The city of Bloomington has now released the files that were delivered by Crowe LLP as part of the firm’s job classifications and compensation study, which was done last year.
Based on the study, Bloomington could change the way it approaches equitable pay for city employees.
On Friday (Jan. 26), the files were posted on a page of the city’s website that has been set up for that purpose.
In a series of 7 installments, starting on April 14, 2023, including one early this year, Crowe LLP has been paid $164,153.84 to do the work. According to one of the files released on Friday, Crowe completed the initial project under budget, which means there is about $61,000 remaining in the project contract.
Based on a Friday (Jan. 26) email to news outlets, from Bloomington deputy mayor Gretchen Knapp, it sounds like Kerry Thomson’s new mayoral administration will be tapping some of that remaining money in the project budget, with an eye towards incorporating potential revisions to compensation into the city’s 2025 annual budget.
Thomson was sworn into office on Jan. 1 this year.
Knapp wrote: “In the coming months, we will be working with Crowe to better understand the parameters they were given for their work, their recommendations, the costs for implementing changes, possible implementation paths, and so on.”
Knapp continued, “We have not yet reviewed this analysis with Crowe’s team or our internal leadership, nor have we evaluated its findings or made any decisions regarding implementation.”
Knapp wrapped up the point by writing, “We are mindful of the 2025 budget timeline, and as we learn more, will make decisions and announcements accordingly.”
One indication that the Thomson administration has not yet dived into the material provided by Crowe LLP is Knapp’s response to an informal request by The B Square for the “Point Factor Job Scoring Rubric” that was used to evaluate positions.
Knapp indicated that she was not able to immediately provide that rubric. She wrote: “It’s not something I’ve seen myself or have direct access to, and we did not omit anything from the deliverables file.”
Knapp speculated, “It may be something that the former interim HR director developed or something that was designed especially for this study.”
The release of the documents on Friday came after mayor John Hamilton’s administration had refused to make it public. On Nov. 21, 2023, The B Square made a formal request under Indiana’s Access to Public Records Act for the study, which had been completed by Crowe LLP.
A month later, on Dec. 22, 2024 the request was denied by the city under Indiana Code 5-14-3-4(b)(6), which exempts from disclosure “Records that are intra-agency or interagency advisory or deliberative material, including material developed by a private contractor under a contract with a public agency, that are expressions of opinion or are of a speculative nature, and that are communicated for the purpose of decision making.”
On Jan. 9, 2024, The B Square sent an email message to newly appointed corporation counsel Margie Rice, asking that the administration of new mayor Kerry Thomson reconsider some APRA requests recently denied by the previous administration, which included the Crowe LLP report. The release of the Crowe LLP files came on Jan. 26, 2024.
Below is a list of the files available as links on the city’s website, annotated by The B Square.
The documents have been uploaded to BloomDocs.org with their original file names, prefixed with “Crowe 2023” to allow users of that website to find and only all the documents the city has released, with one search. Links below lead to the copy of the file that is hosted on BloomDocs.
List of Crowe LLP Salary Study Files released on Jan. 26, 2024
- COB Classification and Compensation Consulting – Project Closeout (DRAFT 11.21.23) (1).pdf
This is the final summary document for the Crowe LLP compensation study project. Listed as next steps are:- Decision about which recommended adjustments to classification and compensation to implement
- Decision regarding pay placement and adjustments within pay ranges
- Decision regarding whether to a) make interim pay adjustments, followed by structural updates to classification and compensation practices, and subsequent long-term pay adjustments; or b) make pay adjustments without structural changes to the classification and compensation plans.
- (01) City of Bloomington Kickoff and SME Sessions (DRAFT 02.15.23).pdf
This is the slidedeck from the Feb. 15, 2023 kickoff meeting, where Crowe LLP described the project scope, introduced its team, and laid out the nuts and bolts of communications. The project scope is described like this: “We have planned to include the City’s non-union positions in scope for this project – approximately 260 positions based on our prior conversations with the City. We note that the scope does not include an assessment of benefits, hazard pay, bonuses, and other types of compensation other than base pay.” - (02) Draft PDQ – Blank Template (DRAFT 03.02.23).docx
This is the position description questionnaire that employees were asked to fill out for the Crowe LLP compensation study. From the instructions for one of the questions: “Briefly describe the primary purpose of your job. Include what your job is and why it exists. Use clear, specific language. Please do not copy/paste this information from your job description.” - (03) Benefits Market Research Summary (DRAFT 03.14.23).pdf
This is a Benefits Market Research Summary done by Crowe LLP. From the executive summary: “This document provides an overview of the types of benefits offered by other peer employers, as well as the types of benefits perceived to be most important to today’s workforce. Analysis of the City’s currently offered employee benefits was not within the scope of this engagement. Crowe’s Summary does not include specific recommendations related to the City’s benefits offerings.” Institutions for which comparative information is provided include: Indiana University, City of West Lafayette, Monroe County, and Crane Naval Base - (04) PDQ and JD Tracker (DRAFT 05.15.23).xlsx
