Aerial view of the Madison isthmus with Lake Mendota on the left
Human Resources
Erin Stenson, Director of Human Resources

Compensation Study

Background:

HR has partnered with Baker Tilly to conduct a Classification and Compensation Study. This includes:

  • A review of positions to ensure internal equity and external competitiveness within our labor market.
  • A comparison of our benefits offerings.
  • A review of our pay policies and pay practices.
  • A review of pay equity with regards to gender, race, and age.

Process Outline:

The compensation and classification study will be completed in 6 phases, including:

  1. Project Initiation
  2. Market Assessment
  3. Position Review
  4. Pay Plan Development
  5. Additional Deliverables
  6. Project Completion

Final Report:

Compensation Study Final Report

The Baker Tilly final report includes the analysis of benefits, a fully equity analysis, the details of the compensation study, a framework for a potential compensation plan, and three implementation scenarios.  The Steering Team is working on developing an implementation recommendation to provide to the Mayor and Common Council including which aspects are recommended for implementation and a full timeline. This is expected to be provided to Common Council by October, 2026.

Timeline - Updated 7/30/2026

If you have any questions, please reach out to HR@cityofmadison.com. 

  1. Information Gathering & Alignment

    • May 22: Final costing information received from Jada
    • Steering Team meets (regular meeting)

  2. Drafting & Review

    • June 7: Draft implementation plan shared w/ Steering Team
    • June 16: Jada presents draft plan to Steering Team
    • June 23: Deadline for Steering Team feedback
    • June 30: Revised plan reviewed; Steering Team approval of recommendations

  3. Finalizing, Publishing, Approvals & Preparation

    • August 15:
      • Final report (excluding implementation plan) published & shared with employees
      • Final implementation plan submitted to Mayor
    • August 28: Mayoral approval of implementation plan
    • August 28: Council & Personnel Board presentations submitted to Legistar

  4. Presentations & Rollout

    • September 8: Presentation to MMT & City Council
    • September 9: Presentation to Personnel Board
    • September 11: Implementation plan shared with employees
    • September 11: Final plan submitted for inclusion in 2027 Operating Budget

November 2025 Update

Below you will find the tentative findings of the city-wide Compensation and Classification study which has been conducted over the past year. Some of the key highlights of the study's findings include:

  1. In general, City compensation is very similar to that of our closest market competitors, even when not factoring in the up to 12% longevity that City employees benefit from
  2. Notably, 86% of City positions are “at" or “leading" market at the midpoint.  This means that the vast majority of our positions are paid about the same, or even more than the organizations we were compared to.
  3. Only 3.5% of City positions were significantly lagging the market, and most of those were hourly positions.  
  4. The benefits we provide are equivalent to, or better than, that of most of the other Cities we were compared to.

Before going through these, there are a few things I need to remind you of:

  • These proposed pay plans need to be aged forward to add the (generally 3%) wage increases employees received at the beginning of this year.
  • These findings are still being finalized and the report completed.  
  • The changes proposed as a result of the compensation study, including the new pay plans, will need to be implemented as part of next year's budget process, including approval by the Common Council. Before that occurs, HR will develop a training and implementation plan that they will use to provide recommendations to decision makers. 

Recommendations: Final Title and Grade Recommendations

Access the November 2025 Recording & Slide Deck: November 2025 Listening Sessions

If you have any questions, please reach out to HR@cityofmadison.com. 

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