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Report regarding a resolution approving the City of South San Francisco Wage and Salary Schedule for Fiscal Year 2023-2024 and a resolution amending the Wage and Salary schedule for Fiscal Year 2022-2023 effective September 30, 2022 (Leah Lockhart, Human Resources Director)
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RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
It is recommended that City Council approve the following resolutions:
A. A resolution approving the City of South San Francisco Wage and Salary Schedule for Fiscal Year 2023-2024 to provide for negotiated wage and salary adjustments.
B. A resolution amending the Wage and Salary Schedule for Fiscal Year to provide for corrected rates for the positions of Fire Battalion Chief, EMS Battalion Chief, and Deputy Fire Chief effective September 30, 2022.
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BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
In accordance with the City’s Personnel Rules and Regulations, the City maintains a wage and salary schedule (“salary schedule”) for all positions of employment with the City, and any amendments to the schedule are subject to City Council approval. The salary schedule is updated at the beginning of each fiscal year, and as needed to implement negotiated rate increase or other recommended changes to job classifications and salary ranges. The attached resolutions include the proposed salary schedule for fiscal year 2023-2024 and an amendment to the salary schedule for 2022-2023, with the following changes:
Negotiated Wage and Salary Adjustments
In 2022, City Council approved successor agreements with each of the City’s represented bargaining units and unrepresented employee groups to provide for wages, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment for a term of two to three fiscal years. The approved Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 829, Teamsters Local 856 Mid-Management Unit, and Teamsters Local 856 Confidential Unit cover a term of July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2024, and the Memorandums of Understanding with the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) Local 1507, the South San Francisco Police Association, and International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 39 cover a term of July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2025. Each of these agreements includes a four percent (4%) cost-of-living adjustment in July, 2023. Council also approved amended Compensation Plans for the Executive Management group and the Public Safety Managers group for a term of July 1, 2022-June 30, 2025, providing for a three percent (3%) cost-of-living adjustment in July, 2023. In addition to the cost-of-living adjustments, the AFSCME MOU includes market equity adjustments of up to two percent (2%) for job classifications found to be significantly below market in a total compensation survey conducted in 2022.
Compaction Adjustment for Public Safety Managers
The Public Safety Managers Compensation plan specifies that the Fire Battalion Chief, EMS Battalion Chief, and Fire Marshal maintain a salary that is fifteen percent (15%) above that of the Fire Captain, including all incentive pays, in order to maintain an appropriate differential between supervisors and subordinates. The 2022-2025 Memorandum of Understanding for IAFF Local 1507 was approved by City Council on September 28, 2022. At that time, staff determined that the wage increases granted to the Fire Captain did not require any adjustment to management positions. Recently, representatives of the Public Safety Managers group brought to staff’s attention that the compaction calculation did not include consideration of a newly added special assignment pay provision in the amount of two percent (2%) for which the Fire Captains may be eligible, if assigned as a SCBA Technician or PPE Program Manager. After reviewing language of both the Public Safety Managers Compensation Plan and the IAFF MOU, staff determined that the assignment pay should have been included in the compaction adjustment calculations. With this new calculation, staff determined that an adjustment in the amount of approximately one percent (1%) was necessary to maintain the specified differential between positions as of September 30, 2022. A further adjustment of approximately one percent (1%), in addition to the scheduled cost-of-living adjustment, would be needed as of July 6, 2023, due to the difference in the negotiated cost-of-living adjustments for the Public Safety Managers and IAFF.
In accordance with the Public Safety Managers Compensation Plan, the Deputy Fire Chief would need to be adjusted by the same amount, to maintain the specified 16.38% differential above the Battalion Chief. Resolution 23-537 amends the City’s wage and salary schedule for September 30, 2022 through July 6, 2023 to provide for the appropriate compaction adjustment for the Battalion Chief and Deputy Fire Chief positions, and the appropriate rates have been included in resolution 23-536 for fiscal year 2023-2024.
Hourly Employee Adjustment
Consistent with Council actions in prior fiscal years, staff recommends a four percent (4%) cost-of-living adjustment for all hourly positions, equivalent to full-time non-management employees. This increase has been included in the proposed salary schedule for 2023-2024.
FISCAL IMPACT
The negotiated increases for fiscal year 2023-2024, as well as the cost-of-living adjustment for hourly employees, were included in the proposed 2023-2024 Operating Budget. The retroactive adjustment for the Public Safety Managers will result in a cost increase of approximately $18,000 for fiscal year 2022-2023. For Fiscal Year 2023-2024, the adjustments result in a cost increase of approximately $51,400. These amounts will be absorbed by existing budget in respective fiscal years. No budget amendment is needed at this time.
RELATIONSHIP TO STRATEGIC PLAN
This action supports City Council’s strategic priority of Workforce Development, by ensuring that the City maintains a competitive compensation package to attract and retain a high-performance workforce and maintaining compliance with the City’s negotiated labor agreements.