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HomeMy WebLinkAbout15292RESOLUTION NO. 15292 A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING PAYMENT OF FUNDS IN THE AMOUNT OF FOUR HUNDRED TWENTY-FOUR THOUSAND, THREE HUNDRED THIRTY-TWO DOLLARS ($424,332) FROM PROJECT NO. CI-2113 - AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT, FOR PURPOSES OF COMPENSATING WITH PREMIUM PAY THOSE ELIGIBLE CLASSIFIED GROUP A EMPLOYEES OF THE CITY’S GENERAL SERVICES DEPARTMENTS, WHO PERFORMED ESSENTIAL WORK DURING THE COVID-19 PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY, AS AUTHORIZED BY SECTION 603(G)(2) OF THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT AND INTERIM FINAL RULE 31 CFR 35.6(C) WHEREAS, on March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the U.S. Senate-amended H.R. 1319 (P.L. 117-2) known as the American Rescue Plan Act (hereinafter “ARPA”); and WHEREAS, on May 10, 2021, the U.S. Treasury issued the Interim Final Rule to implement ARPA in Title 31, Part 35 of the Code of Federal Regulations (“CFR”); and WHEREAS, under the Interim Final Rule, recipients may use Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (“CSLFRF”) to retroactively provide premium pay to eligible employees who performed essential work during the COVID-19 public health emergency. See CSLFRF Frequently Asked Questions No. 5.3; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF PUEBLO, that SECTION 1. The City Council hereby makes the following findings of fact: A. COVID Statistics As of August 18, 2021, immediately following the review period proposed in this Resolution, the State of Colorado had experienced 593,562 cases of coronavirus disease with 7,292 deaths attributed to COVID-19. Pueblo County residents were impacted particularly hard by the pandemic. The top ten case counts by county are listed below, with Pueblo coming in at number 10 with 20.347 cases. However, the infection rate of the Pueblo County population was the second highest in the state at 12.1%, only .3% less than Adams County. A dire statistic for Pueblo County was the death rate among positive cases. Pueblo County suffered the highest in the state, with 2.1% of positive cases resulting in death as of late summer 2021. Of the state of Colorado deaths, Pueblo County accounted for just under 6% of deaths statewide. Rank County County Confirmed % of County COVID Death Positive COVID-Population Deaths Rate Population 1 Testing Among 19 Cases 2 Positive Cases 1 El Paso 720,403 79,317 11.0% 1060 1.3% 2 Denver 727,211 78,316 10.8% 811 1.0% 3 Arapahoe 656,590 66,468 10.1% 857 1.3% 4 Adams 517,421 64,077 12.4% 858 1.3% 5 Jefferson 582,881 51,767 8.9% 847 1.6% 6 Weld 324,492 35,692 11.0% 308 0.9% 7 Douglas 351,154 32,524 9.3% 307 0.9% 8 Larimer 356,899 30,014 8.4% 321 1.1% 9 Boulder 326,196 25,503 7.8% 365 1.4% 10 Pueblo 168,424 20,347 12.1% 431 2.1% Source Data US Census Bureau, Quick Facts, Colorado COVID-19 data, Colorado COVID-19 1 County population data from United States Census Bureau 2 Positive COVID Case and COVID Death data from Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Data as of August 18, 2021 B. General Service Exposure and Positivity Rates As of the end of March 2021, General Services employees had experienced significant exposure and positivity rates with 120 exposures and 55 positive cases. This means that 48% of the General Services workforce had a documented positive exposure with 22% ultimately testing positive during this time period. C. Self-Insured Medical Plan Impacts The City’s self-insured medical plan incurred approximately $500,000 in claim costs directly associated with the pandemic as of March 31, 2021, with $495,000 directly related to treatment and care for the City’s positive COVID cases with eight hospital admissions during the timeframe referenced in this Resolution. While these costs in their entirety cannot be exclusively attributed to one group of employees over another, a sizable portion of these costs were related to the General Services covered population on the City’s medical plan. D. Emergency Supplemental Leave Costs Under state and federal mandates, supplemental leave to quarantine, isolate or care for family members was in play until the public emergency health order was lifted in the spring of 2021. Since that time, the leave provisions have been extended several times. The value of supplemental leave granted by the City during the review period of this Resolution is outlined below. Year Value of Leave 2020 $338,927 2021 $16,469 Total $355,399 General Services personnel were responsible for approximately 30% of the leave costs incurred in 2020 and 57% of the leave costs incurred in 2021. While the City did receive reimbursement for some of the emergency and supplemental leave costs to partially cover the cost of backfilling and overtime incurred due to absences, the cost of providing the leave was never fully recovered through federal funding. E. Compliance with Section 602(c)(1)(B) and 603(c)(1)(B) of the Social Security Act. In compliance with Section 602(c)(1)(B) and 603(c)(1)(B) of the Social Security Act cited above, all employees to receive said premium pay meet the following conditions:  All employees are employees of a local government and were needed to maintain continuity of operations of essential critical services and therefore meet the definition of eligible worker.  All employees performed essential work that was not performed while teleworking from a residence and included regular in-person interactions with the public and/or co-workers and included regular physical handling of items that were handled, or were to be handled, by the public or coworkers.  Payment of premium pay is in response to eligible workers doing essential work during the public health emergency during the time period of April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021.  The average hourly payment is substantially less than the $13 per hour threshold and does not exceed $25,000 to any single eligible employee.  