Zuckerman to author ordinance mandating minimum, target fund balances
Salary survey update indicates 2022 pay overhaul ’terribly successful’
Strong-Thompson outlines full cost of city employee compensation
Employees urge caution on benefits and COLA
MANDEVILLE — Members of the city’s Income Strategies Committee on Monday examined employee compensation, health insurance costs and the city’s large fund balances as they continued discussions about the city’s long-term fiscal strategy.
The roughly hourlong meeting focused on the cost of employee benefits and the size of the city’s reserves, while several employees urged officials not to reduce benefits or freeze cost-of-living raises.
The committee did not take any votes and will meet again after additional financial comparisons are prepared.
Download the meeting transcript here.
Salary survey finds most pay competitive
Human Resources Director Joanna Anderson presented highlights of a draft compensation study conducted by consulting firm SSA.
The survey found the city’s current pay plan is generally competitive with the market, a result Anderson attributed largely to cost-of-living adjustments implemented in recent years. 
The study identified only a few positions where entry-level pay was more than 3 percent below market levels, including planner positions, maintenance workers and entry-level police officers. 
Committee member Becky Rohrbaugh, however, said her own review of the report showed that only four positions out of 51 analyzed were below market benchmarks.
“That sort of confirms what I suspected,” Rohrbaugh said, adding that the city’s compensation plan overhaul, which was initiated by Mayor Clay Madden and adopted by the City Council in 2022, had been “terribly successful” in bringing employees within market ranges.
Council member highlights rising benefit costs
Councilwoman Cynthia Strong-Thompson presented a separate analysis examining the full cost of employing city workers, including benefits and taxes.
Her analysis suggested the total cost of employing an entry-level police officer could reach roughly $85,000 annually with individual health coverage and more than $106,000 with family coverage. 
A clerk position, she said, carries total compensation costs of about $56,000 with individual coverage and $78,000 with family coverage. 
Strong-Thompson said benefits significantly increase the cost of employment.
According to her calculations, the city spends about 219 percent of salary to employ an entry-level police officer and roughly 250 percent for a clerk position once benefits and taxes are included. 
She said healthcare costs were a major driver and suggested the city explore alternatives or different plan structures.
Zuckerman calls for comparisons with other cities
Councilman-at-Large Jason Zuckerman said the numbers were useful but argued they must be compared with other municipalities before policy changes are considered.
Employers routinely pay substantial costs beyond wages, he said, and the key question is how Mandeville compares with similar governments.
“I want to know how we compare to other municipalities,” Zuckerman said.
Without that context, he said, large figures showing total employment costs can appear misleading.
Anderson said the city currently pays about 93 percent of health insurance premiums for employees, compared with roughly 80 to 85 percent paid by many other government employers. 
About 115 city employees currently participate in the health plan, she said. 
Fund balance policy proposed
Based on a suggestion from Zuckerman at the Feb. 9 committee meeting, Finance Director Jessica Farno presented a draft policy establishing guidelines for the city’s reserve funds.
The Government Finance Officers Association (GFAO) recommends that local governments maintain reserves equal to roughly two months of operating expenses, or about 16 to 17 percent of expenditures. 
Using the city’s 2025 figures, that would equal roughly $4.4 million.
However, the city’s projected ending fund balance is about $14.8 million, or roughly 67 percent of annual operating expenses. 
Zuckerman has been advocating for the establishment of a formal reserve policy during budget hearings over the past few budget cycles. He believes that this policy, which would specify minimums and targets, could provide valuable insights into whether downward tax adjustments are necessary in the future.
“It’s this line of at what point are we taxing people too much,” he said.
Zuckerman to author fund balance ordinance, repeating warning of overtaxing citizens
Zuckerman told the committee that he plans to introduce an ordinance for council consideration that would codify the fund balance principles for which he has advocated and are outlined in Farno’s draft policy. The measure would establish minimum and target reserve levels and outline circumstances — such as natural disasters or major matching-grant opportunities — under which reserves could be used.
He noted that the city relies heavily on sales taxes for revenue and that many of those taxes are dedicated to specific purposes. Much of that revenue, he said, flows into restricted funds that continue to grow because the city does not spend the money as quickly as it is collected.
“This is a piece of the puzzle,” Zuckerman said. “What should our target fund balances be? We’ve never really established that.”
Without clear guidelines, he said, reserves can grow to levels that prompt concerns about over-taxation.
“Have we taken too much money from our taxpayers?” he asked.
Zuckerman said the question will become unavoidable in the coming years because several of the city’s dedicated sales taxes are scheduled to expire and will have to return to voters for renewal.
“That’s a conversation we’re going to have to have anyway,” he said. “Are we going to keep asking voters to renew the same taxes that are filling restricted funds we never spend, or are we going to look at rededicating those revenues to the areas where they’re actually needed?”
He said adopting a policy establishing target reserve levels could help guide those decisions and determine whether current tax collections exceed what the city needs to operate.
“It’s time we look at that,” Zuckerman said. “At some point we have to ask whether we’re continuing to collect money just to put it in the mattress.”
Employees defend benefits
Several city employees addressed the committee during public comment, urging officials not to reduce benefits.
City employee Kathleen Sides said the city has accumulated large reserves while choosing not to collect millions in potential property tax revenue.
Freezing cost-of-living adjustments, she said, would shift the burden of inflation onto employees rather than addressing it through broader fiscal policy. 
Police officer James Gilbert also asked the committee to consider the unique risks faced by law enforcement officers when evaluating benefits.
Another employee described relying on city health coverage to afford medication costing about $6,000 every eight weeks.
Next steps
Madden said the committee will meet again after the compensation consultant presents the full salary study to the City Council.
Officials also plan to gather comparisons with other municipalities on employee benefits and labor costs before making recommendations. 
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