DRAFT document for initial review

MPO Executive Director Compensation and Evaluation

 

Executive Director Compensation

●      The range for compensating an Executive Director shall be based on compensation benchmarking updated every three years. Benchmarking may occur through a consultant-led process.

●      Central Transportation Planning Staff has established a Compensation Plan establishing grades and associated salary ranges for all jobs at the agency, including the Executive Director. The Compensation Plan was initially published in 2022 based on a compensation consultant’s 2021 market analysis and benchmarking of those jobs.

○      The salary ranges are typically updated every year by a small percentage based on a minimum assessment.

○      Upon hiring an Executive Director or at a minimum every three years after hiring an Executive Director, a more thorough benchmarking shall be conducted to update the Compensation Plan and ensure that the Executive Director, in addition to staff as a whole, are compensated fairly and competitively. The benchmarking may be based on:

■      A consultant-led market analysis, and

■      Surveying of relevant salaries by staff and board members

○      Every three years, staff shall develop an estimate and determine the viability to update the benchmarking for all jobs or a subset at the agency including the Executive Director. The estimate for the level of benchmarking shall be included in an annual operating budget approved by the A&F Committee.

○      At least every six years, benchmarking will be conducted for all jobs at the agency.

●      Staff performance shall be evaluated annually by their supervisors and adjustments recommended at the discretion of the Executive Director with any approvals required through contracting or other legal obligations. In addition, the Executive Director’s salary shall be reviewed and adjusted after the benchmarking process as well as the evaluation process described in the next section.

○      The MPO Board, as the appointing authority, may at the time of hiring or at any point in the future decide to offer the Executive Director a multi-year employment and compensation agreement, or opt to hire or maintain the Executive Director as an employee at will.

○      The Executive Director is FLSA-exempt.

●      The recommended and approved (if required through contractual obligations) staff adjustments, including the Executive Director, shall be shared with the A&F Committee during annual budget deliberations if feasible, and if not, when they have been approved for the SFY.

 

 

Executive Director Evaluation:

●      The performance of the Executive Director shall be evaluated annually, with an adjustment implemented on the same cycle as the rest of MPO staff, effective the beginning of the State Fiscal Year (July 1).

●      Process:

○      In May, the Executive Director shall complete an evaluation form consistent with the process used by MPO staff or as otherwise directed by the consensus of the Chair, Vice Chair, and Chair of A&F Committee or their designees.

○      In May or June, the Executive Director shall meet with the Chair, Vice Chair, and Chair of A&F Committee or their designees to discuss the evaluation form, including the performance of the prior year and goal-setting for the coming year.

○      The Chair, Vice Chair, and Chair of A&F Committee or their designees shall confer on a salary adjustment for the Executive Director, unless otherwise dictated by an employment contract. That recommendation shall be shared with the Executive Director, who will then share with the Director of Finance for budgeting purposes, by June 15th.

○      If this schedule is not feasible in a given year, any salary adjustment for the Executive Director shall be effective as of the start of the SFY, even if that start has passed.

○      The evaluation form and recommended salary adjustment shall be provided to the Director of Finance for record keeping.

●      The evaluation of the Executive Director shall assess progress towards goals established in the prior year’s evaluation for the coming SFY.  The goals shall be established through the evaluation form submitted each year, and reviewed and updated in consultation with the A&F Committee quarterly.

○      At each quarterly check-in, when the A&F Committee meets to discuss the operating budget of the staff to the MPO, the Executive Director shall report on their progress towards achieving goals and objectives, and offer any suggestions for revising or eliminating any of these goals. The A&F Committee shall submit recommended updates to the annual goals identified in the evaluation form. These recommendations shall be submitted in the form of a memo to the full MPO board for review and approval. If desired, the MPO board may vote by majority to delegate the approval of recommendations to changes in the goals in the evaluation form to the A&F Committee.

○      These quarterly meetings typically occur in February, May, August, and November.

■      At the May meeting, the A&F Committee shall approve the operating budget and assumptions of the Executive Director and staff salary adjustments. At the time, these adjustments may still be generic assumptions.

■      At the August meeting, staff update the operating budget with the approved salary adjustments for staff, including the Executive Director. The A&F Committee shall also review the goals set in the Executive Director evaluation process that occurred in May and June. The A&F Committee shall develop a memo to summarize those goals to the full MPO Board for discussion and approval in August.

■      At the November, February, and May meetings, the Executive Director shall update the A&F Committee members on progress towards those goals. If desired, the A&F committee may recommend adjustments to those goals by submitting a memo and presenting for approval at a following MPO Board meeting.