In 1996, the faculty union and administration at Desert Community College District (DCCD) partnered to identify new funds that could be used to improve salaries and augment the budget. The administration entered into a written agreement to support a mutual short-term goal of achieving salary parity with peer colleges. A "Market Basket Study" (MBS) was implemented to gather data on similar-sized (small, rural) California community colleges, which was used to: (1) identify how DCCD compared with the other institutions; (2) ascertain why DCCD was different (or the same); (3) determine where DCCD wants to be, salary-wise; (4) develop alternatives for achieving this goal; (5) implement strategies; and (6) establish a procedure for follow-through and evaluation. The resulting recommendations from the MBS led to improvements, both in terms of finances and shared governance. Financially, DCCD was able to identify additional operating revenue and/or expenditure reductions that could be directed toward salary increases. That, coupled with cost-of-living adjustments, resulted in an 8.5% salary increase. (AS)