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Council approves on‑call pay, volunteer leave and adjusts holiday schedule
Summary
The Dell Rapids City Council approved three personnel changes: a new on‑call pay policy for hourly public works employees ($50 per day; $150 typical weekend), a 16‑hour annual paid community service leave policy, and a holiday schedule change recognizing Veterans Day (and approving the Friday after Thanksgiving) with procedures to automatically acknowledge governor/president‑declared holidays.
The Dell Rapids City Council approved multiple employee‑handbook changes after staff and human resources described the rationale and mechanics.
On‑call pay: Tammy Chamley, assistant finance officer and HR, said the revision compensates nonexempt public works employees who must remain available and often forgo personal commitments. “Providing on call pay compensates for the inconvenience and intrusion to personal time,” Chamley said. The policy sets $50 per day for being on call; the council clarified the weekend arrangement is Friday noon through Monday 7 a.m., so a typical weekend on‑call payment would be $150 (Friday afternoon/overnight combined, plus Saturday and Sunday at $50 each). If an employee is called in, they receive straight time or overtime as required by law; the policy applies to hourly (nonexempt) employees. Council approved the on‑call pay policy (motion by Chuck; second by Chad).
Volunteer leave: The council adopted a paid community service leave policy recommended by the policies & procedures committee that grants 16 hours of paid volunteer time annually to employees (calendar year, not carryover). Supervisors must pre‑approve activities and the city will track hours on employees’ timecards. The council clarified the 16 hours are annual and that hours should be taken in one‑hour increments for tracking. The motion to approve the 16‑hour annual policy passed (seconded by Chad).
Holidays: Staff proposed swapping the day after Thanksgiving for Veterans Day and making recognition of governor/president‑declared holidays automatic. After discussion about staffing and community service continuity, councilmember 4 moved to approve Veterans Day and the Friday after Thanksgiving as holidays and to continue allowing the council to approve other declared holidays. The motion passed on roll call (Yes: Meyer, Jones, Cavigelli, Ron Tagen; No: Hogg, Hanslick).
Each item was presented with operational clarifications (supervisor sign‑off for volunteer leave, definition of weekend on‑call coverage and overtime practice); the on‑call pay and volunteer leave policies were adopted by voice vote and the holidays change passed via roll call.
