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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-21-05 Minutes WS MINUTES OCOEE CITY COMMISSION September 21, 2005 at 6:30 P.M. COMMISSION WORKSHOP - SALARY SURVEY AND PAY PLAN I A. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Vandergrift called the Workshop Session to order at 6:30 p.m. in the Commission Chambers of City Hall. Roll Call: Mayor Vandergrift, Commissioner Anderson, Commissioner Johnson, Commissioner Parker, and Commissioner Howell Also Present: City Manager Frank, Human Resources Director Camicella, and City Clerk Eikenberry B. DISCUSSION REGARD AND THE PAY PLAN F Y SURVEY CONDU 2006 Human Resources Director Carnicella asked the Commission to consider approving the pay plan as a whole, as a result of the survey done by HRMP, to substitute for the present pay plan that we now have, in the following manner: . Adopt the New Pay Plan, including pay grades 10 through 37, and corresponding minimum and maximum ranges . Adopt the Pay Grade system by Position . Approve the funding to adopt the recommended adjustments as submitted in the Financial Impact Summary by Department, for a total proposed increase of $206,640.99. This figure includes the 2% COLA adjustment across the board, as well as any adjustments recommended by HRMP. . The FY06 COLA, Pay Plan and corresponding adjustments would be effective October 10,2005. Human Resources Director Carnicella said the details for Police Officers and Firefighters are not included in this packet, but the survey included those positions to find out where they fell in the market study. Those positions are still in labor negotiations, and he expects to bring back an agreement at a later date. City Manager Frank said when we decided to do the Salary Survey, it made sense to include the police officers, to see where they fall in comparison to similar agencies, and to use that information for budgeting purposes and as a tool for the union negotiations. No salary increases will be implemented for the police department until after the collective bargaining is completed. Those negotiations will have to stay within the budgeted parameters that are adopted by the Commission. Commissioner Anderson said some positions in the Market Study were compared to three other cities, and some were compared to eight or nine. Human Resources Director Carnicella said they look for cities that have a job description with an exact match, or they do not use it in the study. It is understood that these types of surveys cannot be 100% accurate, but if they are 85% - 95% accurate, then it gives us an understanding of where we are, and allows us to do some additional research on jobs that did not fall where we think they should have. Commissioner Anderson asked about the methodology for developing the new pay grades for positions within the City. Human Resources Director Carnicella said there are a number of different things that drive the methodology including the market study, job surveys filled out by employees, interviews with supervisors, the structure of the current pay plan, etc. Human Resources Director Carnicella said that the cost of this entire proposed pay plan is only 1.87% of the entire current payroll, which tells us that the existing pay plan was not that far from average in the job market. There are some positions within the City that need a closer look, and we will do that over time. When you are adjusting the entire pay plan to bring it into a competitive market, and you can do that for 1.87% ($206,640.99), it is not a real drastic adjustment, even though we understand that $206,000 is a lot of money. Human Resources Director Carnicella said the City Manager asked to have additional funding in the budget to take care of some of those positions that need more in-depth be research, which would allow us to make those corrections over the fiscal year. Commissioner Anderson said he called Orange County today and they told him that starting salary for a deputy sheriff, with no experience, was $35,000 with a 5% increase beginning October 1, 2005, and our survey shows $30,000. Human Resources Director Carnicella said they did not survey larger cities and counties because those numbers would have skewed the survey to be much higher. Commissioner Parker said she does not believe he was given accurate figures by Orange County because her husband works there, received a higher starting pay because he had experience, and he is still not making $35,000. Mayor Vandergrift pointed out that the survey for City Engineers shows that we are paying them 16% - 21 % above average. Commissioner Johnson said we should not even be discussing the Police or Fire because we are in union negotiations with them and they are not part of the pay plan being presented tonight. City Manager Frank said the Police and Fire positions were included in there to get some general reference points to negotiate with, we do not intent on implementing them. Their salaries will be implemented based on the collective bargaining agreement. We are recommending that the numbers presented in this survey be implemented for the general employees. Human Resources Director Carnicella added that he hopes that in the very near future, he will be able to bring back a collective bargaining agreement that everyone will be happy with. There was discussion about why certain cities and counties were used to compare some jobs, but not others. City Manger Frank said they specifically asked HRMP not to compare with Orlando for any positions because there pay is very high, and jobs are not necessarily comparable, and that would have skewed the survey upward. Human Resources Director Carnicella said HRMP did not use Orange County in the police officer comparison because they believe a deputy sheriff position is not the same as a police in a small city. He also advised if the City determines the police department needs an across the board 5% raise to compete for better employees, we can do that, understanding that the cost of that would be $170,000. Commissioner Howell asked what the starting pay is for police officers; Human Resources Director Carnicella said approximately $32,100. Commissioner Howell said he thinks officers are not just leaving because of pay, but because of other benefits such as take-home cars. Human Resources Director Carnicella said there are salary, benefits, pensions, take-home cars, management styles, and a number of issues they are looking into in order to get good police officers and keep them. Commissioner Anderson asked what the difference between a Firefighter/EMT is in Orlando vs.Ocoee. Commissioner Johnson said they respond to more calls, they have many more fires, they have a higher degree of danger because of the number of high rises in Orlando. Human Resources Director Carnicella said a larger organization has a lot more opportunities, more specialized fields such as technical rescue, etc. Those opportunities attract more applicants. Mayor Vandergrift said he has no problem moving the pay scale up for the overall situation. He does have a problem with any salary survey that we do that can be jaundiced in any way, and we hopefully hired someone that would not do that. We also have a good retirement plan, and health benefits. He is not comfortable putting money into the budget for police and fire while we are still negotiating with the unions. He said he spoke to someone whose husband started as a Firefighter in New York City for $26,000 per year. Mayor Vandergrift left the meeting at 7: 18 p.m. Commissioner Howell asked about the increases in the Fire Department, and felt that the positions that are not covered by the collective bargaining agreement should still be considered for an increase. Human Resources Director Carnicella said that there are positions in both police and fire that will have to be looked at when the union negotiations are completed, and that is another reason the City Manager asked to have additional money placed in contingency. Commissioner Anderson adjourned the meeting. ADJOURNME The meeting was adjourned at 7:20 p.m. Attest: APPROVED: City of Ocoee J .~.'l