AN ORDINANCE
NO.
An Ordinance amending the Pay Plan for The Consolidated Government as adopted
in the Fiscal Year 2007 Budget Ordinance No. 06-40; providing educational
incentives available to public safety employees and repealing conflicting
provisions; and for other purposes.
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THE COUNCIL OF COLUMBUS, GEORGIA HEREBY ORDAINS:
SECTION 1.
Columbus Ordinance No. 06-40 is hereby amended at the Table III footnote
regarding the date from which longevity increases shall be measured by deleting
the date ?December 31, 2005? and replacing it with the date ?June 30, 2006?.
SECTION 2.
The Pay Plan adopted by Columbus Ordinance 06-40 is hereby amended by
adding a new section to read as follows:
?The implementation date for the longevity increases shall be July 1,
2006. In order to qualify for longevity increase, an employee must be employed
in a full-time capacity. Employees performing in a part-time capacity shall
not be eligible for a longevity increase. Time of service shall be measured
from the date the employee began continuous full time employment with the
Columbus Consolidated Government until June 30, 2006.?
SECTION 3.
The Pay Plan adopted by Columbus Ordinance No. 06-40 is hereby amended
by adding a new section to define a sign-on bonus for public safety officers to
read as follows:
?Public safety officers hired after June 30, 2006, shall receive a
sign-on bonus of $2,000.00, provided that they continuously meet the written
criteria established by their departments. Each public safety department shall
develop written criteria for receipt of the bonus and such written criteria
shall be approved in advance by the City Manager. The bonus shall be paid
semiannually, in increments of $500.00 to officers continuing to be employed
and to meet the written criteria. Public safety officers rehired within six
months of their separation date are ineligible for the sign-on bonus. The
sign-on bonus shall be reviewed by the Chief of Police, Mayor, City Manager and
Columbus Council every five years after the effective date of this
ordinance.?
SECTION 4.
Ordinance No. 04-10, Section I, Item 18 is hereby repealed and the Pay Plan
adopted by Columbus Ordinance No. 06-40 is hereby amended by adding a new
section to compensate the sworn employees who receive salary incentives for
being certified as Emergency Medical Technicians Intermediate (EMT-I) and it
shall read as follows:
?Effective July 1, 2006, Fire/EMS Department sworn employees certified as and
receiving a supplement on June 30, 2006 for Emergency Medical
Technicians-Intermediate (EMT-I) shall be placed in the Pay Plan adopted by
Ordinance No. 06-40 at their appropriate grade based upon their current base
salary plus appropriate longevity increases. Effective July 1, 2006, the
$2600.00 EMT-I certification pay supplement shall be added to said base
salaries. Any other EMT-I certification supplemental pay shall be eliminated
effective July 1, 2006.?
SECTION 5.
Ordinance No. 02-103 is hereby repealed and the Pay Plan adopted by Columbus
Ordinance No. 06-40 is hereby amended by adding a new section to compensate the
FireMedics and other Fire/EMS employees who receive salary incentives for being
certified as Paramedics and it shall read as follows:
?Effective July 1, 2006, Fire/EMS Department sworn employees certified as and
receiving a supplement on June 30, 2006 for Paramedic shall be placed in the
Pay Plan adopted by Ordinance No. 06-40 at their appropriate grade based upon
their current base salary plus appropriate longevity increases. Effective July
1, 2006, the currently authorized Paramedic supplement which exceeds $2400.00
shall be added to said base salaries and a new Paramedic certification pay of
$2400.00 shall be effective July 1, 2006. Any other Paramedic certification
supplemental pay shall be eliminated effective July 1, 2006. Qualified
employees shall continue to receive the new Paramedic certification pay until
such time as they are no longer qualified to receive said payment. The new
Paramedic certification pay shall only be paid to employees who are certified
and licensed by the State of Georgia as Paramedics and who are actively working
as Paramedics, supervising the work of Paramedics, or providing emergency
medical training to department personnel.?
SECTION 6.
Columbus Code Section 16B-3-2.1 is hereby deleted in its entirety and is
replaced by a new Section 16B-3-2.1 to read as follows:
?1. Public safety and general government employees that are selected
for promotion will receive the greater of:
the increase of one step for each grade they are promoted, or the equivalent
thereof, measured from their current step for the position from which they are
being promoted, with a minimum of two steps and limited to a maximum increase
of four steps. The employee will then be placed into the new grade at this
salary.
Or
the minimum step for the new position.?
SECTION 7.
The Pay Plan adopted by Columbus Ordinance No. 06-40 is hereby amended
by adding the following new section:
?Those certain employees whose salaries currently meet or exceed the
maximum step for their grades as set forth in the Pay Plan adopted by Ordinance
No. 06-40 shall receive longevity increases that will be calculated as set
forth in said Pay Plan with the exception that such increases may reach, but
not exceed, 100% of the Pay Plan submitted by the University of Georgia and
considered by Columbus Council and labeled as Pay Plan ?A.? Those certain
employees who, during FY 2007, would exceed the maximum compensation contained
in said Pay Plan ?A? shall receive a one-time payment for the amount that such
longevity increase would exceed the maximum compensation contained in Pay Plan
?A.? Except as provided herein, the maximum pay levels in said Pay Plan ?A?
shall be utilized for future implementation of the Pay Plan adopted by
Ordinance 06-40, unless changed by further ordinance of the Columbus Council.?
