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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Packet 03-29-1993 SpecialA m fK1 CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION MONDAY, MARCH 29, 1993 5:00 P.M. 5:00 P.M. INTERVIEWS - Northwest Hennepin Human Services Council Applicants 5:45 P.M. DINNER 6:00 P.M. 1) AUTOMOBILE POLICY. 2) VACATION POLICY CITY OF PLYMOUTH 3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD, PLYMOUTH, MN 55447 DATE: March 24, 1993 TO: Dwight Johnson, City Manager FROM: Frank Boyles, Former Assistant City Manager and Fred Moore, Public Works Director SUBJECT: CITY VEHICLES On November 9, 1992, Mayor Bergman wrote a memorandum to me (attached), indicating that he wanted to know which employees get city vehicles to drive home, how much the city is reimbursed for personal mileage, and how do other communities provide for transportation for similar employees on city business? This inquiry came directly on the heels of Jim Willis's resignation and criticism that the Council received both for providing Jim Willis with a Chrysler Imperial. This was complicated by the fact that the original vehicle was destroyed by fire and that the city ultimately paid Jim $12,000 in lieu of the car which we were obliged to provide by the Settlement Agreement. In light of those conditions, it is the Council's desire to stay away from the acquisition of "name plate" cars in the future, including New Yorker, Imperial, Town Car, etc. We have advised the Council that we will purchase vehicles only from the Hennepin County. and State of Minnesota Cooperative- Purchasing Agreements, or in lieu of. that, limit -our acquisitions to vehicles which are bid in those agreements (see attached October 30, 1992 memo). I also asked Jeanette to inquire which city employees in other communities receive either a car allowance or 24-hour car. The results of her survey are attached. CITY VEHICLES March 24, 1993 Page 2 As you can see from the table, take home vehicles are more typically provided to the City Manager and some or all of the department heads. Some cities provide vehicles to other high volume users such as public works superintendent and building official. I believe that the Council's second objective is to minimize, to the extent possible, the number of city cars which may be used by employees for personal use. The Council's concern does not deal with the pool cars which are used during the normal workday, but rather those vehicles that are kept overnight. In the case of Plymouth, the following individuals receive a 24-hour car: Public Works Maintenance Superintendent (Jim Kolstad) Director of Community Development (Chuck Dillerud) Assistant City Manager (Vacant) Director of Public Safety (Craig Gerdes) Chief Building Official (Joe Ryan) Two Fire Prevention Inspectors (Kevin Leuer and Stan Scofield) Fire Chief (Rick Kline) Except for the Fire Prevention Inspectiors, the vehicles were provided in lieu of income. These vehicles are not to be used for personal use other than from the employee's home to work. In accordance with IRS regulations, they are W -2'd for the value of this -benefit. The following persons receive a monthly car allowance: Finance Director (Dale Hahn) Director of Public Works (Fred Moore) Park and Recreation Director (Eric Blank) City Engineer (Dan Faulkner) City Manager (Dwight Johnson) All except the City Engineer receive $300 per month. The City Engineer receives $250 per month based upon his employment agreement. At $300 per month, the cost of this benefit to the City is $3,600 per employee. Fred Moore indicates that the cost of providing a city car, including depreciation, insurance, maintenance and gas amounts to $3,700 per year. Consequently, there is not a significant dollar savings shifting from providing a vehicle to a car allowance. There may, however, be a significant potential for savings both in liability exposure and * in public perception.. CITY VEHICLES March 24, 1993 Page 3 This year the City has budgeted to acquire the following vehicles: Four replacement vehicles for the police investigators Three replacement vehicles for the general employee pool Two new purchase vehicles, one for the housing inspector and the other for police investigators. I have made inquiries to individuals who currently receive a city car to find out whether they would be interested in shifting to a monthly allowance. The results are shown below: Existing City Vehicle Name Jim Kolstad Jim uses this car significantly during the day for 1990 Plymouth a variety of purposes. Last year his vehicle Acclaim accumulated 12,000 miles during the normal workday. This excludes approximately 2,000 miles he accrued driving the vehicle to and from work. Jim's preference is to receive a car allowance of $300 per month. The existing vehicle would be used as one of the replacement pool vehicles. 