A. The Pay Plan
The Pay Plan is designed as a fair and equitable method for the payment of employees in the City.
1. Preparation of Plan: A compensation plan, directly related to the Classification Plan, shall be developed and administered by the Personnel Director with the approval of the City Manager. Each position of a class shall be assigned to a compensation range.
The compensation ranges shall include minimum and maximum rates for all positions included in the Classification Plan.
2. Adoption of Plan: The compensation plan as approved by the City Manager and adopted by the Council shall constitute the Pay Plan for the City.
3. Amendment of Plan: The Pay Plan may be amended in the same manner as prescribed for the preparation and adoption of the plan.
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B. Administration of Pay Plan
1. Appointment Rate: Except as provided herein, the minimum rate of pay for a class shall be paid upon appointment to the class.
a. The Personnel Director shall monitor the Pay Plan to assure that the entry level for each classification is set to insure that the City maintains competitive recruitment practices.
b. Approval for appointment rates above the minimum rate must first be obtained from the Personnel Director and the City Manager.
2. Performance Increases: Performance increases are based on good work performance and are not automatic. Performance increases within an established range shall be made only upon recommendation of the department director and the Personnel Director with approval by the City Manager.
3. Pay Rate Adjustments: Actions affecting the pay status of an employee shall be considered pay rate adjustments for the purposes of the pay plan.
a. Transfer - When an employee is transferred the compensation rate of the employee will remain unchanged. A transfer shall require the approval of both department directors.
Employees will be required to serve a ninety (90) day probationary period. The merit review date will not change for an employee who has transferred.
b. Promotion - When an employee is promoted from a position in one compensation range to a position having a higher compensation range, the compensation rate of the promoted employee shall be increased to the greater of the entry rate of the new pay range or a minimum of seven percent (7%), but not in excess of the maximum of the new pay range.
c. Demotion
(1) Involuntary: See Article VII, Section L.
(2) Voluntary: An employee may take a voluntary demotion to a position of lower compensation range, if qualified. The employee shall be paid at a rate which is within the approved range for the lower position. The rate of pay shall be recommended by the department director, and approved by the Personnel Director and City Manager, after taking in consideration the circumstances surrounding the reason for the demotion. An employee who has not completed the probationary period prior to demotion will be required to serve a new probationary period.
d. Change in Classification - If a position audit results in a change in classification, the incumbent's compensation shall not change. In no event shall the employee receive less than the entry level of the pay grade of the new class.
A change in classification shall not impact an employee’s merit review date.
e. Out-Of-Position Pay - An employee who is assigned to work in a position in a class with a higher salary range for a period exceeding five (5) working days shall be compensated for all hours served in the higher class at a rate of five percent (5%) above his/her current base pay or the entry rate of the pay range of the classification being filled, whichever is greater.
f. Acting Position Pay - An employee who fills a vacant position in a class with a higher compensation range will be entitled to receive the greater of a minimum of a five percent (5%) increase or the entry rate of the pay range of the classification being filled.
4. Pay Differentials: Personnel permanently assigned a late shift or performing certain duties, shall be entitled to pay differentials when approved by the City Manager, as follows:
a. Full time employees who are permanently assigned to a shift beginning between the hours of 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. shall be entitled to a five percent (5%) pay differential.
b. During periods of strike, flood, civil disorder, or other emergency, not to exceed three consecutive month's duration, the City Manager may approve, within current appropriations, a pay differential to personnel subjected to exceptional pressures, requirements, responsibilities and a demand for performance of significantly increased duties over and above those normally associated with the employee's position.
5. Longevity Pay:
a. On and after July 1, 1995, for all non-represented employees and for bargaining unit members with work agreements that refer to this alternative longevity system the following provision for longevity pay will apply. On the employee’s anniversary date, longevity pay will be determined by adding a longevity factor of five tenths of one percent (0.5%) of the employee’s base pay to base pay. This calculation will occur for each year of service that an employee completes to a maximum of thirty (30) years of service. Any amount in excess of the employee’s classification pay range, as a result of the above calculation, will be compensated as a bonus in addition to base compensation.
