COMMISSION 
AGENDA MEMORANDUM              Item No.       6e 
ACTION ITEM CORRECTED COPY            Date of Meeting   November 22, 2016 
DATE:    November 22, 2016 
TO:     Ted Fick, Chief Executive Officer 
FROM:   Tammy Woodard, Assistant Human Resources Director, Total Rewards 
Paula Edelstein, Senior Director, Human Resources 
SUBJECT:  2017 Salary and Benefits Resolution 
ACTION REQUESTED 
Request Second Reading and Final Passage of Resolution No. 3727: A resolution of the Port
Commission of the Port of Seattle Establishing Jobs, Pay Grades, Pay Ranges, and Pay Practices
for Port Employees not represented by a labor union; Authorizing Legally Required Benefits,
Other Benefits for Port Employees not represented by a Labor Union including Retirement, Paid
Leave, Healthcare, Life Insurance and Disability Benefits, Benefits for Port of Seattle Retirees,
and Benefits for Port of Seattle Commissioners; and Authorizing this Resolution to be Effective
on January 1, 2017, and Repealing all Prior Resolutions Dealing with the Same Subject, Including
Resolution No. 3712 and Resolution No. 3720. 
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 
The Salary and Benefits Resolution is method used for the Port Commission to authorize 
salaries, establishes benefits, and authorizes the creation and filling of positions as authorized
by RCW 53.08.170. The Salary and Benefits Resolution has historically been updated annually
and covers the Port's non-represented workforce. The Resolution specifies the individual
benefits that comprise the Port's Benefits Package and also establishes the pay grades and pay
ranges which describe the minimum to maximum pay available to employees whose jobs are
assigned to a specific grade. 

DETAILS 
The 2017 Salary and Benefits Resolution includes a variety of changes. These changes fall into
five categories: 
(1) Revisions to some of the definitions included in the Resolution, 
(2) Updates to the pay grades and pay ranges, 
(3) A modification to the description of one Port holiday, 
(4) Additions, clarifications and rearrangement to add clarity and facilitate understanding. 


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Definitions 
The definitions section of the Salary and Benefits Resolution define terms used in the
Resolution as well as in Port policies and other documents related to the Port's pay and
benefits package. For 2017 two definitions will be added, Regular Employee and Temporary
Employee. These definitions are used in defining eligibility for various total rewards (pay and
benefits) programs. 
The 2017 Resolution will also reflect elimination of the Eligible Employee and Ineligible
Employee definitions. In previous years these definitions were used throughout the Resolution
and elsewhere to identify which employees were eligible for the Port's benefits package and
which were not.  With the simplification of the Resolution for 2016 together with the
implementation of the Affordable Care Act and its medical benefits eligibility regulations these
definitions have become obsolete. 
The final edit to the definitions section is a modification to the Emergency Hire Employee and
Part-Time Employee definitions. The existing Emergency Hire definition is incomplete and the
modification adds details that will be helpful in understanding this classification of employee.
The modification of Part-Time Employee was, like the Eligible and Ineligible Employee
definitions, related to benefits eligibility in previous years. The modified definition simplifies 
the definition to reflect an employee regularly scheduled to work less than 80 hours in a payperiod.
Pay Grades and Pay Ranges 
Each year HR staff analyzes data from published salary surveys to determine how well existing
pay ranges align with market pay rates for Port jobs. Staff also analyzes data from salary
planning surveys to determine what adjustments other employers anticipate making to
employee pay during the coming year. Results of this work inform recommended adjustments
to the pay grade and pay range structure for non-represented employees.
This analysis indicated that 2016 pay ranges for non-represented employees are, overall, at
market. Additionally, employers are expecting that the overall average pay increase will be
about 3% for 2017. Based on this analysis, the 2.5% pay range increase included in the 2017
Resolution will maintain pay ranges at market competitive levels for 2017. With this range
increase, we estimate 13 employees will have pay rates that are less than the 2017 range
minimum and the estimated annual cost of increasing these employees' pay to the new range
minimum will be $16,373. 
In addition to increasing the pay range structure, the 2017 structure eliminates the two lowest
ranges, grades 1 and 2. No non -represented jobs have been assigned to these ranges for many
years. Further, these ranges have minimum pay rates less than the upcoming 2018 City of
Seattle minimum wage of $15/hour, which is also the 2017 Port of Seattle pay rate for High
School Interns. There are other pay grades with range minimums less than $15/hour and we do

