Medford Mayor Seeks Overhaul Of Hiring Policy, Waste Removal

MEDFORD, MA — Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn will use grants from the state's Community Compact Grant program to advance two significant policy initiatives.

The grants, for which communities may apply every two years, will fund a comprehensive Wage and Classification Plan and a Solid Waste Task Force.

Lungo-Koehn is reviewing Medford's hiring policies to bring them in line with modern government and to ensure the city is offering competitive salaries relative to nearby communities.

The Solid Waste Task Force will be formed to assess current trash, recycling and composting practices in Medford and to develop waste contracts that are fiscally and environmentally beneficial to the community.

The City of Medford also applied for and was awarded a second Community Compact Grant to advance a Solid Waste Task Force to assess current trash, recycling, and composting practices in Medford and to develop Waste Contracts that are fiscally, environmentally and otherwise beneficial to the community.

"Professionalizing city services and operations has been a focus of my administration since day one. Without the proper tools and practices to serve our community, including attracting and retaining top quality candidates for various government roles, we cannot truly move our city forward," Lungo-Koehn said in a statement. "For decades Medford has relied on antiquated policies, an incredibly outdated City Charter, and general practices that do not serve a diverse, modern city. We need to do better, and the more we can do through grant funding to avoid burdening our taxpayers in the process, the better."

The development of a formal Wage and Classification Plan has been under consideration for several months, building on the mayor's commitment to a professional Human Resources office and maintaining competitive and diverse hiring policies to attract and retain local residents for city roles.

Medford's current wage and classification – or “CAF” – system is outdated and salary ranges often do not meet the needs of potential candidates, the mayor's office said. With assistance from grant funding, the city will hire a consultant to guide a regional study and analysis to develop an updated plan.

"We have an incredibly talented staff team here in City Hall, many of whom serve in their respective roles because they simply love what they do. However, we often find that existing salary ranges and compensation plans are not competitive with our surrounding communities of similar size, and we need to do better for our employees," Lungo-Koehn said. "When it comes to attracting new candidates, we need to be sure our salaries are competitive and appropriate in order to attract top quality candidates rather than risk losing them to other communities."

To develop a Solid Waste Task Force, the mayor's office plans to take a detailed look at the overall waste management practices in the city to inform future waste contracts, particularly as Medford nears the end of its current contract with Waste Management. A Solid Waste Task Force would work to assess and understand equity of current practices, potential options for waste reduction and overall best practices.

In 2020, two Community Compact grants were used to help create the city's first comprehensive Capital Improvement Plan and develop a centralized human resources operation, policy review and new personnel handbook.