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Meet and Confer Minutes - 11/29/2016 MEET AND CONFER CITY OF WICHITA FALLS & WICHITA FALLS FIRE DEPARTMENT NOVEMBER 29, 2016 Attendees: City Administration Int'l. Ass'n. of Firefighters, Local 432 Darron Leiker, City Manager Randal Reel, Battalion Chief Jim Dockery, Deputy City Manager Matthew Childs, Lieutenant Jon Reese, Fire Chief Chris Duncan, Captain Donald Hughes, Assistant Fire Chief Jody Ashlock, Asst. Fire Marshal/FEO Julia Vasquez, First Assistant City Attorney Bruce Deeb, Lieutenant Christi Klyn, HR Director/Civil Service Director Linda Merrill, Recording Secretary 1. CALL TO ORDER Darron Leiker called the meeting to order at 9:30 a.m. 2. REQUEST TO MODIFY TERM OF BEGINNING POSITION ELIGIBILITY LIST FROM 12 MONTHS TO 18 MONTHS Chief Reese said this request would not only allow more time for applicants to be on the eligibility list, but would also reduce the costs associated with testing and recruitment. Battalion Chief Reel said the Association voted 86-40 in favor of the proposal. Captain Duncan added they required a sunset provision. Julia Vasquez said that provision ensures the agreement does not expire while an eligibility list is in effect. The agreement will remain in effect unless canceled by either party with 60 days' written notice. If an eligibility list is in effect, the agreement will be canceled 60 days after such eligibility list expires. Captain Duncan said the modification was presented to their members as a two-year agreement. Ms. Vasquez said in that case, the agreement would only cover one eligibility list. The way it is written, the Association could ask for the agreement to be nullified in less than two years; after that one list expires and notice is provided, the agreement would end. Mr. Leiker advised that they email their Association before it is presented to the Council, explaining that the change gives more flexibility than was originally anticipated. Chief Reese said December 10 is the test date. Christi Klyn said the notice for the testing has to be posted tomorrow. Julia Vasquez agreed, adding that the term of the eligibility list has to be specified on such posting. Battalion Chief Reel said they will probably need to have a sidebar meeting to discuss the approval of this item before the end of today's meeting. Nf Legal\Personnel\Meet&Confer\Fire\Minutes\2016.11.29 M&C.Fire\2016.11.29.Minutes.Fire.M&C.Doc MEET&CONFER—CWF&WFFD NOVEMBER 29,2016 2 3. REQUEST TO CHANGE THE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR TESTING FOR THE POSITION OF FIRE EQUIPMENT OPERATOR(FEO) FROM 2 YEARS TO 5 YEARS Battalion Chief Reel said this request is brought due to safety concerns. Ms. Klyn asked if this has always been a concern. Battalion Chief Reel said the experience level in the Department is less due to the loss of many retired fire personnel. The total experience on a unit could be 12 years or less. Chief Reese added that inexperienced fire fighters are making lieutenant with only 4-5 years of on-the-job experience. Ms. Klyn said the proposal seemed to punish the younger personnel who study and work hard to do well on tests. Chief Reese said a firefighter who makes FEO steps up to the lieutenant position at least 12-15 shifts a year, often making decisions with only two years of on-the-job experience. There has yet to be any fallout from a bad call, but there is a concern that the potential is there. Mr. Leiker asked if there is a concern it may limit the pool. Chief Reese said this only applies to the first position, and they will easily have sufficient personnel to test. Mr. Leiker asked if he is concerned that this would affect recruitment. Chief Reese said he does not think it would affect recruitment,but could potentially affect retention. Ms. Klyn said she wants to make sure the process is fair. Chief Reese said the average time to make rank is 8-9 years. Mr. Leiker asked if he recommends this proposal. Chief Reese said he would support it if it is what the membership wants. Battalion Chief Reel said the Association passed this item by 81-43 or -44. That vote was taken before the members knew of the change to make this applicable only to new hires. Ms. Vasquez said she can draft this agreement with a sunset provision, as well. If the members want to revert back to two years, that can be done with the next hire class. That would require maintaining two promotional lists. Ms. Klyn said that can be done. Captain Duncan said they did not request a sunset provision. Mr. Leiker said he would prefer one in the event of unintended consequences. He added that he leans toward approving this request, but he wants to see the agreement first. 4. REQUEST TO REPEAL THE CURRENT RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS FOR MEMBERS OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT TO REFLECT NO RESTRICTIONS Ms. Klyn said the City's current policy requires that all City employees live within a 20- minute commuting distance of the city limits. Mr. Leiker asked for their thoughts on the reasons to change the policy,particularly from the perspective of emergency situations. Battalion Chief Reel said Wichita Falls is missing out on applicants in the early interview process in outlying areas such as Graham, Olney, and Jacksboro. Mr. Leiker wondered if removing this policy could work to skew retention numbers. Someone in Dallas might get on with the City's Fire Department if they cannot get on in their own city. They might leave their employment here sooner than normally if they get an MEET&CONFER—CWF&WFFD NOVEMBER 29,2016 3 