Compensation and Classification Study & Analysis

CITY OF COLLEGEDALE, TENNESSEE
Request for Proposal Form
PROJECT NAME:
City of Collegedale - Compensation and Classification Study & Analysis
WHO WE ARE:
The City of Collegedale is a small city in Hamilton County that borders Chattanooga. The city's population is
approximately 12,000 and growing daily. Collegedale was incorporated in 1968, and is home to McKee Foods Corporation,
Southern Adventist University, and other thriving businesses. The City Manager, working under the direction of the City
Commission, guides the city priorities and departments, including Police, Public Works, Parks & Recreation, Finance, HR,
Building & Codes, Airport, Library, and Planning.
WHY ARE WE ISSUING THIS REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP):
The City is seeking proposals for qualified firms to conduct a Compensation and Classification Study & Analysis. This
analysis shall illustrate total compensation for comparable public job classifications. Employee total compensation shall
be compared to similar municipal government employers, local employers, and incorporate private sector data from
existing survey sources into the final analysis. This analysis shall include and review internal pay structure across the
City departments and functions.
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Request for Proposal Form
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CITY OF COLLEGEDALE, TENNESSEE
Request for Proposal Form
WHAT THE CITY EXPECTS IN THE PROPOSAL:
Proposed services:
The proposal for services must, at a minimum, include the following:
* A general description of the firm, including size, primary business, and other business or services offered.
* Identification of the project team who will be the primary contact through all phases of the project, as well
as identification of other personnel who will be performing engagement work and estimated expected
contribution to the project.
* Summary information regarding the qualifications and professional experience of the team that will
perform work under this engagement.
* Description of the firm's experience in providing services to similarly sized government organizations.
* List of references, including at least three (3) municipal clients for which services have been provided
which are similar to those in the Scope of Services of this document. References should include client
name, address, telephone number and e-mail address for the contact person in each organization.
* Description of the firm's understanding of the requested services including the proposed approach, specific
project steps including detailed information regarding the number and length of onsite work, timeline to
include specific milestones, and interim and final work products. Innovative approaches concepts,
especially those reducing project cost, are encouraged.
* Proposals shall provide a statement as to whether any portion of the work performed under this proposal
will be subcontracted or performed under a partnership of joint venture. Information on such entities must
be included in the proposal such as related experience and qualifications of assigned staff.
* Proposal shall state whether any survey information will be obtained from centralized data sources; for
example BLS, proprietary survey banks, etc.
* Submission should also include interim and final report formats.
Costs:
* Proposed costs must include travel for two (2) days for on-site presentations.
* Proposals shall include a contingency allowance for unforeseen items arising during the course of the project.
The contingency amount shall be clearly identified and may only be used with City approval.
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Request for Proposal Form
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CITY OF COLLEGEDALE, TENNESSEE
Request for Proposal Form
PROJECT SCOPE & DETAILS:
BACKGROUND
As of July 1, 2026, the City will have 89 budgeted full-time positions and 14 budgeted part-time positions, with all
newly authorized positions anticipated to be filled by January 2027.
The City's current compensation structure is adapted from the 2019 pay study and has been further refined through
City administration recommendations and market research of salary data from comparable municipalities and
employers. The City's pay structure emphasizes consistency and internal equity by maintaining uniform base pay
within individual job classifications. Rather than utilizing a formal step progression system, the City recognizes
employee longevity and ongoing service through its annual Retention & Incentive Plan.
The City Commission has historically provided an annual Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for employees; however,
the amount is variable and determined each year based on budgetary considerations and economic conditions.
There are supplemental pay enhancements such as police FTO, uniform allowance, call back, and other specialty pays
to be considered.
The City's last comprehensive update was in 2019 and implemented in part in Fiscal Year 2020. All job descriptions are
in Microsoft Word format and have been updated with respect to current job tasks.
SCOPE OF SERVICES
The City would like to update the current total compensation to provide market comparative compensation to
employees. The City is requesting proposals for the following areas of work.
* Classification & Compensation Study & Analysis
* Job Audit and Analysis
* Final Report Requirements
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CITY OF COLLEGEDALE, TENNESSEE
Request for Proposal Form
REQUIRED DELIVERABLES FOR THIS PROJECT:
Compensation and Classification Study & Analysis
The selected firm shall provide information collected through both previous project experience and a custom survey of
market-comparable organizations in order to complete the following:
1. Conduct an analysis of the City's pay ranges as compared to the external labor market, including comparable
cities and counties and potentially comparable private employers, and make recommendations for changes to
the pay ranges. This analysis must include job duties and responsibilities and not just titles.
