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Home My WebLink About307-21 RESOLUTION9RkA N5 aS 113 West Mountain Street Fayetteville. AR 72701 (479) 575-8323 Resolution: 307-21 File Number: 2021-0914 WATER AND SEWER OPERATIONS DIVISION EMPLOYEES RETENTION PAY PLAN: A RESOLUTION TO APPROVE A RETENTION PAY PLAN FOR WATER AND SEWER OPERATIONS DIVISION EMPLOYEES WHO SERVE IN A PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY CAPACITY WHEREAS, the Water and Sewer Division currently faces recruitment and retention challenges which impact the ability of the division to adequately respond to the City's utility needs; and WHEREAS, staff recommends the approval of retention pay in the amount of S3.00 per hour for Water and Sewer Operations employees who serve the community in the job titles of Maintenance Worker Ill, Maintenance Worker IV, Crew Leader, Field Supervisor and Warehouse Manager in the interest of public safety; and WHEREAS, the retention pay will become effective at the start of the pay period immediately following approval by City Council and run until the 2022 Merit Staff Pay Plan is implemented. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS: Section 1: That the City Council of the City of Fayetteville. Arkansas hereby approves the retention pay plan for Water and Sewer Operations Division employees who serve in public health and safety capacity as described above, effective at the start of the pay period immediately following approval of this Resolution and expiring when the 2022 Merit Staff Pay Plan is implemented. PASSED and APPROVED on 12/7/2021 Page 1 Printed on 1218121 Resolution: 307-21 File Number.2021-0914 Attest: U Kara Pas on. City Clerk Treasurer . Gly zi ;r,• . zp -�; FAYEl 1 CV►t_L J� ''4A (iteiiN�`s� Page 2 Printed on 1218121 113WestMountainStreet City of Fayetteville, Arkansas • Fayetteville, AR 72701 ° (479) 575-8323 Text File File Number: 2021-0914 Agenda Date: 12/7/2021 Version: 1 Status: Passed In Control: City Council Meeting File Type: Resolution Agenda Number: CA WATER AND SEWER OPERATIONS DIVISION EMPLOYEES RETENTION PAY PLAN: A RESOLUTION TO APPROVE A RETENTION PAY PLAN FOR WATER AND SEWER OPERATIONS DIVISION EMPLOYEES WHO SERVE IN A PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY CAPACITY WHEREAS, the Water and Sewer Division currently faces recruitment and retention challenges which impact the ability of the division to adequately respond to the City's utility needs; and WHEREAS, staff recommends the approval of retention pay in the amount of $3.00 per hour for Water and Sewer Operations employees who serve the community in the job titles of Maintenance Worker 111, Maintenance Worker IV, Crew Leader, Field Supervisor and Warehouse Manager in the interest of public safety; and WHEREAS, the retention pay will become effective at the start of the pay period immediately following approval by City Council and run until the 2022 Merit Staff Pay Plan is implemented. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS: Section 1: That the City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas hereby approves the retention pay plan for Water and Sewer Operations Division employees who serve in public health and safety capacity as described above, effective at the start of the pay period immediately following approval of this Resolution and expiring when the 2022 Merit Staff Pay Plan is implemented. City of Fayetteville, Arkansas Page 1 Printed on 121W021 Tim Nyander and Missy Cole Submitted By City of Fayetteville Staff Review Form 2021-0914 Legistar File ID 12/7/2021 City Council Meeting Date - Agenda Item Only N/A for Non -Agenda Item 11/17/2021 WATER SEWER (720) Submitted Date Division / Department Action Recommendation: Staff recommends retention pay for Water and Sewer employees that serve in public health and safety capacity. Budget Impact: 5400.xxx.xxxx-51xx.xx 5400 - Water & Sewer Account Number Fund Project Number Project Title Budgeted Item? Yes Current Budget $ 6,946,440.00 Funds Obligated $ 5,728,823.00 Current Balance 1,217,617.00 Does item have a cost? No Item Cost $ - Budget Adjustment Attached? No Budget Adjustment $ - Remaining Budget 1,217,617.00 V20210527 Purchase Order Number: Previous Ordinance or Resolution # Change Order Number: Approval Date: Original Contract Number: Comments: CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE ARKANSAS MEETING OF DECEMBER 7, 2021 TO: Mayor and City Council THRU: Susan Norton, Chief of Staff FROM: Tim Nyander, Utilities Director Missy Cole, HR Director DATE: November 17, 2021 CITY COUNCIL MEMO SUBJECT: Staff recommends retention pay for Water and Sewer employees that serve in public health and safety capacity. