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City Council Minutes Page 12 <br />September 4, 2018 <br />Ms. Wipper said there had been some. <br />Councilmember Wagner asked if there was any negative feedback from the public <br />regarding summer hours. Are there any issues with coverage? <br />Mr. Pormer said department managers take staffing needs into consideration when <br />approving vacation requests. <br />Mayor Dietz asked if vacation hours were consistent for all staff members. <br />Ms. Wipper said some applicants negotiate starting at a greater number of vacation <br />days. <br />Councilmember Ovall said the current amount of vacation compensation seems <br />extremely generous and he can only carry over 40 hours per year in his profession. <br />Mayor Dietz does not see a need to change the current policy. <br />Councilmember Wagner added the city recently went through a large compensation <br />plan update which included salary adjustments. She can't support the vacation hour <br />adjustment at this time. <br />Councilmember Westgaard agreed the current policy is generous considering sick <br />time and bereavement time where in addition. Employees who have been with the <br />city for a long time are looking at an accrual of up to five weeks. <br />Councilmember Ovall said it may be understandable if it were difficult to find <br />employees. <br />Councilmember Olsen asked Ms. Wipper if the current hiring environment was <br />competitive and if vacation incentivizes people to take the job or not. <br />Ms. Wipper said it is currently a competitive hiring environment and the vacation day <br />incentive would depend on if they were coming from the public or private sector. <br />The consensus was not to change the current policy <br />Ms. Wipper outlined a proposed parental leave policy. The policy would provide 2-3 <br />weeks of paid leave in the event of a birth or adoption. Currently, employees must <br />use vacation or sick time down to 40 hours and then continue using time without <br />pay. Younger employees, who are more likely to be starting a family, have not <br />accrued a very large vacation balance to use. The city does not have very many <br />employees having or adopting children each year. <br />Councilmember Westgaard has seen this trend with the younger workforce <br />preferring to have time off as a benefit and their value drivers are different. <br />eor[s[o er <br />NATU <br />