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Item No: 07E Meeting Date: February 8, 2016 Type of Business: CB Administrator Review: ____ City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Honorable Mayor and City Council From: Desaree Crane, Assistant City Administrator Item Title/Subject: Resolution 8518, Approving the 2016 Public Works and Parks Seasonal Positions Introduction: On March 26, 2001, the City Council adopted Resolution 5546, which describes the procedure for hiring Seasonal Employees. This resolution requires that the City Council approve all seasonal positions. Discussion: Annually the City Council has approved the hiring of seasonal Public Works positions. Resolution 5546 requires that approval take place six weeks prior to actual hire of seasonal employees; therefore, this is typically done early in the calendar year. Seasonal Employees benefit the City by providing labor services during periods of higher labor demand at much lower pay rates keeping overall labor costs down. In return, seasonal employees benefit from the skills and work ethics they learn on the job. As a result, the employees, the City, citizens, and taxpayers all benefit from this program. Historically, there have been three time periods throughout the year when the City has employed seasonal workers. These periods have been: Summer (10 positions), Fall (2 positions), and Winter (1 position). In 2009, it was the consensus of the City Council and Staff to decrease the Summer seasonal positions from 10 to 8 positions, due to the budgetary cuts in state aid. This number was further reduced in 2010 when the Winter seasonal position was eliminated and the part-time water division position was reclassified as a public works seasonal position. In 2011 and 2012, the City Council approved 8 seasonal positions. Due to the provisions affecting seasonal employment under the Affordable Healthcare Act, the Mounds View City Council passed Resolution 8060 on February 11, 2013, approving the hire of 10 seasonal employees 2013. In 2014 and 2015, the City Council passed resolutions approving 10 seasonal employees. According to the Affordable Healthcare Act (“Obama Care”), there are provisions that require employers to offer health insurance to full-time seasonal employees who work 120 calendar days or more during the year. It further requires that the seasonal employee who is hired to work for 120 calendar days and worked an average of 30 hours per week to be offered insurance on the 90th day of his or her employment, and would be eligible for health insurance benefits for 30 days. In addition to the obvious administrative nightmare and cost associated with insuring an employee for 30 days, this provision can also subject employers to obligations