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends retention pay for Water and Sewer staff who serve the community in the job titles of Maintenance Worker III, Maintenance Worker IV, Crew Leader, Field Supervisor and Warehouse Manager in the interest of public safety. The pay will be equal to $3.00 / hour for all worked hours. The rate will become effective with the start of the payperiod immediately following approval by City Council and run until the 2022 Merit Staff Pay Plan is implemented in 2022. BACKGROUND: The Water and Sewer Division currently faces recruitment and retention challenges which impact the ability of the division to adequately respond to the City's utility needs. These positions are those that repair water and sewer pipe in our service area. Our current workforce is working overtime night and day to continue providing our customers with safe and reliable drinking water and sewer service. The focus of our proposal is to address an Emergency Safety Issue. The emergency is that this Division will not be able to keep up this pace indefinitely. The Maintenance Workers are putting in an average of 139 hours per 80-hour pay period. To put it in perspective, that is equivalent to working 14-hour days 7 days a week. The crew leaders are averaging 110 hours per period which is equivalent to 11-hour days 7 days a week. The safety issue is that our employees are spending too much time on the job without a chance to fully rest and recharge. Currently, Water and Sewer has eleven Maintenance Worker vacancies and four Crew Leader vacancies with a limited applicant pool. Other municipalities in the Northwest Arkansas region have recently made adjustments to pay ranges for utilities positions and the City is currently working with Johanson Group to conduct the biennial Merit Pay Plan survey. The $3.00 / hour retention pay will be in effect until the impact of the 2022 Merit Pay Plan for these positions can be determined and adjusted appropriately. By implementing this retention incentive, it will allow the City to retain experienced staff and recruit new staff to fill the vacancies. Mailing Address: 113 W. Mountain Street www.fayetteville-ar.gov Fayetteville, AR 72701 BUDGET/STAFF IMPACT: Funds are available in Water Distribution Salaries and Wages, Sewer Mains Maintenance Salaries and Wages, Water & Sewer Connections Salaries and Wages and Operations and Administration Salaries and Wages. If fully staffed, the incentive will cost an additional $25,152.00 per month and will run until the 2022 pay plan is implemented for merit staff. Attachments: W & S Incentive Cost Monthly # of Employees Job Title 17 Maintenance Worker III 11 Maintenance Worker III (vacant) 2 Maintenace Worker IV 10 Crew Leader 2 Field Supervisor 1 Warehouse Manager Total Monthly Additional Monthly Cost $10,149.00 $6,567.00 $1,194.00 $5,970.00 $1,038.00 $234.00 $25,152.00 Received 11/30/21 2:51 PM Submit Public Comment This page is provided for efficient submission of public comment for City Council and Planning Commission meetings. All submissions must be directly related to a specific agenda item for the next meeting. Please ensure your comments conform to the Rules of Order and Procedure. RULES OF ORDER AND PROCEDURE OF THE FAYETTEVILLE CITY COUNCIL Full Name* Employee Address or Ward* Address Ward Locate Your Ward Number Address* 2435 S Industrail Dr Ex. 113 W Mountain St Phone Number Email Meeting Body* City Council Agenda Item Water and Sewer Retention Pay Number/Subject Please click the link below to navigate to the Agenda Page Locate City Council Agenda Item Locate Planning Commission Agenda Item Position Comments Dear Council, Please consider these thoughts. I am addressing you with concerns about the Recruitment and Retention Pay for Water & Sewer Construction Group. I understand due to the pandemic and other factors our department is experiencing employees leaving fewer people applying for open positions. We have been told only select people will be considered Construction Group. This does not apply to all Water & Sewer employees. This raises questions: • Who will be considered part of this elite group? • Why does this position/person qualify? • This does not apply to office staff, warehouse staff, meter staff who are all part of this team and department. Why? • Why are supervisors included? • Whv rinPc this Nnt annly to tha antira taam? • Why do we have to create a division within our department? • Why do I or the next guy have to feel like my position is not as important as another position. • Should this only affect the Construction Group employees who have worked extensive overtime hours instead of all the Construction Group? We have been told if you are part of this Construction Group you will receive $3.00 per hour for every hour you work. This will apply to new hires and existing construction staff. We have been told this is only until the job rate study is complete. At the time of completion, the $3.00 per hour is subject to change. Could go up or down. This also raises questions: • How do you expect to hire an employee and tell them the base pay is so much per hour and you will receive an additional $3.00 per hour for each hour you work, but this is subject to change in a few months, could go up or down. This is absurd and unreasonable. • What about the existing Construction Group, will