Informational Meeting

MINUTES Informational Meeting Tuesday, February 15, 2022 at 4:00 PM Carnegie Town Hall, 235 West 10th St., Sioux Falls, SD 57104 1. Call To Order Council Members Present: Janet Brekke, Christine M. Erickson (via telecom), Rick Kiley, Greg Neitzert, Curt Soehl, Pat Starr Council Members Absent: Alex Jensen, Marshall Selberg 2. Committee/Commission Reports A. Accessible Housing Advisory Board: Wednesday, February 2, 2022 (Council Member Selberg) An update will be received at the February 22, 2022, Informational Meeting. 3. Councilor Remarks Council Chair Curt Soehl provided an update on the Curling Teams at the Olympics. 4. Presentations A. Employer of Choice Plan by Bill O'Toole, Director of Human Resources; and Shawn Pritchett, Director of Finance Presentation: Approximately 20 minutes followed by discussion Bill O'Toole, Director of Human Resources, reviewed the Employer of Choice Plan with a proposed target date of the second quarter in 2022. O'Toole spoke about the challenging labor market and its impact on attracting and retaining employees. He provided an update on how the Employer of Choice Plan was developed taking into consideration the rise in inflation rates, and the low unemployment rates. O’Toole explained how the current union contracts were negotiated prior to the pandemic and reviewed the COLA rates per division. O’Toole reviewed how some job postings had to occur multiple times before a candidate could be identified and hired. The three initiatives are described as follows: 1) Retain (Deliver Competitive Wages) which encompasses Provide a one-time retention incentive of $2,000 to each full-time employee; Initiate independent review of the City's wages and benefits to ensure market competitiveness; and analyze and adjust our part-time and season employee wages to remain market competitive. 2) Wellbeing (Offer Flexible Benefits and Workplace) which encompasses: Modify the sick leave  assistance program to provide even greater flexibility for maternity/parternity leave; Reduce the years of service required to accrue vacation time; and provide new full- time employees a 40-hour bank of vacation. 3) Recruit (Attract the Right People) encompasses: Commit to setting a minimum starting wage for full-time employees of no less thatn $17.50 per hour; Provide a $500 referral incentive for full-time employees who successfully refer an individual for a full-time position; and provide a hiring incentive for hard-to-fill positions. O’Toole discussed the incentive of $2,000 and its relation to inflation, which is over 7% at this time. He reviewed past years when one time lump sum considerations were used. O’Toole discussed the 6% increase by the State of South Dakota, the School District increase of 8% and that some groups are higher. He noted that the health care systems are also making movements to respond to the current employment environment. Shawn Pritchett, Director of Finance, provided feedback on where the supplemental money was coming from. He also provided input on the increase in sales taxes from last year and what the City’s unobligated balances are. Pritchett discussed: the increase in inflation and how it has not been this high for 40 years; the shortages in supplies, the labor shortages, businesses shutting down; and the increases in prices related to gas, rent, groceries, used cars etc. as a result of inflation. Pritchett stated that union negotiations occurred pre-pandemic and before the increase in inflation. Council Members asked if it would be better to increase the COLA percentages effective on January 1, 2023, and give retro pay for the other amounts. They noted that the bonus check disappears in 2023 where as the COLA increase would catch up the employees faster. Discussion was held regarding: the timeline for the proposed retention action; whether or not only high performer employees should be targeted for the bonus check; the union negotiation process and timeline; the need and timeline for a wage study for City jobs; the need to take proactive action now vs. reactive action later; where the funds are coming from to cover the $2.5M supplement; the specific COLA percentages for each union and what the market and inflationary rates were for each union during the negotiation process; the existing rate of pay for seasonal workers and the increase amount (primarily impacts the Parks and Recreation Department – total of 25 employees impacted by the increase); clarification was made that this bonus does not impact the City Council Members, and that they will not be voting a raise for themselves with this action. 5. Public Comment There was none. 6. Executive Session A. Consulting with legal counsel or reviewing communications from legal counsel about proposed or pending litigation or contractual matters pursuant to SDCL 1-25- 2(3) The Executive Session was canceled. 7. Adjournment Council Chair Curt Soehl adjourned the meeting at 4:59 p.m. Tamara Jorgensen, MMC, Assistant City Clerk