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Meet and Confer Minutes - 06/18/2008 MEET AND CONFER CITY OF WICHITA FALLS &WICHITA FALLS FIRE DEPARTMENT JUNE 18, 2008 PRESENT: Darron J. Leiker, City Manager § Matt Benoit, Assistant City Manager § Jim Dockery, Assistant City Manager/CFO § Earl Foster, Fire Chief § Julia Vasquez, First Assistant City Attorney § City Administration R. Kinley Hegglund, Jr., § Senior Assistant City Attorney § Brady Duke (President, Local 432) § Keith Morton § Robert Whiteley § Chris Duncan § International Association of Bruce Deeb § Firefighters, Local 432 Nick Hillner § Steve Wilkinson § I. CALL TO ORDER. Darron Leiker called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. II. DISCUSSION OF PAY ISSUES AND RESIDENCY POLICY. Brady Duke expressed the Association's appreciation for today's meeting. He noted there were four issues of discussion concerning pay: longevity, assignment pay, pension contribution, and average pay. Longevity Mr. Duke expressed his understanding that Fire Chief Earl Foster has included a request in the Department's "above-current" requests that the firefighters receive longevity pay equal to that received by members of the police department. He stressed that approval of this request would be great for the Association members. He provided a copy of information regarding the cost factor on this issue to Mr. Leiker. Jim Dockery asked if anyone knew why the longevity pay was not equal between the fire and police departments. Mr. Leiker said he has wondered about that, as well. Mr. Dockery added that there is a minimum of $4.00 per month required by civil service; MEET&CONFER-CWF &WFFD JUNE 18, 2008 2 that amount is what is now paid to the civil service employees of the Fire Department. Mr. Morton said he believes the police longevity pay was increased several years ago in an attempt to retain officers; the Police Department was suffering a high rate of attrition. Chief Foster stated that he knew the time requirement was different (Police, 16 years; Fire, 25 years), but he did not realize the longevity pay was different until last year. Mr. Leiker stated the estimated cost factor (as shown on the paperwork provided by Mr. Duke) is $126,000. Mr. Dockery said he thought it was a bit higher ($150,000) when he figured it last year. He said it depends on how many members meet certain longevity steps. He has set up a table on his computer; the computer will calculate any changes made to the figures (including benefits). Assignment Pay Mr. Duke said the Association would like assignment pay provided to those members who perform "above and beyond" tasks. The Department's HazMat and SCOTT technicians specifically perform such tasks. The SCOTT Techs save the City money by servicing the SCOTT Airpacks. The HazMat team, by providing services on a regional basis, assists the City to obtain grant money it might not otherwise get, due to their State certification. Mr. Dockery questioned what grant money the HazMat team was responsible for obtaining for the City. Mr. Duke was not sure of the specifics. Chief Foster replied that the Governor's office said that cities did not have to sign a mutual aid agreement, but State money would not be available if they did not. The money is federal (Homeland Security), but it is funneled through the states. He added that all grants come with strings attached. Mr. Leiker asked if certification was required (in order to receive grant funds). Chief Foster replied that the law requires the technicians be certified to meet a certain standard. The Department guarantees they meet that standard by requiring that they go through Texas Commission on Fire Protection certification. Mr. Leiker questioned if certification, once obtained, has to be renewed. Chief Foster replied that certification is simply renewed, provided the minimum requirement of continuing education is met each year. Mr. Leiker asked how many employees work in the specialty areas. Chief Foster replied there are four to five SCOTT Techs, and around 40 HazMat Techs. Mr. Leiker asked what dollar amount the Association had in mind. Mr. Duke replied $100.00 per month per employee for each group. Mr. Dockery steered the conversation back to the area of grants. He asked if being part of the mutual aid agreement is the determining factor on whether the City receives Homeland Security grants. Chief Foster replied that it is certainly a factor. Mr. Dockery questioned, in order to have that mutual aid, if the City had to obligate to provide hazmat response. He was still trying to tie the HazMat team to the receipt of grants. Chief Foster responded that the WFFD is the only one in the region to have a HazMat team. The City has received grants over the years to buy equipment, supplies, and vehicles for that team. A number