these employees retain the $3.00 per hour from now on? These employees will not be happy if you take money away. • Will the Construction Group positions have a $3.00 hour top out raise for each position? • What about the Construction Group staff that is topped out for the current position, will these receive the $3.00 per hour incentive? I agree with staff, something must be done to recruit and retain employees. However, to split the team and create division is not the answer. To offer part of the staff an incentive and not all is Not the answer. This is not right. To justify this by saying the employees that remain employed on the Construction Group qualify for this and not the rest of the employees is wrong. All of us are feeling the effects of economic climate caused by the pandemic. The employees that have set roots down in the city for many years, through good times and bad and don't want to leave the city to work for the private sector feel punished. Some employees have been offered other jobs and chose to stay in this department. Again, this is not the answer. Many Water, Sewer and Meter jobs are not competitive to other utilities. If the seasoned staff that is not part of this Construction Group decide to seek employment elsewhere this will be devastating to the Water and Sewer department. All Water Sewer and Meter jobs are vital and play a key role in smooth safe operation of this division. Suggestion take the money that is willing to be spent and split between all Water, Sewer, and Meter employees. Please consider these thoughts in your decision. Please consider staff forward a plan that will include all Water, Sewer and Meter employees. Thank You Attachments PDF preferred Section from the RULES OF ORDER AND PROCEDURE OF THE FAYETTEVILLE CITY COUNCIL Adopted 01/07/2020 by Resolution #01-20 & Amended 06/16/2020 by Resolution #170-20: Public Comments. Public comment at a City Council meeting shall be allowed for all members of the audience who have signed up prior to the beginning of the agenda item they wish to address being opened for public comment. Speakers shall be limited to a maximum of five (5) minutes to be broken into segments of three and two minutes. Amendments may receive public comments only if approved by the City Council by unanimous consent or majority vote. If public comment is allowed for an amendment, speakers will only be allowed to speak for three (3) minutes. The City Council may allow both a speaker additional time and an unsigned -up person to speak by unanimous consent or majority vote Courtesy and Respect. All members of the public, all city staff and elected officials shall accord the utmost courtesy and respect to each other at all times. All shall refrain from rude or derogatory remarks, reflections as to integrity, abusive comments and statements about motives or personalities. Any member of the public who violates these standards shall be ruled out of order by the Mayor, must immediately cease speaking and shall leave the podium. Enter the text you want this field to display Received 12/6/21 9:04 PM Submit Public Comment This page is provided for efficient submission of public comment for City Council and Planning Commission meetings. All submissions must be directly related to a specific agenda item for the next meeting. Please ensure your comments conform to the Rules of Order and Procedure. RULES OF ORDER AND PROCEDURE OF THE FAYETTEVILLE CITY COUNCIL Full Name* Address or Ward* Fayetteville Employee Locate Your Ward Number Address Ward Address* 113 W Mountain St Ex. 113 W Mountain St Phone Number Email Meeting Body* City Council Agenda Item Water and Sewer Retention Pay Number/Subject Please click the link below to navigate to the Agenda Page Locate City Council Agenda Item Locate Planning Commission Agenda Item Position Comment Only Comments Council please consider, The City Council Memo for the Water and Sewer retention pay states the pay will equal to $3.00/ hour for all worked hours. The memo states under Background: The maintenance workers are working an average of 139 hours per 80-hour pay period. Then it states that is equivalent to 14 hours a day for 7 days. How can you compare 80-hour pay period (2 weeks) to a 7 day work week? This is unacceptable. How can you say this is equivalent to 14 hour days 7 days a week? 14x7 equals 98 not 139. The memo also states the crew leaders are averaging 110 hours per pay period and is equivalent to 11 hour days 7 days week. How can you compare 80-hour pay period (2 weeks) to a 7 day work week? This is preposterous. How can you say this is equivalent to 11 hour days 7 days a week? 11x7 equals 77 not 110. The memo does not state an average of hours the 2 Field Supervisors or the 1 Warehouse Manager work per 80-hour pay period. Why not? On the last page of the City Council Memo it states the monthly cost. It states the Warehouse Manager monthly cost is $234.00. This is a full time position. 4 weeks in a month 40 hours a week. 4X40 equals 160 hours. 