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10/10/1995 (2) ", " . 'J. ':. . ' .. . ':..._':':~r" '.;. ". .~ :, .' :-,:. "1 .'. ,oil' . I '.,' ," ", '; .'. .... ." '. ': ~', : .'. .' :. ...., '. .' .', :', l::" . " ~ '. '. ~ , ':l ,. .'. .1:..1, ." , ), ':, . :.)1' .:';. .' ..' . " ' ,.' . ~ . .., ,'. . : . ;'}'c ~;. ". .1' ',,~~!'~ .~,/.y.,~ ~ ,'. '1'~ r>-;'''t.i-,-,,1,i':'' ~"n":",,~~',.,":,,,,~~", . .1' .' " .... ,~~,,,,o,,,,,,""""~'.... .n..,..., ,_,~" <:~I"1' i ~~:.~y ~ r,f- ". ~.;-..' ~IC:'i~~ t','~.\i". ~,j ."~. .. .\ CSB ,. Civil'Service Board "Minutes '\ :Date, OcA-ober- 10 ) \qq~ .,' " ' 41c{ i ',' . , f ." ',' " , (', , , . ,......'.~-~~........r..~.. ~ ~,...-...~.: ~. .....~h....L ..~;--'".."t;'"v_.o+,. "!" 'PO...-........._..~........<<~'.. ~ ,,',' "}J 'i' ,....,. I~"""'" ,_ .. , . ~~U/~;;~~~r;:li~,~~{~I~,\l~t~11,l~f:~;;~~:~fr.J;;~~~'ij!1~t ~~ "i~~i~~\ :~:,' I~ , , ~iK~ ~, '<:$.' ~. L... CIVIL SERVICE BOARD CITY OF CLEARWATER October 10. 1995 Present: John Doran Sydney Snair Annette Patterson Mike Laursen Leslie A. Dougall-Sides ,Gwen Legters Chair Board Member Board Member Human Resources Director Assistant City Attorney Board Reporter Absent: Bill Carozza Mary Drew Kane Board Member Board Member The meeting was called to order by the Chair at 5:00 p.m. in City Hall. To provide continuity for research, Items are listed in agenda order although not necessarily discussed In that order. Approval of Minutes M July 19, 1995 Member Snair moved to approve the minutes of July 19, 1995, according to copies submitted to each board member in writing. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. Public Hearing - Change to Civil Service Rule 13 (Sick Leave and Maternity Leavel .Mr. Laursen stated, at the direction of the City Manager, a Notice to Interested Parties was posted concerning the change to Civil Service Rule 13, Section 2 and Section 9. This amendment is to various provisions of the sick leave policy to provide consistency in sick leave usage, accrual rate, and sick leave caps and to provide parity between union and non- union City employees. The amendment will also bring the rule into compliance with the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) by removing the distinction between personal and family sick leave. He distributed copies of an addendum to the proposed amendment. Mr. Laursen detailed the reductions in sick leave accruals and caps. He stated union representatives agreed to the changes during negotiations, and the City Manager had effected similar changes for unclassified managerial employees with employment agreement letters. He indicated the accruals and caps for non-union employees were based on the same calculations as those in the comparable bargaining unit. Sam Willi, Richard Evans. and Gordon Yaudes, District Chiefs in the Clearwater Fire Department, objected to the amendment. They expressed concern with the effect this amendment will have on the six people in their position. It was indicated they do not have union representation or City contracts, and the Civil Service Rules are their only protection. They stated the ability to accumulate sick leave and be paid for half those days on retirement were benefits they had as a condition of their employment. They expressed concern that ~ limiting and capping sick leave accrual violates this condition of employment. mcs10.95 1 10/10/95 .. .. " , ." < I~<'c'" '.n....' .,'., . '.<".. In" .,:",,~ I -:. " .';', ,".\: ..~ c/.f. l. ,.,ct, :,,~:...+~.~;J""",' p' :'"J ."......\Ji. ~...,d o It was indicated instances of sick leave abuse prompted this action. The District Chiefs strongly objected to capping the number of sick leave hours an employee may accrue and use for actual sick leave purposes during their employment. As an alternative, they urged the City to consider establishing a separate limit for the amount of sick leave paid to an employee at retirement. Mr. Willi indicated he has worked in the Fire Department for 24 years. He said he understands that sick leave abuse exists on every level. He did not feel it was appropriate to penalize the District Chiefs who do a superior job and use very little of their sick leave. Mr. Evans stated he has worked in the Fire Department more than 22 years and will retire soon. He indicated he and the other District Chiefs took their jobs with the City because of the promised benefits. He said they could have made much more money in the private sector over the last 20 years. He felt they were penalized as a result of doing an outstanding job. He noted the cap would create a reason to use more sick days. He also pointed out it costs the City more than just a day's pay for one person when a District Chief calls in sick. He said five percent