At the beginning of every year, the Municipal Association of SC asks each city and town to update its compensation information for the Association’s online compensation survey. The information cities and towns provide allows for an annual report of the wages and salaries paid to South Carolina municipal employees and elected officials.
Competitive pay serves as one of the most critical tools helping cities and towns attract and retain employees. Especially during the tight workforce market experienced recently, local governments must compete for job candidates who are also being targeted by state agencies, county governments and the private sector. Data on current salary ranges can help cities and towns maintain an edge.
The Association makes the data from its compensation survey available through its website. Municipal staff can use this online tool to make sure that their compensation scale is on par with other municipalities with comparable populations and budgets.
Kingstree Town Clerk Leonard Lowery also handles human resources and risk management for the town. He said that especially for job positions that are competitive among employers in Kingstree’s general region, he will use the survey data to benchmark and make sure that his city’s salary offers are competitive and “on target.”
“It’s a valuable resource for me. It really is,” he said.
Responding to the survey is optional, but the Association encourages all municipalities to complete it every year, since widespread participation makes the data more useful. The 2022 survey will be available for data entry from January 3 to February 25.
For more information, visit the survey webpage or contact Sara Whitaker at swhitaker@masc.sc or 803.933.1240.