of years ago, the Governor's Office divided the MEET& CONFER-CWF &WFFD JUNE 18, 2008 3 State into 10 regions of a dozen or so counties. It wants all entities in that region to become a part of this regional mutual aid agreement. If the cities did not sign the agreement, it would impact the amount of grant money furnished by the State. In fact, cities are not even eligible for some or those grants if they are not part of that regional mutual aid agreement. Mr. Dockery surmised that the City is then obligated to provide HazMat services under that regional mutual aid agreement, and that it could not strike out that requirement in the agreement. Chief Foster replied that could be done, provided the City eliminated the HazMat team. Mr. Leiker noted the City would want such a team for its own protection, and probably had this team in place long before these mutual aid agreements were drafted. Mr. Leiker asked Mr. Duke to prioritize the Association's requests out of these two. Mr. Duke replied that the HazMat assignment pay would have priority, simply because it would affect more employees. The Association would eventually like to see assignment pay for paramedics. He thinks this might tie more in to certification pay. Pension Contribution Mr. Duke stated the Association would like the City to continue to match the pension contributions. He knows the City is matching the TMRS rate, which is anticipated to rise. Mr. Morton stated that TMRS is going through drastic changes due to economics, and due to what he thinks is gross negligence on the part of the TMRS Trustee's Board for staying with bonds only for a number of years. During the 1970s and 1980s, when the stock market wasn't good, the bond market was great. Investors could make 13% to 14% on a bond, which was all TMRS needed to pay for benefits. However, now that the bond market is out of favor, the TMRS fund is looking to be extremely under-funded by the year 2012. TMRS is now coming to the cities, depending upon each city's elected options, and raising their contribution rates. Mr. Leiker stated it is his understanding that the only TMRS cities to be affected are the ones that have specific benefit provisions, such as recognizing updated service credits (Wichita Falls does so, at a 50% rate), and those cities that offer cost-of-living type annuity increases based on a percentage of the CPI each year. The cities that are not in those categories will not see much change. The cities who are will, which includes Wichita Falls. Mr. Morton added there are not too many cities that will not be affected, to which Mr. Leiker agreed. Mr. Morton asked if Wichita Falls was included in those cities (such as Arlington) that are having an independent actuarial study of TMRS performed. Mr. Leiker replied that Wichita Falls is not part of that group. Mr. Dockery added that those cities are the ones really being impacted the most. Mr. Leiker added that Wichita Falls does not match USC as high as other cities. Mr. Morton replied there are only two cities in the state with populations over 100,000 that pay only 50% Updated Service Credits, with one being Wichita Falls. Mr. Leiker replied that it is the Council's decision as to whether benefit levels are changed; it will be his recommendation that benefits are MEET&CONFER—CWF &WFFD JUNE 18, 2008 4 not reduced or watered down, since Wichita Falls is already on the low-end of the TMRS benefit scale, as compared to other like-sized cities. Mr. Leiker noted that the Fire Department members are not part of TMRS, but last year the City increased the percentages, and the Association's desire, he presumes is to keep that. Mr. Morton replied they would like it kept at an equitable level. Mr. Dockery asked their contribution level at present. Mr. Morton replied 12. Mr. Leiker asked if the Association had done its most recent actuarial study and set its rates. Mr. Morton replied that they have chosen to do such a study every year. Mr. Leiker stated staff will know by the budget hearings what the rates are going to be, and will make a recommendation to the Council at that time. Average Pay Mr. Duke made reference to an email he sent to Mr. Leiker regarding this issue the day before, adding that he has two summaries and a more in-depth chart to provide to him. Mr. Leiker asked that he make sure Mr. Dockery also receives copies of these documents. Mr. Duke said Dr. Chis Shao' agreed, with the assistance of two students, to perform a salary survey on behalf of the Association. Mr. Leiker asked how many other salary surveys they had performed similar to this survey. Mr. Duke did not know. Mr. Duke said Dr. Shao took the numbers provided to him by the Association. The end result of the survey shows that rank positions have lost ground since the Waters Group study. The survey