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Meet and Confer Minutes - 04/14/2021 Meet and Confer City of Wichita Falls and the International Association of Firefighters, Local 432 April 14, 2021 Attendees: City Administration Darron Leiker, City Manager Paul Menzies, Assistant City Manager Blake Jurecek,Assistant City Manager Ken Prillaman, Fire Chief Donald Hughes,Assistant Fire Chief Julia Vasquez, Deputy City Attorney Christi Klyn, HR Director/Civil Service Director Jessica Williams, Director of Finance/CEO Linda Merrill, Recording Secretary International Association of Firefighters, Local 432 Jason Baber, Training Battalion Chief Jody Ashlock, FEO/Assistant Fire Marshal Trent Mays, Captain Joe Morris, Captain Ray Wood, Captain Bruce Deeb, Lieutenant Al Vitolo, Lieutenant Randal Reel Darron Leiker called the meeting to order at 3:3o p.m. 1. Step Plan Randal Reel asked if the steps would be unfrozen this year. Mr. Leiker said that is budget dependent. He is hopeful for a step increase or cost-of-living increase—or possibly even both. There are no specifics available at this point. Major revenue resource returns are not in yet. Sales tax receipts were down significantly this month, but are up about 1.5% for the year. Property tax values are said to be way up. The first value estimate should be available at the end of this month, and finalized in July. Those are the two items watched in regard to the general fund. Any pay raise will be highly dependent upon those figures. Mr. Leiker said he told the Council last year that pay adjustments would be a priority in this year's budget. The City recently went through a pay compensation study 1 and identified several areas in which it is behind in compensation. He wants to target dollars to fix those areas over the next one to two years, if possible. Bruce Deeb said the Association wants to reach median pay with competitive cities. Salary comparisons are complicated, as some firefighters are paid for having college degrees, EMS certification or for being bilingual. In addition, there are differences in the number of steps until maximum pay is reached. Cost of insurance is another factor. They would like to see the "thawing" of the step plan to occur on the same date each step was frozen, so folks don't step over each other(pay-wise). Future increases need io% calculated between each step. He has heard, but has no confirmation, that some employees who "step up"make more than those already in that rank. If that is true, it also needs to be addressed. Phase 1 of their step plan was to get the firefighter ranks adjusted to 8 steps rather than 16. He thanked the Administration for adjusting those steps. Phase 2 is to get io% differentiation between ranks. Mr. Leiker said the pay consultant said io% between ranks is a large percentage, and highly unusual. It was not recommended. Lt. Deeb said some people are dissuaded from testing for higher positions because that position does not pay much more money than their current salary. Christi Klyn said the City does not yet have the final report from the pay consultant, but he did recommend making the plan more uniform. There is a 1% difference between some ranks, and an 8% difference between others. He looked at 5% between ranks. This is simply a recommendation; the budget specifics are not yet known. Assistant Chief Donald Hughes said the effort to keep io% between ranks was a target as far back as the 198os. It never happened, as a change in one rank would affect everything. It has been 15 years since a comprehensive pay study has been performed, Ms. Klyn noted. The final report should be available within the next two weeks. Mr. Leiker said the consultant provided an executive summary of its findings for the City Council to have for its strategic planning session. It is a big price tag, and would have to be phased in within one to two years. Mr. Leiker asked if the Association is wanting the steps, once "thawed," staggered on anniversary dates, to make sure less tenured folks don't make more than those who are more tenured. Ms. Klyn said they will look at the system with payroll to make sure it doesn't happen again. Darron Leiker asked Lt. Deeb about the concern that employees who step up to a higher rank earn more money than those already in that rank. Lt. Deeb said a Step 4 firefighter might promote to Step 4 Driver, and earn more than a current Step 3 Driver. Assistant Chief Hughes said most of these employees are maxed out in their current position, so they cannot go from (for example) a Step 5 lieutenant to a Step 1 captain. He 2 added that a 15-year firefighter promoted to driver makes a lot less than a i-year firefighter, as that firefighter has that bigger range to get up to the driver salary. Mr. Leiker said that seems to be the fairest way to do it. It might be a communication issue. Ms. Klyn asked Lt. Deeb to find out who those individuals are in these scenarios. Lt. Deeb agreed. 