1992 Ford Chuck Dillerud Chuck is interested in receiving a car allowance, 5 -Speed Manual rather than a car. This vehicle could be shifted Transmission to the housing inspector and in doing so, alleviate the need to purchase a new vehicle for this position. The monthly allowance here should be $300 per month. 1992 Chrysler Frank Boyles This vehicle should be moved to the police LaBaron investigator pool. This vehicle would substitute for the additional vehicle. The new assistant city manager would not be provided with a 24- hour car. He/she could either use a pool car or be provided with a monthly auto allowance. CITY VEHICLES March 24, 1993 Page 4 1992 Chrysler New Yorker Salon 1988 Ford Escort Two - 1990 Plymouth Voyagers 1993 Crown Victoria Craig Gerdes Craig has expressed discomfort in having this car, even though I believe the City Council recognizes that it would not be financially prudent for us to sell it. It is recommended that we retain it until normal trade in time. This vehicle should be shifted to the investigator pool. It would be useful to use as a "plant" for various investigations as it tends to fit well with the type of vehicles found in Plymouth. Craig would simply exchange this vehicle for one of the Ford Taurus in the investigation pool and continue to have the 24-hour use of a city vehicle in lieu of a monthly allowance. Joe Ryan Joe would prefer to receive a monthly allowance of $300 per month. This vehicle would be shifted to the general employee pool and take the place of one of the replacement vehicles previously budgeted. Fire Prevention Presently the Fire Prevention Inspectors use Inspectors their mini -vans 24 -hours a day, seven days a week. This is a carry over from the days when the Fire Inspectors were expected to respond to fires during the workday, as well as after hours and on weekends. They are no longer allowed to respond to fires during the normal work day except in extenuating circumstances. Therefore, it is appropriate that they no longer receive the cars on a 24-hour basis, but leave the vehicles at the City Center building when not working. Rick Kline This vehicle is a police package vehicle. outfitted for emergency - response. Rick will use the vehicle on a 24-hour basis so that he is the first to respond to an alarm. In doing so, he can establish a command post or call off remaining units, depending upon the circumstances. CITY VEHICLES March 24, 1993 Page 5 The impact of the changes suggested above will substitute four (4) existing vehicles for 1993 budget replacement vehicles and provide a monthly auto allowance to four (4) additional employees. Four (4) vehicles which are scheduled to be traded will be sold with our other vehicle purchases. Although this proposal saves a minor amount of money, it reduces the. number of vehicles which the city owns, while recognizing that the vehicles were originally provided to these employees in lieu of compensation. In summary, the following positions will receive an auto allowance: City Manager (Dwight Johnson): $300/month Finance Director (Dale Hahn): $300/month Director of Public Works (Fred Moore): $300/month Park and Recreation Director (Eric Blank): $300/month Director of Community Development (Chuck Dillerud): $300/month Public Works Maintenance Superintendent (Jim Kolstad): $300/month Chief Building Official (Joe Ryan): $300/month City Engineer (Dan Faulkner): $250/month The only positions provided a vehicle on a 24-hour basis would be: Director of Public Safety (Craig Gerdes) Fire Chief (Rick Kline) IAA G;_ T. 5 7 1-iI Iii)! iiEb;k,%IA pul. 7J Crank Boyles/Acting City Manager k:'r'i M. Bergman/Mayor DATi . 1 1/9/92 I *-r Co!)+'rnt'd wt`,i our policy Uf d<:CfUr 7 vacation pay, land providing city I;" -ICS to efe, I: employees. 140ay inform the council now the ry . ;p '+i /days u ,vacaticin. 3nc i1{0W W j hj3 vacation time. 1 ,J 4}'' !(,'r I• /u _;1) '.WeC tO K[10 Y h( ' fru ri ii UivlUuals nave of unused f t , de -!e if we 3houid limit thist! i, .!_ec. irli n. rma.lr.1 to dc. .. pCe the `i;`.Ve so that rve ca,) adequately budget for these, amounts. ri,;ful to k:no runow oLt C,irnlUntilP,S deal with this Ick Wave noli,.y prev?,lts this tvpe of accrual, yet our vacationDoAvsternstoencourageit-wry7' get city MIC ie`j todrI e `•/ homic CtC; n How is the city e oe-son& awleacie V NOW on other cUmmuniC12S Uroviae qSLa x ;ter !i V i X enliplC-yees Jij cily nj,,ziness? Y. extremely t; sy Frair) , but ' wrlu!d Me to incorporate Mese CITY OF PLYMOUTH 3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD, PLYMOUTH, MN 55447 DATE: October 30, 1992 TO: Mayor & City Council FROM: Frank Boyles, Acting City Manager SUBJECT: AUTOMOBILE POLICY Mayor Bergman has asked that I propose a policy regarding vehicle acquisition which assures that the City does not purchase "upscale" vehicles (Chrysler New Yorkers, Imperials, or the like) in the future. For Council information, the City currently possessed only one vehicle which some might consider upscale. This vehicle is a 1992 Chrysler New Yorker Salon provided to the Public Safety Director as part of his employment package. The Mayor has suggested that it might be appropriate to dispose of this vehicle by sale. I believe that the City would lose money on such a transaction and therefore, I would not recommend it. Instead, I suggest that we use this vehicle one of three ways: 1. Provide it to Jim Willis to fulfill the City's contractual obligation. (Jim will be test driving this car this weekend and returning it on Monday with his decision). 