In keeping with the above mandate, the Corporation, through a sole source process, reference #868 and subsequent Delegation of Authority to execute a contract CAO4823 hired Annetts and Associates “the consultant” to perform the salary market review for 2017 and 2018. Prior to conducting the 2017/2018 salary market review it was recommended to Council in Report C128/2019 “Appendix A” by Administration, the Salary Market Comparison Committee “the committee”, and the Consultant that the methodology remain consistent for the 2017/2018 review with the exception of a change to one comparator municipality and four comparator positions. The recommendation was approved through Council Resolution CR326/2019. The summary report from Annetts and Associates is attached as “Appendix B” for re view and reference. The report compared the non union employee group to similar positions with the market comparator group.

The consultant’s findings show the Corporation’s average wage for non union employees has remained above the 50 th percentile when assessed with our comparable municipalities. The average percentage salary increases for participating municipalities in 2017 and 2018 respectively were 1.4% and 1.5%. While the City of Windsor’s increases of 1.25% for both 2017 and 2018 were lower than the market comparators, the corporation continued to remain slightly above the 50 th percentile. According to the consultant, this result is not unexpected and was explained in the following excerpt of the report that read: “Most major market adjustments l ast approximately 3-5 years depending on the activity of the market. Other municipal organizations work towards maintaining a market position within the 50th – 65th percentile range. The process of maintaining salary positioning within the market becomes what can best be described as a game of leapfrog. The frequency of market reviews with other organizations varies from every 2 to 5 years. This means that other organizations “leap” to new market positions at variable times and any market corrections that the City makes has short term benefits.” As a result of the 2015/2016 salary market review, in order to achieve the 50th percentile, salaries for the non union group were adjusted by 2.7% and 3.1% respectively. Such adjustments may have temporarily placed the corporation in a higher placement in the “game of leapfrog”.

Continuing to maintain no less than the 50 th percentile for wages not only satisfies our agreement with CANUE and our Senior Management staff but also provides reassurance that the Corporation has the proper staff complement to provide uninterrupted services to citizens. With an increasing number of employees eligible for retirement, (approximately 29% in the next 5 years) coupled with the fact that it is becoming increasingly difficult to recruit younger workers into the municipal sector, the Corporation has been focusing on succession planning, recruitment and retention strategies. In order for promotions, retention, attraction and succession planning to succeed, the salary provided needs to continue being at no less than the 50 th percentile of the wages of comparable municipalities. Understanding that the municipality is unable to compete with the private sector, in relation to wages, a review of the private sector is not undertaken.