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01-30-95 v MINUTES OF THE IMPASSE HEARING BETWEEN THE ATLANTIC BEACH CITY COMMISSION AND PROFESSIONAL FIREFIGHTERS OF JACKSONVILLE BEACH, INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIREFIGHTERS ( IAFF) LOCAL 2622 HELD IN CITY HALL AT 7: 15 PM ON MONDAY, JANUARY 30, 1995 Present: Mayor Lyman T. Fletcher Commissioner Steven M. Rosenbloom Commissioner Suzanne Shaughnessy Commissioner J. Dezmond Waters, III Commissioner Robert G. Weiss And: Deputy City Manager James R. Jarboe City Attorney Alan C. Jensen Capt. John C. Campbell (Negotiator for the City) City Clerk Maureen King Lt. James Hill (Representing Firefighters) The Mayor called the meeting to order and indicated that earlier negotiations had ended in an impasse and the union had requested that a hearing be conducted by a Special Master. This hearing had been conducted in November, 1994. The findings of a Special Master were non-binding and the meeting this evening was being held to resolve the impasse which still existed. He suggested that all items at impasse be presented by both the union and the city and discussed by the City Commission, following which each item would be individually considered and voted on. Both the union and city representatives distributed handouts illustrating their position on the items at impasse. (A copy of each handout along with the recommendations of the Special Master is attached hereto and made a part hereof) . ARTICLE 11 - PERSONAL LEAVE Lt. Hill indicated that the city had made an error in accounting and as a result fire department personnel had cashed in leave time. When the error was discovered some of the firefighters found they had a negative balance of personal leave. He felt that this error had created an undue burden on fire department personnel and they were looking to the City Commission for some relief to this situation. Capt. Campbell indicated that because firefighters worked more hours per week than other employees, personal leave was increased in the 1992/93 contract and resulted in increased personal leave time for firefighters to the extent that firefighters earned 33.3% more than other city employees. The following year firefighters were given an additional twelve hours per year and now receive 40% more personal leave hours than other city employees. He recommended that this section remain as is. Discussion ensued and Lt. Hill explained because of their 24-hour schedule, firefighters use personal leave at a faster rate if they are charged on an hour for hour basis. He suggested going back to Page Two Minutes - Fire Department Impasse Hearing January 30, 1995 the language of the contract from two years ago when firefighters were charged sixteen hours of personal leave for every 24-hour shift off. ARTICLE 15 - HOURS OF WORK AND OVERTIME Capt. Campbell explained that fire personnel have a very complicated and unique work schedule, currently working twenty-four hours on and forty-eight hours off. This schedule results in more hours than the Fair Labor Standards Act allows and fire personnel are compensated with Kelly days at the rate of twelve hours every twenty-eight days. He explained due to a typographical error in the 1993/94 contract, the firefighters had received eighteen Kelly hours for every twenty-eight work days. The city requested that the error which inadvertently increased last year' s Kelly hours from twelve to eighteen, be corrected. Lt. Hill indicated the union' s position was that since Kelly hours had been increased to eighteen, albeit inadvertently, that they be allowed to remain at that level. Discussion ensued, and Lt. Hill was asked whether he was aware of the error prior to execution of the contract and he indicated that he was aware of the error; however, since it was an additional benefit to the firefighters, and since that article had already been signed off by both the union and the city, he felt it should be allowed to remain. ARTICLE 16 - INJURY IN THE LINE OF DUTY Lt. Hill indicated the Special Master had recommended that injury in the line of duty should be a grievable issue. It was also the wish of the union that injury in the line of duty be subject to the grievance and arbitration provisions of the agreement and they had provided suggested language to this effect. Capt. Campbell indicated it was the city' s opinion that fire- fighters should have some liability in cases where safety regulations had not been observed or the proper equipment used. He listed four factors which should be considered by the City Manager in determining whether an employee may have been negligent. It was the city' s position that if any of these four items were violated, the matter should not be grievable. Capt. Campbell pointed out that the city' s suggested language was a compromise which they had tried to work out with the bargaining unit, however, labor law required that the arbitration and grievance language would have to be taken out if the bargaining unit did not want it included. Page Three Minutes - Fire Department Impasse Hearing January 30, 1995 In further discussion, Lt. Hill felt the final determination should be made by a third party and not be at the sole discretion of the City Manager. He indicated this had been suggested by the Special Master and felt that firefighters should be compensated at 100% for injuries on the job. ARTICLE 26 - CAREER DEVELOPMENT/FIRE INSPECTOR Capt. Campbell indicated the city' s position on this article was simply to clarify the intent of the article with respect to payment of incentive money for firefighters temporarily assigned the duties of Fire Inspector. He indicated fire inspections were usually the responsibility of the Fire Marshal and it was the city' s position that a firefighter who performs inspections in the absence of the Fire Marshal should be compensated at the rate of $100.00 per month. However, all firefighters could obtain this certification and the city wished to clarify that compensation would not be given for receiving certification, but only when a firefighter was assigned this responsibility and carried out inspections. Lt. Hill expressed concern that the city had been without a Fire Marshal for several months and the task of performing inspections had fallen to the firefighters. He indicated that while fire personnel were willing to fill in for the Fire Marshal they did not want to have to do inspections on a regular basis. They, therefore, requested that in the event a fire employee is required to perform the duties of Fire Marshal for a period of more than six consecutive months, the assignment be considered long term and the incentive would be the Fire Marshal ' s starting monthly salary divided by the number of employees assigned to carry out his duties. A lengthy discussion ensued regarding firefighters assuming the duties of the Fire Marshal and Lt. Hill indicated the additional responsibilities put an unreasonable work load on the fire personnel. Lt. Hill explained the language proposed by the union was intended to provide an incentive for the city to hire a Fire Marshal as soon as possible. At present, only two firefighters are certified to carry out fire inspections. ARTICLE 28 - WAGES Lt. Hill pointed out the union had requested no new language in this section. He indicated the only change was the pay scale. Lt. Hill explained they had simply taken the police pay scale and plugged in the fire department personnel at a slightly lower level. He indicated the pay plan would cost $24,000 more than the budgeted figure but felt the pay plan was fair and urged the City Commission to consider it seriously. Page Four Minutes - Fire Department Impasse Hearing January 30, 1995 It was agreed that Pages 11, 12, 13 and 14 and Pages 18, 19, 20 and 21 of the City' s proposal were identical with the exception of section 28. 1, and were acceptable. Capt. Campbell explained the city was offering a new step pay plan with 3% between steps. An employee who received a satisfactory evaluation on his/her anniversary date would receive a 3% step increase, and a 2% bonus would be paid for an above satisfactory evaluation. Employees who reached the top of the step plan would receive a 3% bonus with satisfactory job performance and an additional 2% bonus for above average performance. He explained the proposed pay plan would cost approximately $2,000 over the budgeted amount but the Fire Chief had indicated he could probably find this amount elsewhere in this budget. Capt. Campbell explained, in preparing the proposed pay plan, the city had used data on other comparably sized cities provided by the Florida League of Cities. A lengthy discussion ensued regarding the funding of the pay plans proposed by both the union and the city and Lt. Hill indicated the union would be willing to drop the 2% bonus requirement if necessary. However, he indicated the pay plan was most important and he hoped the City Commission would approve its adoption. In further discussion, Commissioner Waters asked that the contract be brought back to the City Commission for final review when it has been finalized. Since all articles at impasse had been discussed it was agreed to go back and vote on each article individually. Article 16 - Injury in the line of duty With reference to Section 16. 1, Mayor Fletcher moved to adopt the language of the proposed contract as set forth in pages 15 and 16 of the Special Master's report, with the exception that the word "not" shall be deleted from the last sentence (The new sentence would then read "The decision to grant or deny special benefits is subject to the grievance or arbitration provisions of this agreement. ") The motion was seconded by Commissioner Shaughnessy and carried unanimously. With reference to Section 16.2, Commissioner Waters moved to add the words "subject to the grievance or arbitration provisions of this agreement" to the last sentence of this section (The new sentence would then read "The determination as to whether the exigent circumstances were sufficient shall be in the sole Page Five Minutes - Fire Department Impasse Hearing January 30, 1995 discretion of the City Manager, subject to the grievance or arbitration provisions of this agreement. ") The motion was seconded by Commissioner Shaughnessy and carried unanimously. Article 26 - Career development/Fire Inspector Discussion ensued with reference to incentive pay when an employee is assigned and performs fire safety inspections (Section 26.4) , and the City Commission agreed there was a need to hire a Fire Marshal as soon as possible so these incidences would be kept to a minimum and firefighters would perform safety inspections only on a backup basis. Commissioner Waters suggested possibly including a statement to explain the intent of this section. Mayor Fletcher suggested that language be included in the contract to reflect that a fire department employee would be compensated at the rate of $100.00 per month for assisting the Fire Marshal with fire safety inspections. In order to address the concern that the fire fighters not be required to work in a full-time basis as Fire Marshal, the Mayor requested that language be drafted to indicate that it is the intent of this provision that the employee would assist the Fire Marshal in the performance of his duties, not assume the duties of Fire Marshal. Commissioner Waters moved to adopt the Mayor's suggestion. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Shaughnessy and carried unanimously. Article 15 - Hours of work and overtime With reference to Kelly days, Mayor Fletcher suggested following the recommendation of the Special Master (reject the City' s proposal to correct the typographical error which increased the number of Kelly hours from 12 hours per month to 18 hours per month) . Commissioner Waters requested that the question of salaries be considered before proceeding with this article. Article 28 - Wages Commissioner Waters moved to adopt the union proposal in accordance with the appendix A attached to union proposal, less the 2% merit provision, to bring the firefighters more in line with the police department for step raises. The motion was seconded by Mayor Fletcher. Discussion ensued and the Mayor expressed concern that the union proposal was $24, 000.00 over the budgeted amount and he felt the Finance Director needed to review the proposal and advise the City Commission whether money would be available to fund this proposal. Page Six Minutes - Fire Department Impasse Hearing January 30, 1995 Commissioner Rosenbloom suggested the City Manager and Finance Director be instructed to review this article and any other article which had a financial impact and report back to the City Commission. Both Lt. Hill and Capt. Campbell agreed to this postponement. Commissioner Rosenbloom moved to adjourn the meeting and take the matter up again at a subsequent meeting when information relative to funding would be available. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Weiss and carried unanimously. Following further discussion a meeting was scheduled for 6:30 PM on Monday, February 6, 1995, at which time the Wages, Personal Leave, and Hours of Work and Overtime will be taken up. There being no further discussion, the Mayor declared the meeting adjourned at 11 : 50 PM. Or an T. Fletcher Mayor/Presiding Officer ATTES T: Ma/rufeen King City Clerk CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH FIRE DEPARTMENT 2% October 1, 1994 - 3% Step on Anniversary January 30, 1995 2% COLA 3% Step Employee Anniv. Date Hourly Rate Anniversary Total Bass, Robert S. 4/21/95 11.0759 11.2500 31,175.42 Dickinson, David D. 9/1/95 8.4134 8.5400 23,275.67 Gray, Ronald 4/20/95 8.4134 8.5400 23,684.28 Herrmann, Dennis L. 9/11/95 10.2682 10.5600 28,369.97 Hill, James K. 6/8/95 12.6700 12.6700 35,442.01 Kerr, Jason B. 3/20/95 8.4134 8.5400 23,778.80 McCue, Mitchell 5/3/95 8.8173 9.0700 24,779.80 O'Neill, Robert 4/14/95 8.4134 8.5400 23,702.57 Thrasher 4/21/95 7.3095 7.5900 20,145.05 Salazar, Micheal 9/20/95 10.7611 10.8800 29,696.60 Smith, Carter 3/9/95 11.6075 11.9400 32,852.69 Wiechmann, Dwayne 5/2/95 8.9209 9.0700 25,074.27 321,977.13 Assumptions: 2% Increase October 1, 1994 Placed in Step Plan On Anniversary at Step Guarantees Minimum of 1% • j le 40 CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH SPECIAL CALLED MEETING/IMPASSE HEARING 7: 15 PM, MONDAY, JANUARY 30, 1995 AGENDA Call to order 1 . Appointment to Community Development Board to fill unexpired term (Term expires 12/31/95) 2 . Hearing to resolve impasse in contract negotiations between . the city and professional fire fighters Local 2622 3. Any other business Adjournment _s CITY PROPOSAL IMP =OMNI , IMPASSE HEARING JANUARY 30, 1995 A ARTICLE 11 - PERSONAL LEAVE The City' s position on this article for contract year 1994/1995 is no change in the current language . HISTORY In contract year 1992/1993 the City increased the Personal Leave time the Fire Bargaining Unit Member earns by just over 33 . 3% over all other city employees as because fire personnel work more hours per week than other employees . In contract year 1993/1994 the City Commission , at impasse, increase the amount of personal leave hours Fire Bargaining Unit Members earned by an additional 12 hours per year . This means the fire personnel now work 24 . 