HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/19/2002, C7 - INCREASE IN BENEFITS FOR CERTAIN TEMPORARY POSITIONS a
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CITY O F SAN LUIS 0 8 1 S P O
FROM: Ann Slate,Director of Human Resources
SUBJECT: INCREASE IN BENEFITS FOR CERTAIN TEMPORARY POSITIONS
CAO RECOMMENDATION
Approve an increase in benefits for certain temporary employees in the Parks and Recreation
Department.
DISCUSSION
In September of 1999, the City Council approved a Temporary Employee Policy. That policy
had three major components:
It provided for hourly wage increases for temporary employees to be tied to SLOCEA salary
increases. It enabled temporary employees to apply for in-house promotional opportunities. It
established a two year pilot program of offering limited benefits for certain Parks and Recreation
temporary positions where continuity and longevity were critical for various recreation programs
success.
The Temporary Employee Policy has proven to be successful in assisting the City in filling
temporary vacancies and in discouraging the high level of turnover that existed previously. After
two-and-one-half-year's experience with the limited benefits component, staff is recommending
a modest increase to reflect the higher costs of benefits.
The limited benefits package was originally established to provide Technical and Professional
Assistants with major program responsibilities (currently a total of 11 authorized positions in the
areas of Aquatics,Ranger Services, Children's Services, Youth Athletics, Adult Athletics, Teens,
Special Events and Public Relations)with $120 per month for health insurance and personal
leave after one year of employment. The personal leave equaled 3%of the hours worked during
the previous year.
Staff is proposing an increase to $200 per month for health insurance and an increase in personal
leave to 4%of the hours worked. This amounts to a little less than the City's least expensive
HMO insurance premium for an employee only. This is significantly less than the$4$5 per
month that a regular employee in SLOCEA receives.
Council Agenda Report—Temporary Employees Limited Benefits Increase
Page 2
CONCURRENCE
The Parks and Recreation Director supports the CAO Recommendation.
FISCAL IMPACT
Originally the limited benefits were estimated to be $8,600 in year one (1999-2000) and $11,500
for year two (2000-2001), and funding was established at that level. While the total amount of
the recommended increase needed for the rest of this fiscal year is $3,520, not all of the eligible
positions are using the benefit, so the increase proposed can be funded within the existing Parks
and Recreation budget. Historically, the department has funding remaining in its fringe benefits
accounts so it is anticipated that there is adequate funding for the $10,560 full annual cost next
year. Again, it is not expected that all $10,560 will be needed, since several employees are not
using this benefit.
ALTERNATIVES
1. Approve a smaller increase to the benefit package.
This alternative is not recommended. To be effective, the benefit needs to keep pace with
increases in insurance premiums. As it is, the proposed funding does not provide enough
dollars to fully cover employee-only premiums.
2. Do not adopt the recommendations.
The proposed increases are intended to improve the City's ability to recruit and retain
qualified temporary employees. If the City cannot find and/or keep qualified temporary
employees when necessary or in a timely manner, productivity and efficiency will suffer
and programs may be less successful. The current level of funding at $120/month is
approximately 50% of the employee-only costs, so that employees who do participate
have considerable out-of-pocket expenses, particularly if they choose to cover
dependents.
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