City Council Minutes 2014 10 14 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

City Council Meeting Minutes October 14, 2014 Page 18 of 23 Council member Loo noted the Open Space Fund purchased the Baptist Church Property. She felt the City should stop buying parks if there is no money to maintain them. Council member Keany stated the Open Space & Parks Fund should transfer funds to the General Fund. The Open Space & Parks Fund made the acquisitions. He suggested a Council policy decision discussion on how parks and open space tax should be used for operational needs. He felt a portion of the funds remain in the fund and a portion be transferred to the General Fund. BENEFITS AND COMPENSATION Mayor Muckle voiced his support for the employee benefits and compensation. Council member Lipton inquired about the merit increases and the percentages per each category in the evaluation. City Manager Fleming explained the average merit increase over past years has been between 3 to 3.5% on average. He noted there is a bell curve. The City Manager evaluates Department Heads and the next level down to make sure there is consistency in the evaluation process. He expects the Department Heads to do that as well to ensure consistency. Council member Keany addressed the merit raises for the police department and the Corporal positions. He asked if that measure would address the cap or do the pay scales need to be increased. City Manager Fleming explained the Corporal position will help this issue as several officers are at the top of their range. He noted every year a survey is done and the results are compared with City's compensation. Nine other jurisdictions are surveyed and staff looks at the high, mid and low range. Based on the comparison the City's compensation is competitive. The City implemented the one -time bonuses to ensure there was some increase to those who were topped out and still excelling, thus making them eligible for a merit increase. Human Resources Director Hix stated every year a market evaluation is done on positions and the City is paying market wages to police officers. The Police are in a step and grade each year and if there is no performance issues they automatically increase, which is 5 %. The City pays the average eight step ranges for Police Officers, so in eight years an officer would be topped out. The City does not pay the top, they pay the average. Council member Keany asked Chief Hayes how many officers the City lost last year due to the pay scale. Chief Hayes explained the City only lost one officer to Westminster. He noted Westminster is not one of the cities Louisville has in their pay survey. HEALTH BENEFITS City Manager Fleming explained the Health Benefits for 2015 will be Kaiser. In a survey, the employees as a whole, elected to stay with the Kaiser Plan. The Plan has a