5 percent more hours than all other city employees, and earn 40 percent more personal leave hours than all other city employees . A ARTICLE 15 HOURS OF WORK AND OVERTIME With the unique work schedule that fire personnel work, 24 hours on and 48 hours off , fire personnel work an actual 224 hours every 28 day work period, or two pay periods of 14 days . The Fair Labor and Standards Act (FLSA) requires that fire personnel not work more than 212 hours per 28 day work period, or 106 hours per pay period of 14 days. The F1SA recommends that fire employees be given 12 hours of compensatory time off, called Kelly Hours , to reduce their work period to 212 hours in 28 days , or 106 hours in a 14 day pay period. In the 1993/1994 Collective Bargaining Contract the amount of Kelly Hours fire personnel would receive to accomplish this work hours reduction was inadvertently typed in as 18 hours per 28 day work period instead of 12 hours . This was brought to the bargaining unit ' s attention after this article had been initialed by both the city and bargaining unit , but prior to the official signing or acceptance of the full contract but the bargaining unit refused to correct this mistake, stating that the city made the mistake and they liked it so would not relinquish the additional hours . Because this article had already been initialed, it could not be reopened in the faith of fair and equatable bargaining without both parties agreeing. The city mentioned that it would be revisiting this article in contract year 1994/1995 to correct this mistake. This mistake actually provides each fire bargaining unit member 78 hours , or approximately 1 . 5 work weeks , of time off per year that is above and beyond what the FLSA calls for . Each bargaining unit members is paid for 212 hours per 28 day work period, or 53 hours per week, and the employee is actually only working 51 . 5 . The City's position on this article is to correct the mistake that was inadvertently made last year from 18 hours to 12 hours , which was the procedure that was the past practice in effect and followed by the City and Bargaining Unit since the Federal Fair Labor and Standards Act was applied to the public sector employees in 1985 with the Supreme court Decision in the "Garcia versus City of San Antonio" Case. 1 T 3 A ARTICLE 15 HOURS OF WORK AND OVERTIME 15. 1 The practice of computing hours worked and overtime shall be based on a basic work period for bargaining unit employees which shall be twenty-eight (28) days , and the tour of duty will be twenty-four (24) hours on and forty-eight (48) hours off. Personal leave hours , compensatory leave hours and kelly hours taken off shall be counted as hours worked for the purpose of computing hours worked and overtime. Bargaining unit employee's basic work period is based on the Fair Labor and Standards Act Maximum Hours Standard of 212 hours per work period. Overtime shall be based on this hours standard. The pay plan includes the basic salary schedule as shown in appendix A of this Agreement . The pay plan assumes a work period of 212 hours or an average work week consisting of 53 hours per week. This is not appropriate for the Fire fighter employee who works a twenty-four (24) hour shift . For purposes of pay remuneration and payroll processing, the following shall apply: Fire fighter personnel shall receive compensatory hours in the amount of eighteen-i183 twelve ( 12 ) hours every twenty-eight ( 28 ) day work period, here after known as Kelly Hours , as a schedule adjustment so arranged as to make the work period average 212 hours . Kelly Hours may be taken by the employee at the convenience of the Fire Department . Kelly Hours may be accrued to a maximum of one-hundred-fifty ( 150) . Once the maximum of 150 hours is accrued no further Kelly Hours may be accrued and all further earned Kelly Hours shall be taken off . When this maximum hours accrued level is reached, Kelly Hours off will be assigned by the Fire Chief in increments of 24 hours . All Kelly Hours must be utilized by compensatory time off within the fiscal year in which they are earned, unless prior written approval is received from the Fire Chief. fr Employees shall not be paid for unused Kelly Days upon termination of employment . 4 15 . 2 An employee shall be paid at the rate of one and one- half ( 1 1/2 ) times his regular hourly rate for time worked in excess of a twenty-four (24) continuous hour work shift as follows: 1 . For any amount of time worked into the twenty- fifth ( 25th. ) hour the employee shall receive a minimum of one ( 1 ) hour of overtime pay. 2 . For any time over one ( 1 ) hour worked passed the twenty-fifth ( 25th. ) hour of continuous work the employee shall be paid by the quarter increment , to the nearest quarter hour. 15 . 3 An employee who has left his normal place of work and who is "called-back" for overtime work shall receive a minimum payment of three ( 3) hours at time and one-half (1 1/2 ) the employee's regular rate of pay or the actual hours worked at time and one-half ( 1 1/2 ) , whichever is greater. Provided that this section shall not include scheduled overtime and shall not apply if hours worked as a result of a call back extend into the start of the employee's regular work period. 15 .4 Under no circumstances will there be any duplication of overtime payments and no claims that provide "overtime on overtime" . 15 .4 Upon proof of attending court pursuant to subpoena or other court order involving a Job-related case, not as a plaintiff in litigation against to City, an employee who is required to be absent from a scheduled work day will receive leave with pay equal to his normal pay for the hours he attends court, provided he remits to the City any subpoena and witness fees received. 15 . 5 Upon proof of attending court pursuant to a subpoena or other court order involving a job-related case, not as a plaintiff in litigation against the City, an off-duty employee will receive pay equal to his regular hourly rate of pay for the hours he attends court , provided he remits to the City any subpoena and witness fees received. 15,6 Upon proof of attending Jury duty, an employee who is required to be absent from a scheduled work day will receive leave with pay equal to his normal pay for 'the hours he performs Jury service, provided he remits to the City any jury duty fees received. .7 ARTICLE 16 INJURY IN THE LINE OF DUTY 16 . 1 Any permanent employee covered by this Agreement who sustains a temporary disability as a result of accidental injury in the course of and arising out of employment by the Public Employer , shall , in addition to the benefits payable under the Workers ' Compensation Law of the State of Florida, be entitled to the following benefits : a. When an employee is absent due to compensable injury, the City will pay 100% of an employee's average daily earnings for each regularly scheduled work day missed beginning with the first calendar day of the authorized disability, and continuing through the seventh calendar day of the authorized disability. However , in no case shall these payments and those paid through Workers ' Compensation exceed the employee; s normal net salary. Any amount paid by the city to the employee which is subsequently paid by Workers ' Compensation shall be reimbursed by the employee to the city. b. An employee sustaining a lost time injury under this Article may use accumulated Personal Leave Days to cover the time off the Job due to an injury until he is compensated by Workers ' Compensation. Personal Leave Days can be used to supplement that percentage ( 33 1/3% ) of his pay which is not covered by Workers ' Compensation. The request to allow the employee to do the above must be made to the Fire Chief in writing. c. In addition to the benefits afforded under section a. an employee may be awarded special benefits by the city if special circumstances are found to exist in the sole opinion of the City Manager . But such payments shall not , when added to Workers ' Compensation benefits , total more than the normal regular pay received by the employee immediately prior to such disability, nor may*such payments continue longer than one year from the date of injury. Factors which the City Manager may consider in each instance are as follows : 6 1 . Consideration of degree of responsibility of employee/employer. 2 . Obedience to or violation of laws , statutes , or ordinances involved in connection with the causes of such disability. 3 . Obedience to or violation of safety rules and regulation of the city which are involved in the cause of the disability. 4. Obedience to or violation of any Department rules, regulations and policies procedures , or instructions to the employee by • supervisors involving the cause of the disability. To apply for special benefits , the employee shall submit a memo to the City Manager , with a copy to the Fire Chief. This memo shall contain sufficient information to allow the City Manager to determine the employee's actions concerning the above factors. The decision to grant or deny special benefits is not subject to the grievance or arbitration provisions of this agreement if any of the factors mentioned in this • article are not followed. 16. 2 Where injury is caused by the knowing refusal of the employee to use a safety appliance provided by the City, the unemployment compensation benefits shall be reduced twenty-five percent (25% ) . There shall be no reduction if the employee can show there were exigent circumstances that precluded the use of a safety appliance. The determination as to whether the exigent circumstances were sufficient shall be in the sole discretion of the City Manager . k. . 7 • ARTICLE 26 - CAREER DEVELOPMENT/FIRE INSPECTOR The City' s position on this article is simply a wording change to clarify the intent of the article on the payment of incentive money for temporarily assigned and performs the duties of Fire Inspector . The City employs a full-time Fire Inspector to perform required fire inspections . This is a full-time forty hour per week position . The City ' s Fire Inspector retired on October 1 , 1994 and the City is actively seek to employ another . Article 26 of the union contract provides for an employee that holds a Certificate for Fire Safety Inspector shall receive S 100 . 00 per month. The employee that is temporarily performing this function now is receiving this money. The employee that is sometimes assigned this duty, when the regular Fire Inspector is on vacation of day off and an inspection is need immediately, will receive the money if one inspection is performed during the month. This employee is a regular fire department employee, and if the inspection is performed on his days off he also receives overtime pay for the hours worked. The City did not intend this to be $ 100 . 00 per month whether the duties are performed or not . If this was the case all fire employees could obtain the certification and receive the incentive money, and there would be no need of 12 fire 1,nspectors . The city pays for the training to obtain the certificate, pays for all school costs and pays the employee to go to the training and travel time to a from the class . • h• 8 �Y' ARTICLE 26 CAREER DEVELOPMENT/FIRE INSPECTOR 26. 1 Upon presentation of an official transcript and proof of degree to the Fire Chief, each employee in the bargaining unit who receives an associate degree from a college, which degree is readily identifiable and applicable as a fire-related degree, as outlined in policy guidelines of the Division of State Fire Marshal of the Department of Insurance, shall receive a $50.00 per month career development incentive. 26. 2 Upon presentation of an official transcript and proof of degree to the Fire Chief, each employee of the bargaining unit who receives from an accredited college or university a bachelor ' degree, which degree curriculum includes a major study concentration area readily identifiable and applicable to fire-related subjects, as outlined in policy guidelines of the Division of State Fire Marshal of the Department of Insurance, shall receive a $110 .00 per month career development incentive. 26 . 3 Employees receiving Career Development monies shall receive monies as accorded them under either Section 26 . 1 or Section 26. 2 . They shall not receive at the same time monies afforded from both of these Sections . 26 .4 A bargaining unit employee who possesses a Florida State Certification for fire safety inspector will receive $100.00 per month incentive pay for each month the employee is assigned and performs fire safety inspections. -/ 26. 5 Fire department personnel that receive and hold Florida State Certification for Fire Officer One shall be paid an additional $50 .00 per month above their regular base wage . t.. 9 HISTORY OF WAGES STUDYS During the year of 1992-1993 the City of Atlantic Beach identified a problem in the wage scales of its employees compared to comparable employees with other municipalities of comparable size, and private industry employees of the same job class . The city Administration made a commitment to rectify this situation to be fair and equatable to its employees . During the labor contract negotiations for the fiscal year 1992-1993 the city embarked on this plan. Because the budget for the fiscal year had already been formally adopted, and the labor contracts were in impasse there were no additional funds available to implement the entire plan for the 1992-1993 years . The city began with the Fire Department , as they are the smallest employee group. The Fire Chief , in conjunction with the Fire Labor Bargaining Unit , was able to identify approximately $16 , 000 in his budget that he felt he could cut from a building account for the year 1992-1993 , to be transferred for use in the wage enhancement plan for Fire Fighter/Engineers and Fire Lieutenants . This $16 , 000 plus the three percent ( 3% ) that had been budgeted for cost of living increase was used to bring Fire Fighter/Engineer and Fire Lieutenant Wages into the range of the wage study that was conducted by the Fire Department of cities of comparable size to Atlantic Beach, with comparable size fire departments . The wages information was gathered by the Fire Department from the 1992 FPF Wage and Hour Survey. During the impasse hearing for the Fire Department Contract , the City Commission agreed and adopted the pay enhancement plan for the Fire Department utilizing the funds identified by the Fire Chief . They also instructed the City Administration to look into and study the wage plans of all remaining city employees . /0 Article 28 - WAGES The City is offering a new wage step plan for all Fire Department Personnel . This plan consists of a step plan with three percent (3% ) between steps which an employee moves through on his/her anniversary date with satisfactory lob performance, and a merit provision of a two per cent (2% ) bonus for an above satisfactory job performance evaluation each year . Employees that have reached the top of the step plan shall receive a three percent (3% ) bonus with satisfactory lob performance, and the additional two percent (2% ) bonus for above average job performance. Fire employees - would be inserted in the new pay plan in the following manner . Each employee would receive a two percent (2% ) cost of living wage increase as of October 1st . , and would go into the new step plan on their anniversary date at the step closes to their hourly rate after the two percent (2% ) COLA, that provides a minimum of a one percent ( 1% ) increase . The above new pay plan is actually, $2,256.00 over what was budgeted for fiscal year 1994/1995. History In contract year 1992/1993 the City conducted a wage study, see attachment on wage study, and found that the starting pay for its Fire personnel was close to the average , however , the top pay was below the average. Cities used for the study were those noted by the bargaining unit (IAFF Local 2622 ) and at the unit 's urging. Subsequent, the city initiated a new step plan for the fire department in a mid-budget year by• utilizing one-time funds from a building account (suggested also by the bargaining unit ) , becoming an on-going personnel expense . Fire Personnel received this extraordinary, non-budgeted wage increase ranging from one percent ( 1%.)