Salary Guide Services
Accurate analysis for every stage of negotiations — from planning to settlement.
LEMSNJ turns your district’s payroll and placement data into clear analysis your negotiations team can rely on, in closed-session planning, at the table, and in budget development.
Sample scattergram — illustrative data only
Clear, defensible salary guides, with every step and column costed out. (Illustrative sample.)
Expiring Salary Guide Analysis — A close look at your current guide: its structure, step and column differentials, top-of-guide placement, and longevity. We identify uneven steps, compression, and other structural issues that drive cost — before you set negotiations parameters.
Cost of Increment (Step Movement) — What does it cost just to move eligible staff one step on the current guide, before any increase? We isolate the cost of increment so your board can see how much of any settlement is already committed.
Scattergram Development — A clear grid showing how many employees sit at each step and column, built from your payroll data and reconciled for accuracy. The scattergram is the foundation for every costing exercise — and for keeping everyone working from the same numbers.
Salary Guide Construction & Restructuring — New or revised guides designed to meet a target cost: adjusting step values, adding or collapsing steps, or rebalancing columns. Includes transition placement for current staff and side-by-side comparisons of current and proposed guides.
Union Proposal Analysis & Costing — Prompt, accurate costing of the association's economic proposals against your actual staff distribution, including guide changes, stipends, and longevity. Know the real multi-year cost before you respond.
Board Counterproposal Modeling — "What-if" models of guide structures, percentage settlements, and distribution options, so your team can test alternatives quickly and stay within board-approved parameters.
Multi-Year Total Cost & Breakage — The full cost of a proposed agreement over its entire term, including compounding effects and breakage from retirements and turnover, with clearly documented assumptions to support budgeting and board approval.
Chapter 78 & Health-Benefit Contribution Impacts — Analysis of how employee health-benefit contributions interact with salary settlements, showing effects on district net cost and employee net pay. Coordinated with your benefits advisor and board counsel as appropriate.
Comparable District Comparisons — Benchmarking of guides, starting and maximum salaries, and settlement trends against districts your board considers comparable — useful for setting realistic parameters and for mediation or factfinding.
Related Salary Guide Support — Costing of stipend and extracurricular schedules, longevity, and column-movement provisions, plus economic exhibits to support your team during impasse proceedings.
What We'll Need From Your District — Typical data includes the current payroll and placement roster by step and column, current and prior salary guides, the collective negotiations agreement, stipend and longevity schedules, and health-benefit enrollment information.