opportunity to work closer to home. Assistant Fire Marshal/FEO Jody Ashlock said it could also work the other way; there are quite a few fire fighters who live in the Wichita Falls area that were members of the Wichita Falls Fire Department who work in Denton or Fort Worth. Mr. Leiker also wanted to make sure there was no problem with hampering the Fire Department's response to emergencies. Chief Reese said the Department severed all mutual aid agreements to respond to calls outside the city limits in the 1980s. Now, however, it does respond and has built up a relationship with the region and can draw upon those resources. The pool of personnel who can respond to an emergency would not just include the Wichita Falls Fire Department. Mr. Leiker asked if he would develop an administrative policy within his department, requiring personnel to respond in "x" minutes? Chief Reese said he would have a policy, but it would not have a specified time frame. Ms. Klyn said few cities still have a residency policy. Mr. Leiker said he leans toward approving this city-wide. Some departments will still need specific time responses, however. He instructed Ms. Klein to draft a policy for review. He said the Association can be told he is in favor of repealing this policy, with a goal of doing so by January 1. However, he will need to review and approve the administrative policy before this repeal is effective. 5. DISCUSSION TO RESTRUCTURE THE CURRENT STEP PLAN Lt. Bruce Deeb said MSU performed a salary survey for the Department in 2013, which showed they were close to being at average pay. However, it takes 7-1/2 years of service to get to average pay. They are doing a better job now of retaining personnel, but there are still members who are looking at other cities for a job. They propose to fix that by decreasing the steps for fire fighters to eight. The MSU survey revealed that a 6% pay raise is required in order to affect one's daily life. Each of these steps in the proposed eight-step plan is 4%; with a 1-1/2% cost-of- living increase and a step, that is close to a 6% step increase. Once a member gets past the 12th step, they go to FEO E, then to Fire Lieutenant E, and then to Fire Captain D. Seventy-five members are maxed out on steps and longevity. They propose to eliminate those steps to streamline the process so the members will know who is eligible for a raise and who is only eligible for a cost-of-living increase. Ms. Klyn said this proposal will lead to employees topping out quicker. Mr. Dockery agreed. The step plan was initially put in at the urging of police and fire to mirror non-civil service pay plans. Ms. Klyn said they did look at other cities last year, and the average was eight steps from the comparison cities. Mr. Dockery noted there would be a price tag for this change, estimating a $200,000 to $300,000 one-time cost to the budget. There is only so much money for an across-the-board cost- of-living increase. This could be accomplished solely for the Fire Department, or there could be a 2% cost-of-living increase across the board for all employees. Ms. Klyn added there is also the need to consider increased medical costs and health insurance. Mr. Leiker said it is the typical balancing act at budget time. He advised that another Meet and Confer meeting be held in the spring before staff is too heavily involved in the budget process. He thinks the concept is good. MEET&CONFER—CWF&WFFD NOVEMBER 29,2016 4 The members had a sidebar discussion regarding the draft agreement to modify the term of the eligibility list from 10:53 a.m.-11:05 a.m., at which time the full meeting resumed. The agreement was executed by both parties, and will be on the December 6 Council agenda. 6. INSURANCE Battalion Chief Reel said every time the department gets a cost-of-living increase, it also gets hit with an increase in insurance rates. Mr. Leiker said that is due to health care inflation. The City kicks in money to minimize the amount employees have to pay for premium increases. The City is facing huge cost increases, and there is finite money, so the EBT Board has to make tough decisions. The staff and Council tried to get as high a cost-of-living increase as possible; a 2% cost-of-living increase is more money than a 2% increase in health insurance. The EBT meetings are open to the public. Ms. Klyn agreed, urging that Fire and Police should both send a representative to the meetings. She said that although the spousal surcharge was controversial, the 7-1/2% increase could have been much higher. Battalion Chief Reel said some wives' plans had already closed by the time they received notice of the surcharge. Ms. Klyn advised members to contact Angela Bosma in EBT to get a waiver until next year. Mr. Leiker noted that many cities have eliminated spousal coverage completely. Ms. Klyn said decisions on the plan cannot be made until claims have been processed; claims submitted in June may not be processed until September. The timing is not convenient. Mr. Leiker said if it were not done that way, however, the City might have to come back mid- year and ask for higher premiums from the employees. It's not perfect. Going out for quotes for vision, dental, health, and life insurance takes time, as well. Mr. Dockery added that budgetary decisions for the plan are typically made around September. IPS Consultants look at ways we can minimize the employer/employee costs. Ms. Klyn agreed, stating there is an effort to provide the employees with tools to educate themselves. 7. ADJOURN Mr. Leiker thanked everyone for their time. The meeting adjourned at 11:15 a.m.