STAFF REPORT
City of Lancaster
CC 13
6/9/2026
TN
Date:June 9, 2026
To:Mayor Parris and City Council Members
From:George N. Harris II, Senior Director/Treasurer – Administrative Services Trolis Niebla – City Manager
Subject:Amending Employee Classification and Compensation Schedule & Filing of the Classification and Compensation Study.
Recommendations:
1. Adopt Resolution No. ____, amending Resolution 25-68, establishing terms and conditions of employment and a compensation schedule for represented and non-represented regular and probationary employees of the City.
2. Receive and file the classification and compensation studies for both the City of Lancaster and the Lancaster Police Department.
3. Adopt the recommended changes proposed and summarized in Exhibit A and Exhibit B, resulting from the classification and compensation studies, ongoing union negotiations, and the operational needs of the City
G.C. Section 84308: No
Fiscal Impact:
The total fiscal impact for all reclassifications and salary adjustments affecting existing City employees is approximately $53,100. No additional funding will be required to implement these changes, as all associated costs have already been incorporated into the new fiscal year budget.
The total fiscal impact associated with the increased City contribution toward the deferred compensation benefit for the 2000 series employee groups is estimated at $16,000. No additional funding will be required to implement these changes, as all associated costs have already been incorporated into the new fiscal year budget.
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Background:
On February 25, 2025, the City Council approved a contract agreement with AveNew Solutions, LLC to conduct a classification and compensation study for the City of Lancaster. The purpose of the study was to ensure the City remains competitive with comparable agencies and the current labor market.
The cities selected for comparison were Palmdale, Santa Clarita, and Victorville, based on similarities in size, employee count, and geographic location. Because none of these comparable cities operate their own police department, a separate public safety classification and compensation study was conducted for the Lancaster Police Department.
The public safety study compared Lancaster’s Police Department classifications and compensation to nearby agencies, including Bakersfield, Sierra Madre, and Tehachapi. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and California Highway Patrol were also included because many nearby cities contract with these agencies, and the City must remain competitive to attract qualified candidates for the growing Lancaster Police Department.
The City is currently in negotiations with the California Teamsters, Public, Professional and Medical Employees Union (986 Teamsters Union) as the current memorandum of understanding (MOU) is set to expire at the end of this fiscal year, June 30, 2026. Additionally, the City is in negotiations with the newly formed Police Officer’s Association (POA) who is establishing their first MOU with the City of Lancaster/Lancaster Police Department. The classification and compensation studies were done in preparation for both negotiations and have been shared with each respective union.
Each union was given an opportunity to review and share any concerns they found with the study.
The classification and compensation studies found that, when comparing City of Lancaster classifications to the average of comparable classifications in the Cities of Palmdale, Santa Clarita, and Victorville:
Base salary ranges exceeded the comparator average in approximately 73% of the classifications studied.
Total compensation exceeded the comparator average in approximately 88% of the classifications studied.
These findings indicate that the City of Lancaster's compensation structure is generally competitive within the regional labor market, particularly when employer-paid benefits and total compensation are considered.
Additionally, the studies found that comparator agencies are more frequently:
Differentiate classifications and compensation structures based on departmental assignment;
Assign broader technical authority, decision-making responsibilities, and specialized duties at the journey and senior journey levels; and
Consolidate operational, administrative, and programmatic functions within a single classification.
These differences highlight variations in organizational structure and classification design among agencies and should be considered when evaluating direct compensation comparisons. 2 3
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After consideration of the classification and compensation studies, ongoing union negotiations, external market alignment, and the overall competitiveness of the City’s compensation structure, while also accounting for differences in classification design, scope of responsibility, organizational structures among other cities, evolving workforce market conditions, and long-term workforce planning objectives, the City recommends the following changes.
Attachments:
Resolution No. _____ Salary Schedule
Class and Comp Study – City of Lancaster
Class Comp Study - Lancaster Police Department
Exhibit A
Exhibit B