Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Human Resources topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council presses to include paid family‑leave policy in strategic planning; manager estimates $600,000 cost
Summary
A council member urged adding a paternity/family‑leave policy to the strategic planning retreat; the city manager said one union contract provides six weeks of paid leave and staff preliminarily estimated the cost at more than $600,000, with nonunion staff currently using vacation or sick leave.
A council member asked that a paternity and broader family‑leave policy be added to the upcoming strategic planning retreat for the Wichita City Council and pressed for clarity about benefits and costs.
City manager said the issue will be discussed at the March strategic planning retreat and explained that current leave varies by bargaining agreement: “One of the contracts I think is 6 weeks, and right now, we've estimated over $600,000 cost,” staff said. The manager added that some contracts are silent on the benefit and that nonunion staff currently must use existing vacation or sick leave.
Why it matters: council members said the city should consider an employer‑provided family‑leave policy that applies broadly to employees, not just maternity leave. The council asked staff to prepare parameters and dollar estimates for budgeting and a possible vote during budget discussions later in March.
City manager said staff will outline options and estimated dollars for the strategic planning retreat so council can decide on a time frame and funding approach. No formal policy decision or vote was taken at this meeting.
