Agenda Packets - 1999/03/22 - Laserfiche WebLink

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MAR. .10' 99(WED) 10 :05 DISC SYSTEMS TEL:612 782 7500 P. 001 DATE: March 9, 1999 TO: Mounds View City Council FROM: Charlynn Robertson President, Mounds View Police Civil Service Commission SUBJECT: Payment of Police Chief Ramacher's Sick Leave As a Human Resources executive and current President of the Mounds View Police Civil Service Commission, it is my responsibility to address the issue being discussed by the City Council regarding questioning the payment of Police Chief Tim Ramacher's accrued sick leave. I am concerned that the City Council is viewing this too narrowly and the impact of refusing payment will have far- reaching implications. Unemployment is at an all time low. Employee loyalty is down. As the nineties have posed distinct retention challenges for employers, organizations struggle to rebuild trust and confidence from their workforce. There is a reluctance to make personal sacrifices for an organization. Low unemployment and good economic times continually bring better career prospects and the pendulum has swung in favor of the job seeker, Never before has it been so critical to focus on strategies for keeping good employees. Recruiting and, more importantly, keeping good employees keeps money in the pockets of organizations. The message the City Council will send if it refuses to compensate Chief Ramacher for his dedication to his position, his employees and his city, is that It does not pay to be a hard-working, honorable employee. Instead, current and future employees will develop an "it's them against us" attitude, taking every single minute off from their job that they can because it will be obvious that they will not be treated fairly by the City Council. That, in turn, means less commitment to their jobs. This creates less commitment to the tax paying citizens of Mounds View. Employee absenteeism is a problem for most organizations. Forcing employees to use sick time perpetuates absenteeism. Chipping away at employee morale through a practice of unfair treatment causes "absenteeism on the job," i.e., lower productivity, inactivity at work, etc. Absenteeism costs organizations in many ways beyond the immediate time off. There may be premium pay for temporary help, premium pay for overtime work, salaries and benefits for supervisors' time spent on absenteeism problems, underutilization of facilities and substandard productivity.