SECTION 8.
Ordinance No. 00-31 and Ordinance No. 96-79, regarding educational
incentives, are hereby deleted and Columbus Code ?Article III, Pay Plan? is
hereby amended by adding a new Section 16B-3-12 to read as follows:
?Section 16B-3-12. Public Safety Educational Incentive Payments.
Public safety employees receiving their first Bachelor?s or Master?s degree
after June 30, 2006, shall receive an educational incentive of $1,200 for each
degree. The incentive shall be paid as a separate line item and not be
included in the base employee compensation that is calculated on a step basis.
Public safety employees currently employed and enrolled in a baccalaureate or
master?s program on June 30, 2006 receiving their first Bachelor?s or Master?s
degree on or before June 30, 2008, at their option, may receive the educational
incentive authorized prior to July 1, 2006. Transcripts shall be provided to
the Department of Human Resources as proof of such enrollment. The incentive
shall be paid by advancing the employee?s salary two steps in the same grade,
up to the maximum pay for the grade.
(c) Entry level public safety officers hired after June 30, 2006, who possess
associate?s degrees or the equivalent thereof, shall receive an increase of one
pay step from the initial step in effect at the time they are hired. Public
safety officers receiving their first associate?s degree or the equivalent
thereof after June 30, 2006, shall receive an increase of one step in salary in
their current grade.
(d) The educational equivalent of an associate?s degree for the purpose
of applying subsection (c) above is defined as a minimum of 96 quarter hours or
63 semester hours of post secondary education as a college or university
accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, or its
equivalent as listed in the Rules of the Human Resources Department, provided
said course work is above the developmental level and contains, at least: two
English; one math; two science or technology; one social studies; and one
humanity. This definition shall not be construed as waiving the associate or
higher degree requirement for promotional qualification or any other process.
(e) For Public Safety employees who were receiving educational
incentives up to June 30, 2006, such incentives shall continue to be paid in
the following manner. Such employees shall receive the greater of:
(i) the minimum pay provided by Ordinance No. 06-40, including all
applicable longevity increases, plus the educational incentive payment for the
degree or degrees possessed;
Or
(ii) the pay provided by the placement of the employee into the Pay
Plan adopted by Ordinance No. 06-40, including all applicable longevity
increases.
SECTION 9.
Ordinances No. 02-13, No. 02-1 and No. 04-31, regarding mandatory
attainment of associate?s degrees or their equivalency, are hereby repealed.
SECTION 10.
The Pay Plan adopted by Columbus Ordinance No. 06-40 is hereby amended by
adding a new section containing an operating procedure for Multi-level
Qualifications and Career Ladder positions to read as follows:
?1. Public safety and general government positions assigned multiple levels by
UGA, to provide salary differentials for different levels of qualifications
shall be administered by the following general rules:
Clear measurable criteria will be used to determine qualification for each
advanced level. Where the criteria were not specified in the report,
departments will develop appropriate standards to be approved by the City
Manager.
Employees that qualify for advancement will receive the salary obtained by
advancing the current salary in the current grade one (1) step for each grade
that the new grade exceeds the prior grade, or the equivalent thereof, the
employee will then be placed in the new grade at this salary.
Initial placement of employees in multi-level positions will be as specified by
UGA or based upon their assigned position on June 30, 2006, if different.
Department heads may request changes in recommended levels with appropriate
justification and approval of the City Manager.
Employees placed at lower levels during initial implementation must fully
satisfy approved criteria and/or present valid credentials prior to advancing
to higher levels.
This procedure only applies to positions in the pay plan designated with a
numbered footnote and multi-level description. Positions assigned a ?tag?
number and having a separate job description are promotional positions and not
part of a career ladder, even if the title is numbered or contains the word
?senior? in the title. Employees may only advance to promotional positions by
successfully competing for an authorized vacant position.?
SECTION 11.
The Pay Plan adopted by Columbus Ordinance No. 06-40 is hereby amended by
adding a new section for positions reclassified in the Pay Plan to read as
follows:
?1. Placement of Public safety and general government positions
reclassified by the UGA Pay Plan shall be as follows:
Initial placement of employees into the new pay plan will be based upon the
position they held on June 30, 2006.
Placement into the new pay plan at a different level, title or rank than held
by the employee on June 30, 2006 is considered a reclassification and not a
promotion. Therefore the new promotion policy contained in this ordinance does
not apply to the initial placement of employees into the new classification
plan and will not result in a promotional salary increase.?
SECTION 12.
This ordinance shall be effective as of July 1, 2006.
SECTION 13.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict with this ordinance are
hereby repealed.
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Introduced at a regular meeting of the Council of Columbus, Georgia held on the
_____ day of _________, 2006; introduced a second time at a regular meeting of
said Council held on the ______ day of ________, 2006, and adopted at said
meeting by the affirmative vote of ________ members of said Council.
Councilor Allen voting ____________.
Councilor Anthony voting __________.
Councilor Davis voting ____________.
Councilor Henderson voting ________.
Councilor Hunter voting ___________.
Councilor McDaniel voting _________.
Councilor Pugh voting _____________.
Councilor Rodgers voting __________.
Councilor Suber voting ____________.
Councilor Woodson voting __________.
______________________________ ______________________________
TINY B. WASHINGTON ROBERT S. POYDASHEFF
CLERK OF COUNCIL MAYOR
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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