11-15-93 Council Workshop Minutes

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MINUTES CITY COUNCIL NOVEMBER 15, 1993 previously asked the Council to approve compensation for carrying the pager, but this request was denied. The Superintendent also pointed out that some cities are payinq much more than $25 per week for on-call duty. LaValle again indicated that he had no problem with paying staff for time worked. LaValle again indicated that a lot of jobs require on-call duty without compensation. Hanson viewed the on-call duty as an insurance policy for the City since it guarantees that someone is always available for emergency call-outs. The Superintendent stated that he cannot force the crew to carry the pager since it is not a part of the job description. The Superintendent reported that when a crew member is assigned the pager for the week, they are being forced to be available on a 24-hour per day basis. Morelan felt that the Public Works crew should be paid for on-call duty, but asked if the salary schedule for the position included compensation for that duty. The City Administrator indicated that the Stanton Report indicates an average of between 2 and 4 hours per week of overtime amongst cities with private industry up to 4 hours per week. There are no statistics available for compensation for on-call duty. Hanson pointed out that in private industry, on-call duty is part of the job for salaried employees. Pedersen asked if after-hours calls always resulted in a call-out. The 5uperintendent replied that at times a problem can be taken care of over the telephone, but the majority of the time the employee must go to the scene to address the problem. Pedersen noted that call-outs are compensated by over-time, but addressing a situation over the telephone would not be. The Administrator reported that Public Works is also proposing to purchase another cellular phone for the crew member on call-out duty. LaValle asked if the three cellular phones the department heads have could be rotated. Page 4