_ to eight (8% ) and resulted in bringing all fire personnel up to the average of the wage study. This plan, however , did not differentiate between employees performing satisfactory work and those above satisfactory. Therefore, a new pay plan for this contract year ( 1994/1995 ) was devised for the department as well as all municipal employees . The City offered a new pay plan during contract negotiations for contract year 1993/1994, and this was an issue at impasse. The city commission, at impasse on 1993/1994 contract negotiations, continued with the pay plan that was in effect in contract year 1992/1993 providing all fire personnel with a four and eight-tenths II percent (4. 8% ) step increase . All remaining, budgeted funds were given to fire personnel as a bonus amounting three hundred forty- seven dollars ( $347 . 00) per employee . The city of Atlantic Beach has been extremely fair in its compensation to IAFF Local 2622 in light of inflation factors (exceeding same) , diminished revenues and even exercising very unusual and difficult (versus other employee groups who did not receive the same ) mid-year budget pay enhancements . We feel our current offer is fair in light of the factors noted herein. If . '__ • D / 2 DATA TAKEN FROM FLORIDA LEAGUE OF CITIES COOPERATIVE SALARY SURVEY, GROUP II , APRIL 1994 . CITY POPULATION Orange Park 9 , 488 Fernandina 9 , 482 Jacksonville Beach 19 , 199 Lake city 10 , 087 St . Augustine 11 , 679 Deland 17 , 048 Holly Hill 11 , 198 New Symrna Beach 17 , 231 Apopka 15 , 037 Crestview 10 , 942 Eustis 13 ,654 Haines City 12 , 037 Leesburg 15 ,063 Lighthouse Point 10 , 391 Niceville 10 ,915 North Palm Beach 11 , 747 North Point 13 ,038 Ocoee 15 , 107 Punta Gorda 11 , 587 Rockledge 16 , 753 St . Cloud 14 , 297 Stuart 12 , 195 Temple Terrace 16 ,976 Venice 17 , 491 y. d ' /3 h FIRE FIGHTER/ENGINEER 1994 PAY STUDY AVERAGE STARTING SALARY AVERAGE TOP SALARY S 19 ,387 $ 27 ,651 ATLANTIC BEACH PRESENT 93/94 STARTING SALARY TOP SALARY $ 19, 750 $ 30 ,471 ATLANTIC BEACH PROPOSED 94/95 S 20 ,918 $ 30 , 471 4 FIRE LIEUTENANT PAY STUDY 1994 AVERAGE STARTING SALARY AVERAGE TOP SALARY S 24, 783 $ 34,409 ATLANTIC BEACH PRESENT STARTING SALARY TOP SALARY $ 26 , 000 $ 34 , 446 ATLANTIC BEACH PROPOSED S 25 , 989 $ 34 , 918 r. _. *. 9 / - .f 'Aed ieToads 3o enTsnTouT 4ou ' Aiuo sabez uT S66T/t661 aPaA Tp0sT3 .xo3 s4uauiaoupqua ebPM Jo3 ;Tun buTuTpbapq sTq; o; espa.zouT xp; uxe oien pe ie;o; eq; 3o ( %TE ) ;uao.zad auo-A4aTq; Aigbnoa .Io ' 00 ' 6L6 ' ST $ Pe4PooTTP spq A4TO eq; pup ' a0.1o3 )laot s ,A;TO 8144 3o ( o0T ) ;uao.zad ua; do exam saaAoTdwa uoTun eaTI' 00 ' t 8S ' TS $ Aiuo ST S66T/f66T ipaA Tp0sT3 J03 sexpl UIa.1oTPA p\ uT aspaaouT Te404 pe;pull;sa s ,A1To eqI • au1T4aano Jog E66T/Z661 .zpeA 'POST.; uT ;no pTpd SPM 4pt4M .zano 00 ' 0ZE ' t, S 3o esea.zouT UP sT gDTgM ' saaAoidura uoTun e iT13 eq; 04 auuT4aano uT 00 ' ZW EZ $ ;no pTpd A4TO eq; b66T/E661 ape/ Te0sT3 uI • sabpt espq uT apaaouT eq4 g4TM eu1TD.zano 3o 4so0 TeuoT.TPPP 81..14 4un000p o4uT 4ou scop sTgI 'Aed TeToads uT saspa.zouT ao3 4unouip IPUOTJTPPP UP u4TM sabPM uT 00 ' 9ST ' ETS TPuoT4TPPe UP A4TO eq; ;soo pinoM sda;s ATapaA % et' pup p.i oq eq; sso.zop TIDO oS p 3o ipsodoad uoTun a.zTA auI ' '661/E66T ao3 pa;abpnq PM ;pqM .nano Aed TeToads uT 00 ' 686 ' L $ Pup 'pesodoad spq A4TO eq. ueid ;Taaut/da;s Mau agq. aapun s;T3auaq uoTsuad pup VDI3 .iO3 00 . 6L6 ' T$ TPUOT4TPPP UP 3o ;sop TPUOT3Tppp UP g4TM s4uaUIaauequa abPM .zo3 0001tT S 3o espaaouT pup 4a5pnq spq A4TO eq4 .IPeA sTUI uT gspo enpai ieuosaad pup s;ueuiubTssp TPTDads 'uoT;ponpe 'buTuTp.z3 ..103 seaAoiduIe 04 pTpd AT4uesead sT ; q; Aauoui eAT4ueouT sT Aed TPToedS •Apd TeToads .z03 00 ' 6EZ ' i'E $ TpuoT4TPPp pup sabpM J03 00 ' 9TZ ' S9E $ sT saaAoidui2 4Tun buTuTpbapg a.1TA eq; .Z03 sa3TAaaS Tpuos.zad X03 pe;ebpnq 4unouie Tp40,1, egq. 'gopag 0T4upT4y 3o A4TO eq4 -03 4ebpnq ienuuy S66T/rv661 eq; uT 340u "TTM noA s� SSOVM - 8Z H'IOII21V 1993/1994 FIRE BUDGET WAGES 2 BASE WAGES FICA (7.65%) PENSION (6.48%) TOTAL $306.000 $23.409 $19,828 $349,237 1994/1995 FIRE BUDGET WAGES $320,000 $24.480 $20.736 $365,216 BUDGETED INCREASE FOR FISCAL YEAR 1994/1995 $15,979 llllll///////////////llllll////llllll/llllll////////llllll//////////////////// 1994/1995 UNION PROPOSAL COST $331.528 $25.361 $21.483 $378,372 1994/1995 BUDGETED FUNDS $365.216 ADDITIONAL COST OVER 1994/1995 FUNDS AVAILABLE $13,156 k . At 4.. / 7 ARTICLE 28 WAGES/EMT OR PARAMEDIC INCENTIVE 28. 1 Employees covered by this Agreement, employed prior to October 1 , 1994, shall receive a cost of living adjustment of two percent (2% ) on October 1 , 1994 and shall be placed into the step plan, Exhibit A, on their anniversary date in year 1994/1995 at a step that provides a minimum of a one percent ( 1%) increase above their regular hourly wage at the time of the anniversary date, and shall continue therefrom, in accordance with the terms and provisions of this Agreement. Employees hired after October 1 , 1994 shall enter Exhibit A at the appropriate pay step as determined by this Agreement and the City Manager . 28.2(a) Entrance salary determination. • Except as provided herein, the original appointment to . the classification of fire fighter or engineer will be ,-.' made at the entrance rate and advancement from the entrance rate to the maximum rate shall be by successive steps . The City Manager may approve initial compensation at a higher rate than the minimum rate in the range for the position classification when the needs of the service make such action necessary. Such decision shall not be subject to the grievance or arbitration provisions of this Agreement . 28. 2(b) Advancement within a salary range. 1 . Advancement within the merit step plan shall occur no sooner than twelve ( 12 ) months from the employee's date of hire or date of last increase, provided the employee receives a satisfactory or above performance rating from the Fire Chief, and such advancement is approved by the City Manager . 2. Thereafter , employees who have previously advanced to the top step of the pay plan shall be eligible for an annual three percent ( 3%) one-time bonus twelve months from the date of their last increase. The annual bonus shall replace step movement and shall be contingent on continued satisfactory service. The bonus shall not be paid �• in the employee 's base rate of pay, rather the bonus shall be paid in a lump-sum on the 18 employee's anniversary date. Thereafter , employees who have previously advanced to the top step of the pay plan shall be eligible for an annual three percent (3% ) bonus twelve ( 12 ) months from the date of their last increase. The annual bonus shall replace step movement and shall be contingent on continued satisfactory service. The bonus shall not be paid in the employee's base rate of pay, rather the bonus shall be paid in a lump-sum payment on the employee's anniversary date. Employees who receive an overall above satisfactory evaluation rating shall receive a two percent ( 2% ) one-time bonus in addition to their normal step increase. Employees who have advanced to the top step of the pay plan, and who receive an overall above satisfactory evaluation rating shall receive a two percent (2%) one-time bonus in addition to their annual bonus increase. For the purposes of this plan, the date of last increase shall be the most recent date upon which any of the following actions occurred to an employee: a. Date on which an employee received his probation increase ( if applicable) , or date of employment. b. Date on which employee received a merit step increase, or a change in pay grade . c. Cost of living adjustments or general increases shall not be considered as the date of last increase . • 3. For purposes of determining whether or not the employee has satisfactorily completed his initial twelve ( 12 ) month period of employment , or has satisfactorily performed services for the city for further merit increases , the Fire Chief shall notify the City Manager in writing of the Chief's evaluation, with his recommendation of merit step increase action. If the employee's performance has not been graded by the Fire Chief as satisfactory during the time period involved, the 'employee shall next be considered for a merit increase after he has worked the number of months set forth in the merit plan. The employee shall be advised in writing as to the reason his merit step increase was not granted at the usual time. The evaluation rating of an employee under this article is within the sole discretion of the City and is not subject to the grievance or arbitration procedures of the contract . 4. When an employee is promoted to a new pay grade , he shall enter the new pay grade at the step closest to his pay step prior to the promotion that provides for a minimum of three percent ( 3% ) / increase above the pre-promotional pay step. When an employee is promoted, his anniversary date shall be adjusted (for pay purposes only) to the date of the promotion and this date shall be the date used to calculate his future merit step increases . 28. 3 EMT or Paramedic Incentive 1. Each bargaining unit employee who is trained in basic life support or advanced life support and - who is certified by the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services to perform procedures as an emergency medical technician (EMT) or Paramedic will receive $75 . 00 per month as an incentive upon the presentation to the Fire Chief of a valid, current certificate . 2. It shall be the responsibility of the bargaining • unit employee to remain certified and any loss of certification will result in an immediate termination of the incentive bonus . 3. The City may approve an employee to take time off from work with pay at the employee; s regular straight time hourly rate of pay to :attend EMT classes. The City will pay the employee for travel time to and from class , provided the employee first reports to work at this assigned time and returns to work immediately following the end of class . Should the employee be required to t • attend class at a time he is not scheduled to • work, the City shall pay the employee for the time the employee attends class at time and one-half the employee 's regular straight time hourly rate of pay. If an employee fails to successfully --complete the class he shall be charged for any pay ;. : received to attend class . These monies shall be deducted from any amounts owed the employee by the City. The City also agrees to reimburse the employee for the actual cost of books and tuition of the class required for EMT certification provided the employee presents original receipts for said expenses . The books become the property of the City and must be returned to the City when the employee finishes the course. 28.4 Any employee covered by this Agreement who is temporarily required by the Fire Chief, or his designee, to perform the duties of a higher classification shall receive pay at a rate five ( 5% ) percent above the employee 's regular rate of pay if the duties are assumed in full for a full 24 hour shift, provided that no other employee of that higher classification is on duty, and available to assume the responsibilities and requirements of that position. 1. It is understood that operating in the classification of Diver/Engineer when not permanently assigned to that position shall be considered working out of class . 2. It is understood that operating in the classification of shift commander when not permanently assigned to that position shall be considered working out of class . 28. 5 An employee who has left his normal place of work and who is "called-back" for overtime work shall receive a minimum payment of three (3) hours at time and one-half (1 1/2) the employee' s regular rate of pay or the actual hours worked at time and one-half (1 1/2) , ,whichever is greater . Provided that this section shall not include scheduled overtime and shall not apply if hours worked as a result of a call back extend into the start of the employee' s regular work period. $ . EXHIBIT A FIRE FIGHTER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 11 1.59 1.82 8.05 8.31 8.54 8.81 9.11 9.34 9.62 9.91 11.21 DRIVER/ENGINEER 8.34 8.59 8.84 9.11 9.38 9.66 9.95 11.25 11.56 11.88 11.21 { LIEUTENANT._ = 9.43 9.11 11.11 11.31 . 11.61. 11.93 11.25 11.59 11.9412.31 12.67 • • a%o& THE CONCERN OF THE CITY AND THE FIRE FIGHTER'S UNION IS TO INSURE THAT ALL CITY EMPLOYEES ARE TREATED EXACTLY THE SAME IN THE ACCRUAL AND USE OF PERSONAL LEAVE. WE HAVE DETERMINED AN INEQUITY IN THE RATIO OF ACCRUAL AND USE OF PERSONAL LEAVE HOURS, WHICH EXISTS BETWEEN FIRE PERSONNEL AND THE REST OF THE CITY EMPLOYEES. Because fire personnel work one day in three for 24 hours , or five days per pay period for 106 hours , and other employees work ten days per pay period for 80 hours the fire personnel perceive a discrepancy in the use of personalleavetime. 80 General employee works 40 hours per week, hours per pay period ( 14 days) or 2080 hours per year. Fire Personnel work 53 hours per week, 106 hours per pay period ( 14 days ) or 2 7 5 6 hours per year. Therefore , fire personnel work 24 . 5 percent more hours . Therefore , if a general employee takes off one week they use 40 hours of personal leave. If a fire member takes off one week they should only have to use 40 hours of personal leave time. This can be done by simply charging the fire employee 18. 5 hours for each shift ( 24 hours ) taken off which equals 75 . 5 percent of the total hours taken off , which equates to 40 hours per week, or 80 hours per pay period exactly the same use as if any other employee took time off. 53 X 75 . 5% = 40 106 X 75 . 5% = 80 2756 X 75 . 5% = 2080 IN THIS WAY IF EITHER EMPLOYEE TAKES TIME OFF THEY WILL EACH. USE THE SAME AMOUNT OF PERSONAL LEAVE . WITH THE REDUCED USE FORMULA FOR FIRE PERSONNEL, IT WOULD BE AS IF ALL CITY EMPLOYEES WORKED THE EXACT SAME 40 HOURS PER WEEK, 80 HOURS PER PAY PERIOD OR 2080 HOURS PER YEAR. HOWEVER, PERSONAL LEAVE HOURS WOULD HAVE TO BE EARNED AT THE SAME RATE FOR EACH EMPLOYEE TO MAKE THE ABOVE FORMULA FAIR AND EQUATABLE 2 l ' R FOR ALL EMPLOYEES . IF EACH EMPLOYEE IS CHARGED THE SAME TIME USE , 40 HOURS PER WORK WEEK, THEN THEY SHOULD EARN IT AT THE SAME RATE PER WORK WEEK. SINCE THIS EQUALS ALL EMPLOYEES OUT TO ACCRUAL AND USE OF PERSONAL LEAVE HOURS AS IF ALL EMPLOYEES WORK THE SAME NUMBER OF HOUR PER WEEK, PAY PERIOD AND YEAR, THIS ELIMINATES THE ARGUMENT THAT FIRE PERSONNEL SHOULD EARN MORE PERSONAL LEAVE HOURS THAN OTHER EMPLOYEES BECAUSE THEY WORK MORE HOURS PER WEEK, PAY PERIOD OR YEAR, AND SIMPLIFIES THE ACCRUAL OF PERSONAL LEAVE FORMULA BY MAKING IT EXACTLY THE SAME FOR ALL EMPLOYEES NO MATTER WHERE THEY WORK. PRESENTLY, FIRE PERSONNEL EARN AN AVERAGE OF 40 PERCENT MORE PERSONAL LEAVE HOURS PER WEEK, PAY PERIOD, YEAR THAN ANY OTHER CITY EMPLOYEE, WHILE ONLY WORKING 24. 5 PERCENT MORE HOURS THAN ANY OTHER CITY EMPLOYEE . THIS IS AN INEQUITY WHICH OTHER CITY EMPLOYEES SUFFER. THE ABOVE EQUAL USE FORMULA FOR EQUALIZING THE USE AND ACCRUAL OF HOURS, WILL SOLVE ANY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EMPLOYEES , AND TREAT ALL EMPLOYEES , NO MATTER WHAT THEIR POSITION, FAIRLY AND WITH EQUALITY, WHICH IS CERTAINLY THE INTENTION AND GOAL OF THE CITY. The bargaining unit ' s proposal to charge an employee only 12 hours for each shift ( 24 hours ) taken off would allow a fire employee to use over 34% less personal leave for the same amount of time off as other employees for the same number of hours worked. If the accrual rate of personal leave time is not changed to reflect an equal accrual rate for all employees , this will allow fire employees to earn an additional 40 % percent more personal leave hours than all other employees for the same amount of hours worked. The total result of this is a percentage increase of over 74% percent more usable personal leave time for the fire union members than any other city employee . If the fire union ' s proposal to charge only 12 hours for each 24 hours of personal leave used is adopted, and the accrual rate is not reduced to the same as all other employees , this would cause a minimal cost factor of an additional 20 hours of personal leave per year for each employee with five or less years on the Job, and 40 hours per year for employees with over five years on the Job. If the accrual rate is changed to reflect that of all other city employees , and the use rate is set at 12 hours per shift this will increase the use rate to approximately 13 additional hours per year for employees with less than five years , and approximately 27 hours per year- for employees with over five years . This is the minimal cost , and does not reflect the cost of possible overtime or potential increase cost of hours from increases in base wages . 