The bottom line of a new total compensation study shows the City of Manteca is not competitive with 10 municipal agencies they often compete against to secure workers, especially those with specific skills such as running wastewater treatment plant operations.

That is the implied conclusion the Gallagher consulting firm provided in a comprehensive total compensation study done for Manteca. It is being presented to the City Council when they meet in a special session Monday at 1 p.m.

In the executive summary of findings, it states “Gallagher considers a (job) classification falling within 5.0 percent of the median to be competitive.”

A survey of 117 classifications was conducted in December 2025 and January 2026 of 10 selected agencies — Brentwood, Davis, Elk Grove, Folsom, Lathrop, Livermore, Lodi, Modesto, Roseville, and Tracy — revealed:

*Manteca’s base salaries, overall, in comparison to the median are 12.05 percent below the market.

*Manteca’s total compensation, overall, in comparison to the market median is 9.7 percent below the market.

*The city’s benefit package puts Manteca in a more competitive position (plus 2.38 percent) compared to base salary.

Manteca has struggled to fill positions requiring specialized training, education, and/or experience. The city has also had an issue in terms of retention.

A classification study Gallagher completed several months ago and implemented by the city is expected to reduce some of the issues when it comes to securing candidates.

As a result, a number of positions were reclassified to align with the skills needed by making sure they reflected the same wording as the cities they are competing with for employees,

In some cases, qualified people did not apply based on the job’s title.

The compensation review was conducted due to:

*The concern of the City Council and municipal management that employees should be recognized for the level and scope of work performed and that they are paid on a fair and competitive basis that allows the City to recruit and retain a high-quality staff.

*The desire to have a compensation plan that can meet the needs of the City.

*The desire to ensure that internal relationships of salaries are based upon objective, non-quantitative evaluation factors, resulting in equity across the City.

The goal of the compensation study is to assist the City in developing a competitive pay and benefit plan, which is based upon market data.

It is  also to ensure that the plan is fiscally responsible and meets the needs of the City with regards to recruitment and retention of qualified staff.

The consultant noted many agencies are in competition for the same pool of qualified employees because”

*large portions of the workforce don’t live in the communities they serve.

*are accustomed to lengthy commutes.

*are more likely to consider changing jobs in a larger geographic area than in the past.

By selecting 10 comparable cities within a geographic proximity to Manteca, the resulting labor market data generally reflects the region’s cost of living, housing costs, growth rate, and other demographic characteristics to the same extent as competing employers to the City.

That means the study reflects the geographic labor market area where the City may be recruiting from or losing employees.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com