RFP 02-26-21 · Response Companion

A Compensation & Classification Study
built for the New Hampshire Monadnock Region.

223 classifications across 6 bargaining units plus non-bargaining management. Seventeen New England peer-municipality comparators. NHRS Group I, Group II Police, and Group II Fire layered into total compensation, HealthTrust benefits modeled at the line-item level — all delivered before the City's FY 2028 budget cycle. By House Strategies Group.

Open the Methodology WalkthroughSee How Classifications Map

Workforce in Scope

223 classifications · 6 bargaining units · 17 functional families

City Management & HR

14 classes

Finance, Assessing & Treasury

19 classes

City Clerk & Elections

6 classes

Community Development & Planning

13 classes

Building, Codes & Inspections

11 classes

Public Works (Highway + Engineering)

28 classes

Water Treatment & Distribution

16 classes

Wastewater Treatment & Collection

17 classes

Solid Waste & Recycling

9 classes

Parks, Recreation & Facilities

18 classes

Keene Public Library

14 classes

Dillant-Hopkins Airport

5 classes

Information Technology

9 classes

Police Department

27 classes

Police Records & Dispatch

9 classes

Fire Department & EMS

24 classes

Department Heads (separate analytic tier)

12 classes

Family taxonomy and class counts illustrative; final reconciled against City of Keene HR job description inventory at engagement kickoff. Total reconciles to 223 per RFP 02-26-21 + Addendum #1.

What This Engagement Delivers

Four lenses on Keene's pay reality.

The City's RFP §3 asks for internal equity across 6 bargaining units, external competitiveness against New England public-sector peers, and a public-safety analytical layer per Addendum #1 — all delivered as a defensible, electronically maintained system the HR Director can run after we leave. That is the deliverable on the next four cards.

Classification Architecture

223 City of Keene classifications grouped into a defensible job-family architecture across 16 departments, each evaluated for internal equity using a dual-layer (AI + credentialed expert) methodology.

See How Classifications Map

Total Compensation Stack

Base salary, longevity, certification differentials, NHRS Group I or Group II employer share, and HealthTrust medical — modeled per classification, per pension group.

Open the Total-Comp Demo

New England Comparator Pool

Seventeen peer municipalities — NH primary plus VT, MA, and ME size-and-governance peers — sourced from each city's adopted pay schedule and NH PELRB-filed CBAs.

Tour the Comparator Pool

Public Safety Total-Comp Depth

Per Addendum #1, all 9 public-safety positions are back in scope. We model Group II Police (33.88%) and Group II Fire (32.91%) employer pension differently than Group I — and we audit certification, longevity, FTO, and assignment pay line by line.

Explore Public-Safety Pay

Why HSG

Five reasons our methodology fits the City of Keene.

01

New Hampshire municipal fluency

Comparator pool drawn from NH-primary peers; NHRS Group I and Group II Police/Fire layered into total comp; HealthTrust benefits modeled at the line-item level — all per RFP §SCOPE.

02

Public-safety depth across the new Addendum #1

The May 1 addendum re-adds 9 PD/FD positions. We treat them as first-class, not afterthought — Group II pension, certification differentials, FTO/K9/SRO assignment pay each get a dedicated analytical layer.

03

Defensibly human-validated AI methodology

Every AI-generated classification draft, market band, and compression flag is reconciled by a credentialed analyst before it reaches the City — our signature AI/Expert Reconciliation Log makes it auditable.

04

Six-bargaining-unit cross-walk + non-bargaining

KPOA, PD Supervisors, Professional Firefighters, FD Supervisors, AFSCME/DPW, and Dispatch — plus 42 non-bargaining management/exempt — each analyzed within and across their own pay logic.

05

Calibrated to FY 2028 budget cycle

8-month engagement Aug 2026 – Mar 2027. Final report and Council presentation timed so the City Manager and Finance Director can build FY 2028 around our recommendations.

8-Month Engagement Timeline

August 2026 – March 2027 — calibrated to the City's FY 2028 budget cycle.

Full Methodology Walkthrough

  1. Aug 2026 · Phase 1

    Discovery + 2023 baseline reconciliation

    Kickoff w/ Asst City Mgr / HR. Audit Evergreen 2023 baseline. JD/salary schedule intake. Initial 6-BU cross-walk.

  2. Sep–Oct · Phase 2

    New England market analysis

    17 NH-primary + VT/MA/ME peer pull. Targeted outreach to peer HR directors. Total-comp benefits comparison.

  3. Nov · Phase 3

    Internal equity diagnostic

    Position analysis across 6 BUs + non-bargaining. Compression and inequity flags. Cross-BU normalization.

  4. Dec · Phase 4

    Classification review

    223 JDs reviewed. Reclassification recs. BU/CBA impact review. Mid-point on-site presentation.

  5. Jan–Feb · Phase 5

    Pay structure + cost modeling

    Phased vs. immediate scenarios per BU. Group I/II pension cost rollups. Implementation roadmap.

  6. Mar 2027 · Phase 6

    Final delivery + Council presentation

    Comprehensive report + 2 Council/Mgr presentations. 30-day implementation Q&A window included.

Response Companion

This portal is the analytical product the City of Keene would receive — already built.

Every chart, every table, every modeling tool here is what we'll deliver — sharper, populated with Keene's actual classification, salary, NHRS, and HealthTrust data, on an 8-month engagement clock.

Tour the Demo SuiteMeet the Team