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November 22, 2016 
have jobs assigned to these ranges though all non-represented employees are paid more than
$15/hour.
During 2017 HR staff will conduct a comprehensive review of jobs assigned to grades with a
minimum hourly rate less than $15/hour. This review will include ensuring that the jobs
assigned to these grades are appropriately placed in the Port's grade structure as well as
determining how best to adjust the pay grades and ranges to ensure that all non-represented
employees are paid more than the City of Seattle minimum wage. Further, during 2017 HR staff
will determine how to separate the pay grade and range structure from the rest of the Salary
and Benefits Resolution so that it can be reviewed and updated annually, or as needed, without
the entire resolution being updated. 
In addition to deleting the first two pay grades and their ranges from the Port's grade and range
structure for non-represented employees, the 2017 pay grade structure adds three grades and
ranges to the upper end of the structure. This year's market analysis showed that the current
top pay range is not sufficient to ensure market competitive pay for some of the Port's most
senior jobs. In past years the published pay range structure has included grades up to a grade
45. The structure for 2017 makes these grades and their ranges visible, and makes them
available to assign jobs to when market data or the Port's internal job evaluation system
indicates it is appropriate to do so. 
Port Holiday Definition 
In recent years the definition of the Port Designated Floating Holiday has evolved. HR staff
reviewed State of Washington regulations that govern the minimum holidays the Port must
observe and learned that the Port is required to observe Veterans Day. We believe that by
designating the Floating Holiday as a holiday in lieu of Veterans Day we can ensure the Port
complies with this regulation. As such, this holiday will be defined as the Port Designated
Floating Holiday, in lieu of Veterans Day. 
Additions, Clarifications and Rearrangements 
The final type of updates to the 2017 Resolution are new sections, minor clarifications and
rearrangement of sections. These edits incorporate new commission authorizations or are
intended to aid understanding and clarify meaning. The first of these edits is addition of section
II.A. that specifies the reporting relationship of three positions at the Port as reporting to, at
least in part, the Port Commission. 
Section II.E.  Pay Practices is rearranged. The Pay for Performance item was relocated from
item 4 to item 8 of this section to place it near the end of the section as it is expanded, as noted
above, with the incorporation of the Incentive Pay Plan language. Also in Section II.E. the
reference to the one-time lump sum payment that was authorized in the 2016 Resolution is
deleted. 


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The other area where language is updated to add clarity is Section III.B  Additional Benefits for
Employees. Language in item III.B.3.a. is updated to reflect a change to benefits eligibility made
during 2016 as required by the Affordable Care Act. The other update in this section is item
III.B.3.c. where the sentence about employees being required to pay all or part of their medical
and dental premiums by payroll deduction and the Port's right to modify or terminate
healthcare benefits are split into two separate items. 
Finally, references to 2016 are replaced with references to 2017 for the 2017 Salary and
Benefits Resolution. 

ATTACHMENTS TO THIS REQUEST 
(1)   Resolution No. 3727 (corrected on November 22, 2016) 
(2)   Resolution No. 3727 Exhibit A, Schedule of Authorized Non-Represented Jobs 
PREVIOUS COMMISSION ACTIONS OR BRIEFINGS 
November 8, 2016  First Reading, 2017 Salary and Benefits Resolution 
October 25, 2016  Commission Briefing, 2017 Salary and Benefits Resolution 











This version as revised 9/16/2016