compared the 2006 and 2007 numbers, and there is a percentage difference. Dr. Shao, unfortunately, could not attend today's meeting, as he wished to explain the survey. Mr. Leiker stated he did not want to go through the survey itself today; rather, he wanted an opportunity to read through it, and be sure of any questions concerning methodology. If staff needs Dr. Shao to answer questions, they'll contact him directly. He noted that the City is in the midst of updating its salary survey information, as well, so that information can be compared to that of Dr. Shao's study, to make sure it's a true comparison of apples to apples. He explained that the City has not rehired The Waters Group to perform another study. However, its website provides online tools where staff can go online and get information submitted by other cities for various positions. The same methodology is being applied as was done before. Mr. Dockery added that he would like to perform an independent review himself, and he can have those reports done in the next month or so. He may need to contact Dr. Shao, and will do so, if necessary. Mr. Morton said the Association simply provided him with numbers, but gave him no direction as to the outcome sought. He was provided the City's numbers and step Professor Shao is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls, Texas. He joined the faculty in 2002. MEET& CONFER-CWF &WFFD JUNE 18, 2008 5 plans. The Association contacted other cities through the open records process, and provided that information to Dr. Shao. Mr. Dockery asked for a copy of the raw data. Mr. Morton said that information can be provided. Mr. Leiker noted that some of the information furnished by the Association is dated. Mr. Morton acknowledged that the survey performed by Dr. Shao also speaks to different types of assignment and certification pay; this information was not requested. Mr. Duke noted that not every city submitted information regarding assignment pay. Mr. Leiker observed that not every city will have step plans similar to that of Wichita Falls. Chris Duncan expressed dissatisfaction with the City's step plan, as it is so spread out. Mr. Leiker said discussions have been held on that issue. Mr. Duncan noted that in 17 years, a firefighter in Wichita Falls will make $50,000. However, in other cities, they can make $50,000 in as little as four years. Other cities' step plans may have 4% to 6% increases each year; Wichita Falls' step plan has a difference of 2% over each year. It causes a problem in retaining or attracting the young recruits. Mr. Leiker acknowledged the current plan leads to issues with promotions due to some overlap. It is probably not something that will be easy or economical to fix, but it can be looked at. Residency Policy Mr. Leiker acknowledged that the Association had asked to discuss the City's residency policy, but that he did not want to talk about it at today's meeting. This issue has arisen in the past, and he was not interested in changing it. However, since there was still time at today's meeting, he was willing to hear their discussion. He asked if there was a groundswell of desire in the Department to eliminate or expand the policy; he assumed they did not want it narrowed. Currently, the policy requires a 20 minute response time. Mr. Duke expressed the Association's desire to see the policy eliminated. Mr. Leiker asked the advantages to elimination. Mr. Morton replied that it would expand the City's employee base. Mr. Leiker stated that if the City enforced a strict city limit policy, he recognizes that there would be employees who would desire a more rural existence, and the ability to have a few acres and possibly some horses. The City has taken the middle-ground approach. Employees can still live in a small community or rural area under the current policy. He asked the members if they felt there were not enough candidates available from which to gain quality employees? Steve Wilkinson said all three of the Department's most recent recruits had to move in order to meet the policy requirements. He added that it seemed as if the City was welcoming them to employment, and then putting on them their first hardship (having to move). Mr. Leiker replied that the recruits knew the requirements coming in, but they apparently thought the job was good enough to make that move. Mr. Wilkinson said that only one out of the 17 cities used by The Waters Group (for comparison to Wichita Falls) has a residency policy. All of them used to; in fact, it used to be a policy enforced statewide. Not many cities have it now, as it is outdated. He asked the good in keeping it. Mr. Leiker replied that the policy helps ensure an MEET&CONFER-CWF&WFFD JUNE 18, 2008 6 adequate and timely response during major disasters or emergencies. It is best