REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: MARISSA SANCHEZ, Director
Personnel Services Department
SUBJECT
Title
Actions pertaining to Hiring Incentives and Referral Incentives for Qualified Police Officer Recruits, Lateral Police Officers, and Lateral Emergency Services Dispatcher II/IIIs:
1. ***RESOLUTION- Adopting the Eighteenth Amendment to FY 2022 Salary Resolution No. 2021-176, adding a new Section 26 to provide a Referral Incentive for employees who refer eligible candidates for Police Officer Recruit, lateral Police Officer, and lateral Emergency Services Dispatchers II or III who are hired by the City; and renumbering subsequent sections of the Salary Resolution accordingly (Subject to Mayor’s Veto)
2. ***Approve a Side Letter of Agreement with the Fresno Police Officers Association (FPOA), for Unit 4 - Non-Management Police, regarding Police Officer Lateral Hire Incentives (Subject to Mayor’s Veto)
3. ***Approve a Side Letter of Agreement with the Fresno City Employees Association (FCEA), for Unit 3 - Non-Supervisory White Collar, regarding Emergency Services Dispatcher Lateral Hire Incentives (Subject to Mayor’s Veto)
Body
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended Council: (1) adopt the Eighteenth Amendment to the Fiscal Year 2022 Salary Resolution No. 2021-176 to add a new Section to provide a Referral Incentive for employees who refer eligible candidates for Police Officer Recruit, lateral Police Officer, and lateral Emergency Services Dispatcher II or III who are hired by the City, and renumber subsequent sections accordingly; (2) approve a Side Letter of Agreement with FPOA which renews and amends the provision of hiring incentives for qualified lateral Police Officer hires and adds a hiring incentive for Police Officer Recruit hires; and (3) approve a Side Letter of Agreement with FCEA which renews a provision for incentives for qualified Emergency Services Dispatcher (ESD) II/III lateral hires and modifies the experience required for eligibility.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
To assist with continued efforts in achieving the City’s hiring goals for Police Officers and ESDs, Council is asked to approve the Eighteenth Amendment to the Fiscal Year 2022 Salary Resolution to add a provision to provide a Referral Incentive for all permanent City employees who refer eligible candidates who are ultimately hired by the City for Police Officer Recruit, lateral Police Officer, and lateral ESD II/IIIs; approve a Side Letter of Agreement with FPOA to renew and amend the provision of hiring incentives for qualified lateral Police Officer hires from other California police agencies and add a provision for hiring incentives for Police Officer Recruits; and renew the Side Letter of Agreement with FCEA which provides hire incentives for qualified ESD II/III lateral hires and modifies the experience required for eligibility from two years equivalent experience immediately prior to hire by the City to two years of consecutive experience in the three years immediately preceding application. The Salary Resolution amendment would be effective May 9, 2022, and the respective side letters with FPOA and FCEA would be retroactively effective July 1, 2021.
BACKGROUND
Salary Resolution Amendment to Add a Referral Incentive
Since the inception of the Lateral Police Officer Hire Incentives Side Letter, the Referral Incentive for employees who referred qualified lateral Police Officer hires was limited to current Fresno Police Officers. Likewise, since the commencement of the ESD Lateral Hire Incentives Side Letter, the Referral Incentive for employees who referred qualified lateral ESD hires was restricted to current ESDs with the Fresno Police Department. In order to effectively address recruitment and hiring difficulties in attracting experienced lateral Police Officers and lateral ESDs, and filling Police Officer Recruit positions, the Referral Incentive is being added to the Salary Resolution and expanded to all current permanent City employees to encourage the referral of qualified Police Officer Recruits, lateral Police Officers, and lateral ESDs to apply for and ultimately accept respective positions in the Fresno Police Department.
In addition, adding the new Section of the Salary Resolution to include the Referral Incentive provision requires the renumbering of subsequent sections of the Salary Resolution accordingly.
Salary Resolution Provisions
Current permanent City employees who refer an eligible candidate for Police Officer Recruit, lateral Police Officer, or lateral ESD II/III that is hired by the City as a permanent employee will receive a Referral Incentive of up to a total of one thousand dollars ($1,000) per referral.
Employees who refer a qualified Police Officer Recruit will be eligible for the Referral Incentive paid in two (2) increments of five hundred dollars ($500) each upon the Police Officer Recruit’s hire and commencement of work with the City; and upon the successful completion of the Fresno Police Department field training program.
Employees who refer a qualified lateral Police Officer will be eligible for the Referral Incentive paid in four (4) increments of two hundred fifty dollars ($250) each upon the lateral Police Officer’s hire and commencement of work with the City; upon the successful completion of the field training program, as determined by Police Administration; upon successful completion of the probationary period; and upon the successful completion of an additional twelve (12) months of City service following the successful completion of the probationary period.
Employees who refer a qualified ESD II or III will be eligible for the Referral Incentive be paid in four (4) increments of two hundred fifty dollars ($250) each upon the lateral ESD’s hire and commencement of work with the City; upon the successful completion of the ESD training program, as determined by Police Administration; upon completion of the probationary period; and upon the successful completion of an additional twelve (12) months of City service following the successful completion of the probationary period.
