Agenda

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10.

City Council Regular Meeting

Meeting Date:

12/01/2020

BACKGROUND

Addition of Christmas Eve to the City's Official Holiday Schedule
The City's Holiday Policy was last approved by Council on August 27, 2019, and lists the following days as Official City Holidays:
New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, *Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans’ Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. *Fire employees (operations) work on Labor Day and recognize 9/11 as the holiday.

City staff is requesting to add Christmas Eve to the official holiday schedule effective December 24, 2020. This day is normally a 'dead day' given the number of employees who take vacation; the lack of customers or resident interactions; and because many other businesses and entities are closed in our area.

Education Pay for City Employees
The City of Schertz encourages and endorses professional development and supports formal education through a Tuition Reimbursement program. Incentive pay programs, such as Education Pay, can positively impact teamwork, lead to increased engagement, reduce turnover, and improve employee morale. Public Safety employees (PD/Fire/EMS) currently receive compensation for 2 and 4-year degrees. Staff is requesting to extend this benefit to all eligible full-time City employees. In order to receive compensation, the education level must be above the minimum requirement for the employee’s position as listed in the job description. Employees will only be paid for the highest level of education achieved. Education pay shall be forfeited if an employee moves into a position where education for which they are currently receiving compensation is a minimum requirement of the position as listed in the job description. Additionally, staff is requesting to add graduate degrees to the approved Education Pay list.

Education Pay Schedule
Associate's Degree: $25.00 per pay period
Bachelor's Degree: $30.00 per pay period
Master's Degree: $45.00 per pay period

GOAL

Approval of Resolution 20-R-141 - Adding Christmas Eve to the City's Official Holiday Schedule and Authorizing Education Pay for All Eligible Full-time City Employees

COMMUNITY BENEFIT

Incentive pay programs, such as Education Pay, can positively impact teamwork, lead to increased engagement, reduce turnover, and improve employee morale. Reduced turnover results in lower staff employment costs. Additionally, incentive pay programs can be highly effective recruitment and retention tools, thereby allowing the City to attract highly qualified talent.

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDED ACTION

Approval of Resolution 20-R-141 - Adding Christmas Eve to the City's Official Holiday Schedule and Authorizing Education Pay for All Eligible Full-time City Employees

FISCAL IMPACT

Addition of Christmas Eve to the City's Official Holiday Schedule
The cost to add Christmas Eve is approximately $32,000 (weighted cost includes taxes and retirement). Costs were estimated using 2019 payroll data. For all employees who would normally be working on the day of the week in which the holiday fell, there is no additional cost. The additional cost comes from paying shift workers who actually work the holiday.

Education Pay for City Employees
The annual cost to extend Education Pay to all eligible full-time employees is approximately $31,400 (weighted cost includes taxes and retirement). Since this will be a mid-year adjustment (effective 1/1/2021), the 9 month cost is approximately $23,500 (weighted). These costs were estimated using current employee educational information. Benefit contingent upon Council approval each year.

These costs can be paid from contingency in FY 20-21 budget.

RECOMMENDATION

Approval of Resolution 20-R-141 - Adding Christmas Eve to the City's Official Holiday Schedule and Authorizing Education Pay for All Eligible Full-time City Employees

Attachments
Resolution 20-R-141