Agenda Item #
Columbus Consolidated Government
Council Meeting
August 8, 2006
Agenda Report #
TO: Mayor and Council
SUBJECT: FY2007 Pay Plan Amendments
INITIATED: City Manager and Staff
Recommendation: Approve an ordinance adopting administrative rules and plan
amendments necessary for the implementation of the University of Georgia Pay
Plan adopted by Columbus Ordinance No. 06-40.
Background: The University of Georgia Pay Plan adopted by Columbus Council
with Ordinance No. 06-40. Research was then conducted to identify conflicting
ordinances that required amendment or repeal. The new Pay Plan was also
analyzed for special situations affecting the uniform and fair implementation
of the plan and administrative rules were developed to address the same. All
of these presently known situations are incorporated in the recommended
legislation.
Analysis: The following rules are necessary to provide clarity to
administration of the new Pay Plan.
Because the actual Pay Plan implementation date is July 1, 2006, The Table III
footnote for equity (longevity) increases measuring service as of December 31,
2005 is changed to June 30, 2006.
The date used for longevity calculations is the date of full time employment.
Service time in a part-time or temporary capacity is not considered and equity
adjustments are limited to full time employees.
Public safety officers hired after June 30, 2006, are eligible to receive a
sign-on bonus of $2,000.00, provided that they continuously meet the written
criteria established by their departments and approved by the City Manager.
The bonus will be paid semi-annually in $500 increments to qualified employees.
Ordinance No. 04-10, Section I, Item 18 that originally established
certification pay for Fire/EMS employees with EMT-I certification is being
repealed because the new Pay Plan provided for this payment in the new
Firefighter/EMT classification. To prevent loss of salary for employees
receiving the certification pay, after placement in the new Pay Plan, this
amount will be added to those employees base salaries.
Ordinance No. 02-103 that originally established certification pay for Fire/EMS
employees with Paramedic certification is being repealed and Columbus Ordinance
No. 06-40 is amended by adding a new section to compensate qualified employees
who receive salary incentives for being certified as Paramedics at the new rate
of $2400. The difference between the current payment received by these
qualified employees and the new $2400 rate will be added to those employees
base salaries to prevent lose of salary.
To accommodate the step system that is part of the new Pay Plan, the current
?Promotion Policy? contained in Columbus Code Section 16B-3-2.1 is deleted and
replaced by a new Section 16B-3-2.1 linking promotion to steps rather than a
percentage of salary.
The Pay Plan adopted by Columbus Ordinance No. 06-40 must be amended to direct
HR to use the maximum pay in Pay Plan ?A? when administering the Pay Plan
adopted by said ordinance.
Ordinance No. 00-31 and Ordinance No. 96-79, regarding educational incentives,
are deleted and Columbus Code ?Article III, Pay Plan? is amended by adding a
new Section 16B-3-12 providing for a $1200 educational incentive for the first
Bachelor?s or Master?s degree received after June 30, 2006; authorizing the
hiring of entry level public safety officers at Step ?B? and authorizing
advancement by one step for officers obtaining their first associate?s degree
or equivalent after June 30, 2006; establishes an new definition of educational
equivalency to an associate?s degree; and establishes a formula to determine
the proper placement of officers with advanced degrees into the new pay plan
that protects the educational incentive payment they are currently receiving.
Ordinances No. 02-13, No. 02-1 and No. 04-31, regarding mandatory attainment of
associate?s degrees or their equivalency, are repealed.
Legal: Approval of the Columbus Council is required.
Financial Considerations: The additional costs associated with this ordinance
were provided for in the FY2007 Budget.
Recommendation/Actions: Recommended by City Manager and Staff.
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Agenda Report Addendum
Education Requirements and Educational Incentive Chronological History
Ordinance 77-6: provided 5% incentive for 6 basic Police Science courses and
10% additional incentive for associate's degree in Criminal Justice or a
bachelor's degree in any field.
Ordinance 96-79: created simultaneously with implementation of the established
pay grade 11 for bachelor's and pay grade 12 for master's degrees...with
advancement to next grade, same step (about 5%) when current employees obtain
the higher degree. This is the ordinance that was successfully challenged in
Judge Smith's court by the petitioners seeking payment for degrees obtained
prior to the 1996 ordinance. The City appealed and Judge Smith was reversed by
the Georgia Supreme Court.
Ordinance 00-31: corrected an oversight in 96-79 that unintentionally harmed
employees with advanced degrees that were subsequently promoted with salaries
at or near the entry-level pay for the new position. Grades 11 and 12 were
abolished and the 5% incentive payment was established for new and existing
employees.
Ordinance 03-15: recognized a Paramedic diploma and Georgia licensure as
equivalent to an associate's degree. This ordinance did not address the
bachelor or master's incentive payments.
Ordinances 02-1, 02-12 and 02-13: established grade 9 programs for officers
with specific college credits but did not have the equivalent of an associate's
degree. These ordinances did not address the bachelor or master's incentive
payments.
Ordinance 04-31: established the 9A and 9B pay grades for employees with only
high school or GED (9A) and a second level (9B) for those with a specific
number of college credits. This ordinance did not address the bachelor or
master's incentive payments.
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