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website and give the public an opportunity to review and make comments with a possibility of a Council workshop if it is believed it is necessary after reviewing commentary from the public. He said the original premise of benchmarking was established through what was called a "total quality control process" or the "continuance improvement process." The intent of this process was to benchmark with not similar industries and he believed it was important for the City to look at the private sector to evaluate comparability, which should be based on total compensation. He noted there tended to be a general concern amongst cities that there is no similarity between cities and the private sector, and cities are unique when compared to the private sector. For public safety positions, staff could look at comparable skill sets or levels and look at the next level for comparison purposes because of the danger associated with these positions. For some time it has been assumed that cities and public sectors tend to be better to employees on the back end of their career rather than the front end of their career. In the private sector, the packages for wages and salaries up front are better than those of cities and public employees. He noted that cash profit sharing is a benefit that is cities cannot take advantage of. Instead of taking money and putting it into retirement plans and benefit packages, many private companies have decided to match what employees put into their 401 K plans. He believed Council needed a wage and salary strategy that included an analysis based on a comparison with the private sector because he believed there are some market forces that would make City employees more competitive in the private sector, and Council needed to make sure the City's wage and salary system was competitive with the private sector. It was moved by Mr. Thorne, seconded by Mr. Sullivan, to adopt Resolution 05- 083, a resolution setting compensation for management and confidential employees of the City of Pleasanton, and to direct staff to prepare a written description of the structure and process involved in the City's wage and salary program to be reviewed by Council and the public and posted on the City's website for comment. After this process has been completed, Council should decide at a regular Council meeting whether it is appropriate to hold a separate workshop if it is determined that it enhances the public process. To direct staff to prepare a recommended process including cost of conducting a total compensation benchmarking process, including specialized consulting services estimated at a cost of approximately $25,000, with the private sector to make sure the City's wage and salary system is competitive with the private sector. Mr. Sullivan acknowledged management staff for its dedication and hard work. He believed the City had done an adequate job in looking at comparable cities and the Consumer Price Index and other market pictures and has arrived at an adjustment for salaries based on this analysis. He reminded Council it needed to remember that the City is a business that provides services to its community, and Council needed to reward employees for outstanding performance and motivate employees to keep this performance level ongoing. He believed information related to this matter had been made available to the public. He believed the proposed increase to the salary control points for each management and confidential classification was appropriate and he supported the 3.50/0 adjustment as proposed by staff. While he supported the concepts as presented by staff, he reminded Council that this particular matter was raised as a potential priority at both priority setting sessions that Council conducted and it did not receive a high enough ranking to become a priority. With the amount of priorities that Council has set, he supported a comparison of city salaries with the private sector to evaluate comparability the next time Council begins the process to consider compensation for City management and confidential employee representatives. He believed Council should consider this matter as part of the City's long-term fiscal picture as it completes the City's General Plan and towards build-out, and how the City would remain fiscally viable after build- Pleasanton City Council Minutes 7 11/1 5/05