160 X $3.00 equals $480.00 The monthly cost does not add up as stated in the memo. $480.00 monthly cost not $234.00 as stated in the memo. I do not understand how you can identify hours worked per a 80-hour pay period then in the next sentence compare it to 7 days a week? I do not understand how the monthly cost of a single full time employee can be $234.00, when its $480.00 with no overtime. Please consider these thoughts. Thank you. Attachments .POF preferred Section from the RULES OF ORDER AND PROCEDURE OF THE FAYETTEVILLE CITY COUNCIL Adopted 01/07/2020 by Resolution #01-20 & Amended 06/16/2020 by Resolution #170-20: Public Comments. Public comment at a City Council meeting shall be allowed for all members of the audience who have signed up prior to the beginning of the agenda item they wish to address being opened for public comment. Speakers shall be limited to a maximum of five (5) minutes to be broken into segments of three and two minutes. Amendments may receive public comments only if approved by the City Council by unanimous consent or majority vote. If public comment is allowed for an amendment, speakers will only be allowed to speak for three (3) minutes. The City Council may allow both a speaker additional time and an unsigned -up person to speak by unanimous consent or majority vote Courtesy and Respect. All members of the public, all city staff and elected officials shall accord the utmost courtesy and respect to each other at all times. All shall refrain from rude or derogatory remarks, reflections as to integrity, abusive comments and statements about motives or personalities. Any member of the public who violates these standards shall be ruled out of order by the Mayor, must immediately cease speaking and shall leave the podium. Enter the text you want this field to display Received 12/6/21 9:08 PM Submit Public Comment This page is provided for efficient submission of public comment for City Council and Planning Commission meetings. All submissions must be directly related to a specific agenda item for the next meeting. Please ensure your comments conform to the Rules of Order and Procedure. RULES OF ORDER AND PROCEDURE OF THE FAYETTEVILLE CITY COUNCIL Full Name* Address or Ward* Concerned Employee Locate Your Ward Number Address Ward Address* 113 W Mountain Street Ex. 113 W Mountain St Phone Number Email Meeting Body* City Council Agenda Item CA Water & Sewer Operations Division Employees Retention Pay Number/Subject Plan Please click the link below to navigate to the Agenda Page Locate City Council Agenda Item Locate Planning Commission Agenda Item Position Comments This City Council item is concerning as it only applies to a select group of individuals and not the Division as a whole. There are other positions in this Division (Meter Reader for example) that are under paid and over worked also. To give a select group of employees a $3 an hour raise is a slap in the face to the other individuals that work in the Water, Sewer & Meter Division and will create a moral issue. Every one that works for the City plays an important role and works hard. Water & Sewer Crews that work on water leaks or on call have been dealing with a large number of water leaks for many years. Management hasn't been concerned or questioned the amount of overtime hours that was worked in the past. Crews have been allowed to work all the overtime they want. Employees have even calculated how many hours of overtime they need to work each week to meet their personal needs, not the needs of the City. Its common knowledge that when crews are finished with a call they return to the Operations Center and remain on the clock for several hours not performing any work. Everyone keeps saying we have a safety issue, but looks like a misuse of time and tax payer dollars. We have one big water leak and suddenly there is an issue. I think there are other issues that need to be addressed like looking into our aging water lines. If I'm not mistaken, some of the water lines date back to the 60's. We need to be proactive instead of reactive. Maybe we need to spend more money on updating water lines instead of building trails. I know I would much rather have clean, safe drinking water when I turn my faucet. If the City is having an issue with recruiting people to work for the Water & Sewer Division, why can't the City look into offering a sign on bonus similar to the new incentive implemented for the Police Department? I feel the positions in the division need to be reviewed and paid more, ALL positions need to be reviewed, not just the chosen few. Please consider retention pay for all employees of the Water, Sewer & Meter Division. Attachments PDF preferred Section from the RULES OF ORDER AND PROCEDURE OF THE FAYETTEVILLE CITY COUNCIL Adopted 01/07/2020 by Resolution #01-20 & Amended 06/16/2020 by Resolution #170-20: Public Comments. Public comment at a City Council meeting shall be allowed for all members of the audience who have signed up prior to the beginning of the agenda item they wish to