Hoover fire chief seeks policy change to move to 27-day Kelly schedule to aid recruitment

Chief Bentley asked the council to approve a revision to the city's personnel policies and public-safety pay scale that would move firefighters from a 26-day work cycle to a 27-day Kelly shift cycle, a change the chief said is intended to improve recruitment and retention.

Under the proposal, firefighters would still work eight shifts in the cycle but the change would reduce the typical workweek from about 52 hours to roughly 50 hours. Chief Bentley said the change does not increase total annual pay; rather, because hourly rates change when the workweek is redefined, accruals for annual leave, bonus leave and sick leave are adjusted to reflect the new work cycle. "We're not going to make any more money. The firefighters aren't getting a raise, are just working fewer hours in a week," the chief said.

Councilors asked whether overtime thresholds or pay formulas would change; staff said the FLSA threshold at 192 hours would remain in place and overtime would still be paid at one-and-a-half times the normal rate when employees work their Kelly day. Dr. Lopez and staff shared a cost analysis indicating that hiring the additional four positions needed for the schedule change is the principal cost and that other fiscal impacts are minimal.

Next steps: staff will include the personnel-policy revision and public-safety pay-scale adjustments on the June 22 agenda, provide supporting cost-analysis documentation and the council will review the proposed ordinance and budget effects before a final vote.