2. In the event that number 1 is unsuccessful, retain the vehicle in the event that the new City Manager desires a car, rather than car allowance. 3. In the event that the new manager does not desire a car, have the Public Safety Director continue to use the vehicle until it is traded in. Upscale vehicles will not be purchased in the future. Upscale vehicles are considered to' be any line of vehicles, regardless of manufacturer, which are equivalent to or above the New Yorker or Imperial Chrysler lines. To assure that upscale vehicles are not purchased in the future, we would acquire vehicles in one of three ways: AUTOMOBILE POLICY October 30, 1992 Page 2 1. Utilize the State Cooperative Purchasing Program. 2. Utilize the Hennepin County Cooperative Purchasing Program. 3. Negotiate directly with other dealerships for non -name plate vehicles. Direct negotiations with dealerships would be used only if there is clear financial benefit to the City and/or if the vehicle type or features are such that they are not available through the Cooperative Purchasing Programs. Regardless of method of acquisition, vehicles purchased for City use will be selected based upon: 1. The ability of the vehicle to meet the City's needs. 2. Maintenance history and operating cost of the vehicle and consistency with existing fleet. 3. Purchase price versus expected life span, operating, and maintenance costs. If the Council concurs with these recommendations, no action is necessary. Otherwise, the Council may wish to discuss this subject at the November 2 meeting. FB:keb cc: Dale Hahn, Finance Director Fred Moore, Public Works Director Jim Kolstad, Public Works Superintendent c b 0 o4.o= H U O U W f a U U A tia 0 cd 0 r. 0 s PQ d) z r. c b 3 3 cn 0 0 0 d rA a U o c o co 3 7 U to w a o da' C"Is o z c o oE UUP UUrAUaSo 64 s, o o O , o r inNEf3pN^ O s, O C E A o° o o^ o r Ao o o or. 8 c o O o_. 0 Us`0,, o p O M oO Q' NA> O U ' E U E ocdodc w v c aU U81 d Uwaaa --! Uu c b c 0 0 d rA a U U O co 3 7 U to w a o da' C"Is o zUdoUUUPUUrAUaSo 0 d U U O co 3 7 U to w a da' o U w 044 o w 40- w N c cd w t O O •C end O Q 3 aui od 10a 0 .r. . 3 ACd 3 a c o o O rA ° h . c i Ocz ani . n ' o Q. OE cd Ln 0 moo . 3 ce -° A C bi ° ..... a scL7.cz a o cz o o mac., b u C1U;. c Q z° PQ 04 u'w"a v04m 0-4 iris v04 wP4r4 rd cz o U , > L7 >, a R DATE: March 23, 1993 TO: Dwight D. Johnson, City Manager FROM: Jeanette Sobania, Personnel Coordinato SUBJECT: PLYMOUTH VACATION POLICY The current vacation accrual policy for city employees as stated in both the Personnel Policy and in the various contracts is as follows: An overtime exempt employee may retain a maximum of two times his/her annual accrual rate of vacation. An overtime eligible employee may accrue up to one and one-half times his/her annual accrual rate of vacation. The accrual rate for vacation starts at two weeks for an entry level employee, the maximum is four weeks accrual for an employee who has over fifteen years of employment with the City. The following table illustrates the number of hours which can be accrued as a maximum by various levels of employees. ACCRUAL Annual Accrual Rate in Hours 1.5 Times 2.0 Times 2 weeks 80 hours 120 hours 160 hours 3 weeks 120 hours 180 hours 240 hours 4 WPP.kC PLYMOUTH VACATION POLICY March 23, 1993 Page 2 0 There are 38 employees who are overtime exempt; seven sergeants are also eligible for the two times maximum accrual rate. Thus, there are a maximum of 45 people who can accrue up to 320 hours if they have the requisite number of years with the City, i.e., fifteen. The remaining 130 employees who are eligible for vacation and who are also overtime eligible may accrue up to a maximum of 240 hours of vacation. They, too, must have worked for the City for over fifteen years to have this maximum accrual rate. It is permissible under the personnel policy to accrue a larger number of maximum hours with the express approval of the City Manager. There are currently six employees who exceed their maximum accrual rate. My understanding is that some of them have the express permission of the City Manager and others have just retained the numbers on the books with no express permission. Below is a table which illustrates the vacation accrual maximums allowed by a number of other cities in the metro area. Some allow a waiver and some do not, as illustrated by the second column. As illustrated by the table, the City of Plymouth is at the upper end of accrual allowances for both overtime exempt and overtime eligible employees. One reason which might be cited for these higher