TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: Diego Chavez, Administrative Services Director
PREPARED BY: Michelle Tamez, Senior Human Resources Analyst
SUBJECT:
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Amending and Restating the Comprehensive Pay Schedule for Fiscal Year 2025/26
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RECOMMENDATION
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Adopt Resolution No. 25-4902 entitled: A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Murrieta, California, Amending and Restating the Comprehensive Pay Schedule for Fiscal Year 2025/26.
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PRIOR ACTION/VOTE
On June 17, 2025, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 25-4844, Approving the Comprehensive Pay Schedule for Fiscal Year 2025/26 (Vote: 5-0).
On August 19, 2025, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 25-4880, Amending and Restating the Comprehensive Pay Schedule for Fiscal Year 2025/26 (Vote: 5-0).
CITY COUNCIL GOAL
Maintain a high performing organization that values fiscal sustainability, transparency, accountability and organizational efficiency.
DISCUSSION
The City of Murrieta (City) maintains a Comprehensive Pay Schedule (Pay Schedule) that is regularly presented to the City Council for review and consideration. Employees of the City receive a rate of pay within the established pay range for their job classification. The Pay Schedule is maintained in compliance with State regulations and is intended to ensure transparency and consistency when reporting compensation for City employees to the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS).
The Pay Schedule is also intended to satisfy the requirements of the Public Employees Retirement Law and California Code of Regulations (CCR) at 2 CCR 570.5 that public agencies contracting with CalPERS adopt a “Publicly Available Pay Schedule” for purposes of determining an employees’ “compensation earnable,” that is used to calculate retirement benefits.
The positions listed in the Pay Schedule may not necessarily be budgeted or funded in any given fiscal year. The City Council authorizes and funds specific positions during the adoption of the biennial budget and ongoing budget updates.
According to the City’s Personnel Rules (Resolution No. 91-64), the City Manager recommends adjustments to the Pay Schedule as salaries are adjusted and negotiated, and job classifications are created or revised. The proposed Resolution No. 25-4902 (Attachment 1) amends and restates the Pay Schedule for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025/26 previously adopted under Resolution No. 25-4844, and most recently amended by the adoption of Resolution No. 25-4880. The changes to the Pay Schedule are described in more detail below.
• If the proposed resolution is adopted, a compensation range will be added for the new classification of Economic Development Assistant. This entry-level program-focused position will assume the lower-level tasks previously handled by the former Business Development Program Manager, a position that has remained vacant since May 2025. No additional funding is required for this new position. The Business Development Program Manager remains a budgeted position; however, it will not be filled and will be removed from the Schedule of Authorized Positions. A portion of the existing funding will be used to create this new position, and the remaining funds will be used to create the Director of Executive Services position described in the next bullet.
This new classification is being allocated to MGEA pursuant to Section 11 and Section 13 of the City’s Employer-Employee Relations Resolution (Resolution No. 93-214). The City has met and conferred with the Murrieta General Employees’ Association (MGEA) regarding the new classification and compensation range as required by the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (MMBA), Government Code 3500 et seq. and the Employer-Employee Relations Resolution.
• If the proposed resolution is adopted, a compensation range will be added for the new classification of Director of Executive Services, as recommended by the City Manager. This new classification will provide strategic leadership and coordination to implement the policies and priorities established by the Mayor, City Council, and City Manager. The Director will oversee high-level administrative program areas, which may include communications, policy, legislative affairs, and City Council relations. It will ensure organizational performance, fiscal responsibility, and effective communication across all levels of government and the community. The position is unrepresented and will be covered under the Management, Professional, and Confidential Employees’ Compensation Plan.
The position will be filled by promoting the Assistant to the City Manager as part of a reorganization in which the Assistant to the City Manager position will not be backfilled and will be removed from the Schedule of Authorized Positions. The combination of the funding already budgeted for that position,the savings from downgrading the Business Program Manager position (as described in the bullet above), and savings from other City Manager Office ongoing expenses will make the creation of this new Director classification cost-neutral.
• If the proposed resolution is adopted, the compensation range for the Fire Prevention Battalion Chief, who serves as the City’s Fire Marshal, will be updated to match the 40-Hour (Administrative) Battalion Chief compensation range. This alignment was the original intention when the position was created in 2022, but the pay ranges have since diverged because the positions belong to different bargaining groups and have received different cost-of-living adjustments. The range is proposed to be increased by $12,143 (6.24%).
• If the proposed resolution is adopted, the compensation range for the Senior Recreation Supervisor will be increased by $859.88 (0.78%). This adjustment addresses an issue where the pay for this higher-level role was not adequately set above the pay for the Recreation Supervisor, creating a compaction issue. The City has met and conferred with the Murrieta Supervisors’ Association (MSA) regarding the compensation range as required by the MMBA, Government Code 3500 et seq.
The proposed updates will be effective as of December 14, 2025, which is the first day of the current pay period. A revised Schedule of Authorized Positions for FY 2025/26, reflecting this change, will be brought back to the City Council as part of the FY 2025/26 Q2 Budget Report.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with amending the Pay Schedule. All required funding was included in the Operating Budget for Fiscal Year 2025/26.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Resolution No. 25-4902