollar amount up to $4,000 per year.




Public vs Private Sector

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report, Employee Benefits in the United States - March 2018, the size of an organization, and whether or not it is unionized, has a significant impact on the extent of medical care benefits and retirement benefits.

~ Medical care benefits were available to 69 percent of all private industry workers and 89 percent of state and local government workers.

•

•

In private industry, union workers' access to medical benefits was 94 percent and access to life insurance was 85 percent. Non union workers' access to medical benefits was 66 percent and life insurance was 54 percent.

83 percent of workers in medium-sized companies ( 100 - 499 workers) and 88 percent of large companies have medical care benefits available.

Share of medical insurance premium paid by private employers for single coverage in a unionized establishment is 87 percent. Non-unionized companies pay 77 percent. State and local governments' employer portion shows little variance between unionized (86 percent) and non-unionized (87 percent) .

Share of premium paid by employer for family coverage in a private sector, unionized establishment is 83 percent, which is higher than the unionized state and local governments' 76 percent.

~ Paid sick leave was available to 62 percent of workers in medium-sized companies and 87 percent of large companies.

•

•

~ Paid vacation was available to 85 percent of workers in medium-sized companies and 89 percent of large organizations.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics report, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation =June 2018, contains a useful table, reproduced on the following page. It displays the proportion of cash compensation versus benefits provided by public versus private sector.




Table 3

Relative Importance of Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2018

Compensation Civilian Private State and local component workers' industry government

workers workers Wages and salaries 68.3% 69.6% 62.4% Benefits 31.7 30.4 37.6 Paid leave 7.1 7.0 7.5 Supplemental pay 3.3 3.8 1.0 Insurance 8.7 7.9 11.9 Health 8.2 7.5 11.6

Retirement and savings 5.3 3.9 11.5 Defined benefit 3.3 I 7 10.7 Defined contribution 2.0 2.3 0.8

Legally required 7.3 7.7 5.5

1 Includes workers in the private nonfarm economy, except those in private households, and workers in the public sector, except the federal government.

It should also be noted that each of the benefits reports comes with a technical note that "Employee benefits in state and local government should not be directly compared to private industry. Differences between these sectors stem from factors such as variation in work activities and occupational structures. Manufacturing and sales, for example, make up a large part of private industry work activities but are rare in state and local government. Administrative support and professional occupations (including teachers) account for two-thirds of the state and local government workforce, compared with one-half of private industry."

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SECTION V- FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS TO ENHANCE TOTAL COMPENSATION PLAN

Currently, Helix is reporting appropriate levels of retention and normal recruitments times except for only a few specific positions. If this changes RSG recommends the District consider some additional enhancements to the compensation plan. Examples of such strategies include:

~ Establish the base salary structure at a more competitive level than market median

~ Flexibility in work schedule ( 4/10 work schedule or adjustable start and end times where appropriate)

~ PEPRA equalizer for new employees

~ Increase deferred compensation matching

~ General Manager bonus pool for special projects

~ Retention incentive package

~ One-time bonus for additional job-related certifications above the minimum qualifications

~ Administrative leave policy

~ Formalized management mentoring programs and training for technical and management positions

~ Student loan repayment program

~ Culture that values a work life/family environment, employee loyalty and social consciousness

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EXHIBIT A - PRIVATE SECTOR COMPENSATION

Utilizing the ERi database, RSG was able to segment the jobs by industry and by region. RSG compared Helix water benchmarks to the San Diego region for the Utilities Industry. For non-water-specific benchmarks, we also compared the benchmarks to the Engineering and Accounting industry. Benchmark job "matching" is less precise in this survey because certification requirements are not considered. Data is based on years of experience and certifications must be assumed. Additionally, multiple Helix positions can be included in one ERi listing. RSG found ERi data on 23 of Helix's benchmarked positions.

» Compared to the ERi private sector data, Helix and all our survey comparators have more competitive base salaries. The entry steps for Helix's classes are closer to the ERi average.

» The Engineering and Accounting industry data is higher than the Utilities industry data where we have matches in both industries.

» The ERi reported number of employees covered by the dataset for water industry-specific benchmarks is comparable in size to the total number of comparators in this RSG study survey database.

The BLS base salary data is less precise than the ERi data and tends to be lower. Like ERi, there is no way to consider the impact of certifications since the BLS data is based on occupational codes. Additionally, the data cannot be narrowed by geography and industry at the same time. RSG utilized geography since the national salaries by industry were significantly lower than the San Diego salaries.

» Helix salaries and our salary survey averages are higher than the BLS salary averages for the San Diego region.

RSG was also asked to review the California Department oflndustrial Relations Prevailing Wage data for San Diego. The prevailing wage is comparable to a very small number of Helix's classifications since it is used for major public works construction projects and not for operations or maintenance. No prevailing wage is set for the majority of the classifications in Helix, including all of the administrative, customer service support and water operations jobs. The actual classifications are relatively granular and are based on the type of trade, type of project, shifts worked and equipment used. The position lists include only journey-level positions and do not include certification requirements or differentiate for super vision. Helix is generally comparable to the prevailing wage if it is used in a broad sense. For informational purposes, the prevailing wage base salary and a comparable Helix class series are:




~ Building Construction Inspector Classifications - $97,926 - $105, 789

• Helix's Inspector II - III ranges from $72,840 - $102,504

~ Laborer and Related Classifications - $65,125 - $73,486

• Helix's Utility Crew Member I - III ranges from $49,308 - $76,488

~ Teamsters - $15.90 - $26.09/ hour ($33,072 - $54,267 annually)

• Helix's Equipment Operator I - III ranges from $49,308 - $80,316. It should be noted that the Teamsters positions above do not require water certifications.

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