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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-12-2024 City Council Work Session Packet CITY OF FAIRHOPE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION AGENDA Monday, August 12, 2024 - 4:30 PM City Council Chamber Council Members Kevin G. Boone Jack Burrell Jimmy Conyers Corey Martin Jay Robinson 1. Baldwin Family Village Update 2. Discussion of Proposed Sick Leave Donation Policy 3. AMI Meter Policy - Electric Department 4. 2024 - 2025 Budget Discussion - Revenues 5. Committee Updates 6. Department Head Updates Next City Council Work Session, Monday, August 26, 2024, 4:30 p.m. - City Council Chambers Page 1 of 13 CITY OF FAIRHOPE AGENDA MEMORANDUM Item ID: 2024-580 FROM: Kate Carver, Baldwin BFV Executive Director Elizabeth Hammock, BFV Board Member & Treasurer SUBJECT: Baldwin Family Village Update AGENDA DATE: August 12, 2024 RECOMMENDED ACTION: Kate Carver, BFV Executive Director and Elizabeth Hammock, BFV Member and Treasurer to present an update on Baldwin Family Village operations. BACKGROUND INFORMATION: BUDGET IMPACT/FUNDING SOURCE: GRANT: LEGAL IMPACT: FOLLOW UP IMPLEMENTATION: Page 2 of 13 Page 3 of 13 CITY OF FAIRHOPE AGENDA MEMORANDUM Item ID: 2024-539 FROM: Hannah Noonan – HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR SUBJECT: Discussion of Proposed Sick Leave Donation Policy AGENDA DATE: August 12, 2024 RECOMMENDED ACTION: Hannah, Noonan, Human Resources Director, to provide discussion of the proposed Sick Leave Donation Policy with City Council. BACKGROUND INFORMATION: BUDGET IMPACT/FUNDING SOURCE: GRANT: LEGAL IMPACT: FOLLOW UP IMPLEMENTATION: Page 4 of 13 51 do so may be cause for denial of sick leave for the period of absence. Denial of sick leave will result in the employee being charged with vacation leave or placed in some non-pay status at the discretion of their supervisor. Employees who use all of their accumulated sick leave and require additional time off work due to illness or injury will be required to use any accumulated vacation leave and may request a leave of absence without pay after exhausting these benefits. See Leave Without Pay, Section F below. 5.Requirements for Extended Use: For a period of absence of three or more consecutive working days, or anytime at the request of the department head, the employee may be required to submit a medical report signed by a licensed physician stating that they has been incapacitated for work for the period of absence and when it is anticipated that the employee will again be physically able to perform work duties. The department head, in consultation with the Human Resources Director and Mayor, may also require an employee returning to work after a sickness or injury to undergo a medical examination to determine whether or not the employee is able to return to work. Such examination, when required, will be paid for by the City and will be conducted by a physician or physicians as designated by the City. If an employee is out on sick leave for three or more consecutive working days and qualifies for protection under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the supervisor is responsible for notifying the Human Resources Director who is responsible for ensuring that all FMLA guidelines are followed. 6.Fraudulent Use Prohibited: Any unjustified or fraudulent use of sick leave may result in loss of pay, the leave being charged as annual leave, and/or punishment by disciplinary action (to include dismissal when appropriate). 7.Maximum leave time per week: Employees will only be allowed to use annual leave to cover absences they have up to the amount of time they are regularly scheduled to work. For example, an employee who is regularly scheduled to work 40 hours and works ten hours on Monday, nine hours on Tuesday, and eight hours on Wednesday before taking annual leave on Thursday and Friday will be paid 27 hours for the time they worked and 13 hours of sick leave. Sick leave must be used in one (1) hour increments. 8.No Advances: Sick leave will not be advanced to any employee. Sick leave donations are not allowed. 9.Separation: Employees will not be paid for their unused accumulated sick leave time when the employee separates from City service for any reason other than for retirement under the RSA retirement program. An employee who is eligible for retirement under the RSA retirement program who retires in good standing has the option to convert unused sick leave to retirement service or will be paid in a lump sum payment for unused sick leave as follows: 9. a.An employee with at least 10 years of service to the City, but less than 20 years of service, will be paid 50% of their unused accumulated sick leave up to a maximum of 960 hours. b.An employee with 20 years of more of service to the City will be paid 100% of their unused accumulated sick leave up to a maximum of 960 hours. Redline Version of Sick Leave Donation Policy Page 5 of 13 52 c. An employee who is unable to continue working for the City as a result of a permanent and total disability will be paid 100% of their unused accumulated sick leave up to a maximum of 960 hours, upon termination of employment for that reason. 