HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution 4344-08-2014 A Resolution
NO. 4344-08-2014
ACKNOWLEDGING STAFF'S ON-GOING COST-SAVING EFFORTS AND THE CITY
MANAGER'S IMPLEMENTATION OF A FOUR PERCENT (4%), ON AVERAGE, PAY
INCREASE AND OTHER COMPENSATION ADJUSTMENTS FOR GENERAL EMPLOYEE
POSITIONS FOR WHICH THE CITY MANAGER PRESCRIBES COMPENSATION;
APPROVING A FOUR PERCENT (4%) RAISE FOR THE POSITIONS OF MUNICIPAL
JUDGE, CITY SECRETARY, CITY AUDITOR, CITY ATTORNEY AND ASSISTANT CITY
ATTORNEY; AND ESTABLISHING AN EFFECTIVE DATE
WHEREAS, the Charter of the City of Fort Worth reserves to the City Council the
authority to appoint and prescribe compensation for the positions of City Manager, City
Secretary, City Auditor, City Attorney and Assistant City Attorney; and
WHEREAS, in accordance with Chapter 30 of the Texas Government Code, the
City Council as governing body appoints and determines the salaries of the City's
Municipal Judges; and
WHEREAS, the Charter delegates to the City Manager the authority to control
and appoint all other employee positions within the City, with such authority necessarily
including the ability to prescribe compensation within the limits of the annual budget
approved by the City Council; and
WHEREAS, for the majority of the sworn-personnel positions within the City's
Police and Fire Departments, compensation adjustments and pay increases are governed
by labor contracts negotiated in accordance with the state civil service laws set forth in
the Texas Local Government Code; and
WHEREAS, between Fiscal Years 2009 and 2014, City of Fort Worth employees
working in positions that are not subject to the state's civil service laws ("General
Employees") have received one across-the-board pay increase of three percent (3%),
which occurred in Fiscal Year 2012; and
WHEREAS, it is critical for the City to provide competitive compensation in
order to retain and recruit a high-quality workforce; and
WHEREAS, between Fiscal Years 2009 and 2014, other area municipalities, with
which the City competes in efforts to attract and retain qualified personnel, have
provided pay increases that have generally been higher than those given by the City; and
WHEREAS, in response to the recent economic downturn, significant measures have
been taken to reduce operating costs, including:
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Resolution No. 4344-08-2014
• Net elimination of 116 General Employee positions between Fiscal Years
2010 and 2014 for an estimated annual savings of $6,560,014;
• Creation of the Performance Office in Fiscal Year 2013 to integrate
continuous improvement principles across the organization, with hundreds of
employees participating in efforts to improve customer service and
efficiencies while reducing costs;
• Continued efforts by the Human Resources Department and the City
Manager's Office to contain or reduce costs related to City benefits,
including recent implementation of a health-care concierge service to assist
plan participants in obtaining the best qualified provider at the lowest cost
for both the City and participants, re-marketing of the management services
for the City's pharmacy benefits services to ensure that both the City and
participants benefit from up-to-date pricing, and creation of a near-site
clinic to reduce indirect health costs associated with lost productivity;
• On-going efforts by all departments to reduce costs and implement savings
so that total annual expenditures come in at or below budgeted totals, with
gross savings for non-public safety departments projected to be $5,013,175
by the end of Fiscal Year 2014; and
WHEREAS, over the past five years, the City's population has grown by 6.5%,
increasing demand for City services; and
WHEREAS, economic indicators suggest that the City is recovering from the
recent downturn, as demonstrated by:
• Property tax collection rates having increased to 98.5%;
• The net taxable value of real property having increased 12% over five years;
• Property tax revenues having increased 13% over five years;
• Sales tax revenues being projected to have increased by 26% in the five
years ending with the current fiscal year; and
WHEREAS, the Fiscal Year 2014 budget adopted by the City Council on
September 17, 2013, included an allocation of $504,018.00 to reflect an average salary
increase of five percent (5%) for one month of the fiscal year (September 2014) for
General Employees; and
WHEREAS, on the advice of the Human Resources Department, the City
Manager's Office intends (i) to implement an across-the-board pay increase of four
percent (4%) effective August 23, 2014, for all positions that are within the City
Manager's control, that are not subject to negotiated labor agreements, and that are not
already compensated at a rate that exceeds the maximum rate for the position's range and
(ii) to use the remaining funding provided in the current budget to adjust salaries for
positions that have proven to be hard to fill, that are difficult to recruit for, and that are
compensated at a rate that data suggests is at least 5% behind the market; and
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Resolution No.4344-08-2014
WHEREAS, in accordance with the adopted budget for Fiscal Year 2014, the City
Council wishes to implement a corresponding pay raise for those positions for which the
City Council prescribes compensation under the City Charter.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS:
1. That the City Council acknowledges City staff's on-going efforts to reduce costs
and to identify and implement savings and supports the City Manager's
implementation of an on-going across-the-board four-percent (4%) pay increase, on
average, effective August 23, 2014, and additional salary adjustments in accordance
with the adopted budget for Fiscal Year 2014 for all positions for which the City
Manager prescribes compensation; and
2. That the City Council directs the City Manager to implement all changes and take
all necessary actions to provide an on-going four percent (4%) pay increase
effective August 23, 2014, for the following positions: Municipal Judge, City
Secretary, City Auditor, City Attorney, Assistant City Attorney and any other
position for which the City Council prescribes compensation under state law or
otherwise, with the exception of the City Manager, which has been recently
adjusted; and
3. That this resolution shall become effective immediately upon adoption.
Adopted this 12'" day of August, 2014.
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