Marietta City Council Approves Citywide Compensation Study

MARIETTA, GA — Marietta city staff will soon know how their pay compares to other metro Atlanta city and county employees.

Marietta City Council members voted 5-2 at a council work session Monday to authorize a contract between the city and an outside firm for a citywide compensation study. The contract was approved for up to $55,000, with council members Johnny Walker and Andy Morris voting in opposition.

The compensation study was first suggested by Council Member Cheryl Richardson last month, according to the Marietta Daily Journal, after several people complained at a council meeting that Marietta police officers were leaving due to low pay and benefits. Richardson said at the time that she had been considering suggesting a pay study before those complaints arose.

Walker and Morris voted against the measure, both saying that they preferred an internal study rather than contracting with an outside firm, the MDJ reported.

“The reason I voted against conducting a Comprehensive Compensation Study/Survey is because I feel our City manager and staff are very much on top of things and using an outside source will only tell us what we already know,” Walker told the MDJ in an email.

Morris said the $55,000 cost was not justified as the city "already does a good job of making sure its employees are paid well," according to the MDJ. He also said the police vacancies are not due to low pay and benefits, but rather an increased "negative response" to policing in recent months.

Richardson said she agreed with Walker and Morris, saying City Manager Bill Bruton and Human Resources Director Davy Godfrey are "probably 85 percent on the mark" when it comes to employee pay and benefits, but stressed that an independent study is needed.

Read more on the MDJ's website.