When a bonus exists the bonus will be added to base pay prior to the multiplication by the longevity factor. This will occur until the employee’s base pay plus bonus pay is less than the maximum for the employee’s classification pay range. For purposes of this calculation base pay will be the employee’s earnings in accordance with the classification schedule, plus longevity compensation.
b. For bargaining unit members with work agreements in effect as of January 1, 1995, that have not been revised to provide for an alternative longevity system, that refer to a longevity pay system in the City Personnel Policies & Procedures the following provision for longevity pay will apply: Unless otherwise provided by the City Pay Plan, each regular full time or part time employee shall receive a pay additive to annual compensation to be known as longevity. Each employee shall be compensated for longevity pay beginning with the first payroll following the employee's anniversary date in accordance and at a rate set forth in the schedule in Appendix A to these Personnel Policies and Procedures.
6. Overtime Pay:
a. Unless otherwise provided by separate work agreement, all non-exempt employees working in excess of forty (40) hours per week shall be compensated at the rate of one and one-half (1½) times their regular hourly rate of pay. For purpos es of this subsection, when calculating total hours per week worked, holidays, vacation, sick leave, and personal business are included.
b. Notwithstanding paragraph a, above, Fire Department personnel assigned to suppression, not otherwise classified as exempt, who have worked at least 212 hours in the 28 consecutive day work period shall be entitled to overtime.
c. Overtime must be authorized by the department director.
d. Exempt and non-exempt status shall be identified in the class specification.
e. Compensation in excess of salary may be granted to exempt employees under emergency conditions which directly involve the health, safety and/or welfare of employees or citizens. Such pay must have prior approval of the City Manager.
7. Compensatory Time: Based on the decision of the department director non-exempt employees accumulate compensatory time in-lieu of overtime compensation in accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Compensatory time is limited to general employees being allowed to accumulate, at the time and one-half rate, up to 240 hours, or 160 hours at the straight time rate.
Public safety employees will be allowed to accumulate, at the time and one-half rate, up to 480 hours, or 320 hours at the straight time rate.
8. Standby, On-Call, and Call-Out Pay:
a. Stand-By is off-duty hours when the employee is required to respond if called to report to work and is subject to disciplinary action for failure to respond. Employees, both exempt (except department directors and division managers) and non-exempt, will be compensated for time spent on stand-by. Stand-by compensation will be two (2) hours at the employees overtime rate for each twenty-four (24) hours of availability. Response time requirements will be determined by the employee’s department director.
On-Call is off-duty hours when the employee may be called back to work, and not required to respond. The employee is not subject to disciplinary action if unable to respond. Employees, both exempt and non-exempt, will not be compensated for time spent on-call.
c. Call-Out is as when an employee is actually called and reports back to work, whether on stand-by or not. In the event the employee is called out, non-exempt employees shall be compensated at their overtime rate of pay for a minimum of two hours. Employees on stand-by when called-out will not receive compensation for being called-out until the hours worked on the call-
out exceed the number of hours compensated for stand-by. Compensation shall start at the time the employee is contacted and asked to report to work and
end at the point that the employee is released from duty. The maximum allowable time for compensated travel from the contact location to the reporting site is thirty (30) minutes.
9. Court Time: A non-exempt em receive disability compensation benefits from the City’s Long-Term Disability (LTD) carrier, or other City funded insurance programs. The employee must not be eligible for regular retirement. The employee must apply and receive approval for an extended medical leave of absence from employment because of the catastrophic debilitating, or long-term illness or injury in accordance with Section V.G. While receiving donated leave, an employee will not accrue sick, personal business, or vacation leave. An employee who receives donated leave hours from other employees will not be required to repay those hours.
2. An employee experiencing a catastrophic illness or injury, and otherwise qualified, may be approved to receive up to one thousand and forty (1040) hours of donated leave, or; for part-time employees, the equivalent of six months, annually, less any personal accrued leave. If approved, payment of donated days will begin when other accrued leave benefits are exhausted, and will be paid to the employee, at the employee’s regular hourly rate.
3. Employees will be allowed to donate up to a maximum of forty (40) hours of vacation, personal business, or sick leave to any eligible recipient in a calendar year. Leave hours donated to employees will be deducted from the donating employee’s accrued leave account. Donated leave time will not be considered when reviewing an employee’s leave usage.
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