Scope of the Study To merge the pay plans of the PTCOG and NWPCOG and to produce an Assignment of Classes to Grades for the new organization effective July 1, 2011 To prepare an employee allocation list assigning each employee to a title and salary grade and to calculate costs associated with bringing all employees to the minimum of the assigned grade To recommend an organizational structure under which the new regional council could begin operations Subsequently added, make recommendations on a benefits package

Pay Comparisons Data was collected from both COGs Salary data was collected from the four largest and most relevant COGs in the state: Charlotte, Raleigh/Durham, Asheville and Hickory The local government labor market of Greensboro, High Point, Winston-Salem, Guilford County and Forsyth County was also a factor Recommendations were vetted with several departments heads in both organizations and with the two executive directors

Results of the Study PTCOG’s pay plan has been competitive with the urban, local government labor market and with the largest urban COGs; NWPCOG’s pay plan was competitive in some areas but lagged significantly behind in most classes ( Workforce, Housing, Aging and Criminal Justice) The adoption of the recommended pay plan and the proposed organizational structure will result in many employees getting salary increases in order to come to the new minimum – all but three of those employees are currently employed with the NWPCOG

Example Recommended starting salary for Long-Term Care Ombudsman - $ 39,883 Actual salary for NWPCOG Ombudsman - $33,912 Increase needed to come to the minimum of the new range - $5,971

Results of the Study - Implementation Implement the recommendations all at one time: Costly for one year Too late for most programs to absorb the increases for next year Implement over two years: If someone fails to meet the minimum qualifications for the new job, increases with come when the requirements have been met, i.e. master’s degree If someone meets the qualifications but is below the minimum, that employee will be brought to the minimum in two years

Results of the Study – Alternative? An alternative that will result in lower implementation costs is to decrease the minimum starting salary for each classification Will not be competitive with other large NC COGs Will not be competitive with urban local governments who are the primary competition for good employees Will not recognize the significance of the work that the regional council will be performing

Organizational Structure

Proposed Organization Structure Three meetings were held with the two executive directors to discuss organizational issues These recommendations are based on 36 years working in a COG and 18 of those years as executive director It would be the structure I would want if I were to be the new executive director Has been reviewed and agreed upon by both executive directors Has retained or improved the position of almost every employee Does not recommend an assistant director now; there is an assistant director in the pay plan

Piedmont Triad Regional Council – Executive Management Team Executive Director Kim Dawkins Berry Aging Director Paul Kron Planning Director Althea Hairston Workforce Development Director Matt Reece Administration and Member Services Director Robin Howell Criminal Justice Program Director Robin Shelton Finance Director Rebecca Kassner Housing Director

Benefits

Recommended Vacation Accrual Rate Years of ServiceNWPCOGPTCOGRecommended < to to to to

Recommended Holidays Holiday ObservedNWPCOGPTCOGRecommended New Year's Day111 MLK's Birthday111 Good Friday111 Memorial Day111 Independence Day111 Labor Day111 Veterans Day101 Thanksgiving222 Christmas2.532/3

Recommended Sick Leave Accrual Rate Both NWPCOG and PTCOG give one day per month for sick leave which is standard local government practice. It is recommended the sick leave accrual rate remain at one day per month.

Supplemental Deferred Compensation – 401(K) NWPCOGPTCOGRecommended 2.5%2.0%2.5%

Recommended Longevity Pay Plan Years of ServiceNWPCOGPTCOGRecommended 0 to 40.00% 0 5 to 90.00%2.00% 10 to %2.75% 15 to %3.50% 20 to %4.50% %

Longevity Facts 84 employees will be coming into the new organization with total salaries of $3,711,000 Average length of service of all employees is 13.2 years 75% of the employees will qualify for longevity under the proposed recommendation (more than five years of service) 12% of the employees will have greater than 20 years of service; 26% have greater than 15 years of service

Recommended Life Insurance NWPCOGPTCOGRecommended $30,000$25,000$30,000 * * Retain the life insurance provision under the NC Local Governmental Employees’ Retirement System

Health Insurance The two COGs have significantly different approaches to providing health insurance: PTCOG – traditional BCBS, premium based program, good benefits, $500 employee deductible, $636 per month premium NWPCOG – high deductible that is underwritten by an insurance reserve, $250 employee deductible, $433 per month premium Staffs of two COGs have been working on health insurance and will very likely recommend the NWPCOG model be adopted Current PTCOG COBRA employees WILL NOT be allowed to continue under new plan

Retiree Access to Health Insurance Not addressed as a recommendation Most state and local governments offer some type of free retiree health insurance or at least access to purchase Neither PTCOG or NWPCOG offer retiree health insurance currently Is a major gap in a competitive benefits package