10. Paid Sick Leave Donation Eligibility: Only classified, full-time employees who have completed one full year of continuous service are eligible to donate or receive donations of paid sick leave. The recipient must be eligible for, or currently on, a qualifying Medical or Caregiver Leave, or Military Caregiver Leave as defined by the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and otherwise comply with the certification requirements of the City’s FMLA Leave Policy. The recipient must have a current or reasonably anticipated, immediate future need for additional paid sick leave. The City will not allow retroactive donations. The City may permit any employee-to-employee donation, regardless of the donor or recipient’s pay grade, unless the donor is a direct report of the recipient. The City may permit supervisor-to-employee donation, regardless of rank or employee pay grade. If the medical leave qualifies the employee for Short-Term Disability Income, the employee is only eligible for receiving donations of paid sick leave during the 15-day qualifying period. Once the qualifying period ends and the employee is eligible to receive Short-Term Disability Income, the employee is no longer eligible to receive sick leave donation until or unless the disability benefits are exhausted. If an employee has been counseled or disciplined for attendance violations more than once within the previous 12 months before the donation request is received, the employee may not be eligible to donate or receive sick leave donations. If an employee has submitted their resignation or retirement notice, they will not be eligible to donate or receive donations of paid sick leave during the notice period. Amount of Donated Sick Leave: Paid sick leave donations are only allowed in hourly increments. An employee may donate any number of sick leave hours (not to exceed a total lifetime donation of 480 hours) as long as the donor employee maintains at least 160 hours of accrued sick leave. A recipient employee may receive a total of 240 hours (e.g., 30 eight-hour workdays) during a rolling twelve-month period, and a total lifetime donation maximum of 480 (e.g., 12 weeks of eight-hour days) hours. Donations may come from multiple employees but may not exceed 480 total hours. Additionally, an employee may not receive more sick leave hours than the amount of time estimated on the medical certification or by the healthcare provider. A recipient employee may not receive more than the equivalent of 40 hours from one single donor. Conversion of Sick Leave Between Employees: Conversion of donated sick leave will be based upon the equivalent dollar amount of sick leave. For example, Employee A (earning $20 per hour) is donating the equivalent of 40 hours to Employee B (earning $10 per hour), the A would donate 20 hours from the accrual bank (equal to $400) and B would receive 40 hours ($400 donated ÷ $10 per hour = 40 hours). Another example Page 6 of 13 53 is if Employee C (earning $9 per hour) is donating the equivalent of 40 hours to Employee D (earning $18 per hour), then C would donate 40 hours (equal to $360) from their balance, and D would receive 20 hours of sick leave ($360 donated ÷ $18 per hour = 20 hours). Approval: The recipient employee must submit a written request for sick leave donations, including a description of the medical emergency. Requests to receive and donate sick leave must be submitted to Human Resources using the Sick Leave Donation Form. The employee’s Department Head must review and approve the employee’s request to donate paid sick leave. If the recipient employee works in another department, the Department Head of the recipient employee must also approve the donation because the donated paid sick leave may mean additional time away from work. All approved requests must be forwarded to the Human Resources Department. Human Resources will inform the Payroll Coordinator of the approved sick leave donation so that accrual banks may be updated appropriately. Additional Rules: Paid sick leave donation must be strictly on a voluntary basis. Under no circumstances must any employee express, instruct, imply, or order that any employee is obligated to donate paid sick leave to any other employee, regardless of rank or pay grade. The Human Resources Department must receive all completed and approved donation requests forms no later than three (3) business days (Monday- Friday) before time entries are due for payroll processing. Late donation submissions will not be made retroactively but may be credited to the next pay period only if the paid sick leave is still needed and all other conditions of the policy are met. Human Resources will only transfer the number of paid sick leave hours needed for the pay period, not to exceed the number of days specified on the medical certification for the absence. Paid sick leave donation is irreversible as of the date the Human Resources Director approves the donation request. Donor employees and recipient employees are solely responsible for the impact a sick leave donation will have on their respective taxes and benefits. D. FMLA The City offers leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for eligible employees. 1. Eligibility: If an employee has worked for at least one year and for 1,250 hours in the preceding 12 months, they are eligible to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave when the absence is necessitated by any of the following circumstances: a. The birth or placement of a child for adoption or foster care1; b. The employee’s own serious health condition that prevents them from performing the essential functions of the job; or c. Serious health conditions of a child, parent, or spouse if the employee is needed to help provide care. 1 If a father and mother both work for the City, a cumulative total of 12 weeks of FMLA leave may be used between the two employees under this provision of the FMLA. Page 7 of 13 51 do so may be cause for denial of sick leave for the period of absence. Denial of sick leave will result in the employee being charged with vacation leave or placed in some non-pay status at the discretion of their supervisor. Employees who use all of their accumulated sick leave and require additional time off work due to illness or injury will be required to use any accumulated vacation leave and may request a leave of absence without pay after exhausting these benefits. See Leave Without Pay, Section F below. 