acting pay is paid each day to peoples of lesser ranks who are required to move up to fill in for a missing district chief. Mr. Laursen responded the conditions of employment are not static and cited various examples of the generous benefits paid by the City. He stressed that the City attempted to avoid penalizing long term employees by slowing down the accrual rate over a period of several years rather than reducing caps on existing employees. The purpose of the amendment is to establish consistency so all employees can be treated essentially the same, depending on their hire date. He pointed out the amendment will affect the entire group of 75 to 80 union exempt SAMP employees, not just six District Chiefs. He disagreed with the assertion that non-union employees have no voice because a representative of the SAMP group was present during pension negotiations. In addition, the City Manager or her designees have met with employees and given them opportunities to offer input over the past few years. Clarification was requested concerning the Board's role in the teday's hearing. Mr. Laursen stated the Board is not negotiating benefits, but acting in an advisory capacity, either recommending modification of the rule amendment, or endorsing implementation as proposed. The City Manager will decide if to act on the Board's recommendation. Clarification was requested and discussion ensued regarding the calculations outlined in the existing Civil Service Rules for caps on sick leave accruals. The District Chiefs expressed surprise the caps are already in place. They stated they had not been informed and were under the impression the issue was awaiting action by the City Manager. Mr. Laursen explained the cap on fire service personnel was changed on February 14, 1994 when the rules were last amended. He stated a separate matter awaiting action by the City is the SAMP manual for District Chiefs which will consolidate and summarize a variety of issues, including benefits. Mr. Yaudes stated he has only taken three sick days in 19 years with the City Fire Department. He questioned if his accumulated sick leave would be cut if he earned a promotion to an unclassified position. Mr. Laursen stated it would not be cut, but could be stopped at the point of the promotion. Mr. Laursen cited examples of other employees having to choose whether to accept a promotion with fewer benefits. It was not known how Mr. Yaudes' current sick leave cap compares to the Fire Chief's. . mas10.95 2 10/1 0/95 . e~"'~..-""U""I.-,-_",~.. . . ~ ,: c ~, .. c , " ': ...:..:.~ : ':.r :~') ~ :-:.:.: ~ In response to a request from Mr. Evans, Mr. Laursen is to provide copies of the new Civil Service Rules to all six District Chiefs. ' .' The three District Chiefs left the meeting at 5:55 p.m. Member Patterson thanked the firefighters for their dedication and the service they perform. General agreement was expressed the firefighters are great people. Discussion resumed regarding the information obtained at the meeting, Concern was expressed that the District Chiefs were not notified or given copies of the February 14, 1994 changes to the Civil Service Rules. It was indicated the City representative of the SAMP group in union negotiations or their department director should have informed them. Member Snair moved to recommend adoption of the proposed amendment to Civil Service Rule 13 Section 2, with the addendum submitted by Mr. Laursen. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. fii!i' ..,;rr;I D. Old Business Member Snair expressed concern with the time it has taken to establish local hearing officers and questioned the status of the effort. Mr. Laursen said the Legal Department received the names of ten people interested in serving as local hearing officers in response to advertising in journals. The City Attorney indicated she was not comfortable recommending all ten applicants to the City Commission. The City Commission suggested that she conduct interviews to determine if the applicants meet the qualifications and would be viable as local hearing officers.' Mr. Laursen said Ms. Akin has conducted many interviews trying to fill two positions on her staff. He felt the hearing officer interviews would be back on track soon. Staff was requested to relay the Board's concern to the City Attorney and'provide a time frame for complying with the request. E. Other Items for Board Discussion Discussion ensued regarding Board attendance. It was indicated Mr. Carroza is at home recovering from his recent illness and Ms. Kane has had illness in her family. F. Employees I Citizens to be Heard - None G. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 6: 10 p.m. Chair l.!:.;.i\ ~ Attest: B~~ mcs10,95 Page 3 10/10/95