Laserfiche WebLink
STAFF <br />REPORT <br />TO:Mayor Fischer and Members of City Council <br />FROM:Laura Linehan, Community Relations Manager <br />Heidi Heller, City Clerk/HR Manager <br />Sam Magureanu, Finance Director <br />DATE:January 8, 2025 <br />RE:Wellness Reimbursement Program <br />ACTIONS TO BE CONSIDERED: <br />Staff is requesting City Council consideration of amendments to the City of Little Canada <br />Personnel Policy: Section 9 – Compensation to include a Wellness Reimbursement Program. <br />BACKGROUND: <br />At the July 10, 2024, City Council Workshop, staff presented an overview and analysis of <br />alternative compensation and benefits. <br />As outlined at the July 10, 2024, workshop, recruitment and retention in a post-pandemic <br />environment can be challenging. Both the public and private sectors must be creative to attract <br />and retain their workforce. Alternative compensation and benefits are a topic of discussion for <br />many public-sector organizations, as private-sector companies have historically utilized <br />extensive alternative benefits in addition to historically higher compensation to maintain their <br />workforce. The City of Little Canada has been making strides in becoming an employer of <br />choice, and in order to be an attractive workplace for current and future employees we must <br />continue to keep pace with current trends and best practices. <br />As part of the July 10, 2024, analysis, staff presented a Wellness Reimbursement Program for <br />consideration. As employers continue to focus on increasing healthcare costs, some <br />organizations have incorporated wellness reimbursements to incentivize employees to focus on <br />personal health. Staff included $6,052.52 for the Wellness Reimbursement Program in the 2025 <br />budget, which was reviewed and approved by the Council. With the approval of the 2025 budget, <br />staff is proposing an amendment to the current Personnel Policy (last updated in January 2024) <br />to account for this additional benefit. <br />PERSONNEL POLICY AMENDMENTS <br />Amendments have been proposed in Section 9 – Compensation and include adding “Wellness <br />Reimbursement Program” as an additional category. In reviewing other sections within the <br />personnel policy, staff feels the compensation section is most appropriate as this will be a taxable <br />benefit and appear on employee checks and W-2s.