02-23-2022 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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STAFF REPORT TO:Mayor Keis and Members of City Council FROM:Chris Heineman, City Administrator Bill Dircks, Public Works Director Heidi Heller, City Clerk/HR Manager DATE:February 23, 2022 RE:Public Works Apprentice Wage Scale Adjustment ACTION REQUESTED: Motion to amend the Public Works Apprentice Wage Scale to remain competitive in the job market. BACKGROUND: The City of Little Canada established an apprentice program in 2017 to train and develop individuals who are interested in a career in Public Works, and also to serve the ongoing needs of the Public Works and Parks Department. The City’s first Apprentice was hired on November 1, 2017, and we currently have the third person in this position. This has been a very successful program so far as the first apprentice developed into an excellent employee and was hired as regular Public Works Maintenance staff, and then promoted in June 2021 to a Public Works Supervisor. The second Apprentice was here for 15 months and then hired by another city as a full-time parks position, and our current Apprentice started in July 2021 and has received rave reviews from Public Works & Parks Department Supervisors, as well as the rest of the crew. The City is currently working on a Classification & Compensation Study to review the current job classes and wage scales. Staff felt some position’s wages were falling behind the market rates and expect that the study will show that is the case. To prepare for this, a contingency fund was established in 2022 in order to be able to start addressing some of the wages that are below market. The Public Works Apprentice wage scale is one position that staff knows is too low, and it has become more apparent as the job market has changed in the last year. The 2022 Apprentice wage scale is $15.79 - $18.69. In comparison, the Parks & Public Works Seasonal wage scale was increased this year to $14.00 – $16.50 per hour in order to help attract and keep applicants. The Public Works Department staff level depends on having the Apprentice position filled, and a lot of time and training is put into this person, so it is beneficial to both the Public Works Department and the Apprentice employee to stay here for at least a couple of years. With the current wage scale at the level it is, after a short amount of time here, this person could likely easily find a job paying several dollars an hour more than where our wage scale is at. In fact, a 3rd year seasonal employee could now have at a higher wage than the Apprentice.