Port Arthur council questions HR reclassifications, seeks written policy

Port Arthur City Council members pressed city staff on Tuesday for clearer documentation showing when and how personnel reclassifications and pay-range changes are implemented, saying the information should be brought to council rather than embedded in budget schedules.

Council Member LaKeisha Doucette told staff she repeatedly sees positions removed from one department and added to another during the annual personnel schedule review and said such moves ‘‘need council approval.’’ Doucette asked staff to produce the specific written policy she said would show HR has authority to reclassify positions without returning to council.

City staff and HR representatives replied that the city adopts a wage-and-compensation plan and that HR assigns salary ranges to job descriptions under that plan. Staff said reclassifications within the adopted wage schedule are implemented administratively and do not require a separate council vote; they offered to furnish the personnel policy to council for review. "If you create a new job then you gotta come to council to approve that," a staff member said during the exchange.

Council members asked that any reclassification requests and the supporting documentation — including the rationale for upgrading a position (for example, moving a role from Range 17 to Range 28) and the funding impact on salaries and benefits — be presented with the budget or as a separate insert. Doucette said she wants to see reclassification forms and other supporting paperwork before approving budgets that include those positions.

Several council members emphasized transparency for constituents: they asked that the budget show not only the number of positions but the underlying changes (title changes, reclassifications, and funding sources) so citizens and council members can understand the financial impact. Staff agreed to provide the requested documentation and to supply the personnel policy language cited in the discussion.

Council discussion also touched on where authority lies and the distinction between creating a new position (which council must approve) and reclassifying an existing position within the adopted wage-and-compensation plan.

The council did not adopt any policy change during the workshop; members directed staff to provide the written personnel-policy documentation and inserts clarifying reclassifications and related costs for later review.