if employees live 20 minutes, rather than two hours, away. This policy was in place long before he arrived. On the other end of the spectrum, there could be a requirement that all City employees should live in the city, and pay taxes that support their salaries. Mr. Morton likened that scenario to a "company store." Mr. Leiker stated that he does not want to dwell on this issue today, and he is not currently in favor of changing it. He is not completely closed-minded about it; if the Fire Department cannot attract qualified applicants because of the policy, he'll view it differently. Mr. Wilkinson replied that the City would not know if it is affecting the applicant pool, because those who oppose the requirements of that policy do not apply with the City. Mr. Leiker stated that he would know it is affecting the applicant pool when Chief Foster tells him that he cannot organize a Fire Academy due to the lack of qualified applicants. He does not think Wichita Falls has this problem. He asked Chief Foster how many times the City's Fire Academies have been recognized as tops in the State. Chief Foster replied that Wichita Falls is always recognized by the Texas State Commission on Fire Protection for its Fire Academies. Mr. Leiker added that he is not hearing this request from other City departments. Mr. Morton replied that he has worked under several administrative policies concerning residency during his career with the City. There was even a brief period where the policy lapsed and there was no requirement. He believes it changes based upon each City Manager's personal philosophy. Mr. Leiker replied that he was interested in hearing the Association's rationale for eliminating the policy. He then turned back to the pay issues. He said that the requests and the information provided, will be taken into consideration. The City will compare the Association's pay study with its own update. In fact, Mr. Dockery and Mr. Morton may get together and review some of that, as well. Nothing is yet set in stone. He has not made a recommendation to the Council, nor formed any firm decisions at this point. However, he expressed to the Association that this is going to be a very challenging budget year just to keep the status quo, much less anything new; it is probably the toughest budget year in his career with the City. Mr. Morton replied that they knew this was coming. Mr. Wilkinson asked if City management had discussed the possibility of raising taxes to cover costs. Mr. Leiker stated there had not been discussions, but there may be. Mr. Wilkinson stated the hard economic times are not simply a City of Wichita Falls problem; it's happening everywhere. City employees are going to need more money. Mr. Leiker said there is always pressure from citizens to hold the line on taxes. Even in those years when the tax rate is kept the same, taxes are in effect raised because your home value increases, and the end result is higher payments. Mr. Dockery added it is a balancing act between taking care of the employees versus taking care of the public. MEET& CONFER-CWF &WFFD JUNE 18, 2008 7 Mr. Leiker agreed, adding that City services are impacted by rising costs, as are its citizens. During tough economic times, the public expects the City to tighten its belt and not raise taxes or utility rates. He told the Association he will keep Chief Foster informed about the budget process. He understands the Association has monthly meetings with the Chief, and would appreciate the information from these meetings being passed on to the Association members. A pre-budget workshop with the Council is slated for July 8th, and formal budget hearings will begin in August. Mr. Dockery gave a quick update on the NationWide 457 plan. He said documents are ready to be signed, and that should be happening real soon. They will appoint a representative from their company to contact our Employee Benefits Office to set up communications so that employees can decide between either plan. There will be a requirement that employees choose one or the other — not both. It would be a difficult process to keep up with, otherwise. Mr. Leiker added that if an employee has money in ICMA-RC at present, it can stay there, and they can make future contributions to NationWide, if desired. Mr. Whiteley asked when this was going to be put into effect. Mr. Dockery said the documents will be signed this week. NationWide should then contact the City's Employee Benefits Office to set up several broadcast-type meetings with all City employees. Mr. Morton appreciates the work the City staff performed to make this possible. Mr. Leiker stated that it will give employees different options, and will hopefully encourage more saving for retirement, which is a good thing. III. ADJOURN. The meeting was adjourned at 2:39 p.m.