2. Fire Marshal Succession Plan. Mr. Leiker noted that a different way to handle promotions for the Fire Marshal position was discussed about a year ago. It is still an issue that needs solving, to ensure there is a long-tenured person in that position. Chief Ken Prillaman said there is no new proposal today. He stated there are issues with the last succession plan proposal. The Fire Marshal position requires law enforcement certification, and the department does not routinely provide such training outside of the Fire Marshal division. The job description could be changed to no longer have law enforcement certification as a requirement. A smaller issue is that this position interfaces with department heads, contractors, and developers. It is a vertical learning curve. Solving this issue insures the City is getting the best qualified with the prerequisite skills. There is no promotional opportunity within this division. The Assistant Fire Marshals go into that position as FEO's,but there is no promotional opportunity within that division to lieutenant or captain. If they test for those ranks and are successful, they would have to roll out into Operations. The only way to get back in is to wait for the Fire Marshal position to open, test and be at the top of the list for Battalion Chief. Over 700 hours of law enforcement training is invested in this position, as well as advanced certifications, and yet they are forced out of the division should they seek promotional opportunities. There was real progress made in a collaborative effort, but it is important to solve this important issue. He would like this back on everyone's radar. Randal Reel stated they are working on a proposal to submit to the Chief. 3. Promotional Leadership Assessment. Mr. Leiker said there is no plan to be submitted today on this matter. This assessment would create a different way to promote, rather than only through test results. The test would be the largest component of the score, but other components, such as an assessment center and interview, would also count toward the final promotional exam grade. This has been successful at the police department. It would take a Meet and Confer Agreement. He noted that this type of testing might level the playing field a bit for those who are not the best test-takers. It is worth considering, and something that progressive departments are slowing moving toward. 3 Lt. Al Vitolo asked how subjective opinions could be avoided through this type of testing. Mr. Leiker said there was some concern in the Police Department when this was first proposed, but it has never been an issue. The officers think they get a better supervisor through this method. Deputy City Attorney Julia Vasquez said they vote for who gets to serve on the panel of peers. Ms. Klyn said she has requested the City of Abilene's testing methods to see how they have structured this new form of examination.The Wichita Falls Police Department's current alternative promotion process includes a written exam, an assessment (similar to ergometrics for entry-level testing), and a panel interview. Certain individuals from different ranks serve on the panel,which uses a very specific, detailed outline from which to score the results. Mr. Reel said he believes this could be a hard sell, unless the Administration puts this proposal on paper. Ms. Klyn said it was like that at the police department, as well. A committee was formed at the department, composed of officers of different ranks. They created the process and presented it to the different shifts. Mr. Leiker added that the interview ranks only at io%, in the Police Department's alternative promotion process, which helps them to avoid the problem of subjectivity. He does agree it would take educating the membership. The goal is to get the best supervisor in those upper ranks. Chief Prillaman said there has never been much leadership training offered through the department. He hopes to roll something out this year.This assessment would help to see how well the department is doing with the training it will deliver. People are being put into positions without the tools they need to be successful, such as how to manage conflict or do performance reviews. Lt. Vitolo said the department fights for every dollar in its budget, and yet this assessment process would cost more money. Mr. Leiker said it should serve to produce a better officer in the field, which would pay dividends when problems occur. 