5.Requirements for Extended Use: For a period of absence of three or more consecutive working days, or anytime at the request of the department head, the employee may be required to submit a medical report signed by a licensed physician stating that they has been incapacitated for work for the period of absence and when it is anticipated that the employee will again be physically able to perform work duties. The department head, in consultation with the Human Resources Director and Mayor, may also require an employee returning to work after a sickness or injury to undergo a medical examination to determine whether or not the employee is able to return to work. Such examination, when required, will be paid for by the City and will be conducted by a physician or physicians as designated by the City. If an employee is out on sick leave for three or more consecutive working days and qualifies for protection under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the supervisor is responsible for notifying the Human Resources Director who is responsible for ensuring that all FMLA guidelines are followed. 6.Fraudulent Use Prohibited: Any unjustified or fraudulent use of sick leave may result in loss of pay, the leave being charged as annual leave, and/or punishment by disciplinary action (to include dismissal when appropriate). 7.Maximum leave time per week: Employees will only be allowed to use annual leave to cover absences they have up to the amount of time they are regularly scheduled to work. For example, an employee who is regularly scheduled to work 40 hours and works ten hours on Monday, nine hours on Tuesday, and eight hours on Wednesday before taking annual leave on Thursday and Friday will be paid 27 hours for the time they worked and 13 hours of sick leave. Sick leave must be used in one (1) hour increments. 8.No Advances: Sick leave will not be advanced to any employee. 9.Separation: Employees will not be paid for their unused accumulated sick leave time when the employee separates from City service for any reason other than for retirement under the RSA retirement program. An employee who is eligible for retirement under the RSA retirement program who retires in good standing has the option to convert unused sick leave to retirement service or will be paid in a lump sum payment for unused sick leave as follows: a.An employee with at least 10 years of service to the City, but less than 20 years of service, will be paid 50% of their unused accumulated sick leave up to a maximum of 960 hours. b.An employee with 20 years of more of service to the City will be paid 100% of their unused accumulated sick leave up to a maximum of 960 hours. c.An employee who is unable to continue working for the City as a result of a permanent and total disability will be paid 100% of their unused accumulated sick Clean Version of Sick Leave Donation Policy Page 8 of 13 52 leave up to a maximum of 960 hours, upon termination of employment for that reason. 10. Paid Sick Leave Donation Eligibility: Only classified, full-time employees who have completed one full year of continuous service are eligible to donate or receive donations of paid sick leave. The recipient must be eligible for, or currently on, a qualifying Medical or Caregiver Leave, or Military Caregiver Leave as defined by the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and otherwise comply with the certification requirements of the City’s FMLA Leave Policy. The recipient must have a current or reasonably anticipated, immediate future need for additional paid sick leave. The City will not allow retroactive donations. The City may permit any employee-to-employee donation, regardless of the donor or recipient’s pay grade, unless the donor is a direct report of the recipient. The City may permit supervisor-to-employee donation, regardless of rank or employee pay grade. If the medical leave qualifies the employee for Short-Term Disability Income, the employee is only eligible for receiving donations of paid sick leave during the 15-day qualifying period. Once the qualifying period ends and the employee is eligible to receive Short-Term Disability Income, the employee is no longer eligible to receive sick leave donation until or unless the disability benefits are exhausted. If an employee has been counseled or disciplined for attendance violations more than once within the previous 12 months before the donation request is received, the employee may not be eligible to donate or receive sick leave donations. If an employee has submitted their resignation or retirement notice, they will not be eligible to donate or receive donations of paid sick leave during the notice period. Amount of Donated Sick Leave: Paid sick leave donations are only allowed in hourly increments. An employee may donate any number of sick leave hours (not to exceed a total lifetime donation of 480 hours) as long as the donor employee maintains at least 160 hours of accrued sick leave. A recipient employee may receive a total of 240 hours (e.g., 30 eight-hour workdays) during a rolling twelve-month period, and a total lifetime donation maximum of 480 (e.g., 12 weeks of eight-hour days) hours. Donations may come from multiple employees but may not exceed 480 total hours. Additionally, an employee may not receive more sick leave hours than the amount of time estimated on the medical certification or by the healthcare provider. A recipient employee may not receive more than the equivalent of 40 hours from one single donor. Conversion of Sick Leave Between Employees: Conversion of donated sick leave will be based upon the equivalent dollar amount of sick leave. For example, Employee A (earning $20 per hour) is donating the equivalent of 40 hours to Employee B (earning $10 per hour), the A would donate 20 hours from the accrual bank (equal to $400) and B would receive 40 hours ($400 donated ÷ $10 per hour = 40 hours). Another example is if Employee C (earning $9 per hour) is donating the equivalent of 40 hours to Employee D (earning $18 per