address being opened for public comment. Speakers shall be limited to a maximum of five (5) minutes to be broken into segments of three and two minutes. Amendments may receive public comments only if approved by the City Council by unanimous consent or majority vote. If public comment is allowed for an amendment, speakers will only be allowed to speak for three (3) minutes. The City Council may allow both a speaker additional time and an unsigned -up person to speak by unanimous consent or majority vote Courtesy and Respect. All members of the public, all city staff and elected officials shall accord the utmost courtesy and respect to each other at all times. All shall refrain from rude or derogatory remarks, reflections as to integrity, abusive comments and statements about motives or personalities. Any member of the public who violates these standards shall be ruled out of order by the Mayor, must immediately cease speaking and shall leave the podium. Enter the text you want this field to display Received 12/7/21 12:17 PM Submit Public Comment This page is provided for efficient submission of public comment for City Council and Planning Commission meetings. All submissions must be directly related to a specific agenda item for the next meeting. Please ensure your comments conform to the Rules of Order and Procedure. RULES OF ORDER AND PROCEDURE OF THE FAYETTEVILLE CITY COUNCIL Full Name* Employee Address or Ward* Address Ward Locate Your Ward Number Address* 113 W Mountain St Ex. 113 W Mountain St Phone Number Email Meeting Body* City Council Agenda Item Retention Pay for Water and Sewer Number/Subject Please click the link below to navigate to the Agenda Page Locate City Council Agenda Item Locate Planning Commission Agenda Item Position Opposed Comments CA Water & Sewer Operations Division Employees Retention Pay Plan To city council I agree something needs to be done, but I don't think the solution is to give a select few $3 more per hour. Just to let it be known that all Water & Sewer employees are not in the select few to be considered for the retention pay. There are employees that work in other areas such as Pump and Tank, Leak Detection, Field Service Rep's, just to name a few. Also, there is the Meter side of the division that has Meter Readers, Meter Maintenance and Backflow. If this item passes, there are a few people that will be getting this retention pay that are long time employees. If these employees were going to leave the city to seek outside employment, they would have been gone a long time ago. The item that staff has brought to City Council recommends retention pay for Water and Sewer employees that serve in a public health and safety capacity. The Division as a whole plays a role in public health and safety. I feel that the Water, Sewer and Meter Division as a whole plays a part in public health and safety and should be recognized as such. The Meter Division has experienced a 60 percent turn over this past year. They also are feeling the impact of not being able to retain employees. This area has felt the effects of being short staffed and working overtime also. If the Water & Sewer Division is having a difficult time attracting people to apply for their vacant positions, why isn't a sign on bonus being considered? I don't see how raising some ones pay by $3 per hour is going to cut down on overtime or burnout and entice people to come to work for the Water & Sewer Division. I agree the utilities department is underpaid. And all job descriptions need to be rewrote and upgraded to the proper pay range. Please consider these thoughts. We do not need division in our department. Attachments PDF preferred Section from the RULES OF ORDER AND PROCEDURE OF THE FAYETTEVILLE CITY COUNCIL Adopted 01/07/2020 by Resolution #01-20 & Amended 06/16/2020 by Resolution #170-20: Public Comments. Public comment at a City Council meeting shall be allowed for all members of the audience who have signed up prior to the beginning of the agenda item they wish to address being opened for public comment. Speakers shall be limited to a maximum of five (5) minutes to be broken into segments of three and two minutes. Amendments may receive public comments only if approved by the City Council by unanimous consent or majority vote. If public comment is allowed for an amendment, speakers will only be allowed to speak for three (3) minutes. The City Council may allow both a speaker additional time and an unsigned -up person to speak by unanimous consent or majority vote Courtesy and Respect. All members of the public, all city staff and elected officials shall accord the utmost courtesy and respect to each other at all times. All shall refrain from rude or derogatory remarks, reflections as to integrity, abusive comments and statements about motives or personalities. Any member of the public who violates these standards shall be ruled out of order by the Mayor, must immediately cease speaking and shall leave the podium. Enter the text you want this field to display