Title
Adoption of Resolution Adopting and Ratifying Revised Salary Schedules for City Council Appointed Positions of City Manager and City Attorney to Ensure Compliance with CalPERS Requirements. (Human Resources 10025060)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Isabel Safie, Special Counsel
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
As a contracting agency of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), the City of Alameda (City) is subject to statutory and regulatory requirements that govern whether compensation is reportable for pension calculation purposes. The Public Employees’ Retirement Law (PERL), the Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA), and the California Code of Regulations (CCR) require that contracting agencies must accurately reflect the base salaries for all positions on publicly available documentation.
The enclosed resolution revises salary schedules adopted by the City to achieve compliance with CalPERS regulations and guidance, and alignment with past practice. This resolution does not alter or change current or prior compensation to the City Attorney and City Manager as previously adopted by City Council in its contracts with each appointee, nor does this resolution obligate the City Council to provide future pay increases to the City Manager or City Attorney.
BACKGROUND
CalPERS, pursuant to Title 2 CCR sections 570.5 and 571.1, requires all CalPERS employers to make their compensation levels publicly available in document(s) approved and adopted by the governing body, which must meet all of the following requirements:
1) Has been duly approved and adopted by the employer’s governing body in accordance with requirements of applicable public meeting laws;
2) Identifies the position title for every employee position;
3) Shows the pay rate for each identified position, which may be stated as a single amount or as multiple amounts within a range;
4) Indicates the time base, including, but not limited to, whether the time base is hourly, daily, bi-weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, or annually;
5) Is posted at the office of the employer or immediately accessible and available for public review from the employer during normal business hours or posted on the employer’s internet website;
6) Indicates an effective date and date of any revisions;
7) Is retained by the employer and available for public inspection for not less than five years; and
8) Does not reference another document in lieu of disclosing the pay rate.
CalPERS previously identified that the City’s documentation for compensation paid to the City Attorney and City Manager did not comply with the PERL and related CCRs. CalPERS indicated that this was because: (1) the salary schedule did not identify the City Attorney and City Manager base salary compensation, and (2) the salary schedule did not indicate when it was adopted by City Council. Subsequently, the City approved salary schedules.
Since then, City staff have identified that adopting salary ranges for appointee positions more closely aligns with City Council’s past intent. Additionally, salary ranges are consistent with other City positions and allow for distinguishing between merit-bases and non-merit-based salary increases, which is how salary increases have been previously identified for appointee positions. The purpose of this Resolution is to revise and clarify the salary schedules to identify that the applicable requirements are met, while aligning with past practice.
DISCUSSION
To ensure compensation for the City Manager and City Attorney are pensionable compensation and compliant with CalPERS regulations and guidance, staff recommends that the City Council adopt and ratify the salary schedules enclosed as Exhibit 1. These salary schedules include both current compensation and compensation dating back to June 19, 2022. City Council’s adoption of the prior schedules will be retroactive to ensure prior compensation is compliant with CalPERS regulations and guidance.
ALTERNATIVES
• Approve the resolution as recommended.
• Deny the resolution and provide further directions to staff regarding pensionable compensation for City Council appointees. Staff do not recommend this option as it will result in additional CalPERS compliance risks.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The proposed resolution adopting and ratifying revising the salary schedules would not increase any costs to the City, nor do they change existing compensations for the City Manager and City Attorney positions. The salary schedules do not set the salary for City Council appointees. Rather, they simply encompass the salary that the City Council has previously approved for incumbents in these positions. The salary schedules do not authorize any additional salary increases or obligate City Council to provide any future increases.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
This action is consistent with the Alameda Municipal Code.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This action does not constitute a “project” as defined in California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15378 and therefore no further CEQA analysis is required.
CLIMATE IMPACTS
There are no identifiable climate impacts or climate action opportunities associated with the subject of this report.
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt and ratify revised salary schedules for City Council appointed positions of City Manager and City Attorney to ensure compliance with CalPERS requirements
Respectfully submitted,
Isabel Safie, Special Counsel
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Ross McCarthy, Finance Director
Exhibit:
1. Salary Schedules