Crossville Postpones Decision on Wage Study Bids

City of Crossville employees may undergo a wage study in the coming months.

City manager Greg Wood said the city received bids under $30,000 from McGrath Human Resources Group and Burris, Thompson, and Associates.

“We sat down and reviewed the proposals with the MTAS representative. He was comfortable with both firms,” Wood said. “He said that the lower price contractor would do a good job, but you would be getting a Chevy. And the other one he felt like they were a stronger candidate.”

The council initially approved the wage study recommendation in October 2018 after experiencing issues with employees leaving for better-paying jobs.

McGrath proposal totals $25,489 while Burris, Thompson, and Associates placed a bid at $17,295.

Wood said McGrath offered to work with more of the city and council’s desires.

“However, we were much more impressed with McGrath. The time they were going to spend in terms of getting data and interviewing personnel,” Wood said. “We were just like ‘whoa’ this is the Chevy with the rolled-up window and this, at least, is an El Dorado.”

Wood said McGrath also will come to discuss with council members about their needs and expectations.

However, Wood added neither of the companies gave projected start dates for the study.

“I can’t give you specifics because we didn’t discuss that with them. They [McGrath] were planning on coming for the April work session,” Wood said. “But given the time frame and what we felt was clear differentiation, we felt that we were comfortable in bringing that to you.”

City Council decided to postpone action on the bids until further notice during their work session Tuesday.