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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity of Tamarac Resolution R-2003-135Temp Reso. #10166 Page 1 June 10, 2003 CITY OF TAMARAC, FLORIDA RESOLUTION NO. R-2003 - / 3'S— A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF TAMARAC, FLORIDA AUTHORIZING THE APPROPRIATE CITY OFFICIALS TO SEEK GRANT FUNDING IN THE AMOUNT OF $125,000 FROM THE FEDERAL MEDIATION AND CONCILIATION SERVICE THROUGH THE LABOR- MANAGEMENT COOPERATION PROGRAM TO SUPPORT THE TAMARAC EMPLOYEE SAFETY COMMITTEE AND ENHANCE THE CITY'S SAFETY PROGRAM PROVIDING FOR A $12,500 CASH MATCH AND A TOTAL PROJECT COST OF $137,500; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, the City Commission of the City of Tamarac desires to support the joint labor-management Tamarac Employee Safety Committee and enhance the City's safety programs; and WHEREAS, the Tamarac Employee Safety Committee is the City's first joint labor-management committee that involves representatives from the International Association of Fire Fighters, the Federation of Public Employees, and management; and WHEREAS, the Tamarac Employee Safety Committee and the Human Resources Department, Risk & Safety Division, propose to enhance the City's safety program utilizing a dedicated Safety Coordinator; and 1 Temp. Reso. # 10166 Page 2 June 10, 2003 1 WHEREAS, a Safety Coordinator will assist the Tamarac Employee Safety Committee and the Human Resources Department, Risk & Safety Division in achieving regulatory compliance and creating injury and loss prevention programs; and WHEREAS, the cooperative efforts of the Tamarac Employees Safety Committee and the enhanced safety program can result in a safer work environment, increase employee morale, lower turnover, and heighten the image of the City of Tamarac as a safe place to live and work; and WHEREAS, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, through the Labor - Management Cooperation Program, provides funds to support joint -labor management committees; and WHEREAS, the grant request is $125,000, providing for a $12,500 match, and a total project cost of $137,500, to include the salary and benefits of a Safety Coordinator for 18 months, office furniture and computer equipment, and additional specialized safety training programs; and WHEREAS, the City Manager and the Director of Human Resources recommend filing of the application (attached hereto as "Exhibit A"); and WHEREAS, the City Commission of the City of Tamarac deems it to be in the best interest of the citizens and residents of the City of Tamarac to submit a grant application in the amount of $125,000, providing for a $12,500 City match, and a total project cost of $137,500, to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service through the Labor - Management Cooperation Program to support the Tamarac Employee Safety Committee and enhance the City's safety program. Temp. Reso. # 10166 Page 3 June 10, 2003 n NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF TAMARAC, FLORIDA: Section 1: The foregoing "WHEREAS" clauses are hereby ratified and confirmed as being true and correct and are hereby made a specific part of this resolution. Section 2: The appropriate City officials are hereby authorized to submit the Labor - Management Cooperation Program grant application (attached hereto as "Exhibit A") and made a part hereof requesting $125,000 providing for a cash match of $12,500 for a total project cost of $137,500. Section 3: All resolutions in conflict herewith are hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict. Section 4: If any clause, section, other part or application of this Resolution is held by any court of competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional or invalid, in part or in application, it shall not affect the validity of the remaining portion or applications of this Resolution. Temp. Reso. # 10166 Page 4 June 10, 2003 Section 5: This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon its adoption. PASSED, ADOPTED AND APPROVED this 25t" day of June, 2003. ATTEST: MARION SWENSON, CMC CITY CLERK I HEREBY CERTIFY that I have approved this RESOLUTION as to form. JOE SCHREIBER MAYOR RECORD OF COMMISSION VOTE: MAYOR SCHREIBER DIST 1: COMM. PORTNER DIST 2: COMM. FLANSBAUM-TALABISC DIST 3: COMM. SULTANOF DIST 4: VIM ROBERTS ;. MITCHELL S. KRAFT r �) CITY ATTORNEY 1 1 L-.1 TR 410166 Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service Exhibit "All Labor -Management Cooperation Program City of Tamarac, Florida Tamarac Employee Safety Committee and Safety Coordinator Grant Narrative DRAFT Problem Statement The City of Tamarac is having difficulty reducing the number employee injuries and safety incidents. The City's management and the City's two labor unions, the International Association of Fire Fighters, Local 3080, and the Federation of Public Employees, District 1 intend to address this issue and develop a better safety culture. Several challenges exist in accomplishing this goal. Labor employees indicate that safety -related suggestions are not implemented quickly enough. Employees are also reticent about providing information about accidents and incidents. Front line supervisors feel that there is insufficient safety training both initially and on an on -going basis. Management desires a strong safety culture, but they must also consider resource constraints when prioritizing projects and programs. Of particular concern are the on -duty strain and sprain injuries and vehicle accidents. A large majority of these incidents are preventable. With 396 employees, the City has had an average of 45 injuries requiring medical attention per year over the last six years as indicated in Appendix A. Nearly 40% of the City's injuries are in the strain and sprain category. Vehicle accidents account for a large number of safety incidents. Although they do not all result in injuries, 34% of all safety incidents involve a City vehicle. The City's insurance rates have also risen as a result of the frequency and severity of injuries and reportable incidents. The average cost for an injury in 1998 was $2,961; in 2002 the average cost jumped to $4,562. These costs only include indemnity, medical, and legal expenses and do not capture additional costs such as overtime to fill vacant positions, retraining, downtime, or property and equipment damages. These accidents and injuries affect the health and well-being of employees, decrease productivity, increase costs, and are detrimental to the morale of employees. Labor and management realize communication should flow freely in both directions. The relationship between labor and management in the City is not adversarial, however communication issues exist. Both labor and management are committed to improving the safety culture, and to that end, the first joint labor- management committee in the City was created in October of 2002. The new committee, the