Council committee moves to stop clawback of city pay during military training for non‑veteran employees

The Finance & Personnel Committee approved an ordinance June 18 that eliminates the city’s long‑standing practice of reducing a city employee’s municipal pay by the amount of military pay they receive for training, regardless of whether the employee has statutory veterans preference.

City Comptroller Bill Christiansen explained the current practice differs by veteran status. Under existing city ordinance, employees who do not meet state‑statutory ‘‘veteran’’ definitions have their city pay reduced by whatever compensation they receive from the military for training time; employees who meet veterans preference in ordinance do not have that deduction. The proposed ordinance removes the clawback for military training pay and treats all employees the same while leaving existing caps in place (80 hours per year for most employees; 88 hours for firefighters).

Christiansen told the committee that administering the clawback consumes hundreds of staff hours annually and that the city’s annual clawback recoveries have averaged about $16,000 per year over the past decade. Committee members, including alderpersons who are veterans, framed the change as a measure to avoid discouraging service and to reduce administrative work. The ordinance was adopted in committee and will be implemented beginning in the pay period starting July 20, subject to final steps including notification and coordination with labor negotiators; city staff said they had discussed the change with union representatives and expected agreement.

The action drew broad support from committee members. Alderwoman Larissa Taylor, who sponsored the change and spoke about her own service, said the ordinance removes a disincentive for employees performing required military training.

The committee added Alderman Peter Bergellis as a co‑sponsor by unanimous consent during the floor action.