Commission advances Chapter 24 updates, including voluntary separation incentive authority

Ellie, the city’s human-resources director, presented proposed amendments to Chapter 24 of the city ordinances on June 17, telling the civil service commission the changes are intended chiefly to align ordinance language with current policy and add limited new authority for the city council.

Ellie said the draft replaces references to "personnel director" with "human resources director," updates gendered pronouns, and shifts the annual plan deadline from June 1 to July 1 to match practice. She called out a proposed addition to section 24-50 that would let city council direct the city manager to create and administer a voluntary separation incentive program — described in the presentation as an option to facilitate voluntary reduction in force and illustrated as a three-month salary incentive for eligible, off-probation employees who apply and are approved.

Other changes include aligning nepotism language with internal policy, replacing legacy "annual/sick/maternity" leave language with a consolidated paid-time-off policy, and clarifying probationary employment language to reflect a minimum six-month probation tied to the proposed pay plan.

Motion and vote: following the presentation, a commissioner moved and another seconded approval of the Chapter 24 updates on first reading. The roll-call vote was recorded as unanimous yes and the motion carried; the commission will forward the recommendation to city council for further consideration.

Context: staff described this as a first reading; additional review and public comment are scheduled for the next meeting. The voluntary separation authority in the draft is written to give council direction authority while leaving detailed program rules to be defined later by the city manager and pay-plan documents.