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City Council Study Session — 03120106 <br />DRAFT Minutes - Page 17 <br />Ms. Bacon reviewed the City's traditional paid vacation and sick <br />leave programs; and current need for supervisors to often make <br />subjective judgments that may not be the best fit for the <br />employee or employer. <br />Ms. Bacon outlined the purpose of PTO to allow supervisors to <br />better manage schedules and staffing by allowing employees <br />more flexibility in balancing their time off, by discouraging <br />unnecessary sick time by providing employee ownership and <br />providing savings incentives; limit City liability; and to attract <br />and retain employees by providing and promising equity, <br />consistency, flexibility, personal responsibility, and the <br />recognition of years of service. <br />Ms. Bacon reviewed the proposed plan; administration of the <br />plan; eligibility; impacts and relationship to short-term disability <br />insurance; severance provisions; and the conversion process <br />itself. <br />Mr. Bacon compared the City's current provisions and the <br />proposed plan; marketplace comparisons and averages; and <br />carryovers and post-employment health plan impacts. Ms. <br />Bacon noted that the proposed PTO plan would need a new <br />attendance policy to assist supervisors in managing absences <br />uniformly. Ms. Bacon also reviewed the proposal for the city to <br />provide self-insurance for short-term disability; to be absorbed <br />and funded by the City by utilizing the four day differential per <br />year from the old sick leave accruals, currently an approximate <br />$120,000 City liability. <br />Discussion included impacts to union negotiations; Family <br />Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provisions; protections in place for <br />catastrophic events; resignations and retirement severance <br />provisions; and concerns for those current 25 employees having <br />accrued more than 640 hours of sick leave balance. <br />Further discussion included banking of accrued PTO as a hedge <br />to cover unanticipated sick leave needs before short-term <br />disability would apply; City liability concerns; scheduling <br />consistency and supervisory management; enticement for more <br />