7 r. s• S 2 - FIRE DEPARTMENT PROPOSAL - NEW LANGUAGE ARTICLE 11 11 EMPLOYEES WILL BE CHARGED 16 HOURS FOR EACH 24 HOUR SHIFT TAKEN OFF ON PERSONAL LEAVE ( P . L. ) . RETROACTIVE BACK TO THE ORIGINAL CHANGE FROM THIS LANGUAGE. THE CITY MADE A MAJOR ERROR IN ACCOUNTING IN THE USE OF OUR P. L. HOURS . THE AUDIT WENT BACK AT LEAST TWO YEARS LEAVING MANY FIRE DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL WITH NEGATIVE HOURS ON THE BOOKS . THIS ACCOUNTING ERROR IS THE REASON THE REAL PROBLEM CONCERNING P. L. DID NOT APPEAR PRIOR TO THIS POINT. FIRE DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL HAD NO OTHER METHOD OF TRACKING OUR P . L. HOURS OTHER THAN THE CITY RECORDS. THIS ACCOUNTING ERROR COMPOUNDED BY IMPROPER LANGUAGE HAS CREATED A TREMENDOUS BURDEN ON FIRE DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES . WE ARE LOOKING TO THIS COUNCIL FOR SOME RELIEF CONCERNING THIS ISSUE. ONE POSSIBLE SOLUTION IS TO RELIEF THE NEGATIVE BALANCES FROM THE BOOKS . IT IS WITHIN YOUR POWER TO DO THIS. 1 52 ARTICLE 11 PERSONAL LEAVE HOURS 11 . 1 a. The "personal Leave Hours" concept is an advancement from the traditional vacation and sick leave system. Personal leave hours are not to be considered compensation for services rendered. All bargaining unit employees may be absent from work and still receive regular wages provided the employee follows the procedures set forth in this Article and receives prior approval from he Fire Chief or his designee. , b. The Fire, Chief or the Chief ' s designee shall have the discretion to grant or deny the use of personal leave hours . Personal Leave must be taken in one ( 1 ) personal leave hour or more increments . Approval of leave may be suspended if in the discretion of the Chief such leave would pose a manpower shortage which would have an adverse effect on the operation of the Department. c. Employees may accumulate Personal Leave Hours up to a maximum of 960 hours . Thereafter, employees must utilize their Personal Leave Hours or forfeit the ability to accumulate any additional hours . d. For Personal Leave Hours used for illness , the City always retains the right to require medical— documentation of the illness. e. For hours permissibly accumulated under this Article, the employee may elect to be paid in cash (upon completion of one year, of continuous, uninterrupted employment wit'h .the city) or choose to continue to accrue the days up to the maximum arcual level set forth in this Article. For the purpose of cashing in accrued leave time, the Public Employer will permit the employee to make a request for payment two times during the year as follows : on the first payday in June , and on the first payday in December . Cash withdrawals are restricted to the excess over 120 hours in the Personal Leave Account on the designated withdrawal date . Request forms are available in City Hall . Requests must be submitted at least two weeks preceding each of the above dates. 18 2 f. No Personal Leave Hours may accumulate to an employee on leave without pay, or one who has been suspended for disciplinary purposes . g. Subject to the restrictions contained in this Agreement, Personal Leave Hours shall accumulate during each pay period and shall be credited to the employee at the end of the pay period. h. An eligible employee who resigns with at least two weeks notice or whose employment has not been involuntarily terminated shall be paid for any unused accruals . However , in no event shall the employee be paid for any unused accruals exceeding 960 hours . i . Employees with more than one year of service are required, to utilize a minimum amount of Personal Leave Hours each calendar year. Cashing in Personal Leave Hours shall not be considered "Utilization. " Required minimums not taken as provided will be forfeited unless otherwise approved by the Fire Chief . The accrual rate of Personal Leave Hours and the minimum amount of utilization of Personal Leave Hours shall be determined as follows : TENURE Maximum no. of Personal Minimum Leave Hours Accumulated utilization per each Bi-weekly Pay Period year • (provided maximum cap has not been reached) 1st year 7 . 01 0 2nd year 7 .01 40 Beg. 3rd through 4th yr. 7 . 01 40 Beg. 5th through 9th yr. 9 . 06 80 Beg. 10th through 14th yr. 11 . 10 80 Beg. 15th and over 13. 34 80 19 Y._ 2 5L ARTICLE 11 The new figures reflect the addition of one additional day off for Fire Department employees for sick leave or vacation to bring them more in line with the surrounding city departments including Jacksonville Beach and/or Jacksonville Fire Departments. 1st year ' 7.93 0 2nd year 7.93 40 Beg. 3rd through 4th year 7.93 40 Beg. 5th through 9th year 9.98 80 Beg. 10th through 14th year 12.02 80 Beg. 15th and over 14.26 80 LI Sr ARTICLE 15 HOURS OF WORK AND OVERTIME 15 . 1 The practice of computing hours worked and overtime shall be based on a basic work period for bargaining unit employees which shall be twenty-eight (28) days , and the tour of duty will be twenty-four ( 24) hours on and forty-eight (48 ) hours off. Personal leave hours , compensatory leave hours and kelly hours taken off shall be counted as hours worked for the purpose of computing hours worked and overtime. - Bargaining unit employee's basic work period is based on the Fair Labor and Standards Act Maximum Hours Standard of 212 hours per work period. Overtime shall be based on this hours standard. The pay plan includes the basic salary schedule as shown in appendix A of this Agreement. The pay plan assumes a work period of 212 hours or—an average work week consisting of 53 hours per week. This is not appropriate for the Fire fighter employee who works a twenty-four (24) hour shift. For purposes of pay remuneration and payroll processing, the following shall apply: Fire fighter personnel shall receive compensatory hours in the amount of eighteen ( 18 ) hours every twenty-eight (28) day work period, here after known as Kelly Hours , as a schedule adjustment so arranged as to make the -.4- work period average 212 hours . Kelly Hours may be taken by the employee at the convenience of the Fire Department. Kelly Hours may be accrued to a maximum of one-hundred-fifty ( 150) . Once the maximum of 150 hours is accrued no further Kelly • Hours may be accrued and all further earned Kelly Hours shall be taken off . When this maximum hours accrued level is reached, Kelly Hours off will be assigned by the Fire Chief in increments of 24 hours . All Kelly Hours must be utilized by compensatory time off within the fiscal year in which they are earned, unless prior written approval is received from the Fire Chief. Employees shall not be paid for unused Kelly Days upon termination of employment. 23 5 5� 15 . 2 An employee shall be paid at the rate of one and one- . half ( 1 1/2) times his regular hourly rate for time worked in excess of a twenty-four (24) continuous hour work shift as follows : 1. For any amount of time worked into the twenty- fifth (25th. ) hour the employee shall receive a minimum of one ( 1 ) hour of overtime pay. 2. For any time over one ( 1 ) hour worked passed the twenty-fifth ( 25th. ) hour of continuous work the employee shall be paid by the quarter increment , to the nearest quarter hour . 15 . 3 Upon proof of attending court pursuant to subpoena or other court order involving a job-related case, not as a plaintiff in litigation against to City, an employee - who is required to be absent from a scheduled work day will receive :leavewith pay equal to his normal-pay for the hours he attends court, provided he remits to the City any subpoena and witness fees received. 15 . 4 Upon proof of attending court pursuant to a subpoena or other court order involving a job-related case, not as a plaintiff in litigation against the City, an off-duty employee will receive pay equal to his regular hourly rate of pay for the hours he attends court , provided he remits to the City any subpoena and witness fees } received. 15. 5,• Upon proof of attending jury duty, an employee who is required to be absent from a scheduled work day will receive leave with pay equal to his normal pay for the hours he performs jury service , provided he remits to the City any jury duty fees received. • • 24 A' ARTICLE 16 INJURY IN THE LINE OF DUTY 16 . 1 Any permanent employee covered by this Agreement who sustains a temporary disability as a result of accidental injury in the course of and arising out of employment by the Public Employer , shall , in addition to the benefits payable under the Workers ' Compensation Law of the State of Florida, be entitled to the following benefits : a. When an employee is absent due to compensable injury, the City will pay 100% of an employee ' s average daily earnings for each regularly scheduled work day missed beginning with the first calendar day of the authorized disability, and continuing through the seventh calendar day of the authorized disability. However , in no case shall these payments and those paid through Workers ' Compensation exceed the employee ; s normal net salary. Any amount paid by the city to the employee which is subsequently paid by Workers ' Compensation shall be reimbursed by the employee to the city. b. An employee sustaining a lost time injury under this Article may use accumulated Personal Leave Days to cover the time off the job due to an injury until he is compensated by Workers' Compensation. Personal Leave Days can be used to supplement that percentage ( 33 1/3% ) of his pay which is not covered by Workers ' Compensation. The request to allow the employee to do the above must be made to the Fire Chief in writing. c. In addition to the benefits afforded under section a. an employee may be awarded special benefits by the city if special circumstances are found to exist in the sole opinion of the City Manager . But such payments shall not , when added to Workers ' Compensation benefits , total more than the normal regular pay received by the employee immediately prior to such disability, nor may such payments continue longer than one year from the date of injury. Factors which may be considered in each instance are as follows: 25 1 . Consideration of degree of responsibility of employee/employer . 2 . Obedience to or violation of laws , statutes , or ordinances involved in connection with the causes of such disability. 3 . Obedience to or violation of safety rules and regulation of the city which are involved in the cause of the disability. 4. Obedience to or violation of any Department rules , regulations and policies procedures , or instructions to the employee by supervisors involving the cause of the disability. 5. Exigent circumstances To apply for special benefits , the employee shall submit a memo to the City Manager , with a copy to the Fire Chief. This memo shall contain sufficient information to allow the City Manager to determine the employee's actions concerning the above factors . The decision to grant or deny special benefits is subject to the grievance or arbitration provisions of this agreement. 16. 2 Where injury is caused by the knowing refusal of the employee to use a safety appliance provided by the City, the unemployment compensation benefits shall be reduced twenty-five percent (25% ) . There shall be no reduction if the employee can show there were exigent circumstances that precluded the use of a safety appliance. The determination as to whether the exigent circumstances were sufficient shall be subject to the grievance or arbitration provisions of the agreement. 26 S NEW LANGUAGE ARTICLE 26 . 4 26 . 4 A BARGAINING UNIT EMPLOYEE WHO POSSESSES A FLORIDA STATE CERTIFICATION FOR FIRE SAFETY INSPECTOR WILL RECEIVE $100 . 00 PER MONTH INCENTIVE PAY FOR EACH MONTH THE EMPLOYEE IS TEMPORARILY ASSIGNED AND PERFORMS A FIRE SAFETY INSPECTION, - , OR ASSIST THE FIRE MARSHALL WITH HIS DUTIES . AT WHICH TIME THE CITY WISHES TO REQUIRE AN EMPLOYEE OR A GROUP OF EMPLOYEES TO ASSUME OR PERFORM THE DUTIES OF FIRE MARSHALL FOR MORE THAN A PERIOD OF SIX ( 6) CONSECUTIVE MONTHS THE ASSIGNMENT WILL BE CONSIDERED LONG TERM AT WHICH TIME THE INCENTIVE WILL BE THE FIRE MARSHALL ' S STARTING MONTHLY WAGES DIVIDED BY THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES ASSIGNED HIS DUTIES . EXAMPLE: IF TWO EMPLOYEES WERE ASSIGNED THE DUTIES OF FIRE MARSHALL BOTH EMPLOYEES WOULD BE PAID ONE HALF FOR THE MONTHLY STARTING PAY OF THE FIRE MARSHALL IN ADDITION TO THEIR REGULAR WAGES FOR THAT MONTH. NOTE: THE DUTY OF FIRE MARSHALL CAN NOT BE ROTATED BETWEEN FIRE DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL UNLESS AGREED UPON IN CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS. q (5 ARTICLE 26 -\ CAREER DEVELOPMENT/FIRE INSPECTOR 26 . 1 Upon presentation of an official transcript and proof of degree to the Fire Chief , each employee in the bargaining unit who receives an associate degree from a college , which degree is readily identifiable and applicable as a fire-related degree , as outlined in policy guidelines of the Division of State Fire Marshal of the Department of Insurance , shall receive a 650 . 00 per month career development incentive. 26 . 2 Upon presentation of an official transcript and proof of degree to the Fire Chief , each employee of the bargaining unit who receives from an accredited college or university a bachelor ' degree, which degree curriculum includes a major study concentration area readily identifiable and applicable to fire-related subjects , as outlined in policy guidelines of the Division of State Fire Marshal of the Department of Insurance, shall receive a $110 . 00 per month career development incentive. 26 . 3 Employees receiving Career Development monies shall receive monies as accorded them under either Section 26. 1 or Section 26 . 2 . They shall not receive at the same time monies afforded from both of these Sections. 26 . 4 A bargaining unit employee who possesses a Florida State Certification for fire safety inspector will receive $100 . 00 per month incentive pay for each month the employee is assigned and performs fire safety inspections . 26 . 5 Fire department personnel that receive and hold Florida State Certification for Fire Officer One shall be paid an additional $50 . 00 per month above their regular base wage . This payment shall commence as of April 1 , 1994. 38 10 • 'NELANGUAGE ARTICLE 28 . 1 28 . 1 EMPLOYEES COVERED BY THIS AGREEMENT, EMPLOYED PRIOR TO OCTOBER 1 , 1994 , SHALL BE PLACED IN NEW EXHIBIT (A) 1994- 1995 MERIT STEP PLAN AS OF OCTOBER 1 , 1994 , AT THE SAME STEP THAT WOULD COINCIDE WITH THE STEP THAT THEY WERE AT ON THE DATE OF OCTOBER I , 1994 . EXAMPLE: IF THE EMPLOYEE WAS A E5 ON OCTOBER 1 , 1994 THAN HE WOULD BE AN E5 ON THE NEW STEP PLAN , STARTING ON OCTOBER 1 , 1994 . THE EAPLOYEES WILL CONTINUE THEREFROM, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE TERMS AND PROVISIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT . EMPLOYEES HIRED AFTER OCTOBER 1 , 1994 , SHALL ENTER EXHIBIT A AT THE APPROPRIATE PAY STEP AS DETERMINED BY THIS AGREEMENT AND THE CITY MANAGER. 28. 2 (a) Entrance salary determination. Except as provided herein, the original appointment to the classification of fire fighter or engineer will be made at the entrance rate and advancement from the entrance rate to the maximum rate shall be by successive steps . The City Manager may approve initial compensation at a higher rate than the minimum rate in the range for the position classification when the needs of the service make such _ :tion necessary. Suah decision shall not be subject to the grievance or arbitration provisions of this Agreement . 