This spreadsheet tracks the similarity between positions as evaluated in position description questionnaires (PDQ) and the city’s job description (JD). This spreadsheet has been compiled as two tabs in a Shared Google Sheet for some Crowe LLP study files - (05) City of Bloomington – Classification and Compensation Strategy (DRAFT 06.30.23).pdf
This is an outline of the classification and compensation strategy for the City of Bloomington developed by Crowe LLP. From the document: “The City’s strategy seeks to create classification and compensation practices that are repeatable, equitable, and transparent while also flexible enough to address changing market conditions or specific department needs as necessary.” - (07) COB JD Point Factor Evaluation – Batch One Cover Letter (DRAFT 07.26.23).pdf
Crowe LLP was asked to evaluate 50 position descriptions using the City’s Point Factor Job Scoring Rubric. This was done on a rolling basis. This letter summarizes the scope for Batch One, which is the first 20 of the 50 positions. This cover corresponds to an Excel Spreadsheet with the scoring, which has the file name: (08) COB JD Point Factor Evaluation – Batch One (DRAFT 07.26.23).xlsx - (08) COB JD Point Factor Evaluation – Batch One (DRAFT 07.26.23).xlsx
This spreadsheet includes the point factor evaluations using the City’s Point Factor Job Scoring Rubric for the 20 positions in Batch One. This spreadsheet has been compiled as one tab of a Shared Google Sheet for some Crowe LLP study files - (09) COB JD Point Factor Evaluation – Batch Two Cover Letter (DRAFT 07.31.23).pdf
Crowe LLP was asked to evaluate 50 position descriptions using the City’s Point Factor Job Scoring Rubric. This was done on a rolling basis. This letter summarizes the scope for Batch Two, which is for 9 positions. This cover corresponds to an Excel Spreadsheet with the scoring, which has the file name: (10) COB JD Point Factor Evaluation – Batch Two (DRAFT 07.31.23).xlsx - (10) COB JD Point Factor Evaluation – Batch Two (DRAFT 07.31.23).xlsx
This spreadsheet includes the point factor evaluations using the City’s Point Factor Job Scoring Rubric for the 9 positions in Batch Two. This spreadsheet has been compiled as one tab of a Shared Google Sheet for some Crowe LLP study files - (11) COB JD Point Factor Evaluation – Batch Three Cover Letter (DRAFT 08.08.23).pdf
Crowe LLP was asked to evaluate 50 position descriptions using the City’s Point Factor Job Scoring Rubric. This was done on a rolling basis. This letter summarizes the scope for Batch Three, which is for 19 positions. This cover corresponds to an Excel Spreadsheet with the scoring, which has the file name: (12) COB JD Point Factor Evaluation – Batch Three (DRAFT 08.08.23).xlsx - (12) COB JD Point Factor Evaluation – Batch Three (DRAFT 08.08.23).xlsx
This spreadsheet includes the point factor evaluations using the City’s Point Factor Job Scoring Rubric for the 19 positions in Batch One. This spreadsheet has been compiled as one tab of a Shared Google Sheet for some Crowe LLP study files - (13) City of Bloomington Summary of Market Pricing Results (DRAFT 11.03.23).pdf
This was one of the deliverables for the Crowe LLP compensation study. From the document’s self description: “This document summarizes the approach and results of the market compensation analysis. This document also provides related observations and recommendations based on the analysis.” - (14) City of Bloomington Summary of Market Pricing Results – APPENDIX B (DRAFT 11.03.23).pdf
This document is a list of job positions and pay ranges with minimum, mid-point, and maximum. The description of the appendix in the file named (13) City of Bloomington Summary of Market Pricing Results (DRAFT 11.03.23).pdf reads as follows:”This appendix applies the Revised Pay Ranges in Collaboration with the City (see Exhibit 6) to each in-scope position.Note: This appendix relies on City position data as of April 12, 2023. However, as discussed throughout the report, we anticipate that several pay grade assignments are subject to change, which will impact the results presented in this appendix. Results are subject to change based on pay grades and the City’s final decision about whether to implement the pay ranges presented in Exhibit 6. This appendix does not apply the Revised Future State Premium Pay Schedule (see Exhibit 7) to in-scope positions. If the City elects to use the Revised Future State Premium Pay Schedule, it will be important for the City to determine which individual jobs are compensated on the premium pay schedule.” - (15) City of Bloomington – Comp. Study Final Status Report (DRAFT 11.14.23).pdf
This is the final Crowe LLP project status report for the work it was supposed to do. It includes a list of activities for the project and their completion dates.
Salary studies are done to justify raises. You don’t do a salary study when everyone is happy with their salary. Prepare yourselves.
Is everyone working for the city happy with their salaries?
Not aware of anyone under the level of leadership/management having an adequate salary to live in Bloomington or even surrounding areas. Perhaps what you are referring to is a need to reduce administrative costs?
This data is already behind since it was intended for budget 2023. The County clearly values their employees more as they provide shorter work weeks (off at 4pm), more holidays time off, and better retention bonuses and grade jumps for staying with the organization. Reading this data it looks like plans pushed by the consulting company will still continue to undervalue years served in a local government organization. Selective choosing on premium job roles is also a strange approach, as it seems there was no data provided about ALL roles that had high turnover and difficulty fulfilling or retaining. To justify two departments – Engineering & ITS – which were stated to already have inflated pay, as premium is quite inequitable. To live in Bloomington all roles need elevated in pay, not just selective ones. Certain roles have higher demand or difficulty and requirements to get the role, so the need for extra premium seems exclusionary. Hope this gets sorted as it has been difficult as a citizen seeking services or help from the city because clearly overworked and underpaid employees are not happy to be there or they leave so often contacts for certain things we call in about change.