Personnel

To ensure the successful delivery of city services by recruiting, developing, motivating, and retaining qualified employees to provide the highest possible level of public service. Personnel promotes and supports organizational excellence through effective human resources programming regarding benefits, compensation, training, safety initiatives, quality customer service, and professional development. All programs are administered in an environment that embraces diversity. Personnel also ensures that all employees are paid in accordance with applicable laws and collective bargaining agreements.

Personal Services are projected 1% lower than FY20. This is due to minimal increases in some areas of Personal Services due to adjustments in the Living Wage Ordinance and to meet obligations of negotiated collective bargaining agreements.

Overall, Ordinary Maintenance is proposed 5% lower than FY20. We conducted an assessment of what will be essential in FY21 to serve our employee population and maintain our core functions of staffing, development, compensation, benefits administration, safety/health and employee and labor relations as we reopen to the public from the COVID-19 closure. Towards that end, we reduced our budget significantly for valuable but discretionary items such as employee awards, our wellness program, non-union gym reimbursement, and employee training. At the same time, we are seeking increases in two lines: in professional & technical services, to be able to conduct searches for a rich pool of diverse, qualified candidates for critical management positions such as the Director of Human Resources and Chief of Police; and in arbitration services, to meet the needs for hearings postponed from Spring 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Special Items is proposed 110% higher than FY20. This is due to the transition of the Fire Education Incentive budget to Personnel, offset slightly by a reduction in the Non-Union Education account.