Tamarac Employee Safety Committee (TESL), meets to discuss safety issues and make recommendations for improvements to the City's safety programs. Members of both labor unions and management participate in the Page 1 of 4 Tamarac Employee Safety Committee and Safety Coordinator DRAFT committee. The Risk Manager acts as an ex-officio member of the Committee and coordinates the Committee's activities. While the TESC was a good first step in improving the labor-management relationship and communication among the parties, the committee has found it challenging to address the wide variety of safety issues the City confronts. There is no designated staff member to collect information, develop programs, implement suggestions, or evaluate outcomes. The TESC has proposed the addition of one full-time staff member, with experience in developing and implementing safety programs, to create a comprehensive safety program and help the TESC create a safety -conscious atmosphere throughout the City. Benefits Expected The TESC is unique because it brings together employees in different jobs, represented by different unions. These employees are working together for the first time and working with management for the first time to address issues of mutual interest and concern. The addition of a dedicated Safety Coordinator will enhance the efforts of the TESC as the individual will be able to commit the time necessary to address employee and management concerns and serve as a communication bridge between labor and management. The Safety Coordinator will develop a comprehensive safety program to address the most pressing safety issues facing the City, as well as the developing long-term goals and objectives to increase the overall health and safety of employees. With the implementation of the new position, and through the continued efforts of the TESC, a new safety culture will be fostered. Approach The initiation of the TESC was a good first step in achieving better labor management relations by addressing an area of common concern. Volunteers were solicited to participate in the TESC, which is made up of representatives from the operating departments at labor, supervisory, and management levels including: Eddie Benitez, Transportation Supervisor George Conroy, Public Works, Landscape Crew Leader Fred Hoffman, Chief Plumbing Inspector Scott London, Utilities Operations Manager Lance Moll, Parks Superintendent Duane Pierce, Firefighter/Paramedic Doug Ritchie, Public Works Operations Manager Rick Ruh[, Water Plant Operator Kingman Schuldt, Assistant Fire Chief, (Chair of the Committee) Wayne Thies, Planning & Zoning Manager Patty Tomaszewski, Risk & Safety Manager (ex-officio member) Page 2 of 4 Tamarac Employee Safety Committee and Safety Coordinator DRAFT Safety meetings are also held in the operating departments. The Utilities Department and Public Works Department also have sub -committees to address specific safety issues within their departments. The TESC is investigating forming additional safety sub -committees in other departments to help reduce accidents. To date, the committee has met seven times. Their focus has been on the accident investigation procedure and developing the role of TESC and department sub -committees and identifying means to gather input from all employees. By examining accident and incident data and statistics, the Committee determined that strain/sprain injuries and vehicle incidents were a high priority. However, the Committee does not have budgeted funding and it is limited in what can be accomplished without additional resources. Currently, the Risk Manager acts as a staff liaison for the Committee. Recent growth in the City, expanded special event programs and improvement projects, increased deductible claims handling requirements and regulatory compliance initiatives have greatly increased the workload in the Risk Management Division. Daily activities such as maintenance of the drug -free program, medical surveillance, contract reviews, claims administration, and training consume the current staffs workload capacity. Although the Risk Management Division's daily activities help lower over liability, they do not make a sufficient impact in safety prevention activities. Increasing population and business growth have created additional demands on the City's limited resources. Federal funding to support the creation of a new Safety Coordinator position and program will provide the seed money necessary to get the program started. Once the program has been developed, cost savings projected from decreased accidents and incidents will help offset the costs of maintaining the position in the City's budget. The TESC will work with Human Resources and the Risk & Safety Manager to develop a job description and general expectations for the new Safety Coordinator. The City will seek an individual with sufficient knowledge and experience to get the program up and running as soon as possible. Although the City has collected some statistics on injuries and incidents, it has little information regarding the general safety attitudes and knowledge of employees. The Safety Coordinator will assist with collecting this information to help identify strengths and weaknesses of the existing programs and help target the highest priority issues. Major Milestones TESC and Human Resources to develop a job description for Safety Coordinator Hire a Safety Coordinator Page 3 of 4 Tamarac Employee Safety Committee and Safety Coordinator DRAFT Safety Coordinator to collect information about safety attitudes and concerns Research and identify a new safety tracking software program Safety Coordinator works with TESC to develop goals and objectives for comprehensive safety program Safety Coordinator creates programs to address priority safety issues Safety Coordinator researches and identifies a consultant for vehicle safety program Safety Coordinator and TESC monitor results of newly implemented programs Evaluation The Risk Management Division tracks accidents and incidents for all departments. The new program will be evaluated in several ways. The primary indicator of success will be a reduction in accidents and incidents tracked using the new software program. Feedback will also be collected from employees who undergo safety training to continually improve the process. Through TESC members, feedback will also be solicited from all departments and all levels on safety needs. Finally, after the programs have been implemented and have been in place for a year, another survey will be conducted with management and employees regarding safety attitudes and concerns to gage the overall success of the program. Budget Safety Coordinator Salary (18 months) $ 62,250 Benefits $ 20,880 Office Furniture $ 1,000 Telephone & Installation $ 470 Computer $ 1,500 Safety Tracking Software $ 5,000 Vehicle Safety Consultant/Program $ 30,000 Other Safety Training 17,400 TOTAL $137,500 Page 4 of 4