28. 2 (b) , Advancement within a salary range. 1 . Advancement within the merit step plan shall occur no sooner than twelve ( 12 ) months from the employee' s date of hire or date of last increase , provided the employee receives a satisfactory or above performance rating from the Fire Chief, and such advancement is approved by the City Manager . 2. Thereafter , employees who have previously advanced to the top step of the pay plan shall be eligible for an annual three percent ( 3% ) one-time bonus twelve months from the date of their last increase . The annual bonus shall replace step movement and shall be contingent on continued satisfactory service. The bonus shall not be paid in the employee ' s base rate of pay, rather the bonus shall be paid in a lump-sum on the 40 11 employee's anniversary date . Thereafter , employees who have previously advanced to the top step of the pay plan shall be eligible for an annual three percent ( 3% ) bonus twelve ( 12 ) A, months from the date of their last increase. The annual bonus shall replace step movement and shall be contingent on continued satisfactory service . The bonus shall not be paid in the employee' s base rate of pay, rather the bonus shall be paid in a lump-sum payment on the employee ' s anniversary date. Employees who receive an overall above satisfactory evaluation rating shall receive a two percent ( 2% ) one-time bonus in addition to their normal step increase. Employees who have advanced to the top step of the pay plan, and who receive an overall above satisfactory evaluation rating shall receive a two percent ( 2% ) one-time bonus in addition to their annual bonus increase. For the purposes of this plan, the date of last increase shall be the most recent date upon which any of the following actions occurred to an employee: a. Date on which an employee received his probation increase ( if applicable) , or date of employment . b. Date on which employee received a merit step increase, or a change in pay grade . c. Cost of living adjustments or general increases shall not be considered as the date of last increase. 3 . For purposes of determining whether or not the employee has satisfactorily completed his initial twelve ( 12 ) month period of employment , or has satisfactorily performed services for the city for further merit increases , the Fire Chief shall notify the City Manager in writing of the Chief ' s evaluation, with his recommendation of merit step increase action. If the employee' s performance has not been graded by the Fire Chief as satisfactory during the time period involved, the employee shall next be considered for a merit increase after he has worked the number of months set forth in the merit plan. The employee shall 41 1D- be advised in writing as to the reason his merit step increase was not granted at the usual time . The evaluation rating of an employee under this article is within the sole discretion of the City and is not subject to the grievance or arbitration procedures of the contract . 4. When an employee is promoted to a new pay grade , he shall enter the new pay grade at the step closest to his pay step prior to the promotion that provides for a minimum of five percent (5% ) increase above the pre-promotional pay step. When an employee is promoted, his anniversary date shall be adjusted (for pay purposes only) to the date of the promotion and this date shall be the date used to calculate his future merit step increases . 28 . 3 EMT or Paramedic Incentive 1 . Each bargaining unit employee who is trained in basic life support or advanced life support and who is certified by the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services to perform procedures as an emergency medical technician (EMT) or Paramedic will receive $75 . 00 per month as an incentive upon the presentation to the Fire Chief of a valid, current certificate. 2. It shall be the responsibility of the bargaining unit employee to remain certified and any loss o certification will result in an immediate termination of the incentive bonus . 3. The City may approve an employee to take time off from work with pay at the employee ; s regular straight time hourly rate of pay to attend EMT classes . The City will pay the employee for travel time to and from class , provided the employee first reports to work at this assigned time and returns to work immediately following the end of class . Should the employee be required to attend class at a time he is not scheduled to work, the City shall pay the employee for the time the employee attends class at time and one-half the employee 's regular straight time hourly rate of pay. If an employee fails to successfully complete the class he shall be charged for any pay received to attend class . These monies shall be deducted from any amounts owed the employee by the 42 13 City. The City also agrees to reimburse the employee for the actual cost of books and tuition of the class required for EMT certification provided the employee presents original receipts for said expenses . The books become the property of the City and must be returned to the City when the employee finishes the course . 28 .4 Any employee covered by this Agreement who is temporarily required by the Fire Chief , or his designee , to perform the duties of a higher classification shall receive pay at a rate five ( 5% ) percent above the employee ' s regular rate of pay if the duties are assumed in full for a full 24 hour shift , provided that no other employee of that higher classification is on duty, and available to assume the responsibilities and requirements of that position. 1 . It is understood that operating in the classification of Diver/Engineer when not permanently assigned to that position shall be considered working out of class . 2 . It is understood that operating in the classification of shift commander when not permanently assigned to that position shall be considered working out of class . 28. 5 An employee who has left his normal place of work and who is "called-back" for overtime work shall receive a minimum payment of three ( 3) hours at time and one-half (1 1/2 ) the employee' s regular rate of pay or the actual hours worked at time and one-half ( 1 1/2) , whichever is greater . Provided that this section shaft not include scheduled overtime and shall not apply if hours worked as a result of a call back extend into the start of the employee 's regular work period. 43 .1y • - EXHIBIT A - FIRE EMPLOYEES AND PAY RATES PRESENT AND NEW UNION PROPOSED PAY PLAN PRESENT OCT 1ST ANNIVERSARY PAY HOURLY HOURLY HOURLY RATE EMPLOYEE PLAN PAY RATE RATE NEW STEP PLAN BASS LT- 1 10 . 35 11 . 77 12 . 17 IiILL LT-7 1.2 . 49 12 . 95 13. 35 V, ITi LT-S 2 . 17 . 17 14 . rJ IHERRMANN ENG-5 10. 06 11. 15 11 . 49 SALAZAR ENG-6 10. 55 11 . 49 11 . 83 DICKINSON FF-3 8 .24 9. 43 9 . 71 GRAY FF-3 8 .24 9 .43 9 . 71 KERR FF-3 8 . 24 9.43 9 . 71 - McCUE FF- 1 8 . 64 9 . 71 10 . 00 O'NEILL FF-3 8.24 9.43 9 . 71 WIECHMANN FF-4 8 .64 9. 71 10.20 (ENG-3) THRASHER FF-1 7. 16 8 . 89 9. 16 15 .•.ERIT STEP :L AN PROPOSAL 0AF HOURLY 31-WEEKLY :PPRO.:. LEVEL RATE SALARY ANNUAL SALARY Ti 8 . 8894 942 .28 24 , 499 . 19 F2 9 . 1560 970. 51 25 , 233 . 94 F3 9. 4307 999. 65 25, 991 . 01 Fl 9 . 7136 1 , 029. 64 26 , 770 .68 F5 10. 0050 1 , 060. 53 27 , 573 .73 F6 10. 3051 1 , 092.34 28 , 400 . 86 F7 10. 6143 1 , 125. 12 29,253. 01 F8 10.9327 1 , 158. 87 30 , 130 . 52 F9 11. 370 1 , 205.22 31 , 335. 72 F10 11 . 25 1 , 253 . 43 32 , 589 . 15 F11 12 . 2978 1 , 303 . 57 33 , 892.74 F12 12 . 7897 1 , 355 . 71 35, 248 . 41 F13 13 . 3013 1 , 409 . 94 36, 658 . 38 l6 4 `IERIT STEP PLAN PROPOSAL PAY HOURLY BI-WEEILY APPROX. LEVEL RATE SALARY ANNUAL SALARY El 9. 9145 1 , 050.94 27 , 324. 37 E2 10 .2119 1 , 082 . 47 28 , 114. 10 E3 10 . 5132 1 , 111 . 94 23 , 988. 42 E4 10 . 8338 1 , 118 . 39 29 , 858 .03 E5 11 . 1533 1 , 182 . 31 30 , 753 . 32 6 11 . 1936 1 , 210 . 32 31 , 376 . ;3 E7 11. 8384 1 , 254 . 87 32 , 626.73 E8 12 .1935 1 , 292 . 52 33, 605. 53 E9 12 . 5593 1, 331 . 30 34, 613.69 E10 12 . 9361 1 , 371 .23 35 , 652 . 11 E11 13 . 3242 1 , 412 . 37 36 , 721 . 67 E12 13 . 7276 1 , 455. 13 37 , 833 . 32 E13 14 . 13571 1 , 498 . 39 38 , 958 . 02 11 `SERIT STEP PLAN PROPOSAL PAY HOULY BI-WEEKLY APPROX. LEVEL RATE SALARY ANNUAL SALARY L1 10. 5910 1 , 122 . 65 29 , 189. 63 L2 10 . 9348 1 , 164 . 39 30 , 274 . 17 L3 11. 3785 1 , 206 . 12 31 , 359. 34 L4 11 . 7723 1 , 247. 86 32 ,144. 51 L5 12.1660 1 , 289.60 33 , 529.68 L6 12 . 5598 1 , 331 . 34 34, 614. 85 L7 12.9535 1 , 373 . 07 35, 700 . 02 L8 13. 3473 1 , 414. 81 36 , 785 ..9 L9 13.7410 1 , 456. 55 37 , 870 . 36 L10 14. 1348 1 , 498 .29 38 , 955. 53 L11 14. 5285 1 , 540.02 40,040. 70 L12 14. 9223 1 , 581 . 76 41 , 125 .87 L13 15.3160 1 , 623 . 50 42 ,211 .00 ..1v PRESENT OCT. lST APPROX. PAY HOURLY HOURLY ANNUAL EMPLOYEE GRADE RATE RAIZ INCREASE BASS LT-4 10. 85 11 . 77 2 , 535. 52 HILL LT-7 12.49 12 . 95 1, 267. 76 SMITH LT-5 11 . 37 12. 17 2 , 201. 80 HERRMANN ENG-5 10.06 11 .15 3 , 031 . 60 SALAZAR ENG-6 10 . 55 11 . 49 2 , 600. 56 DICKINSON FF-3 3 . 24 9. 43 3 , 279 . 64 GRAY FF-3 8 . 24 9.43 3 , 279. 64 KERR FF-3 8 .24 9 . 43 3 , 279 . 64 McCUE FF- I 8 . 64 9 . 71 2 , 948 . 92 O'NEILL FF-3 8 .24 9 . 43 3 , 279 . 61 WIECHMANN FF-4 8 . 64 9 . 71 2 , 948 . 92 THRASHER FF-1 7 . 16 8 . 89 4 , 767 . 88 TOTAL $35 , 424 . 52 ,. .4 ' • STATE OF FLORIDA Public Employees Relations Commission SPECIAL MASTER PROCEEDING Before: W. Gary Vause In the Matter of Special Master ) ) Proceedings Between: PERC Case Nos.: ) SM-95-010 (Lieutenants Unit) T ) SM-95-011 (Fire Fighters -- HE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, Engineers Unit) FLORIDA ) ) Hearing Date: November 14, 1994 (Employer) ) ) - and - Hearing Closed: November21, 1994 ) PROFESSIONAL FIRE FIGHTERS ) Award Date: December 5, 1994 LOCAL 2622, IAFF, AFL-CIO-CLC ) ) ) (Union) ) • ) RECOMMENDED DECISION APPEARANCES Employer Representative Union Representative Capt. John Campbell James K. Hill City of Atlantic Beach IAFF Local 2622 850 Seminole Road P.O. Box 51374 Atlantic Beach, Florida 32233 Jacksonville, Florida 32240 TESTIMONY Witness Called by Employer Witnesses Called by Union: Capt. John Campbell James K. Hill J. Smith, Fire Lieutenant ,1 .t TABLE OF CONTENTS Page I. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND AND JURISDICTION 1 II. ISSUES 2 III. GENERAL BACKGROUND AND BARGAINING HISTORY 2 IV. ANALYSIS OF EVIDENCE 7 1st Issue - Article 11 - Personal Leave 7 2nd Issue - Article 15 - Hours of Work and Overtime 11 3rd Issue - Article 16 - Injury in the Line of Duty 15 4th Issue - Article 26 - Career Development/Fire Inspector 20 5th Issue - Article 28 - Wages, EMT or Paramedic Incentive 23 V. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 30 i I. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND AND JURISDICTION This is a statutory impasse proceeding before a Special Master acting under authority of the Florida Statutes, § 447.403, and the Florida Administrative Code Rule 38D-19.005. The City of Atlantic Beach, Florida ("the Employer" or "the City") is subject to the provisions of the Florida Public Employees Relations Act, Florida Statutes, Chapter 447, Part II (1993). The Professional Fire Fighters Local 2622, IAFF,AFL-CIO-CLC ("the Union")is the exclusive bargaining agent for the Fire Fighter/Engineers and Lieutenants bargaining units. Following unsuccessful efforts to resolve their differences at the local level through collective bargaining, and declaration of impasse by the Union, the parties submitted the unresolved issues to the undersigned Special Master. Upon receipt of the letter dated October 7, 1994 from Mallory E. Horne, Chairman of the Florida Public Employees Relations Commission (PERC), the Special Master immediately sent a letter to the designated party representatives setting the hearing date on October 17, 1994. The parties requested that the matter be rescheduled for a later date, and it was mutually agreed that the hearing would be held on November 14, 1994, at the City Hall of Atlantic Beach, Florida. The hearing commenced at 9:00 a.m. on November 14th; both parties were represented by their contract negotiator/advocates, who presented oral testimony and documentary evidence, and made oral arguments. Administration of the oath was waived. Although the proceedings were not recorded, the Special Master did make his own handwritten record. At the conclusion of the evidentiary presentations, the Special Master offered to serve as mediator, or in the alternative, to allow the parties to refer the matter to another mediator in an effort to resolve some of the issues. Both party representatives declined the opportunity to mediate, and requested that the Special Master proceed to decide the matters in dispute and issue a Recommended Decision. Both parties were granted the right to file a post-hearing brief, to be mailed to the Special Master and the opposing party no later than November 18, 1 1 . 1994. The Union representative waived the right to file a brief, and the hearings were closed on November 21, 1994, following receipt of the Employer's brief. The issues submitted by the parties are as follows: II. ISSUES 1) ARTICLE 11 - PERSONAL LEAVE 2) ARTICLE 15 - HOURS OF WORK AND OVERTIME 3) ARTICLE 16 - INJURY IN THE LINE OF DUTY 4) : ARTICLE 26 - CAREER DEVELOPMENT/FIRE INSPECTOR 5) ARTICLE 28 - WAGES, EMT OR PARAMEDIC INCENTIVE III. GENERAL BACKGROUND AND BARGAINING HISTORY Profile of the Public Employer The City of Atlantic Beach, Florida is a small ocean-front community in northeast Florida with a population of approximately 12,383 inhabitants. Approximately 55% of the land area in Atlantic Beach is residential, 11% is commercial/industrial, and 8.5% is used or designated for beach, recreational purposes and open spaces. More than 51% of the households in Atlantic Beach have an annual income level of$21,600 or more.' The City is bordered on the west by Jacksonville, a large metropolitan area of more than one million inhabitants. It is bordered on the south by the small community of Neptune Beach, and on the north by Mayport Naval Station. The Atlantic Ocean provides the eastern border of the City of Atlantic Beach. Jacksonville Beach is located to'the immediate south of Neptune Beach. The City t his data is based upon statistical information presented by the Union and unchallenged by the Employer. 2 n of Neptune Beach (which is less than one mile in width) has an all-volunteer fire department, and relies on Atlantic Beach and the City of Jacksonville Beach for its fire protection service. The Workforce Profile The Atlantic Beach Fire Department currently has thirteen (13) regular full-time employees as fire fighters. The number of service calls made to the department has been steadily climbing in recent years. The department responded to more than 1,400 calls in 1993. Approximately 20% of the calls are fire- related, with a smaller percentage falling into the miscellaneous category. Other calls include those for emergency medical cases. The Bargaining Units This proceeding arises from the bargaining impasse declarations in two separate bargaining units: (1) the fire fighter/engineers, and (2) the lieutenants. The parties agreed to consolidate both cases into one proceeding before the • undersigned Special Master. The International Association of Fire Fighters, Local 2622, was certified by PERC in late 1990 as the exclusive bargaining agent for all regular full-time fire fighters/engineers employed by the City of Atlantic Beach. Excluded from the bargaining unit were the fire chief, fire lieutenants, and all other employees of the City of Atlantic Beach. Approximately one year later, the Union was certified as the exclusive bargaining agent for all employees in a separate bargaining unit consisting of lieutenants. Joint negotiations for both units is done simultaneously through the same representative. 