10-02-2023 Council Work Session Minutes

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study; following the neighborhood meeting, staff will bring the study back to Council for formal consideration and acceptance. 7. Paid On-Call Firefighter Compensation Plan Human Resources and Communications Manager Meg Sawyer presented to Council staff's proposal for updates to the paid on-call firefighter (POC) pay. She provided background on the history of the POC compensation as well as details of a recent market study of similarly situated cities. Mayor Rafferty expressed concern with the proposal brought forward by staff, noting that he did not believe it to fill in the blanks that are needed, primarily why recruitment and retention remain low. Council discussed pay scales and schemes for other cities, including yearly or staggered increases to incentivize longer commitments to the POC roles. Council also inquired of pensions; Public Safety Director John Swenson provided information to Council on the PERA pension increases for POC. Staff also provided information to Council on current compensation to POC for certification. Staff proposed an increase to the starting wage of $19/hour. Following discussion by Council, staff was directed to return to Council at the next Work Session on October 9, 2023 with further options, including a breakdown of starting pay at$20 or $21/hour with annual increases for cost of living and further incentives for five, 10, 15, and 20-year marks. 8. Part-Time Firefighter Compensation Human Resources and Communications Manager Meg Sawyer advised Council that staff is not recommending any changes to the current compensation plan for part-time firefighters based on research and comparisons conducted by staff. She reviewed the Keystone Job Leveling System ranking of the position, comparisons to similarly situated cities, and advised that based on the reviews conducted by staff, staff sought Council's agreement to continue with the current compensation plan. Staff confirmed that the current Keystone grade for the position is 110. Mayor Rafferty inquired as to the Keystone grade for a Community Service Officer (CSO). Manager Sawyer advised that the current grade for CSO is 130. Mayor Rafferty then sought information from Public Safety Director John Swenson as to what a part-time firefighter must do to work in such a position. Director Swenson advised that all are required to obtain certifications; further, that the job has risks and that all are trained to operate emergency vehicles. Council discussed concerns with the lower grade of part-time fire fighters compared to CSO's. Councilmember Cavegn noted that he would like to see why CSO's were graded higher; the rest of Council concurred and Councilmember Stoesz inquired if the grade for part-time fire fighters could be changed. Staff cautioned Council that simply changing the grade for one position in the City would require the same adjustment to all other positions in the City; City Administrator Sarah Cotton advised