Title
Adoption of Resolution Amending the City of Alameda Police Officers Association, Non-Sworn Unit (PANS) Salary Schedule Effective December 11, 2016 to Reinstate the Animal Control Officer Classification, Update the Hourly Wage to Account for Negotiated Salary Increases, and Approve a Workforce Change Allocating One Full-Time Animal Control Officer Position to the Police Department. (Human Resources 2510)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Jill Keimach, City Manager
Re: Adoption of Resolution Amending the City of Alameda Police Officers Association, Non-Sworn Unit (PANS) Salary Schedule Effective December 11, 2016 to Reinstate the Animal Control Officer Classification, Update the Hourly Wage to Account for Negotiated Salary Increases, and Approve a Workforce Change Allocating One Full-Time Animal Control Officer Position to the Police Department
BACKGROUND
In 2011, the City entered into an agreement with the Friends of the Alameda Animal Shelter (FAAS) to provide animal shelter services within the City of Alameda. Prior to this time, the City’s Police Department operated the City’s Animal Shelter.
Under this agreement, FAAS, with funding from the City, assumed responsibility of all general shelter services such as licensing and adoption of companion animals, holding of strays and owner-surrendered animals, and provision of after-hours drop boxes for the City of Alameda.
In the agreement between the City and FAAS, there is a separate provision that addresses animal control services. Under this provision, the City maintained responsibility for animal control services including employing two part-time staff to respond to stray animal calls, transport animals to the shelter, and provide field enforcement of animal control laws.
As a result of this agreement, the City eliminated the Animal Control Officer classification and instead used the part-time classification of Police Assistant to employ part-time Animal Control Officers. The recommended action would now reinstate the Animal Control Officer classification and update the hourly wage to account for negotiated salary increases effective December 11, 2016, and approve a workforce change allocating one full-time Animal Control Officer position to the Police Department.
DISCUSSION
Since 2011 when the City first entered into the Agreement with FAAS, there have been challenges with maintaining the part-time staff needed to provide seven day a week animal control services. Because the Animal Control Officer (Police Assistant) is a part-time position and able to work only a limited number of hours, incumbents tend to resign once they are able to gain full-time employment elsewhere or may not be reliable because of the nature of part-time employment. As a result, the City has struggled to maintain staffing and, at times, had to use sworn officers to perform animal control duties on shifts when an Animal Control Officer should have been available.
Currently, the City is in negotiations with FAAS on potential changes to the agreement between the City and FAAS for animal shelter services. However, these discussions impact shelter services only. There are no changes anticipated regarding the City’s responsibility for animal control services.
In order to ensure the City continues to meet its obligations to provide animal control services, it is recommended to reinstate the Animal Control Officer classification and allocate one full-time Animal Control Officer position. This will allow the City to hire an Animal Control Officer to work full-time hours in a benefited position. The City will continue to utilize part-time staff on an as-needed basis, but the addition of one full-time employee will allow for continuity and consistency of services during a majority of the hours in which animal control duties are performed.
Since the full-time Animal Control Officer classification was deleted from the PANS Salary Schedule when the operations of the Shelter transferred from the Police Department to FAAS, the Animal Control Officer position will need to be reinstated effective December 11, 2016 and the salary will need to be adjusted upward to reflect the impact of negotiated increases since the deletion of the position in 2011. The adjusted recommended salary range is below:
|
Code |
Classification Nonexempt |
HOURLY |
|
|
|
Step 1 |
Step 2 |
Step 3 |
Step 4 |
Step 5 |
Step 6 |
Step 7 |
|
4095 |
Animal Control Officer |
$22.20 |
$23.31 |
$24.48 |
$25.70 |
$26.98 |
$28.33 |
$29.75 |
The City has advised PANS of the proposed change and has received no objections to this recommendation.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The annual cost for a full-time Animal Control Officer is estimated at $84,000 including salary (at step 1) and benefits. The increased cost for converting the part-time Animal Control Officer to full-time is estimated to be $22,000 for the remainder of the Fiscal Year 2016-17. It is estimated that the General Fund impact in Fiscal Year 2017-18 will be $40,000. There are sufficient funds available in the current Police Department Budget to cover the increase in salary and benefits expense.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
There is no Municipal Code/policy document cross-reference.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it is not a project which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, CEQA Guidelines, section 15378(b)(5).
RECOMMENDATION
Adoption of Resolution amending the City of Alameda Police Officers Association, Non-Sworn unit (PANS) Salary Schedule effective December 11, 2016 to reinstate the Animal Control Officer classification, update the hourly wage to account for negotiated salary increases, and approve a workforce change allocating one full-time Animal Control Officer position to the Police Department.
Respectfully submitted,
Nancy Bronstein, Human Resources Director
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Elena Adair, Finance Director
Exhibit:
1. PANS Salary Schedule 12-11-2016