3 Bargaining History Three collective bargaining agreements have been negotiated and executed by the parties. The first agreement covered the period 1991-92, but it actually was in force only for a short time because of the late conclusion of negotiations. The second contract covered the period 1992-93, and the third and most recent contract was effective from October 1, 1993 through September 30, 1994. The parties' pattern of bargaining has resulted in negotiations which typically go beyond the expiration date of the contract in each year. When negotiations for the current contract renewal began in June, 1994, the parties had only recently concluded the last round of bargaining for the predecessor contract. The parties therefore stipulated at the hearing in the instant case that there is no controversy over retroactivity, and it is contemplated that the successor agreement for 1994-95 will take effect on October 1, 1994. Negotiations preceding the instant impasse were abbreviated. The parties had only one substantive bargaining session on the 1994-95 contract issues prior to declaration of impasse. However, substantial progress was made at that • session, and the parties "signed off" on more than twenty issues. It then became apparent to both parties that further negotiations on the unresolved issues would not be fruitful, and the Union subsequently notified PERC that an impasse existed. The parties waived the opportunity to submit the matter to mediation, and requested that PERC appoint a Special Master. The Burden of Proof or Persuasion Special Master proceedings are somewhat informal in nature, and there are no formal rules allocating the burden of proof. However, common sense dictates that when a party proposes a, change in compensation, benefits, or working conditions, that party must present sufficient evidence and convincing argument to persuade the Special Master that legitimate and bonafide objective reasons exist to justify adoption of the proposed change. This is particularly true when the 4 . existing contract language has worked reasonably well for several years. As a practical matter, therefore, the burden of persuasion is on the party proposing the change, and that party must convince the Special Master that new contract language should be added or that the existing language should be changed. Where both parties propose new or changed language, each party bears such a burden to persuade the Special Master that its proposal should be adopted. The Statutory Factors In weighing the evidence and evaluating the arguments of the parties, I have taken into account those factors enumerated in the Florida Statutes, Section 447.405 (1993), at least to the extent such evidence was made available to me by the parties. The burden lies squarely upon the parties to adduce evidence relevant to those factors set forth in Florida Statutes Section 447.405. I advised the parties at the hearing that if evidence on those factors was not adduced by them at the hearing, I would not assume the burden of accumulating additional evidence ex pane. Those statutory factors are as follows: 447.405 Factors to be considered by the special master. The special master shall conduct the hearings and render his recommended decisions with the objective of achieving a prompt, peaceful, and just settlement of disputes between the public employee organizations and the public employers. The factors, among others, to be given weight by the special master in arriving at a recommended decision shall include: (1) Comparison of the annual income of employment of the public employees in question with the annual income of employment maintained for the same or similar work of employees exhibiting like or similar skills under the same or similar working conditions in the local operating area involved. 5 (2) Comparison of the annual income of employment of the public employees in question with the annual income of employment of public employees in similar public employee governmental bodies of comparable size within the state. (3) The interest and welfare of the public. (4) Comparison of peculiarities of employment in regard to other trades or professions, specifically with respect to: (a) Hazards of employment. (b) Physical qualifications. (c) Educational qualifications. (d) Intellectual qualifications. (e) Job training and skills. (1) Retirement plans. (g) Sick leave. (h) Job security. (5) Availability of funds. Format of the Recommended Decision In Part IV, the "Analysis of Evidence" which follows, I have treated each of the five issues by first comparing the current contract language with the proposal of the Union and the proposal of the Employer. My "Discussion and Opinion", which appears under each of five issues, describes that evidence and argument which I found to be most persuasive and my rationale for the recommendation made on that particular issue. Finally, a specific recom- mendation is made for each issue. It should be understood that my recommendations are made in the context of a total "package" resolution of all issues. As is typically the case in contract negotiations, trade-offs were made in the formulation of this Recommended Decision in order to balance the equities and distribute the costs in the most effective manner. The parties are urged to accept the recommendations on all five issues as a total package. 6 IV. ANALYSIS OF EVIDENCE 1st Issue ARTICLE 11 - PERSONAL LEAVE A. CURRENT CONTRACT LANGUAGE 11.1 a. The "Personal Leave Hours" concept is an advancement from the traditional vacation and sick leave .system. Personal leave hours are not to be considered compensation for services rendered. All bargaining unit employees may be absent from work and still receive regular wages provided the employee follows the procedures set forth in this Article and receives prior approval from the Fire Chief or his designee. b. The Fire Chief of the Chief's designee shall have the discretion to grant or deny the use of personal leave hours. Personal Leave must be taken in one (1)personal leave hour or more increments.AApproval of leave may be suspended �,d&-' if in the discretion of the Chief such leave would pose a V` el/\ t manpower shortage which would have an adverse effect on ti" the operation of the Department. c. Employees may accumulate Personal Leave Hours up to a maximum of 960 hours. Thereafter, employees must utilize their Personal Leave Hours or forfeit the ability to accumulate any additional hours. d. For Personal Leave Hours used for illness, the City always retains the right to require medical documentation of the illness. e. For hours permissibly accumulated under this Article, the employee may elect to be paid in cash (upon completion of one year of continuous, uninterrupted employment with the City) or choose to continue to accrue the days up to the maximum arcual level set forth in this Article. For the purpose of cashing in accrued leave time, the Public Employer will permit the employee to make a request for 7 • (Personal Leave - Cont'd) payment two times during the year as follows: on the first payday in June, and on the first payday in December. Cash withdrawals are restricted to the excess over 120 hours in the Personal Leave Account on the designated withdrawal date. Request forms are available in City Hall. Requests must be submitted at least two weeks preceding each of the above dates. f. No Personal Leave Hours may accumulate to an employee on leave without pay, or one who has been suspended for disciplinary purposes. g. Subject to the restrictions contained in this Agreement, Personal Leave Hours shall accumulate during each pay period and shall be credited to the employee at the end of the pay period. h. An eligible employee who resigns with at least two weeks notice or whose employment has not been involuntarily terminated shall be paid for any unused accruals. However, in no event shall the employee be paid for any unused accruals exceeding 960 hours. • i. Employees with more than one year of service are required to utilize a minimum amount of Personal Leave Hours each calendar year. Cashing in Personal Leave Hours shall not be considered "Utilization. " Required minimums not taken as provided will be forfeited unless otherwise approved by the Fire Chief. The accrual rate of Personal Leave Hours and the minimum amount of utilization of Personal Leave Hours shall be determined as follows: TENURE Maximum no. of Personal Minimum Leave Hours Accumulated utilization per each Bi-weekly Pay Period year (provided maximum cap has not been reached) 1st year 7.01 0 2nd year 7.01 40 Beg. 3rd through 4th yr. 7.01 40 Beg. 5th through 9th yr. 9.06 80 Beg. 10th through 14th yr. 11.10 80 Beg. 15th and over 13.34 80 8 (Personal Leave - Cont'd) B. UNION PROPOSAL The Union requests that the contract be modified to add one additional 24 hour day of accrued personal leave per year. No language change is needed; only the relevant figures in Article 11 need to be adjusted (see above). C. EMPLOYER PROPOSAL The City rejects the Union proposal and urges the Special Master to recommend that there be no change in the current personal leave benefit. D. DISCUSSION AND OPINION The current personal leave benefit provided under Article 11 represents an important and substantial benefit to the bargaining unit members. Employees have a reasonable amount of personal leave time to be used when necessary, but also may accumulate the unused portion of such leave to later "cash in" at a time when . the hourly rate is higher due to annual step and practice increases. Moreover, if an employee is promoted to a higher pay classification, the value of the accumulated personal leave time is escalated to the new higher pay level with no differentiation between time earned in the lower pay classification, and time earned in the higher pay classification. This plan therefore provides a modest but nevertheless valuable "annuity" program which grows at an increasingly higher compounded rated. The parties stipulated that this type of personal leave program is not typical among fire department bargaining units throughout the State of Florida. In contract year 1992-1993, the City increased the personal leave time of fire fighters and fire lieutenants by 33.3% over that of all other city employees. This was done because fire personnel work approximately 1/3 more hours per year than other city employees. In contract year 1993-1994, the City Commission 9 (Personal Leave - Cont'd) increased the fire personnel personal leave time by twelve (12) additional hours per year in order to settle the impasse then existing on this article. This was an unbudgeted cost increase of approximately $1,300. Evidence adduced by the City showed that the total personal leave hours accumulation as of November 14, 1994 (the hearing date) was valued at $31,867. The employee with the lowest accumulation had 105.15 hours to his credit, although he had been employed by the City for only seven months. Each of the other employees had accumulated more than 200 hours, with the highest accumulation at 480.32 hours (yielding a current cash-in value of$3,867.83). The Union now proposes that an additional 24-hour day of accrued personal leave be added. The Union's rationale is that this change is needed to bring Atlantic Beach more in line with the surrounding professional fire departments in reference to vacation and sick leave time. However, the Union fails to substantiate this claim with comparability figures from other municipal fire departments. According to the City's calculations, the cost of the Union's proposal would add unbudgeted costs of$2,812.56 to the current budget if the City's salary increases are adopted. Those additional costs would rise to $3,463.44 if the Union's salary increases are adopted. In the absence of any convincing evidence to the contrary, I am persuaded that the current plan is both reasonable and competitive. I find no justification for adoption of the Union's proposal. E. RECOMMENDATION The Union's proposal on personal leave should be denied. 10 2nd Issue ARTICLE 15 - HOURS OF WORK AND OVERTIME A. CURRENT CONTRACT LANGUAGE 15.1 The practice of computing hours worked and overtime shall be based on a basic work period for bargaining unit employees which shall be twenty-eight (28) days, and the tour of duty will be twenty- four (24) hours on and forty-eight (48) hours off Personal leave hours, compensatory leave hours and kelly hours taken off shall be counted as hours worked for the purpose of computing hours worked and overtime. Bargaining unit employee's basic work period is based on the Fair Labor and Standards Act Maximum Hours Standard of 212 hours per work period. Overtime shall be based on this hours standard. The pay plan includes the basic salary schedule as shown in Appendix A of this Agreement. The pay plan assumes a work period of 212 hours or an average work week consisting of 53 hours per week. This is not appropriate for the Fire Fighter employee who works a twenty-four (24) hour shift. For purposes of pay remuneration and payroll processing, the following shall apply: Fire Fighter personnel shall receive compensatory hours in the amount of eighteen (18) hours every twenty-eight (28) day work period, here after known as Kelly Hours, as a scheduled adjustment so arranged as to make the work period average 212 hours. Kelly Hours may be taken by the employee at the convenience of the Fire Department. Kelly Hours may be accrued to a maximum of one-hundred-fifty (150). Once the maximum of 150 hours is accrued no further Kelly Hours shall be taken off When this maximum hours accrued level is reached, Kelly Hours off will be assigned by the Fire Chief in increments of 24 hours. All Kelly Hours must be utilized by compensatory time off within the fiscal year in which they are earned, unless prior written approval is received from the Fire Chief 11 (Hours of Work and Overtime - Cont'd) Employees shall not be paid for unused Kelly Days upon termination of employment. 15.2 An employee shall be paid at the rate of one and one-half(1-1/2) times his regular hourly rate for time worked in excess of a twenty- four (24) continuous hour work shift as follows: 1. For any amount of time worked into the twenty-fifth (25th) hour the employee shall receive a minimum of one (1) hour of overtime pay. 2. For any time over one (1) hour worked passed the twenty-fifth (25th) hour of continuous work the employee shall be paid by the quarter increment, to the nearest quarter hour. 15.3 Upon proof of attending court pursuant to subpoena or other court order involving a job-related case, not as a plaintiff in litigation against the City, an employee who is required to be absent from a scheduled work day will receive leave with pay equal to his normal pay for the hours he attends court, provided he remits to the City any subpoena and witness fees received. 15.4 Upon proof of attending court pursuant to a subpoena or other court order involving a job-related case, not as a plaintiff in litigation against the City, an off-duty employee will receive pay equal to his regular hourly rate of pay for the hours he attends court,provided he remits to the City any subpoena and witness fees received. 15.5 Upon proof of attending jury duty, an employee who is required to be absent from a scheduled work day will receive leave with pay equal to his normal pay for the hours he performs jury service, provided he remits to the City any jury duty fees received. 