2. Recommend a Compensation and Classification plan establishing a competitive market position to support all
full-time and part-time jobs by providing compensation analysis using recommended sources, but must
include data from comparative cities and counties, as well as potentially evaluating private sector data, where
appropriate for hard-to-fill/critical positions.
3. Recommend pay structure features that will provide opportunities for advancement, including consideration
of career lattices/pathways when assessing and revising the job classification plan.
4. Conduct an analysis of the City's Supplemental pay enhancements as compared to the external labor market,
including comparable cities and counties and potentially comparable private employers. This analysis must
include criteria for the supplemental pay, pay frequency, and any restrictions or limitations.
5. Recommend Supplemental pay additions, changes or improvements to encourage career advancement and
improve recruitment efforts.
6. Recommend policies on how to compensate for hard-to-fill or critical positions, such as engineers and other
specialized or highly competitive roles, where competition for talent is strong.
7. Recommend placement of current employees upon implementation within the appropriate classifications,
including addressing any pay equity concerns that may arise.
8. Recommend methods for rewarding higher skills/responsibilities or achievements without necessarily making
employees a supervisor/manager.
9. Recommend pay progression methods to include sound practices to prevent salary bypassing and mitigate pay
compression. Implementation recommendations must address any pay equity issues discovered as part of this
compensation analysis.
10. Recommend best practices regarding flexible scheduling and the impact on compensation.
11. Prepare cost analysis for implementation of recommended changes to the pay and classification system,
including any supplemental pay changes.
12. Ensure internal equity between positions occurs by reviewing job descriptions and ensuring that positions
performing similar work with the same level of complexity, responsibility, knowledge, skills, and abilities are
classified together.
13. Compare performance and incentive pay practices with comparable cities, counties, and other market
comparatives.
14. Provide recommendations on all aspects of pay plan, including structure, best practices for annual salary scale
adjustments (e.g., COLA, matching Social Security CPI, etc.).
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CITY OF COLLEGEDALE, TENNESSEE
Request for Proposal Form
REQUIRED DELIVERABLES (CONTINUED)
Job Audit and Analysis
The selected firm will:
1. Evaluate current FLSA classifications for all full-time positions
2. Gather necessary employee information using job analysis questionnaires
3. Conduct meetings with Department Heads to understand the structure, scope, and responsibilities of each
full-time position
4. Information will be used to analyze the duties and responsibilities of each employee and position to determine
the following:
a. Whether individual employees are appropriately classified.
b. Whether a position should be moved to a different job classification and/or pay grade.
c. Whether position titles are appropriate compared to market data.
d. Other recommendations as identified during the analysis.
The consultant shall also:
Provide guidelines for implementing future structure adjustments and how the adjustments should impact employee
pay; these guidelines should be based on a methodology that allows the City to determine market-based salary
adjustments consistent with maintaining a competitive position in the market, considering relative competing fiscal
demands and financial constraints.
Provide a detailed description of the procedure, methodology, and tools that will be followed to develop a process for
the benchmarking and reclassification of existing and new positions.
Job Descriptions
1. All full-time job descriptions will be evaluated after review of job analysis audit.
2. Recommendations will be made to revise, create, or consolidate titles.
3. Job descriptions should be established in a standardized format which is ADA and FLSA compliant.
4. Final job descriptions adjustments provided to the City, with allowance for one set of revisions included in the
project cost
Compensation and Classification Final Report requirements
The final report must include, at a minimum:
1. Methods used to conduct the salary survey results and methodology of job evaluation
2. Summarize position comparison data
3. Recommended classification plan
4. Recommended pay structures
5. Recommendations to maintain future market competitiveness
6. Any other relevant recommendations identified during the analysis
The successful firm will be expected to work with management during all phases of this project, including onsite
meetings, and will be expected to present the final recommendations to the Board of Commissioners.
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CITY OF COLLEGEDALE, TENNESSEE
Request for Proposal Form
EXPECTATIONS - PROJECT TIMELINE:
Sign Contract July 2026
May vary, but generally any time after execution of
Project Start Date
agreement.
Final Draft Report submitted for administration review November 5, 2026
Presentation of Final Report to City Commission December 7, 2026
SELECTION CRITERIA:
The city will evaluate the proposals and choose the best bid. The primary evaluation factors to be considered are ability to
meet or exceed the requirements of the request and the total cost. Determination of meeting or exceeding the requirements
of the proposal will, among other factors, be based on experience, qualifications, familiarity with requested services, past
performance, quality of proposal, and proposed timeline. All proposals will be reviewed to determine compliance with
requirements of the RFP.
Primary factors in the evaluation include, but will not necessarily be limited to:
* Firm's demonstrated experience in providing similar services to municipal clients as identified in the Scope of
Services.
* Staff's demonstrated qualifications and expertise regarding relevant experience with municipal clients.
