Page 19 - CityofSouthlakeFY25AdoptedBudget

the City’s budget. Going forward, as the City ages and new development slows along with other revenue,
carefully balancing tax obligations with service delivery and other financial management standards will be
an important multi-year sustainability consideration.

Goal: Employer of Choice
The City Council has established as part of the City’s strategy that Southlake will be an employer of choice.
An element of that strategy is to maintain and administer an adopted compensation philosophy and system.
City Council adopted its current compensation system on August 6, 2013, and amended it mid-year in FY
2022. The system supports the City’s strategic approach, provides for a financially sustainable model, and Budget Overview
ensures a fair and predictable method of career progression and internal equity.

The compensation system establishes a defined labor market, market position, pay structure, and plan for
movement through the pay ranges. The City has established a market compensation target and, on average,
endeavors to pay better than 70% of the designated labor market for general government employees and
better than 85% of the market for sworn public safety personnel.

As a service industry, more than 70% of the City’s General Fund budgeted expenditures are related to
personnel costs. Managing total compensation expenses is a key component of sound fiscal management.
This budget recognizes and addresses the competitive labor market and the need to recruit and retain
strong talent. In alignment with the City’s established compensation philosophy, the FY 2025 Adopted
Operating Budget includes funding for a 4.5% market adjustment for public safety personnel and a 3.5%
market adjustment for general government personnel. The budget impact of compensation and benefits in
the General Fund is $1,276,938 and $501,938 for all other funds.

Benefits also make up a key component in remaining competitive within the labor market. The City recently
renewed a contract agreement with Cigna for health and dental insurance. Medical and prescription claims
continue to be high, and the renewal includes a 6.9% increase for health insurance and 2.5% for dental
insurance. For FY 2025, the budget also increases the employee’s share as well as the City’s contribution
towards the cost of employee dependent coverage to maintain competitive health insurance rates with the
labor market. The cost of the additional health insurance increase is approximately $394,000 (all funds).

Personnel expenses support the focus area of Performance
Management and Service Delivery, and the Strategic Corporate
Objective of “Attracting, developing, and retaining a talented
and motivated workforce for lasting world-class performance.”

FY 2025 City of Southlake | Budget Book 19