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Home My WebLink About10086 City Clerk’s Office Item # R-13 BACKGROUND PAPER FOR PROPOSED ORDINANCE COUNCIL MEETING DATE: December 13, 2021 TO: President Lawrence W. Atencio and Members of City Council CC: Mayor Nicholas A. Gradisar VIA: Marisa Stoller, City Clerk FROM: Laura Solano, Chief of Staff Marisa Pacheco, Human Resources Director SUBJECT: AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO AND PROVIDING FOR AN ENHANCED TUITION REIMBURSMENT PROGRAM FOR CITY EMPLOYEES SUMMARY: Mayor Gradisar requests approval to implement, on a temporary basis, an Enhanced Tuition Reimbursement Program for City employees beginning January 1, 2022, and ending December 31, 2024, due to additional available funding. PREVIOUS COUNCIL ACTION: None BACKGROUND: The City currently has a tuition reimbursement program contained in collective bargaining agreements and in Pueblo Municipal Code:  Pueblo Municipal Code 6-8-7 – Reimbursement of no more than 80% of tuition, fees, and book costs for full-time employees upon successful completion of an approved course or courses in education or vocational training.  International Association of Firefighters Local #3 - Reimbursement of no more than 75% of tuition, fees, and book costs for full-time employees upon successful completion of an approved course or courses in education or vocational training. Must achieve a grade of “C” or better and the maximum that can be reimbursed is two thousand ($2000) per year per person.  International Brotherhood of Police Officers Local #537 – Reimbursement of no more than 75% of tuition, fees and books paid for by the employee.  Pueblo Association of Government Employees – Reimbursement of no more than 80% of tuition, fees, and book costs for full-time employees upon successful completion of an approved course or courses in education or vocational training. Must achieve a grade of C or better and the course must be related to improve competence in the job and be of value to the employee’s City service. Courses that are unrelated to the employees’ job may be approved, but the reimbursement amount is 50% of the cost of tuition, fees, and books. These programs have not been routinely available to employees over the last decade because of a lack of available funding. All of the existing provisions are dependent on the City having available funding to reimburse related expenses. The City strives to maintain status as an employer of choice to both attract and retain highly qualified employees. In the current job market, this is more important than ever as the talent pool is shrinking and job opportunities are growing. Tuition reimbursement programs reduce turnover costs. Employees who are offered tuition reimbursement usually stay longer with employers and bring the benefit of new skills to the workplace to directly impact operations. Continued learning also prepares employees for promotional opportunities and therefore also enhances commitment to the employer and a career in local government. The employees of the City are our most valuable asset. A trained and educated workforce is important in meeting the City’s core mission of efficiently and effectively delivering services to the citizens of our community. It is for these reasons, that Mayor Gradisar is proposing to implement Enhanced Tuition Reimbursement Program on a temporary basis. The Enhanced Tuition Reimbursement Program would begin January 1, 2022, and end December 31, 2024, and would reimburse up to 100% of tuition, fees and books for pre- approved, job-related education courses and vocational training up to a maximum of two thousand ($2,000) dollars per person, per year during the program. The course training must be related to City Employee’s work, be designed to improve competence in the job and be of value to the City. The program would expand eligibility to include not only Classified, Non- bargaining unit employee but also Unclassified employees to include part-time temporary employees. Unclassified part-time seasonal employees would be excluded from the program. Participating employees will be required to execute an agreement in advance to receiving the reimbursement to include a repayment provision if they leave employment for a period of time following reimbursement under the program. . FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: Funding for the program will come from the General Fund. It is not known how much the program will cost as program participation is not yet known. BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: Not Applicable. STAKEHOLDER PROCESS: The International Association of Firefighters Local #3, International Brotherhood of Police Officers Local #537 and the Pueblo Association of Government Employees were each provided with a copy of the attached ordinance and explanation of the program. If this ordinance is approved, each bargaining unit would be required to execute a waiver, which has also been provided to each union, to include their respective memberships in the program. ALTERNATIVES: The no action alternative would be to continue administering the tuition reimbursement provisions within the collective bargaining agreements and Pueblo Municipal Code which offer lesser benefit than the proposed Enhanced Tuition Reimbursement Program. RECOMMENDATION: Approval of the Ordinance. ORDINANCE NO. 10086 AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO AND PROVIDING FOR AN ENHANCED TUITION REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAM FOR CITY EMPLOYEES BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF PUEBLO, that: SECTION 1. Subject to available appropriation and funds, the Mayor is authorized to reimburse a City Employee up to $2000 annually for tuition, fees and expenses related to successful completion of an approved course or courses in educational or vocational training. The course training must be related to City Employee’s work, be designed to improve competence in the job and be of value to the City. Successful completion means that a grade of “C” or better or “Pass” must be achieved to be eligible for reimbursement. As used in this Ordinance, the term “City Employee” shall mean any Classified, Non-bargaining unit employee and any Unclassified employee other than part-time seasonal employees. The term “City Employee” shall also include any Classified, Bargaining unit employee, if and to the extent that the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for such employee has executed an appropriate waiver or agreement approved by the City which is consistent with and subject to the requirements and limitations of this Ordinance. SECTION 2. The decision to authorize or not authorize a reimbursement request shall be at the discretion of the Mayor and shall not be subject to appeal or grievance under City ordinance including but not limited to the grievance procedure set forth in Chapter 11 of Title VI of the City Code. SECTION 3. As a condition precedent to approval of any application for or receipt of any reimbursement authorized under this Ordinance, City Employee shall execute a Tuition Reimbursement Agreement (“Agreement”) in substantially the same form as is hereto attached. The Mayor is authorized to execute any such Agreement for and on behalf of the City, and the City Clerk is authorized to affix the seal of the City thereto and attest same. SECTION 4. Any provision of any ordinance of the City in conflict with this Ordinance shall be suspended and shall be superseded by this Ordinance during the period from the effective date of this Ordinance through the date this Ordinance is repealed as provided in Section 6. SECTION 5. The officers and staff of the City are authorized to perform any and all acts consistent with the intent of this Ordinance to implement the policies and procedures described herein. The Mayor is expressly authorized to adopt policies and procedures appropriate to implementing the tuition reimbursement program contemplated by this Ordinance. SECTION 6. This Ordinance shall become effective on January 1, 2022 and shall be automatically repealed on December 31, 2024. Action by City Council: Introduced and initial adoption of Ordinance by City Council on December 13, 2021. Final adoption of Ordinance by City Council on December 27, 2021 . President of City Council Action by the Mayor: ☒ Approved on December 30, 2021 . □ Disapproved on based on the following objections: _ Mayor Action by City Council After Disapproval by the Mayor: □ Council did not act to override the Mayor's veto. □ Ordinance re-adopted on a vote of , on □ Council action on _______ failed to override the Mayor’s veto. President of City Council ATTEST Deputy City Clerk