12 (Hours of Work and Overtime - Cont'd) B. UNION PROPOSAL The Union requests that no change be made in this Article and rejects the City's proposal. C. EMPLOYER PROPOSAL The City proposes to change the wording in the fourth paragraph of Section 15.1 from "eighteen (18) hours" to "twelve (12) hours", to read as follows: "...Fire Personnel shall receive compensatory hours in the amount of twelve (12) hours every twenty-eight (28) day work period, here after known as Kelly Hours, as a schedule adjustment so arranged as to make the work period average 212 hours." D. DISCUSSION AND OPINION The City representative asserts that a transcription mistake was made when this article was revised during the 1993-1994 contract negotiations. Because Fire Personnel actually work 224 hours per work period, the amount of Kelly Hours, which was erroneously listed as "eighteen (18) hours", should have been listed as "twelve (12) hours" per work period. According to the City, adoption of its proposed change is necessary "to make the mathematics work properly and to fit within the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act." The Union argues that continuation of the current language "is in the best interest of all parties, while the City's proposal would further burden fire personnel financially and emotionally by reducing current available time off from work." The Union negotiator stated that the eighteen Kelly Hours, appearing in the fourth paragraph of Section 15.1, was the result of a bargained-for exchange with the City during negotiations for the 1993-94 Contract year. 13 (Hours of Work and Overtime - Cont'd) The Union disagrees with the City's characterization that this was a "transcription mistake," and denies that the Contract should have read "twelve (12) hours" instead of "eighteen (18) hours." Although each party presents a distinctly different version of bargaining history on this issue, I have no reason to doubt the veracity of either party representative. The City negotiator testified candidly that he was personally responsible for the mistake, if any was made. I have no doubt that he now considers the inclusion of eighteen hours, rather than twelve, as a mistake. However, because the City representative drafted the language in question, I assume that the Union accepted it in good faith and it became part of the entire package of trade-offs which were made in the negotiation of the 1993-1994 Agreement. It therefore seems unfair to now unilaterally withdraw this bargained- for exchange without some commensurate compensation to the employees to justify reduction of the Kelly Hour benefit. None has been offered by the City. I therefore conclude from all of the evidence and argument that it would be unfair • to unilaterally reduce the amount of Kelly hours from eighteen to twelve. E. RECOMMENDATION The City's proposal on Article 15 should be denied. 14 • 3rd Issue ARTICLE 16 - INJURY IN THE LINE OF DUTY A. CURRENT CONTRACT LANGUAGE 16.1 Any permanent employee covered by this Agreement who sustains a temporary disability as a result of accidental injury in the course of and arising out of employment by the Public Employer, shall, in addition to the benefits payable under the Worlanens' Compensation Law of the State of Florida, be entitled to the following benefits: a. When an employee is absent due to compensable injury, the City will pay 100% of an employee's average daily earnings for egch regularly scheduled work day missed beginning with the first calendar day of the authorized disability, and continuing through the seventh calendar day of the authorized disability. However, in no case shall these payments and those paid through Workmen' Compensation exceed the employee's normal net salary. Any amount paid by the City to the employee which is subsequently paid by Workmen' Compensation shall be reimbursed by the employee to the City. • b. An employee sustaining a lost time injury under this Article may use accumulated Personal Leave Days to cover the time off the job due to an injury until he is compensated by Workmen' Compensation. Personal Leave Days can be used to supplement that percentage (33-1/3%) of his pay which is not covered by Workmen' Compensation. The request to allow the employee to do the above must be made to the Fire Chief in writing. c. In addition to the benefits afforded under Section A, an employee may be awarded special benefits by the City if special circumstances are found to exist in the sole opinion of the City Manager. But such payments shall not, when added to Workmen' Compensation benefits, total more than the normal regular pay received by the employee immediately prior to such disability, nor may such payments continue longer than one year from the date of injury. Factors which the City Manager may consider in each instance are as follows: 15 • (Injury in the Line of Duty - Cont'd) 1. Consideration of degree of responsibility of employee/employer. 2. Obedience to or violation of laws, statutes, or ordinances involved in connection with the causes of such disability. 3. Obedience to or violation of safety rules and regulation of the City which are involved in the cause of the disability. 4. Obedience to or violation of any Department rules, regulations and policies procedures, or instructions to the employee by supervisors involving the cause of the disability. To apply for special benefits, the employee shall submit a memo to the City Manager, with a copy to the Fire Chief This memo shall contain sufficient information to allow the City Manager to determine the employee's actions concerning the above factors. The decision to grant or deny special benefits is not subject to the grievance or arbitration provisions of this agreement. 16.2 Where injury is caused by the knowing refusal of the employee to use a safety appliance provided by the City, the unemployment compensation benefits shall be reduced twenty-five percent (25%). There shall be no reduction if the employee can show there were exigent circumstances that precluded the use of a safety appliance. The determination as to whether the exigent circumstances were sufficient shall be in the sole discretion of the City Manager. ,Al c4ef - ..•� ,L. B. UNION PROPOSAL The Union contends that the current coverage of Article 16 is inadequate to meet the City's responsibility to protect employees injured on the job. The Union therefore proposes that Article 16 be changed to guarantee to all bargaining unit personnel 100% coverage of all line-of-duty injuries for one full year, rather than the seven (7) days coverage provided in paragraph (a) of Section 16.1. With respect to the extended benefits available under Section 16.1(c), the Union questions why a Management decision to deny extended benefit requests should not be subject to the grievance/arbitration procedure. 16 (Injury in the Line of Duty - Cont'd) C. EMPLOYER PROPOSAL The City proposes that there be no change in the current language Article 16. D. DISCUSSION AND OPINION The Union argues that because fire fighters are asked to perform extra- ha7nrdous duties, the City therefore should provide for the fire fighter's long-term financial well-being if they are injured while performing those duties. In contract year 1992-1993, the City increased the amount it paid to an injured employee for the first seven (7) days from the state-required fifty percent (50%) to the current one-hundred percent (100%) of an employee's pay until workmens' compensation begins. The City also allows the employee to use personal leave time to compensate for the 33.3 percent of salary that is not covered by workmens' compensation. Moreover, the current contract language allows the City Manager discretion to award special benefits to an injured employee, compensating him or her for the 33.3 percent pay loss, not to exceed one year. An employee who receives such discretionary benefit does not lose personal leave time or wages during the one-year injury period. Article 16 lists the factors that the City Manager may consider when making his decision on the awarding of such special extended benefits. The City contends that it has never denied this special benefit to anyone. It is only fair and reasonable that employees injured in the line of duty should have some income protection benefits from the State or the municipal employer. Although workmens' compensation is a valuable benefit, it only compensates an injured employee for two-thirds of his or her pay. In such circumstances, it is not uncommon for municipalities in Florida to provide 17 (Injury in the Line of Duty - Cont'd) supplementary pay to make up the difference between the workmens' compensation benefits and the regular salary. The extent to which a public employer will pay this salary differential, and the duration of such benefits, is a matter for collective bargaining. No evidence was adduced in this case to show whether or not the City of Atlantic Beach is competitive when compared to contiguous cities, other cities in the local operating area, or other cities throughout the State of Florida. In fact, there was virtually no evidentiary support for the Union's proposal. Absent any convincing evidence to justify an increase in the amount or duration of benefits under Article 16, I cannot support the Union's claim. However, I do share one concern expressed by the Union: Why is the City Manager's decision to deny requests for extended benefits under Section 16.1(c) not subject to the grievance/arbitration procedure? The Florida Legislature considered arbitration of contractual disputes to be so important that it required that all public sector collective bargaining agreements contain a grievance procedure terminating in binding arbitration.' Section 16.1(c) sets forth a list of criteria that must be considered by the City Manager in deciding whether or not such extended benefits should be granted. This clearly shows that the City has no intention of being arbitrary in making such decisions. The City negotiator testified to the same effect during the hearing in this case. However, what constitutes "arbitrary" behavior is often a matter of perspective, and it is a rare decision-maker who would consider himself or herself capable of arbitrariness. That is precisely why it is important to allow dissatisfied 2The law provides: "Each public employer and bargaining agent shall negotiate a grievance procedure to be used for the settlement of disputes between employer and employee, or group of employees, involving the interpretation or application of a collective bargaining agreement. Such grievance procedure shall have as its terminal step a final and binding disposition by an impartial neutral, mutually selected by the parties...." Florida Statute § 447.401 (1993). 18 (Injury in the Line of Duty - Cont'd) employees to submit contract interpretation cases to evaluation by an outside, uninvolved neutral arbitrator. I therefore find considerable justification in the Union's concern about Section 16.1(c). E. RECOMMENDATION I recommend that the last sentence of Section 16.1(c) ("The decision to grant or deny special benefits is not subject to the grievance or arbitration provisions of'this agreement.") be deleted from the contract. In all other respects, the Union's proposal on Article 16 should be denied. 19 4th Issue ARTICLE 26 - CAREER DEVELOPMENT/FIRE INSPECTOR A. CURRENT CONTRACT LANGUAGE 26.1 Upon presentation of an official transcript and proof of degree to the Fire Chief, each employee in the bargaining unit who receives an associate degree from a college, which degree is readily identifiable and applicable as a fire-related degree, as outlined in policy guidelines of the Division of State Fire Marshal of the Department of Insurance, shall receive a $50.00 per month career development incentive. 26.2 Upon presentation of an official transcript and proof of degree to the Fire Chief, each employee of the bargaining unit who receives from an accredited college or university a bachelor's degree, which degree curriculum includes a major study concentration area readily identifiable and applicable to fire-related subjects, as outlined in policy guidelines of the Division of State Fire Marshal of the Department of Insurance, shall receive a $110.00 per month career development incentive. , 26.3 Employees receiving Career Development monies shall receive monies as accorded them under either Section 26.1 or Section 26.2 They shall not receive at the same time monies afforded from both of these Sections. 26.4 A bargaining unit employee who possesses a Florida State Certification for fire safety inspector will receive $100.00 per month incentive pay for each month the employee is assigned and performs fire safety inspections. 26.5 Fire Department personnel that receive and hold Florida State Certification for Fire Officer One shall be paid an additional$50.00 per month above their regular base wage. This payment shall commence as of April 1, 1994. 20 (Career Development/Fire Inspector - Cont'd) B. UNION PROPOSAL The Union's position is that there should be no substantive change in the current language of Article 26. However, the Union requests a "clarification" establishing that any fire employee who holds the Fire Inspector certificate will automatically be paid his incentive check of $100.00 per month as long as his certificate is valid. The Union asserts that fire inspections (including "company inspections") are part of the job description of fire personnel. C. EMPLOYER PROPOSAL The City proposes that the language of Section 26.4 be changed to read: "A bargaining Unit employee who possesses a Florida State Certification for Fire Safety Inspector will receive $100.00 per month incentive pay for each month the employee is assigned and performs firc safcty inspcction3 the duties of Fire Inspector." The City asserts that the purpose of this change is merely to "clarify" the original intention of this section of Article 26. D. DISCUSSION AND OPINION The Union asserts that the original intent of Article 26 was to give employees an incentive to acquire the Fire Inspector certification. Such certification is of great benefit to the City of Atlantic Beach. The Union expresses "surprise" at the City,'s attempt to change this language. It is my impression that both parties are seeking more than a mere clarification of the language in Article 26. The Union's objective appears to be a guarantee that any employee who holds the Fire Inspector certificate, and 21 • (Career Development/Fire Inspector - Cont'd) performs any kind of "fire safety inspection," no matter how routine or how infrequent, will receive the $100 per month supplement. The City seeks to ensure that only those employees who are actually "standing in" as temporary replacements for the full-time Fire Inspector position will receive this supplement. The City pays for the training to receive the certificate, pays for all school costs and pays the employee to go to the training, including travel time to and from class. The City makes this investment to make sure that it has a back-up for the regular Inspector. The Fire Inspector position is a full-time, forty hour per week position. It has been vacant since October 1, 1994, when the Inspector retired. The City is actively seeking a replacement. When an employee is temporarily assigned to perform the regular Fire Inspector's duties (for example, when the Inspector is sick or on leave), that employee receives the monthly supplement. The employee who performs these duties while the City seeks a replacement for the full-time • Fire Inspector also receives the supplement. However, the City expresses concern that the Union seeks an interpretation which would guarantee the supplement to every employee who obtains such the certificate. This was never the intention of Article 26. I find the City's argument most persuasive. E. RECOMMENDATION The City's proposal should be adopted. 22 5th Issue ARTICLE 28 - WAGES, EMT OR PARAMEDIC INCENTIVE A. CURRENT CONTRACT LANGUAGE 28.1 The merit step plan attached as Exhibit A will become part of this agreement on October 1, 1992 shall be funded for the fiscal year 1993-1994 at the same rate as shown in the plan. Monies budgeted by the City for pay increases for the Fire Unions for 1993-1994, less that which is necessary to fund the step increases for 1993-1994, shall be divided equally among the bargaining unit members and paid in a one-time bonus. 