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HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 2905 low INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 2905 a To the Mayor and Members of the City Council May 12, 1977 Subject: GROUNDRULES FOR CONDUCTING MEETINGS RELATIVE TO EMPLOYEE BUDGETARY INPUT The City of Fort Worth has developed a procedure for employee input during budget preparation. In the past employee representatives have approached the City Council with various requests, they in turn were often referred to staff for review and comment. Unfortunately, because of inadequate time, these requests were not always reviewed and responded to in appropriate detail. Article 5154-C of the State of Texas prohibits municipal employers from entering into a collective bargaining contract with respect to wages, hours or conditions of employment of public employees. However, the City of Fort Worth has historically allowed employees to present grievances concerning their wages, hours or work or conditions of employment indivi- dually or through a representative that does not claim the right to strike. City management recognizes that organizations which encourage open communi- cation between management and its employees generally perform at higher levels of efficiency, productivity and morale. Therefore, while the City of Fort Worth retains the unilateral right to make all final decisions, the attached guidelines are established for meetings relative to employee budgetary input. While employees may still appear before the City Council on any budgetary matter it is anticipated that this process will allow for a free exchange of ideas and information thereby reducing the need for direct appeal to council on related issues. If additional information is desired it will be furnished upon request. Respectfully submitted, R. N. Line City Manager FP:sm W RDRYEX. ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER -- FORT WORTH, TEXAS - ed GROUNDRULES FOR CONDUCTING MEETINGS RELATIVE TO EMPLOYEE BUDGETARY INPUT PURPOSE - To allow employees to present their request and to discuss and clarify their requests, and to determine their priorities. PROCESS - Employee groups should send a letter to the City Manager req-uesting an opportunity to submit their requests and meet with re- presentatives of the City. Along with the letter employee groups will be expected to provide a prioritorized list of all the items they wish to requdst and discuss. Any request by employee groups should be documented so as to verify the accuracy of each request. MEETING CRITERIA - Spokespersons for employee groups must signify by letter that they represent a major proportion of a group of employees. Included in this letter must be a precise listing of the number and classification of those employees. It is the intention of management that only written requests indicating a significant employee representa- tion will be received and studied by the Personnel and Budget offices. DISCUSSION TEAMS - Each side will be allowed three representatives for discussion purposes. Two additional support staff may be present during each meeting, both for management and employee groups. Only full-time City employees will be allowed to be present during the discussions. Substitution of employee representatives will be allowed when individuals are required to be absent from the conference. or ICTAL RECORD LT. WORTH, TEX. 5/2/77 Page two TIMING - Final discussion on all budget items will be made on or before June 15. When agreed to by both parties a three day extension of discussions will be allowed. Initial requests should be made no sooner than May 1. TIME OFF - Applicable employee representatives will be allowed time off when meetings are held during an employee's normal work period. Each individual required to be in attendance must notify his immediate supervisor at least twenty-four hours prior to each meeting. There will be no time off with pay for any preparation needed prior to each discussion session. MEETINGS WILL BE CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC ROUGH MINUTES OF EACH DISCUSSION SESSION WILL BE KEPT. STATEMENTS TO PRESS - There will be no news releases or statements to the news media concerning the items discussed during the meetings. MEETING LOCATION All meetings will be held at a location agreeable to both parties. DISCUSSION PROCEDURES - There will be one official spokesperson for each group. Meetings will be held at mutually agreed times to discuss and clarify the request being made. OFFICIAL RECORD %,: . Y S-ULTARY r T. Y�'ORTH, TEX. 5/2/77 Page three DISCUSSION RESULTS - Upon conclusion of all discussions the City Manager will send a letter to the appropriate representative outlining his recommendations to the City Council. OFFICIAL RECORD cn,Y S .0 NARY FT. WORTH TE ..