10.A.
City Council Meeting - FINAL
- Meeting Date:
- 05/03/2022
- Co-Submitter:
- Greg Clifton
- From:
- Brandi Suda, Interim Human Resources Director
Information
TITLE:
Consideration and Adoption of Ordinance No. 2022-10: An ordinance of the City Council of the City of Flagstaff, Arizona, amending the Flagstaff City Code, Chapter 1-14, Personnel System, by amending the Employee Handbook of Regulations relating to Alternative Work Schedules; providing for penalties; repeal of conflicting ordinances; severability; and establishing an effective date
STAFF RECOMMENDED ACTION:
1) Read Ordinance No. 2022-10 by title only for the final time
2) City Clerk reads Ordinance No. 2022-10 by title only (if approved above)
3) Adopt Ordinance No. 2022-10
2) City Clerk reads Ordinance No. 2022-10 by title only (if approved above)
3) Adopt Ordinance No. 2022-10
Executive Summary:
At the onset of the pandemic, many of the City facilities were temporarily closed and the City sent as many employees as possible home to work to help keep our employees and community safe and to ensure continuity of City operations. As we moved to partial reopening, some employees continued to work all or most of their time virtually, some worked a hybrid of partial remote and partial on-site, and some returned fully to on-site work.
The current Alternative Work Schedule policy was adopted in 2010 to assist with staff retention through work and life balance with occasional telework in mind. This policy addressed flex time, compressed work week, staggered shifts, and telecommuting options for employees. Now that we are moving to Phase 4 of the Re-entry Plan, our goal is to encourage and support more flexible work scheduling, including telework. However, we have come to realize that our current Alternative Work Schedule policy is not only out of date but also lacks sufficient administrative guidelines for broad application. In addition, as the City continues to adapt to a new hybrid work environment, the City needs the ability to quickly adapt its policies accordingly.
The proposed amendment to the Employee Handbook continues to reflect the City’s intent to continue to support flexible scheduling, including telework for positions where it is feasible, but removes the administrative details with the intent of moving them to a City Manager Directive. While much of the current Alternative Work Schedule policy will be maintained, a City Manager Directive allows for the City to be flexible and nimble to make administrative changes to the Directive as we identify items that need to be updated through our learned experiences and as the City determines what new hybrid work environment is going to work best for our community and our employees. At the direction of Council, we would bring an updated ordinance back to Council for adoption into the Employee Handbook once leadership has had an opportunity to address concerns and modify the policy to best support our employees and community.
The current Alternative Work Schedule policy was adopted in 2010 to assist with staff retention through work and life balance with occasional telework in mind. This policy addressed flex time, compressed work week, staggered shifts, and telecommuting options for employees. Now that we are moving to Phase 4 of the Re-entry Plan, our goal is to encourage and support more flexible work scheduling, including telework. However, we have come to realize that our current Alternative Work Schedule policy is not only out of date but also lacks sufficient administrative guidelines for broad application. In addition, as the City continues to adapt to a new hybrid work environment, the City needs the ability to quickly adapt its policies accordingly.
The proposed amendment to the Employee Handbook continues to reflect the City’s intent to continue to support flexible scheduling, including telework for positions where it is feasible, but removes the administrative details with the intent of moving them to a City Manager Directive. While much of the current Alternative Work Schedule policy will be maintained, a City Manager Directive allows for the City to be flexible and nimble to make administrative changes to the Directive as we identify items that need to be updated through our learned experiences and as the City determines what new hybrid work environment is going to work best for our community and our employees. At the direction of Council, we would bring an updated ordinance back to Council for adoption into the Employee Handbook once leadership has had an opportunity to address concerns and modify the policy to best support our employees and community.
Financial Impact:
None.
Policy Impact:
This is an update to the Employee Handbook of Regulations, Article 1-20-053.
Connection to PBB Priorities/Objectives, Carbon Neutrality Plan & Regional Plan:
Priority Based Budget Key Community Priorities and Objectives
High Performing Governance
- Become an employer of choice and provide employees with the necessary tools, training, and support
Carbon Neutrality Plan
CNP-1 Reduces greenhouse emissions from City operations.
CNP-2 Leads to reduced greenhouse gas emissions in the community
CNP-1 Reduces greenhouse emissions from City operations.
CNP-2 Leads to reduced greenhouse gas emissions in the community
Has There Been Previous Council Decision on This:
Article 1-20-053, Alternative Work Schedule, in the Employee Handbook, was originally adopted on June 8, 2010 with Ordinance No. 2010-10.
Options and Alternatives:
Option 1: Adopt as presented.
Option 2: Decline and leave Article 1-20-053 as is.
Option 2: Decline and leave Article 1-20-053 as is.