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Home My WebLink About01/12/2026 - Meeting Minutes Meeting Minutes Citizens’ Compensation Advisory Committee January 12, 2026 Members Present: J. Clair Baldwin (Chair) Leandro Tane (Vice-Chair) Brandon Dew Mike Terry Casey Lund Tia Larsen David Warnock Members Excused: N/A Staff Present: David Salazar, Compensation Manager Michael Jenson, Senior Compensation Analyst Penny Lopez, Senior HR Technician Lori Gaitin, Benefits Manager David Buchanan, Chief Human Resources Officer Melissa Green, Deputy Chief Human Resources Officer Guests: Zach Jeppson, President SLC Firefighters’ Local 81 (IAFF) Jerry Philpot, AFSCME 1004 A recording of these proceedings is on the file and available for review by request from the SLC-HR department. Meeting Open & Welcome, establish quorum: Chair Baldwin opened the meeting and welcomed attendees. New city council appointee welcome, David Warnock: The Chair introduced a new committee member, David Warnock, who briefly shared his background. Mr. Warnock is currently the Human Resources Director for Summit County, a role he has held for five years. Prior to that, he served as the HR Director for the Unified Police Department. Review & adopt October 6, 2025, meeting minutes: Tia Larsen motioned to approve the October 6, 2025, meeting minutes, Mike Terry seconded the motion. Members voted in favor of adopting and approving the minutes with Brandon Dew abstaining from the vote as he wasn’t in attendance during the October meeting. Public comment: None Review of 2025-26 labor market, economic, and related salary budget reports and information: SLC Compensation Manager, David Salazar, led the discussion and shared multiple articles and salary budget surveys from various sources highlighting what the labor market has experienced, current state, and what is being forecast/planned. Also highlighted were some strategic recommendations from Salary.com and information shared on what initiatives Salt Lake City has taken that is in alignment with these recommendations. 1. The Big Picture: A “Frozen” Labor Market The national labor market is currently characterized by high stability but low mobility. • Stagnant Mobility: Employees are hesitant to leave current roles, and employers have shifted into a cautious mode with limited new hiring. • Sector Divergence: While most sectors are cooling down, Healthcare and Government remain the primary engines of growth. These sectors accounted for over half of all job gains in 2024 and 2025, driven largely by post-pandemic shifts. • Wage Anomalies: Public sector demand has shattered the traditional 3% wage increase cycle, with some government roles seeing surges of 5% to 7%. 2. Local Spotlight: Utah's "Low Hire, Low Fire" Economy Utah mirrors the national trend of cautious stability but remains more resilient than the US average. • Unemployment: Utah’s rate sits at approximately 3.6%–4.0%, consistently outperforming the national average (approx. 4.6%). • Employer Sentiment: Companies are avoiding mass layoffs but are equally hesitant to expand headcounts, maintaining a wait-and-see approach. 3. Compensation Trends & 2026 Projections Employers are lowering their salary growth expectations as the competition for talent cools. Only 34% of employers express concern over attracting talent—a significant 19% drop from last year. • Projected 2026 Salary Increases: The consensus across major studies (Payscale, WTW, SHRM, Salary.com, WorldatWork) points toward a standardized 3.5% total increase budget. Category Projected Increase Key Driver National Average/Median 3.5% Economic uncertainty and cooling market. Government Sector 4.0% Continued high demand for essential services. Large Orgs (2k-5k FTEs) 3.6% Higher stability in larger corporations. Utah (Statewide) 3.4%-3.5% Slightly more conservative than the Government Sector average. • Projected 2026 Salary Structure Increase: Along with salary increase budgets Salary.com and WorldatWork also looked at how organizations are budgeting for annual salary structure increases, which is planned for 2.5%. This committee has paid closer attention to this category in recent years to help ensure employees are advancing through the range. Review of preliminary results of 2025-26 local area benchmark market pay analysis: SLC Senior Compensation Analyst, Michael Jenson, provided an overview of the committee’s prior compensation methodology, explaining the use of median data due to its lower volatility with larger employee groups. He noted that the data represents a snapshot in time. He also explained that the committee began projecting market adjustments forward last year to avoid lagging market conditions, which have served the city well, and the same is reflected in the study this year. As has been done in prior years, breakout groups have been created due to the difference in evaluation methodology. Those groups include Non-Represented, AFSCME, and Public Safety roles. Michael highlighted the differences for each breakout group and showed the preliminary results for Salt Lake City’s comparison against the market highlighting which jobs are lagging the market. He then explained that the Public Safety breakout is still in progress and will be prepared to share at the next meeting. Each breakout group methodology is as follows: • Non-Represented o Salt Lake City Median Wage compared to the Competitive Market’s Median Wage ▪ If there are no current employees, the compensation grade midpoint (City Market Rate) is used. • AFSCME o Salt Lake City Wage Schedule Topped Out Rate compared to the Competitive Market’s Median Wage • Public Safety o Salt Lake City Wage Schedule Entry and Topped Out Rates compared to the Competitive Market’s Entry and Topped Out Rates Committee discussion of topics and/or recommendations to be included in the Committee’s 2026 annual report: The committee then discussed the content and format of the report presented annually to the City Council. Chair Baldwin stated that the Council is familiar with the current format, which has been consistent over several years. Members were encouraged to review last year’s report and suggest any improvements or additional information at the next meeting. No members proposed changes at this time. Chair Baldwin recommended maintaining the existing format unless there is a strong justification for change, emphasizing the importance of not overwhelming the Council with excessive information. The committee agreed that any final decisions regarding report content would be made collectively. Unfinished Business No additional business was raised. Confirm next meeting The Committee is scheduled to meet again on January 26, 2026, starting at 3:30 PM Adjourn Meeting A motion to adjourn was made by Brandon Dew and seconded by Mike Terry. With no opposition, the meeting was adjourned at 4:55 PM