Council directs staff to update personnel policies; staff to prioritize urgent items and return with final manual

Fair Oaks Ranch city leaders on Feb. 20 directed staff to proceed with a comprehensive rewrite of the personnel policies manual, asking that urgent items be prioritized for earlier adoption and that the full revised manual be returned to council for final approval.

Assistant City Manager Jim Williams briefed council on the review, noting the last council-adopted personnel manual dates from February 2006 and that federal and state employment law, the city charter and internal practices have changed substantially since then. “We probably should talk to the council about how we're going to tackle this thing before we really get too far down the trail,” Williams said.

Staff recommended delegating development of the updated policies to the city manager while returning to council for final approval and for any policy items with material financial impact. Councilors discussed three broad approaches: (1) deliver the whole updated manual at once, (2) bring section-by-section updates over multiple sessions, or (3) delegate development to the city manager with council review and approval of the final manual. Several council members favored a hybrid of options 1 and 3 — allow staff to develop the revisions, implement urgent fixes quickly, and bring grouped policy blocks to council for review rather than holding numerous line-by-line work sessions.

Williams said the FY 2024–25 budget appropriated $10,000 for consultant and legal review and staff estimated an in-house-driven rewrite could be completed in roughly six months. City legal staff advised that personnel policies are final policy of the council under the city charter and therefore the council must adopt the final manual; staff proposed a process that preserves council oversight while aiming to reduce the number of required work sessions. The city identified several high-priority items to address first, including grievance and appeals procedures that currently reference a city administrator position that no longer exists in the charter.

Council directed staff to proceed, implement urgent changes that cannot wait and return with grouped policy packages for council review and approval. Council member Greg (last name not specified) suggested a “block grouping” approach so the council can provide input without becoming the day-to-day HR manager. Jonathan Swirk, a resident, asked about timing; staff estimated about six months from start to final product.

What happens next: Staff will begin the rewrite, implement critical/urgent policy updates as needed, and return to council with grouped policy packages and a final manual for formal adoption. If an urgent legal or financial issue arises during the rewrite, staff said they will bring that single item to council immediately.

Speakers quoted in this article are drawn from council discussion and staff presentation and are listed in the meeting record.