All eligible employees are employees who are not exempt from FLSA overtime provisions. SECTION 2. Funds in the amount of four hundred twenty-four thousand, three hundred thirty-two Dollars ($424,332) are hereby authorized for payment from Project No. CI-2113 – American Rescue Plan Act, for purposes of retroactively compensating eligible civilian (non-sworn) Classified Group A eligible employees with premium pay. SECTION 3. The officers and staff of the City are authorized to perform any and all acts consistent with this Resolution to implement the policies and procedures described herein. SECTION 4. This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon final passage. INTRODUCED: July 10, 2023 BY: Vicente Martinez Ortega MEMBER OF CITY COUNCIL APPROVED: __________________________ PRESIDENT OF CITY COUNCIL ATTESTED BY: ________________________ ACTING CITY CLERK City Clerk's Office Item # M1 Background Paper for Proposed Resolution COUNCIL MEETING DATE: July 10, 2023 TO: President Heather Graham and Members of City Council CC: Mayor Nicholas A. Gradisar VIA: Marisa Stoller, City Clerk FROM: Nicholas Gradisar, Mayor A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING PAYMENT OF FUNDS IN THE AMOUNT OF SUBJECT: FOUR HUNDRED TWENTY-FOUR THOUSAND, THREE HUNDRED THIRTY- TWO DOLLARS ($424,332) FROM PROJECT NO. CI-2113 - AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT, FOR PURPOSES OF COMPENSATING WITH PREMIUM PAY THOSE ELIGIBLE CLASSIFIED GROUP A EMPLOYEES OF THE CITY’S GENERAL SERVICES DEPARTMENTS, WHO PERFORMED ESSENTIAL WORK DURING THE COVID-19 PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY, AS AUTHORIZED BY SECTION 603(G)(2) OF THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT AND INTERIM FINAL RULE 31 CFR 35.6(C) SUMMARY: This Resolution authorizes the payment of “premium pay” to eligible civilian (non-sworn) Classified Group A employees of the City’s General Services Departments who performed “essential work” during the COVID-19 public health emergency. The premium pay shall be $1.50 per hour for every regular and overtime hour worked plus the employee’s cost of 1.45% for Medicare contribution during the review period. Eligible employees are considered those who were actively employed during the time period April 1, 2020, through March 31, 2021, as a Classified Group A General Service employee who worked in a public-facing capacity or who provided emergency services dispatch services for the majority of work hours during the review period as reviewed and certified by Department Directors. Only those determined to meet the service eligibility criteria requirements above and who remain actively employed as a civilian (non-sworn) Classified Group A employee as of the date of this Resolution will be eligible to receive the premium pay. Employees subsequently promoted out of the Classified Group A employee category or have transferred to sworn Police or Fire service are not eligible to receive the premium pay. Sworn police and Fire personnel who are also Classified Group A employees shall not be eligible to receive this premium pay as similar pay was granted to eligible employees within that employee group under a previously approved City Council Resolution. PREVIOUS COUNCIL ACTION: By Ordinance No. 9931, approved on May 17, 2021, the City Council established Project No. CI-2113 and budgeted and appropriated up to $36.7 million in funds which were expected to be distributed to the City from the American Recovery Plan Act (“ARPA”) for covered costs and eligible expenses to be incurred during the period which began on March 11, 2021 (the date ARPA became law) until December 31, 2024 (to be expended by December 31, 2026). BACKGROUND: On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the U.S. Senate-amended H.R. 1319 (P.L. 117-2) now known as ARPA and on May 10, 2021, the U.S. Treasury issued the Interim Final Rule to implement ARPA in Title 31, Part 35 of the Code of Federal Regulations (“CFR”). Under the Interim Final Rule, recipients may use Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (“CSLFRF”) to retroactively provide premium pay to eligible employees who performed essential work during the COVID-19 public health emergency. See CSLFRF Frequently Asked Questions No. 5.3. Statistics demonstrate that the COVID-19 pandemic was especially devastating to the City and surrounding areas of Pueblo County during the time period the premium-pay eligible services were performed:  The infection rate of the Pueblo County population was the second highest in the state at 12.1% (only .3% less than Adams County);  Pueblo County suffered the highest death rate in the state, with 2.1% of positive cases resulting in death;  Pueblo County accounts for just under 3% of Colorado’s population, but 6% of the state’s COVID-19 deaths occurred here. Certain employees on the frontline in the City’s General Services Departments faced the brunt of the pandemic first-hand when providing critical public services:  48% of the civilian (non-sworn) Classified Group A employees within General Services Departments had a documented positive exposure with 22% of the group ultimately testing positive during the review period.  This segment of the workforce was impacted by three reported department outbreaks with other General Services departments missing the official outbreak criteria by a slim margin. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: The following chart breaks down the number of eligible employees by department for the proposed premium pay (reflects current department assignment): Department Number of Eligible Employees Airport 8 City Attorney 1 City Clerk 2 Civil Service 1 Finance 3 Fire (civilians) 1 Fleet 6 Housing 2 Information Technology 5 Municipal Court 5 Parking Facilities 1 Parks & Recreation 26 Police (civilians) 21 Planning 4 Purchasing 1 Public Works 36 Stormwater 10 Wastewater 31 TOTAL 164 Calculation  Grand total of hours worked (includes regular and overtime hours) = $274,915  274,915 hours x $1.50 = $412,373  $412,373 x 2.9% Medicare = $424,332 BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: Not applicable to this Resolution. STAKEHOLDER PROCESS: If this Resolution is approved, the premium pay would be granted to members of the Pueblo Association of Government Employees (PAGE) collective bargaining unit. PAGE leadership has been involved with the creation of this proposal and is supportive of the City granting this pay in recognition of the critical work performed by the union’s eligible members during the COVID-19 public health emergency. ALTERNATIVES: City Council could decide not to use ARPA funds to retroactively compensate eligible civilian (non-sworn) Classified Group A employees of the City’s General Services Departments with premium pay. RECOMMENDATION: Approval of the Resolution. ATTACHMENTS: None