Only one current permanent City employee may receive the Referral Incentive for each eligible candidate hired by the City as a permanent Police Officer Recruit, lateral Police Officer, or lateral ESD II or III and the candidate must identify the referring employee in writing at the time of application.
Employees in the Personnel Services Department, members of the Police Department Recruiting Unit, and other employees directly involved in a candidate’s hiring process are not eligible to receive the Referral Incentive.
The Salary Resolution Amendment would be effective May 9, 2022.
Lateral Police Officer and Police Officer Recruit Hire Incentives Side Letter of Agreement
In 2015, Council approved a Side Letter of Agreement with FPOA which provided hiring incentives for lateral Police Officers and a referral incentive for current Fresno Police Officers who referred lateral hires through June 30, 2016. The Side Letter of Agreement has been renewed each year since with Council approval in recognition of the competitive employment environment for experienced Police Officers. The side letter will renew provisions and increase the hiring incentive from $10,000 to $15,000 for lateral Police Officer hires and add a provision for a $5,000 hiring incentive for Police Officer Recruit hires to address recruitment and hiring challenges, and encourage lateral Police Officer and Police Officer Recruit candidates to accept positions with the Fresno Police Department. Further, the limit of lateral Police Officer referrals by referring Officers is being removed to promote the referral of lateral Police Officers beyond five per employee.
Side Letter Provisions
Lateral hires are eligible for forty (40) hours of Vacation Leave and forty (40) hours of Sick Leave upon hire, a payment of $3,750 upon hire, $3,750 upon completion of the Police Department’s field training program, $3,750 upon successful completion of probation, and $3,750 after an additional one year of service following the completion of the probationary period. This equates to a value of $15,000 in hiring incentive pay and 80 hours of Sick/Vacation Leave per lateral Police Officer hire. Additionally, lateral Police Officer hires will be hired at the C Step or above. Further, lateral Police Officer hires will be credited with years of sworn service in previous employment for the purpose of determining vacation accruals.
In order to qualify for the incentives a lateral Police Officer hire must be currently working for another California law enforcement agency, have at least two years of experience as a Police Officer in a California law enforcement agency, possess a current California P.O.S.T. certificate, and must be hired by the Fresno Police Department.
The side letter is retroactively effective on July 1, 2021 and expires June 30, 2022, but can be renewed upon mutual agreement of the parties.
ESD II/III Lateral Hire Incentives Side Letter of Agreement
In 2018, the City Council approved a Side Letter of Agreement with the FCEA which provided hiring incentives for lateral ESDs and a referral incentive for current ESDs who referred lateral hires through June 30, 2019. The Side Letter Agreement has been renewed annually in recognition that the employment market for experienced ESDs is extremely competitive and to assist with continued efforts in rebuilding Emergency Services Dispatch staffing levels. The Side Letter will renew hiring incentive provisions to provide a useful tool in the recruitment of experienced ESDs. In addition, the Side Letter will modify the experience required for eligibility from two years of equivalent experience immediately prior to hire by the City to two years of consecutive experience in the three years immediately preceding application to broaden the candidate pool for qualified lateral ESDs.
Side Letter Provisions
Lateral hires are eligible for forty (40) hours of Vacation Leave and forty (40) hours of Sick Leave upon hire, a payment of $1,000 upon hire, $1,000 upon successful completion of a Police Department ESD training program, $1,000 upon successful completion of probation, and $1,000 after an additional one year of service following the completion of the probationary period. This equates to a value of $4,000 in hiring incentive pay and 80 hours of Sick/Vacation Leave per lateral Police Officer hire. Additionally, lateral hires will be hired at the C Step or above.
In order to qualify for the incentives a lateral hire must have two years of consecutive experience in the three years immediately preceding application in a class equivalent to an ESD II with the City of Fresno, and must be hired by the Fresno Police Department.
The side letter is retroactively effective from July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022, but can be renewed upon mutual agreement of the parties.
The City Attorney’s Office has approved the Salary Resolution and side letters as to form.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
By the definition provided in the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines Section 15378 this item does not qualify as a “project” and is therefore exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act requirements.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference is not implicated because this item does not involve public contracting or bidding with the City of Fresno.
FISCAL IMPACT
In FY21 the Police Officer Lateral Hire Incentives Side Letter of Agreement resulted in the payment of $78,300 in incentives. Some of the incentive payments were for lateral hire Police Officers hired before FY20 due to the structure of the incentive program.
In FY21 the ESD Lateral Hire Incentives Side Letter of Agreement resulted in $1,000 in incentives.
Lateral Hire and Referral Incentives will be paid from salary savings in the Police Department and do not require additional appropriations.
Attachments:
Resolution - Eighteenth Amendment to Fiscal Year 2022 Salary Resolution No. 2021-176
Salary Resolution Narrative - Eighteenth Amendment to Fiscal Year 2022 Salary Resolution No. 2021-176 - Redline
Salary Resolution Narrative - Eighteenth Amendment to Fiscal Year 2022 Salary Resolution No. 2021-176 - Final
Side Letter of Agreement between the City and FPOA - Lateral Police Officer / Police Officer Recruit Hire Incentives
Side Letter of Agreement between the City and FCEA - Lateral ESD II/III Hire Incentives