maximum levels is the much more stringent sick leave policy of the City. Since it would take an employee approximately twelve years of never being sick to accrue sufficient sick leave hours to cover the time from the onslaught of an illness to the time at which they would be eligible for the long-term disability insurance coverage, it is prudent for an employee to accrue some vacation to cover that type of eventuality. An employee may use vacation to cover a long-term illness. Vacation Accrual Maximum City Waiver Maximum Accrual Balance Apple Valley N 320 Brooklyn Center Y 200 Blaine Y 200 Cottage Grove N 240 Columbia Heights Y 240 Fridley Y 240* Golden Valley Y 400 Maple Grove N 200 Moundsview Y 120 New Brighton Y 160 New Hope 160 T?,amcnv N 11n PLYMOUTH VACATION POLICY March 23, 1993 Page 3 The average accrual maximum is 226 hours. The maximums most frequently cited were: 160-3 200-4 240-4 320-2 We should take immediate steps to reduce the maximum accruals which exceed the rates allowed by the Personnel Policy and contracts. We can do this by notifying employees that they must by the end of 1993 have reduced those maximums or lose that additional vacation. A second step which might be prudent is to reduce the maximum accrual balance to 240 hours for all employees. This would significantly reduce our exposure and liability for vacation accrual. If we chose to reduce the maximum allowable accrual to be 240 hours, the effect would be to place an additional seven employees over the maximum. Another alternative which I have been exploring is the possibility of introducing an annual leave policy which would combine sick leave and vacation. Both Fridley and Shoreview currently have such a policy. In a nutshell, an annual leave plan does the following; 1. Replaces present sick leave, vacation, emergency funeral leave, and injury -on -duty leave with a universal and personal leave concept. 2. It does not replace holidays, military leave, jury duty leave, or any other paid leave required by law. 3. Annual leave combines the accrual rate of vacation and sick leave at approximately the following rates: a. One through five years at 14/15 days per year. b. Five through ten years at 19/20 days per year. c. After fifteen years, 24/25 days per year. 4. Annual leave takes two forms; a. Planned leave which is will be scheduled in advance with supervisor approval. b. Emergency leave which will require notification of the department within one- half hour of the employee's scheduled working days if the employee is not at work when the emergency occurs. PLYMOUTH VACATION POLICY March 23, 1993 Page 4 5. The maximum total accumulation of annual leave for any individual employee at the end of any given year will be 30 days (240 hours). 6. Upon separation from employment, an employee will be paid one day's salary for each day of accrued annual leave remaining in the employee's balance. This maximum would be 240 hours for all employees. 7. The City will provide short-term disability (STD) for each employee who has successfully completed his/her probationary period. STD applies to physician certified illness or injury whether on or off the job. 8. STD insurance coverage will commence on the 21st consecutive working day on which an employee is absent due to a physician -certified illness or injury and will continue until the employee returns to work able to carry out his or her duties, or through the 110th working day of absence, whichever occurs first. 9. STD insurance will assure continuance of the employee's regular rate of pay at the time of the disabling incident. This amount will be reduced by any payments made from worker's compensation insurance, PERA retirement association disability insurance, or social security disability insurance. 10. An employee receiving payments under the City's STD insurance plan will not accrue annual leave. 11. Coverage under STD insurance will extend for a maximum of 90 days for any single illness or injury regardless of the number and spacing of episodes. 12. The City will assure that any employee who is out for more than 20 working days in succession is able to come back to work through the use of a physician certification program. The City may also wish to verify that someone is indeed ill through the use of their own physician. 13. The City will continue to provide the long-term disability (LTD) insurance that it has in the past. The current sick leave plan is one of the most frequently criticized aspects of employment at the City of Plymouth. Various features of the plan make employees feel that they are assumed to be abusers, even when they are legitimately ill. The rate of accrual is so slow as to virtually ensure that anyone who is seriously ill, even after many years of employment will be unable to cover their entire illness with accumulated days of leave. Finally, there is a great incentive to come to work sick so as to ensure that one accrues as many days as possible through the doubling at the end of the year.