Council adopts employee handbook updates including longevity and deferred-comp changes

City staff presented a proposed update to the municipal employee handbook that the council approved July 27, incorporating changes required by state law and initiatives the city proposed to retain talent.

Major updates included adding longevity pay tiers for employees with 10, 15 and 20 years of service (a modest percentage increase), implementing a 1% employer deferred-compensation contribution for nonunion employees (to match negotiated police changes), expanding bilingual-pay policy to add American Sign Language per state requirements, clarifying travel- and vehicle-use pay, and adding two paid holidays (the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve). Staff noted the changes were budgeted: longevity pay for nonunion employees was estimated at about $124,000 and the deferred-comp contribution at about $89,500. Staff also proposed administering Paid Leave Oregon as a locally administered, self-funded program rather than participating in the state program to reduce bureaucratic delays for employees while preserving budget neutrality.

Councilors questioned donated-leave discretion, blood-donation leave (now four hours), and bilingual-pay eligibility. Staff said Spanish is the currently recognized language that meets the "10% of the community" threshold for incentive pay; ASL will be covered because state law requires it regardless of community share. Council approved the handbook updates by roll call (motion passed 7–1 with one abstention on a related resolution), and staff said they would implement the changes per budget allocations.