Finance Director Beth McMinn told the Duval City Council on Sept. 2 that the finance team is proposing a change in the city’s payroll cycle from semimonthly (24 paychecks) to biweekly (26 paychecks) to simplify overtime calculations and reduce manual payroll processing errors. McMinn said the annual salary amounts would not change, only the timing and frequency of paychecks.
The proposal would standardize pay periods to two-week cycles (80 hours), with pay dates every other Friday. McMinn said Washington Administrative Code requires employers to pay wages no later than 10 days after the end of the pay period and that the city would continue to comply with that rule. She described benefits including clearer overtime computation, more consistent pay dates for employees, and reduced manual payroll corrections.
Council members and staff asked about union response, staff communications and the timing of a transition. McMinn said the change is a mandatory subject of bargaining with unions, and the city would negotiate terms and solicit employee feedback during that process. She advised against making the transition on Jan. 1 and said the administration favors a date that produces the shortest possible transitional short pay period — for example, Dec. 1, 2025 or February 2026 — so employees are not left with an extended short pay period.
McMinn identified risks and planned mitigation: additional administrative cycles (two extra pay runs per year), staff training on how deductions will appear across paychecks, internal accrual audits to ensure accurate leave balances during the transition, system setup changes with UKG timekeeping, and a short transitional pay period. She said UKG can change payroll settings within 24 hours of notice but the communication and staff training are expected to be the most time-consuming work.
No formal action or vote was taken; McMinn said staff will return with negotiated terms and an implementation plan after union discussions and internal review.