4. Pension Contributions. Captain Ray Wood said there was an agreement (possibly informal)years ago that the Fire Department's pension rate would be the same as that for TMRS. It had been like that since 2009, until recently. They would like to get back to that. Mr. Leiker noted it is approximately 3% off at this point. He reminded everyone that in 2019, police and fire personnel received a 5% pay increase. Non-civil service employees only received a 2% raise, and 3% was used to pay the TMRS rate. If the Fire Department is willing to defer a cost of living raise in the future, it can be looked at.To do both is pretty expensive. Captain Wood said they understand that,but in years past they received the same rate, and they want to get back to that. 4 Mr. Leiker replied it would take only one year to forego a cost-of-living increase. That is what the non-civil service employees did in 2019. Plus, 2% more was taken from their paychecks beginning January 1. They got net zero, but made that sacrifice to get the increase. Captain Wood said he was told the City did not want to do that. Mr. Leiker said he does not remember that, noting that rates change every year. Assistant Chief Hughes said the Association met with Jim Berzina, Jan Stricklin and Jim Dockery. The agreement was that the TMRS rate would be used, minus a .23 percent. Mr. Leiker noted he assumed this might be that part of the TMRS component reserved for life insurance. He added that it had to have been at least 16 years ago. No agreement evidencing such an agreement has been found. Mr. Leiker said it looked like an equal amount was contributed by firefighters and the City. If the City is in a position to go up to 16%, would the firefighters be willing to do the same? Captain Wood said it would have to go to a vote,but he would push for that. Director of Finance/CEO Jessica Williams noted this report can be put together either way.There are two sides:A and B.The actuary looks at the rate and asks the normal versus legacy cost being covered. The normal costs are those you are accruing today; the legacy costs are those still owed for retirees. That is the way the pension system is designed to work: enough new employees coming in are paying in so that as retirees come off the system, they receive their pension from those funds. When it starts to stall, it is because there is not enough coming in to pay for those coming off. That normal cost is covered by the 13% the firefighters are contributing. The City contributed 13.25% last year, which still does not cover the legacy costs. There is a combined liability in the system as a whole that is not being covered, and the unfunded liability accrued. Captain Wood said that is how pension systems work; TMRS is the same way. Ms. Williams said a larger system like TMRS has a more diverse portfolio and a larger pool. Therefore, more returns will be realized and the City's coming in/going out is more cyclical than a small pension system. Mr. Leiker opined that TMRS is not the same type of system. It is a defined contribution plan, versus a defined benefit or pension fund. It could be argued it is a hybrid of the two. What comes out of TMRS is the employee's contributions, the City's contributions, and interest earnings capped at 5 percent. He understands this is a high priority. It can be discussed if the Association is willing to work on the pension fund and forego a cost-of-living increase. Captain Wood said they do want to see it get back to the way it was. Mr. Leiker said he appreciated everyone's time here today. He is open to sitting down to talk. Pay will be a top recommendation to the City Council, but it is ultimately 5 their decision. There are a lot of other needs, such as streets and infrastructure. But the City's greatest resource is its personnel. There is a pre-budget workshop in July to make the first budget presentation. Senate Bill 2 passed, and it may really hit the City this year. In the past, a city could assume up to 8% growth. That is how high-growth cities were able to do more; they kept the tax rate the same but assumed the new growth each year on the property tax side. But since cities are now capped at 3.5%, the city may have to lower the tax rate to not bust that cap. Chief Prillaman rephrased that, stating the City will only be allowed to collect 3.5% more than was collected last year in total revenues. Mr. Leiker said the 3.5% cap is not based on individual property; it is collective and on revenue. One year to the next cannot be higher than 3.5%, or it triggers an automatic election. Prior to SB2, there would be a possible election at 8 percent. It was called the rollback rate. If the City accepted a budget of 3.51%, it will automatically go to an election. He will not present a budget that would bust that cap and force an election unless it is for something extraordinary, such as a new central fire station or police department. Wichita Falls is growing as a community. Under the new law, cities can accept the new growth for one year. And the Legislature is trying to do more. They want to include debt service, capital leases, and certificates of obligation into the calculation, and that makes it even harder to stay under the 3.5 percent. It is important to speak with our local legislators. Lt. Deeb spoke on the local media and the need for stories to be accurately written. He also noted there was an article about Wichita Falls being the fifth cheapest place to live in the nation. It felt like a set-up for that to come out at budget time. Ms. Klyn said that came from the Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Leiker added that the City does battle to get the correct message out to the media. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 4:25 p.m. 6