28.2(a) Entrance salary determination. Except as provided herein, the original appointment to the classification of fire fighter or engineer will be made at the entrance rate and advancement from the entrance rate to the maximum rate shall be by successive steps. The City Manager may approve initial compensation at a higher rate than the minimum rate in the range for the position classification when the needs of the service make such action necessary. Such decision shall not be subject to the grievance or arbitration provisions of this Agreement. 28.2(b) Advancement within a salary range. 1. Upon satisfactory completion of a period of twelve (12)months of uninterrupted service after initial appointment to the position of fire fighter, the entrance salary of the employee shall be advanced one (1) step to the next higher step in the merit plan unless the pay during the initial period of employment already exceeds the range, in which case there shall be no increase. 2. After an employee receives his merit increase upon satisfactory completion of the initial probationary period set forth above, the employee may be granted successive merit increases no sooner than the number of months set forth in the merit plan from the employee's last date of increase, until the employee reaches the maximum rate of pay for the classification, 23 • (Wages, EMT or Paramedic Incentive - Cont'd) provided he receives a satisfactory or above performance rating from the Fire Chief For the purposes of this plan, the date of last increase shall be the most recent date upon which any of the following actions occurred to an employee: a. Date on which an employee received his probation increase (if applicable), or date of employment. b. Date on which employee received a merit step increase, or a change in pay grade. c. Cost of living adjustments or general increases shall not be considered as the date of last increase. 3. For purposes of determining whether or not the employee has satisfactorily completed his initial twelve (12) month period of employment, or has satisfactorily performed services for the City for further merit increases, the Fire Chief shall notify the City Manager in writing of the Chief's evaluation, with his recommendation of merit step increase action. If the employee's performance has not been graded by the Fire Chief as satisfactory during the time period involved, the employee shall next be considered for a merit increase after he has worked the number of months set forth in the merit plan. The employee shall be advised in writing as to the reason his merit step increase was not granted at the usual time. The evaluation rating of an employee under this article is within the sole discretion of the City and is not subject to the grievance or arbitration procedures of the contract. 4. When an employee is promoted to a new pay grade, he shall enter the new pay grade at the step closest to his pay step prior to the promotion. At no time shall the promotional pay step be lower than the pre promotional pay step. When an employee is promoted, his anniversary date shall be adjusted (for pay purposes only) to the date of the promotion and this date shall be the date used to calculate his future merit step increases. 24 (Wages, EMT or Paramedic Incentive - Cont'd) 28.3 EMT or Paramedic Incentive 1. Each bargaining unit employee who is trained in basic life support or advanced life support and who is certified by the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services to perform procedures as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) or Paramedic will receive $75.00 per month as an incentive upon the presentation to the Fire Chief of a valid, current certificate. 2. It shall be the responsibility of the bargaining unit employee to remain certified and any loss of certification will result in an immediate termination of the incentive bonus. 3. The City may approve an employee to take time off from work with pay at the employee's regular straight time hourly rate of pay to attend EMT classes. The City will pay the employee for travel time to and from class, provided the employee first reports to work immediately following the end of class. Should the employee be required to attend class at a time he is not scheduled to work, the City shall pay the employee for the time the employee attends class at time and one-half the employee's regular straight time hourly • rate of pay. If an employee fails to successfully complete the class he shall be charged for any pay received to attend class. These monies shall be deducted from any amounts owed the employee by the City. The City also agrees to reimburse the employee for the actual cost of books and tuition of the class required for EMT certification provided the employee presents original receipts for said expenses. The books become the property of the City and must be returned to the City when the employee finishes the course. 28.4 Any employee covered by this Agreement who is temporarily required by the Fire Chief, or his designee, to perform the duties of a higher classification shall receive pay at a rate five (5%) percent above the employee's regular rate of pay if the duties are assumed in full for a full 24 hour shift, provided that no other employee of that higher classification is on duty, and available to assume the responsibilities and requirements of that position. 1. It is understood that operating in the classification of Diver/Engineer when not permanently assigned to that position shall be considered working out of class. 25 (Wages, EMT or Paramedic Incentive - Cont'd) 2. It is understood that operating in the classification of shift commander when not permanently assigned to that position shall be considered working out of class. 28.5 An employee who has left his normal place of work and who is "called- back"for overtime work shall receive a minimum payment of three (3) hours at time and one-half(1-1/2) the employee's regular rate of pay or the actual hours worked at time and one-half (1-1/2), whichever is greater. Provided that this section shall not include scheduled overtime and shall not apply if hours worked as a result of a call back extend into the start of the employee's regular work period. [NOTE: THE CURRENT "MERIT STEP PLAN" IS ATTACHED AT THE END OF THIS REPORT AS APPENDIX A]. B. UNION PROPOSAL The Union proposes the adoption of an across-the-board pay increase of twenty-eight (28%) percent. C. EMPLOYER PROPOSAL The City offers a new wage/step plan for all fire department personnel. The proposed plan consists of an annual step, with three percent (3%) between steps, upon which an employee will move on his or her anniversary date (with satisfactory job performance), and a merit bonus provision of two percent (2%) for an "above satisfactory" job performance evaluation. Employees who have reached the top of the step plan shall receive a three percent (3%) bonus with satisfactory job performance, and an additional two percent (2%) bonus for "above average" job performance. Fire employees would be covered by the proposed new pay plan in the following manner: Each employee would receive a two percent (2%) cost of living wage increase as of October 1st, and would go into the new step plan on their anniversary date at the step closest to their hourly rate after the two percent (2%) COLA. This provides a minimum increase of a one percent (1%). 26 A ■ (Wages, EMT or Paramedic Incentive - Cont'd) D. DISCUSSION AND OPINION The Union urges the Special Master to recommend a pay scale that is "comparable to that of the fire departments in the local geographic area." This is of course a reasonable position, but the Union's case falls flat at the outset because it presents no evidence of comparability. It would be useful to compare the salaries paid in Atlantic Beach with salaries paid by fire departments in contiguous towns, other towns in the local operating area, or towns of similar size throughout the State. However, no such studies were provided to support the Union's claim. The Union's evidence did show that fire department wages in the City of Jacksonville are considerably higher, but this is not a fair comparison because Jacksonville is a major metropolitan center of more than one million inhabitants. There is little basis for comparing Jacksonville with Atlantic Beach, other than the fact that they are in close geographic proximity. In summary, the Union failed to document its claims on salary comparability. The Union rejects the City's proposed language, arguing that it: would only serve to further destroy any hope of stabilizing the manpower of the fire department personnel. The City's language would have catastrophic results on the future of the City of Atlantic Beach Fire Department due to the fact that there is no long term stability generally associated with a career-oriented job in this pay plan.' The Union did make a convincing case that the Atlantic Beach Fire Department suffers from an unusually high turnover rate. In a skilled profession such as fire fighting, a high turnover rate can adversely affect employee morale and quality of service. Although I drew the inference that the high turnover rate 3Excerpted from Union brief. 27 if A. . (Wages, EMT or Paramedic Incentive - Cont'd) can be attributed to low salaries, I could not substantiate that inference because of the inadequacy of evidence on comparability. The City conducted a wage study in contract year 1992-1993 and found that the starting pay for its fire personnel was close to the average in the area. However, the maximum pay steps were below the average. Cities used for the study apparently were at least tacitly approved by the Union. Subsequently, the City initiated a new step plan for the fire department (in the middle of a budget year) by utilizing one-time funds from a building account (which also was suggested by the Union). This had the effect of raising the cost basis of the salary account, creating a larger on-going personnel expense. Fire personnel enjoyed the benefits of this extraordinary, non-budgeted wage increase ranging from one percent (1%) to eight percent (8%), and thereby were brought up to the average of the wage study. However, this plan did not differentiate between employees performing satisfactory work and those performing "above satisfactory" work. Therefore, the City devised a new pay plan for this contract year (1994-1995) for the fire department and all other municipal employees. The City proposed the new pay plan during contract negotiations for contract year 1993-1994, and this became an issue at impasse. The City Commission, in impasse proceedings on the 1993-1994 contract negotiations, continued with the pay plan that was in effect during contract year 1992-1993 providing all fire personnel with a four and eight-tenths percent (4.8%) step increase. All remaining budgeted funds were given to fire personnel as a bonus, amounting to $347.00 per employee. The City asserts that it has been extremely fair in its compensation to bargaining unit members, particularly in light of inflationary factors and diminished revenues. It extended itself in fairness by taking the very unusual and difficult step of granting mid-year unbudgeted pay enhancements (other employee 28 (Wages, EMT or Paramedic Incentive - Cont'd) groups who did not receive the same benefit). The City urges the Special Master to find that its current offer is fair in light of all of these factors. Both parties addressed the question of "availability of funds." The Union asserts that the City could fund its proposal of 28%, but was not specific with evidence of exactly how this could be accomplished. The City takes the position that it cannot reasonably be expected to find more than its last best offer without diminishing the level of service. The City's annual budget for 1994 - 1995 was entered into evidence by the City, and I have analyzed it carefully. I found nothing to suggest that there exists a built-in "cushion" in the budget to fund the Union's proposal. The Union contends that the structure of the current pay plan is "more in line with fire department pay plans in other cities," and only needs to be adjusted with a reasonable across-the-board increase to provide "more competitive salaries as compared to surrounding fire departments." However, the Union's request of • twenty-eight percent (28%) is one of the highest impasse proposals I have seen in many years of conducting special master hearings in Florida. Particularly in light of the Union's failure to adequately document its demand with comparative figures, it is difficult to see how such an increase can be granted. The City's proposal, while it appears to be based upon a more carefully documented study, is still parsimonious at best. However, my experience in public sector collective bargaining in Florida leads me to conclude that the City proposal is more in line with average settlements for cities the size of Atlantic Beach. When compared to the Union's proposal, the City's proposal appears to be the more reasonable alternative. E. RECOMMENDATION The City's proposal on Article 28 should be adopted. 29 V. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION One final recommendation seems appropriate in this case. It is rare to find parties who have reached the Special Master level without first having devoted much more time to the negotiations process. Both parties in this case appear to be represented by highly competent and experienced spokespersons, who seem to enjoy a good professional working relationship with each other. I suggest that this good relationship can be enhanced in the future if negotiations continue for more than only one (or even a few) sessions. Those settlements which are reached through the negotiations process, and mutually agreed upon by both parties, are almost invariably more acceptable than those recommended by an outside third party. Additionally, the parties should consider using mediation prior to the next Special Master proceeding. Although mediation does not work in every case, it generally does enjoy a high rate of success in Florida's public sector bargaining • environment. A highly skilled and experienced professional mediator from other sources can be made available to the parties upon request to PERC. Under a special arrangement with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), mediators provided to Florida public employers and unions are free, with no fees charged to the parties. In closing, both party advocates are to be commended for their diligent efforts and professional manner in presenting their respective positions at the Special Master hearing. Based upon the powers vested in me by the Florida Statutes, and the submissions and stipulations ,of the parties, I hereby set my hand to this Recommended Decision on this 5th day of December, 1994. ause Special Master St. Petersburg, Florida 30 APPENDIX A MERIT STEP PLAN (BASED ON 24/48 SCHEDULE) FIREFIGHTER PAY HOURLY BI-WEEKLY APPROX. LEVEL RATE SALARY ANNUAL' SALARY ENTRY 7 . 1662 759 . 6154 19, 750. 00 11 7 .5102 796 . 0769 20 , 698 .00 F2 7 . 8706 834. 2884 21 , 691. 50 F3 8 . 2484 874. 3346 22 , 732 . 70 F4 8 . 6444 916 . 3026 23 , 823 . 87 F5 9 .0593 960 . 2850 24, 967 . 41 F6 9 .4941 1006 . 3788 26, 165 . 85 F7 9 . 9499 1054 . 6850 27 ,421 .81 ENGINEER HOURLY BI-WEEiKLY APPROX. RATE SALARY ANNUAL SALARY El 8 .3454 884. 6153 23 , 000. 00 E2 8 . 7460 927 . 0769 24, 104 . 00 J E3 9 . 1658 971 . 5765 25, 260 . 99 E4 9. 6058 1018 . 2123 26 ,473 .52 E5 10. 0668 1067 . 0865 27 , 744 . 25 E6 10 .5501 1118 .3065 29 , 075 . 97 E7 11 . 0565 1171 . 9853 30, 471 . 62 31 • . rl • y, APPENDIX A MERIT STEP PLAN (BASED ON 24/48 SCHEDULE) LIEUTENANT APPROXIMATE HOUR BI-WEEKLY ANNUAL LI 9 .4340 1000 . 0000 26 , 000.00 L2 9 .8868 1048 .0000 23 , 248 .00 L3 10. 3614 1098 . 3038 28 , 555 . 90 L4 10 .8587 1151 .0226 29 , 926 .59 L5 11 . 3799 1206 . 2715 31, 363 . 06 L6 11 . 9262 1264 . 1726 32, 868 .49 L7 12. 4986 1324. 8530 34, 446 . 18 32