Benefit Update
The city is still in Phase 1 of the RFP process for health insurance. Looking at the competitive bids and determining if there is any better being offered. If not they have the option to stay with the current health care provided. The city will be ending an update out to the employees on the process soon. Departments can also request a visit from benefits to hold a lunch and learn on wellness and other benefits offered by the city, a request can be made to your business rep. on site.
A committee was formed to review the 457 plan to discuss benefits and costs, look at possible inclusion of a ROTH.
Compensation and Recruitment Update
The city has indicated wage compression is still their number one focus. They are also tracking inflation, and two pieces of legislation that could negatively impact their revenues. CPS revenue and a possible limit on property taxes. If passed this legislation could have a negative impact on whether the city can do wage compression this year, or only a COLA. AFSCME has alerted our lobbyist in Austin to get us updates on what is currently happening with these bills. In the meantime, the city continues to review positions most impacted by wage compression and develop formulas to how to address it.
Retention
The city reported overall vacancy rates for the city is currently 12.6% - down from the previous review. Vacancy rates for Solid Waste dropped to 4%, a new low since the efforts to recruit and hire more rapidly took effect. The city will continue to review
Communications
The city is encouraging everyone to participate in the annual survey to determine if changes should be made within department to better communications and operations within the department. It was asked whether the question on salary satisfaction would determine the cities efforts on addressing wage compression or COLA’s, to which the representative indicated it would not. The question was to determine if employees were satisfied with the last round of increases or if the city needs to do better.
AFSCME EMC Sub Committee assignments for 2023
Policy – Sheri Van Horsen, Patricia Reck, Rosalia Hubbs
Benefits – Sheri Van Horsen, Liz Rios, Maria Villegas
Compensation – Sheri Van Horsen, Rosalia Hubbs, Roberta Vela
Communications – EMC Newsletter – Sheri Van Horsen, Victoria Garcia
Next meeting for full EMC tentatively set for July 19th.
Please feel free to reach out to your EMC members to share comments and concerns.