hour), then C would donate 40 hours (equal to $360) Page 9 of 13 53 from their balance, and D would receive 20 hours of sick leave ($360 donated ÷ $18 per hour = 20 hours). Approval: The recipient employee must submit a written request for sick leave donations, including a description of the medical emergency. Requests to receive and donate sick leave must be submitted to Human Resources using the Sick Leave Donation Form. The employee’s Department Head must review and approve the employee’s request to donate paid sick leave. If the recipient employee works in another department, the Department Head of the recipient employee must also approve the donation because the donated paid sick leave may mean additional time away from work. All approved requests must be forwarded to the Human Resources Department. Human Resources will inform the Payroll Coordinator of the approved sick leave donation so that accrual banks may be updated appropriately. Additional Rules: Paid sick leave donation must be strictly on a voluntary basis. Under no circumstances must any employee express, instruct, imply, or order that any employee is obligated to donate paid sick leave to any other employee, regardless of rank or pay grade. The Human Resources Department must receive all completed and approved donation requests forms no later than three (3) business days (Monday- Friday) before time entries are due for payroll processing. Late donation submissions will not be made retroactively but may be credited to the next pay period only if the paid sick leave is still needed and all other conditions of the policy are met. Human Resources will only transfer the number of paid sick leave hours needed for the pay period, not to exceed the number of days specified on the medical certification for the absence. Paid sick leave donation is irreversible as of the date the Human Resources Director approves the donation request. Donor employees and recipient employees are solely responsible for the impact a sick leave donation will have on their respective taxes and benefits. D. FMLA The City offers leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for eligible employees. 1. Eligibility: If an employee has worked for at least one year and for 1,250 hours in the preceding 12 months, they are eligible to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave when the absence is necessitated by any of the following circumstances: a. The birth or placement of a child for adoption or foster care1; b. The employee’s own serious health condition that prevents them from performing the essential functions of the job; or c. Serious health conditions of a child, parent, or spouse if the employee is needed to help provide care. 2. Qualifying exigencies related to a spouse, child, or parent’s active military duty are 1 If a father and mother both work for the City, a cumulative total of 12 weeks of FMLA leave may be used between the two employees under this provision of the FMLA. Page 10 of 13 CITY OF FAIRHOPE AGENDA MEMORANDUM Item ID: 2024-588 FROM: David Garrick, AMI COORDINATOR SUBJECT: AMI Meter Policy AGENDA DATE: August 12, 2024 RECOMMENDED ACTION: David Garrick, AMI Coordinator to present the AMI Meter Policy for discussion with City Council. BACKGROUND INFORMATION: BUDGET IMPACT/FUNDING SOURCE: GRANT: LEGAL IMPACT: FOLLOW UP IMPLEMENTATION: Page 11 of 13 AMI METER POLICY The City of Fairhope is making AMI meters and AMI technology a standard part of its service to benefit customers and improve our community. The City is requiring all customers to have AMI meters installed. 1. What This Means: This policy mandates installation of AMI meters for all Fairhope customers as a standard component of utility service. Customers are required to have an AMI meter installed on their property as a condition of service. 2. How It Works:  Installation Schedule: The City will install the meters in phases throughout the service territory at no additional charge to customers.  Customer Notice: Before installing, the City will let its customers know through various communication methods that it will be in the area.  Installation Process: Trained technicians will install the AMI meters. If access is unavailable, a representative will contact you to schedule a time to change out the meters. 3. Benefits of AMI Meters: AMI meters help us:  Accurate Billing: They measure energy use precisely, so you are billed for what you use.  Energy Insight: You can see how much energy you use and make choices to save money.  Better Grid: AMI meters help us respond faster to power outages and better manage the energy grid. 4. Your Concerns: The City acknowledges that some customers may have concerns about AMI meter technology, including privacy and data security. The City of Fairhope is committed to addressing these concerns transparently through communication and education initiatives, outlining the measures in place to safeguard customer data and privacy 5. Review and Communication: This mandatory AMI meter policy will undergo periodic reviews to ensure its effectiveness and alignment with industry standards. Any updates or changes to the policy will be communicated to customers using appropriate channels. 6. Effective Date: This policy begins on _____________. All Fairhope utility customers will be required to have an AMI meter installed upon change out schedule. Our goal with this policy is to give everyone better, more reliable service and contribute to a more energy-efficient community. Page 12 of 13 CITY OF FAIRHOPE AGENDA MEMORANDUM Item ID: 2024-579 FROM: Kim Creech, CITY TREASURER SUBJECT: 2024 – 2025 Budget Discussion - Revenues AGENDA DATE: August 12, 2024 RECOMMENDED ACTION: Kim Creech, City Treasurer to present to the City Council the 2024-2025 Budget Discussion – Revenues. BACKGROUND INFORMATION: BUDGET IMPACT/FUNDING SOURCE: GRANT: LEGAL IMPACT: FOLLOW UP IMPLEMENTATION: Page 13 of 13