Wage/Salary Survey and Compensation Study

The Town of Vernon, VT is seeking proposals from qualified consulting firms experienced in the review and analysis of salary and overall compensation systems.

If any part of your proposal is printed and delivered to the Town, the envelopes shall be clearly marked “Salary Survey and Compensation Analysis Response”. All proposals must conform to this requirement of the Request for Proposals (RFP).

Copies of the RFP will be on file for inspection and may be obtained at the offices of the Town of Vernon.

Questions and requests for clarification shall be submitted via email to:  vernonta@vernonvt.org  Question submissions must be no later than 12:00 p.m. EST on July 18, 2022

The Town reserves the right to reject any and all proposals, or any part of any proposals, or to waive informalities or defects in proposals, as the Board of Selectmen deems to be in the best interests of the Town.

Scope of Work

The successful consultant will be required to meet with the Selectboard at the initiation of the study and provide a written presentation to the Selectboard at the conclusion of the study. The Town expects ongoing and open communications between designated Town representatives and the consultant over the course of the study. All products and recommendations must comply with applicable State and Federal laws and enhance the Town’s ability to obtain and retain qualified personnel.

The Town of Vernon will provide the following information to the successful consultant:

• Copies of all existing job descriptions
• Copies of all wage and salary schedules
• Copies of all employee benefit schedules
• Copy of the Town’s Personnel Policies
• Copy of the Town’s Organizational Chart
• Job Performance Evaluation document
• Access to in-house contacts (Town Administrator and Town Treasurer) to discuss procedures, policies, problems and concerns and to provide a liaison between the Town and the consultant.

Services to be provided:

1. The consultant will review the current job descriptions and compensation system and determine whether a new compensation system would be needed to assure internal equity and external competitiveness.
2. Conduct a comprehensive survey of external regional labor markets impacting market competitiveness for all positions in the Town.
3. This shall include public sector and private sector jobs with the same essential duties and functions.
4. This will include a review and market analysis of salary and benefits.
5. Make recommendations for changes to current classification system or adoption of a newly designed compensation system, which assures internal equity and external competitiveness.
6. The method in which to perform this analysis is to be determined by the consultant, but should be based on wages and benefits established for the 2023 calendar year.
7. The consultant will provide the Town with a copy of the final compensation study and proposed salary structure.
8. Design and implementation strategy for any updated compensation system with the lowest financial impact and greatest gain to positions that fall outside of a designated range. The implementation plan should contain the total cost for implementation beginning in July 2023. The consultant will provide the Town with a copy of the implementation strategy.
9. If the compensation system is implemented, provide training to the Town Administrator and Town Treasurer on the utilization and maintenance of the system. Additionally, provide necessary documentation and other materials for the Town to maintain the system independently of the consultant following the implementation of the job evaluation/compensation plan. Provide the Town with soft copies of training materials and policies and procedures for the maintenance of the system.
10. As an option, provide a proposal for an annual review and update of the market analysis for each position including a description of the factors to be reviewed, methodology, final report, and staff training.
11. Provide pricing for future individual job description grading on an as-needed basis.

Proposal Instructions

Proposals must be received by The Town Administrator’s Office at the Vernon Town Hall by 12:00 p.m. ET July 28, 2022. Proposals shall be emailed to: vernonta@vernonvt.org. or via US Mail in sealed envelopes addressed to:

Wage/Salary Survey and Compensation Analysis Response

The Town of Vernon

567 Governor Hunt Rd.

Vernon, VT 05354

The Town’s intention is to enter into a contract as soon as practicable after the proposals are evaluated and approved by the Town Selectboard.  The successful vendor shall enter into a contract with the Town of Vernon within ten days of the notification of award or as soon as practicable thereafter as determined by the Town. Work is expected to begin no later than August of 2022 for a target completion by the end of September 2022.

Proposals will be evaluated on several factors including the respondent’s understanding of the engagement to be performed, previous relevant experience of both the respondent firm and the individuals on the team performing studies of this nature, the firm’s ability and the flexibility to “customize” their services to meet the Town’s needs and the associated costs.

The proposal should include the resumes of the members of the team and references from other municipalities or government agencies where similar work was performed.

The Town reserves the right to reject any and all proposals, or any part of any proposal, or to waive informalities or defects in proposals, as the Town Selectboard shall deem to be in the best interests of the Town. By submitting a proposal, each respondent is ensuring that complete confidentiality of all Town information will be maintained by all vendor personnel.