Sioux Falls employees' pay, benefits largely competitive with comparable cities, study finds

A study about the pay and benefits for employees of Sioux Falls found the city to be a largely competitive employer, though some positions may be below market averages — something city officials say they're in the process of addressing.

The study was the final piece of the city's "Employer of Choice" plan, which was approved in early 2022 and gave a $2,000 bonus to most full-time city employees, increased the rate at which employees accrue vacation time and raised the minimum starting wage to $17.50.

More:Sioux Falls City Council approves $2,000 bonus, other incentives for city employees

Consulting firm Gallagher performed the study, and Principal Consultant Mike Verdoorn presented the results to councilors on Monday afternoon.

The study compared the pay and benefits of 78% of Sioux Falls employees to those of public and private sector jobs in nearby cities including Omaha, Nebraska; Fargo, North Dakota; Sioux City and Des Moines, Iowa, as well as jobs with South Dakota and Minnehaha County.

The city's base salary rates were found to be largely within 90-100% of the median base salary paid to comparable roles among the other markets.

However, eight job titles in the city were found to be below the 90% mark, with the study suggesting they be reviewed. Verdoorn said he didn't have a hard number of how many employees those job titles represented, and which eight job titles they were was also not made clear.

The city's 25 days of paid time off were ahead of the market average of 18.4 days, while the city's 12 days of sick leave were slightly behind the market average of 13.6 days.

Retirement benefits were largely in line with comparable markets, and health insurance premium contributions were found to be less competitive, though the out-of-pocket maximums were also lower.

The study's final recommendations were that overall salary structures did not need to be adjusted, apart from annual increases based on market trends, along with taking a closer look at the jobs that fell below competitive rates.

Director of Human Resources Bill O'Toole said meetings were already being planned with departments where those jobs were located.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: City of Sioux Falls a 'competitive' employer, study finds