The city should try to make its compensation packages more attractive, such as the proposed step pay and bonus plans, in order to enhance recruitment efforts. However, until the city s coffers match those of deeper-pocketed cities in Douglas, Miami and Johnson counties, it will be impossible for Ottawa officials to keep pace. Lambers offered a four-year system of bonuses paid to employees at the end of the year. The city should consider pay scales for comparable government positions in other counties, but also look at the pay scale for comparable positions within Ottawa s city limits. That is probably a better indicator of what the market will bear.
Tradeoffs exist in most situations.
This scenario is no different. Jobs in Ottawa may not pay as much as in Kansas City or Lawrence, but there are some intangibles that are equally important to many employees. Any step pay plan or bonus plan will have to be part of an overall compensation package to keep and recruit the best employees. That is a significant amount of money, and it is understandable why more than 30 percent of our county s residents have made the choice to commute. However, a larger paycheck, oftentimes, isn t large enough to cover higher vehicle, insurance, cellular telephone and gasoline costs, among others, along with the more-than one hour of drive time each day.