7.C.
City Council Meeting - FINAL
- Meeting Date:
- 03/03/2020
- Co-Submitter:
- Greg Clifton
- From:
- Jeanie Gallagher, Human Resources Director
Information
TITLE:
Consideration and Adoption of Ordinance No. 2020-06: An ordinance of the City Council of the City of Flagstaff amending the Employee Handbook of Regulations relating to Compensation, Promotion and Vacation Leave
STAFF RECOMMENDED ACTION:
At the March 3, 2020 Council Meeting:
1) Read Ordinance No. 2020-06 by title only for the first time
2) City Clerk reads Ordinance No. 2020-06 by title only (if approved above)
At the March 17, 2020 Council Meeting:
3) Read Ordinance No. 2020-06 by title only for the final time
4) City Clerk reads Ordinance No. 2020-06 by title only (if approved above)
5) Adopt Ordinance No. 2020-06
Executive Summary:
The Human Resources Division and the City Manager have worked with the City Attorney's Office, the Employee Advisory Committee, and Leadership to create the recommended changes to the Appropriate Salary, Promotion and Vacation Leave policies.
Currently, the City’s policies provide for a difference in the way salary offers may be calculated for newly hired or rehired employees from those employees whose positions are reclassified (both during a formal division reorganization as well as less formal redistribution of duties within a work group) or an employee that is promoted to a higher pay range position (both through a competitive external recruitment as well as internal recruitment).
In addition, a practice not specified in policy has permitted newly hired, rehired or promoted employees to negotiate their level of Vacation Leave accrual based on overall years of experience. This practice has been applied inconsistently.
Appropriate Salary 1-20-020
Newly hired or rehired employees are eligible for a salary offer between the minimum of the pay range and twelve (12%) above the minimum based on economic conditions, unusual employment conditions, or where they possess exceptional qualifications and a higher hiring rate is in the City’s best interest to attract exceptional talent. The City Manager may authorize hiring at a rate twelve percent above the minimum based on such factors and on a recommendation by the Human Resources Director and appropriate Division Director.
Reclassified employees are either placed at the new range minimum or receive a 6% increase whichever is higher. Consideration is not routinely given for experience or other exceptional qualifications.
Promoted employees are placed in the new range and given a minimum of a 6% increase. While there are provisions for the Director of Human Resources in conjunction with the City Manager to approve exceptions for higher pay for promotions, this further contributes to creating inconsistencies as these only occur upon support from an internal equity analysis or upon request.
The consequences for these differing policies are that current employees may be disenfranchised. In many instances, newly hired employees are making a higher rate of pay than incumbents with similar qualifications or even greater qualifications who entered that same position with a promotion or reclassification.
Employee dissatisfaction continues to be evidenced with respect to this policy by the Employee Advisory Committee as well as Exit Interview data. The ratings of “Poor” increased for every Compensation question on the Exit Questionnaire year over year (calendar 2018 and 2019) for every category except Salary Upon Hire. The question regarding Promotional Increases has a 61% Poor rating and the question regarding Movement Through the Pay Plan a 58% Poor rating.
Staff’s recommendation is to amend this policy to treat all newly hired, rehired, promoted and reclassified employees the same – eligible for a salary offer between the minimum of the pay range and twelve (12%) above the minimum based on economic conditions, unusual employment conditions, or where they possess exceptional qualifications and a higher hiring rate is in the City’s best interest to attract exceptional talent. The City Manager may authorize hiring at a rate twelve percent above the minimum based on such factors and on a recommendation by the Human Resources Director and appropriate Division Director. This policy change would also apply to Section 1-40-010 related to Promotion. This amendment shall be retroactive to January 1, 2020.
Vacation Leave 10-50-020
The City Manager or designee may authorize an employee, upon hire, to accrue vacation at any rate with the vacation accrual table based on years of experience. Where the inability to compete on salary has occurred, to attract new hires and to incentivize internal candidates for promotion a practice emerged to permit placement on the Vacation Leave accrual table based on overall years of eligible experience including those obtained prior to employment with the City.
While in many instances this has been effective for recruitment and retention, due to the changes in interpretation of "upon hire" and "years of experience" over the forty years the policy has been in existence, the practice has been applied inconsistently creating dissatisfaction for those that were not aware they might have negotiated.
