Beth McMinn, finance director, told the Duval City Council on Sept. 2 that she is proposing a payroll processing change from the city's current semimonthly system to a biweekly pay cycle. "One of the most important responsibilities of any finance team is payroll processing," McMinn said, adding that more staff questions about pay and overtime prompted the review. She said semimonthly pay yields 24 paychecks a year with "86.67 regular hours" per pay period, while biweekly yields 26 paychecks a year with a standardized 80-hour work period and pay dates "every other Friday."

McMinn told council the Washington Administrative Code requires employers to pay wages no later than 10 days after the end of the pay period and that the city's current and proposed timing complies with that requirement. She said biweekly pay would "simplify overtime calculations with no splitting of regular time and overtime into different pay periods and pay checks," reduce manual calculations and processing errors, and provide clearer pay stubs that align with actual hours worked.

Council members pressed staff on likely challenges. McMinn and other staff flagged transitional issues: a short transitional pay period will be needed, accrual calculations must be audited, and staff training and communication will be required because "the 2 additional paychecks would have no deductions per benefits, which may be confusing for staff." McMinn said finance would work with the city's UKG system administrator to set the system up in advance and that per UKG the system payroll setting can be changed "within 24 hours of notice."

Council members also asked about bargaining and outreach. McMinn said the change is a mandatory subject of bargaining and that she expects negotiations with unions and feedback from employees: "So, the sense would be that we would get employee feedback as part of that." She and others recommended choosing a transition date that keeps the short pay period as brief as possible; McMinn mentioned Dec. 1, 2025, or February 2026 as candidate transition windows that would minimize short-pay stretches.

No formal council action was taken at the meeting; staff were given direction to continue planning, to involve union bargaining, and to develop a communication and training plan and internal accrual-audit process before returning with an implementation timeline and materials for council review.

A number of implementation risks remain, including two extra pay cycles per year (more processing), the need for a short transitional pay period, and the effects on benefit deductions and accrual calculations. McMinn said councilors and staff would be kept informed and that finance would aim to keep the transition period as short as feasible to avoid gaps in employee pay.