* The ability of the firm to provide the requested services as demonstrated in the proposal.
* Firm's past record of performance, if any, with respect to quality of work and ability to meet stated timelines.
* The quality, conciseness, and completeness of the proposal.
* Project timeline.
* Proposed fees. NOTE: Base project costs from the optional Employee Benefits Survey will be evaluated as part of
the overall project.
Evaluation Criteria Points
Previous background and experience relevant to this RFP, including services
15
provided to similar clients of comparable type and size.
Experience designing and implementing pay plans and overall compensation
systems, gathering data, performing job analysis and evaluation, and 15
conducting and analyzing salary survey data.
Thoroughness of material submitted, including the proposed work plan and
5
type of service provided.
Consultant's conceptual approach and process related to scope of work,
including ability to manage and coordinate effectively with City staff. This will 15
also include the ability to train staff in administering the program.
Qualifications of project staff, including internal staff and/or staff that may be
10
involved in duties being outsourced.
Cost of Services proposed. Fee proposals should outline fees for each discrete
15
element of the Compensation and Classification study and categories of direct
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CITY OF COLLEGEDALE, TENNESSEE
Request for Proposal Form
expenses that are not included within the fee proposal and an estimated budget
for these expenses.
Projected time frame, from beginning to a prompt project completion date. 15
References. References should be from agencies that are similar to the City of
10
Collegedale and projects similar in nature.
TOTAL POINTS 100
TITLE VI COMPLIANCE
It is the policy of the City of Collegedale to ensure compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; 49 CFR, Part
21; related statutes and regulations to the end that no person shall be excluded from participation in or denied benefits, or
be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance from the U.S.
Department of Transportation, or otherwise, on the grounds of race, color, sex, or national origin.
Upon receipt, all submittal information shall become property of the City of Collegedale and public record, without
compensation to the responding firms, for disposition or usage by the City of Collegedale at its discretion.
RFP TIMELINE*:
RFP posting June 2, 2026
All questions must be received by June 16, 2026
Addendum posted (if needed) June 18, 2026
Proposals due July 1, 2026
RFP ranking period July 2026
Proposal Selection July 2026
*Timeline is subject to change at the city's discretion
INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS:
The city will immediately evaluate and select a potential candidate, based on the best bid. All bidders submitting
proposals must be willing and capable to immediately enter into a contract with the city and perform services identified
in proposal. The following insurance limits establish the minimum requirements:
Worker's Compensation: $1,000,000
Employer's Liability:
Each accident: $1,000,000
Disease, policy limit $1,000,000
Disease, each employee: $1,000,000
General Liability:
Each occurrence: $1,000,000
Aggregate: $2,000,000
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CITY OF COLLEGEDALE, TENNESSEE
Request for Proposal Form
Automobile Liability: $1,000,000
Professional Liability: (For professional services only, e.g., engineering, and financial services)
Each claim: $1,000,000
Aggregate: $2,000,000
SUBMITTING PROPOSALS:
To be considered, firms must submit a proposal by mail under one cover and shall be submitted on no more than twenty
(20) single sided 8 12" x 11" pages, including the cover page and table of contents. Proposals also must include qualifications
of the firm, scope of services to be completed by any sub-consultants, and acknowledgement of any Addenda published on
the City website.
Please submit your proposal in a sealed envelope labeled:
"RFP Response for Compensation and Classification Study - DO NOT OPEN WITH REGULAR MAIL"
Delivery Address:
City of Collegedale
Kristen Boyd, Director of HR & Risk Management
4910 Swinyar Dr.
Ooltewah, TN 37363
Mailing Address:
City of Collegedale
Kristen Boyd, Director of HR & Risk Management
P.O. Box 1880
Collegedale, TN 37315
A minimum of three (3) hard copies must be submitted. All proposals must be received by the City of Collegedale on or
before 4:00 p.m. EST July 1, 2026, and the project name referenced on the submittal.
For additional details regarding this project, please contact Kristen Boyd at 423-468-1963 or by email at
kboyd@collegedaletn.gov.
All questions related to this Request for Proposals must be received electronically no later than June 16, 2026. All questions
received after said date will not be considered. If questions are received, the City will post one addendum on the city
website by 5:00 p.m. EST June 18, 2026.
Attachments:
1. FY 2027 Budgeted Employees by Department
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ATTACHMENT #1
The City employees are budgeted into the following departments:
Grand
Department Full-time Part-Time
Total
Admin (Including Finance & HR) 8 8
Airport 1 4 5
Library 5 4 9
IT 2 2
Court 3 1 4
Building & Codes 5 3 8
Parks & Recreation 2 2
Planning 1 1
Police 34 2 36
Public Works 25 25
Sewer 3 3
Grand Total 89 14 103
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