The Bainbridge Island City Council has approved the hiring of Milliman, Inc. to conduct a citywide study of government jobs and salaries.

In a contract worth $69,500, Milliman will conduct the first salary study for Bainbridge in seven years.

The city council directed City Manager Doug Schulze to undertake a review of the city’s jobs and compensations last November. The council also requested that the selected consultant compare the city’s current policies to other public sector organizations.

The hired consultant will work with city staff to complete the study as early as May.

Since a key objective of the study is to deliver results to the city as soon as possible, a relatively aggressive schedule will be necessary.

The consultant will review the city’s job classifications in the first 30 days of the project.

In the remaining 60 days, it will assess the information collected on job classifications and research comparable data from other organizations.

“I think in our organization we have many individuals that are working what some might classify as multiple kinds of positions,” Bonkwoski commented in Wednesday’s meeting.

The city’s human resources manager, Kate Brown, told the council that this is an area that the consultant may offer advice.

“I definitely think they will do a very thorough analysis, and we’ll have a lot of discussion about is the work that’s being done grouped appropriately?” Brown said.

“Is that work necessarily being done by one person the right way to go? They may make recommendations or suggestions for making some changes.”

Milliman was selected by city staff out of five applicants for its extensive experience and data-driven analysis of comparable cities.

Milliman also has experience working with Bainbridge Island.

In 2007 it was hired to conduct a similar study, the results of which were used to develop compensation policies at the time.