Staff recommendation is to amend this policy by adding the following language: Upon hire, rehire, promotion or reclassification an eligible employee’s relevant experience shall be evaluated, and the employee placed in the applicable vacation accrual level based on that experience. This amendment shall be retroactive to January 1, 2020.
Currently, the City’s policies provide for a difference in the way salary offers may be calculated for newly hired or rehired employees from those employees whose positions are reclassified (both during a formal division reorganization as well as less formal redistribution of duties within a work group) or an employee that is promoted to a higher pay range position (both through a competitive external recruitment as well as internal recruitment).
In addition, a practice not specified in policy has permitted newly hired, rehired or promoted employees to negotiate their level of Vacation Leave accrual based on overall years of experience. This practice has been applied inconsistently.
Appropriate Salary 1-20-020
Newly hired or rehired employees are eligible for a salary offer between the minimum of the pay range and twelve (12%) above the minimum based on economic conditions, unusual employment conditions, or where they possess exceptional qualifications and a higher hiring rate is in the City’s best interest to attract exceptional talent. The City Manager may authorize hiring at a rate twelve percent above the minimum based on such factors and on a recommendation by the Human Resources Director and appropriate Division Director.
Reclassified employees are either placed at the new range minimum or receive a 6% increase whichever is higher. Consideration is not routinely given for experience or other exceptional qualifications.
Promoted employees are placed in the new range and given a minimum of a 6% increase. While there are provisions for the Director of Human Resources in conjunction with the City Manager to approve exceptions for higher pay for promotions, this further contributes to creating inconsistencies as these only occur upon support from an internal equity analysis or upon request.
The consequences for these differing policies are that current employees may be disenfranchised. In many instances, newly hired employees are making a higher rate of pay than incumbents with similar qualifications or even greater qualifications who entered that same position with a promotion or reclassification.
Employee dissatisfaction continues to be evidenced with respect to this policy by the Employee Advisory Committee as well as Exit Interview data. The ratings of “Poor” increased for every Compensation question on the Exit Questionnaire year over year (calendar 2018 and 2019) for every category except Salary Upon Hire. The question regarding Promotional Increases has a 61% Poor rating and the question regarding Movement Through the Pay Plan a 58% Poor rating.
Staff’s recommendation is to amend this policy to treat all newly hired, rehired, promoted and reclassified employees the same – eligible for a salary offer between the minimum of the pay range and twelve (12%) above the minimum based on economic conditions, unusual employment conditions, or where they possess exceptional qualifications and a higher hiring rate is in the City’s best interest to attract exceptional talent. The City Manager may authorize hiring at a rate twelve percent above the minimum based on such factors and on a recommendation by the Human Resources Director and appropriate Division Director. This policy change would also apply to Section 1-40-010 related to Promotion. This amendment shall be retroactive to January 1, 2020.
Vacation Leave 10-50-020
The City Manager or designee may authorize an employee, upon hire, to accrue vacation at any rate with the vacation accrual table based on years of experience. Where the inability to compete on salary has occurred, to attract new hires and to incentivize internal candidates for promotion a practice emerged to permit placement on the Vacation Leave accrual table based on overall years of eligible experience including those obtained prior to employment with the City.
While in many instances this has been effective for recruitment and retention, due to the changes in interpretation of "upon hire" and "years of experience" over the forty years the policy has been in existence, the practice has been applied inconsistently creating dissatisfaction for those that were not aware they might have negotiated.
Staff recommendation is to amend this policy by adding the following language: Upon hire, rehire, promotion or reclassification an eligible employee’s relevant experience shall be evaluated, and the employee placed in the applicable vacation accrual level based on that experience. This amendment shall be retroactive to January 1, 2020.
Financial Impact:
It is not possible to predict an exact financial impact.
Policy Impact:
These policy recommendations will not impact any other City policies.
Connection to Council Goal, Regional Plan, CAAP, and/or Strategic Plan:
The policy recommendation may impact the attraction and retention of City personnel related to the Council Goal - Personnel.
Has There Been Previous Council Decision on This:
No.