Published: December 29, 2008 01:13 pm      

Amended Dalton meeting agenda includes cutting four jobs in city administration

SPECIAL CALLED MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEETING

DECEMBER 29, 2008

5 P.M.

DALTON CITY HALL



A G E N D A

1. Call to Order

2. Pledge of Allegiance

3. Public Commentary

4. Unfinished Business:

A. Second Reading and Adoption – FY-2009 City of Dalton General Operating Budget

5. New Business:

A. Appointment:

(1) Reappointment of Municipal Court Judge for a one-year term to expire December 31, 2009.

6. Supplemental Business

A. Resolution to Implement a Reduction in Force in the City Administrative Personnel

B. Ordinance – First Reading

(1) Ordinance 08-26

To Amend The City Of Dalton Employees’ Pension Plan By Amending Section 3 Captioned: “Normal Retirement” By the Addition Of A New Subsection 3.06 Captioned: “Special Normal Retirement Benefits For Certain Administrative Employees”; By Amending Section 4 Captioned: “Early Retirement” By the Addition Of A New Subsection 4.06 Captioned: “Special Early Retirement Benefits For Certain Administrative Employees”; To Provide For An Effective Date; To Provide For The Repeal Of Conflicting Ordinances; To Provide For Severability; And For Other Purposes.

7. Adjournment



To view this meeting online, please visit our Web site at www.cityofdalton-ga.gov.



RESOLUTION 08-07

Resolution To Implement A Reduction In Force In The City Administrative Personnel

WHEREAS, adverse economic conditions require the reduction of the number of city employees; and the Mayor and Council of the City of Dalton, Georgia, find it to be in the best interest of the City that a reduction in force be effected with respect to the city’s administrative personnel in the city finance, human resources, clerk and administration departments; and

WHEREAS, the Mayor and Council of the City of Dalton, Georgia, desire to accomplish said reduction in force through the elimination of certain positions and the early retirement of qualified administrative employees.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT AND IT HEREBY IS RESOLVED, by the Mayor and Council of the City of Dalton, Georgia, as follows:

-1-

Effective as of December 31, 2008, up to no more than four (4) positions will be eliminated within the city’s administrative personnel in the city finance, human resources, clerk and administration departments.

-2-

Each administrative employee who is terminated as a result of the eliminated positions set forth above shall be offered a severance payment equal to twenty-five percent (25%) of the employee’s current annual base salary less required withholdings. A condition precedent to the payment of such severance shall be the execution and delivery by the employee of a severance agreement provided by the city and the lapse of the statutory time for the revocation of the severance agreement without its revocation. This payment will be paid in a lump sum and will not count as compensation in the calculation of retirement benefits.

-3-

The city shall provide the following incentives to no more than one (1) administrative personnel who are not employed in a position to be terminated as set forth in paragraph 1 above, and who, by no later than 5:00 p.m. on December 30, 2008, offer to retire as employees of the city, and whose offer is accepted by the city. The city reserves the right to decline the offer of any employee:

Each qualified administrative employee whose offer to retire is accepted by the city and who delivers and does not revoke the required release will be paid an amount equal to twenty-five percent (25%) of the employee’s current annual base salary less required withholdings. This payment will be paid in a lump sum and will not count as compensation in the calculation of retirement benefits.

Each qualified administrative employee whose offer to retire is accepted by the city will be paid accrued but unused vacation and sick time up to the maximum set by city ordinance dated March 3, 1997. This time will count toward length of service and will be paid in a lump sum.

Each qualified administrative employee whose offer to retire is accepted by the city will be paid the incentives described in paragraphs (a) and (b) and credited with up to 2 years for retirement calculation purposes if such credit will cause the employee to attain the first to occur of minimum early retirement requirements or minimum normal retirement requirements under the city’s pension plan, as the case may be. The credit may be applied to years of service or age or to a combination of both, as necessary but not to exceed a total of two years.

-4-

The severance payment option shall terminate upon the city attaining its goal for the reduction in force of administrative personnel. Administrative employees who are involuntarily terminated for cause or for a reason other than the reduction in force shall not be eligible for the severance payment.

ADOPTED AND APPROVED, this ___ day of December 2008.



ATTESTED TO: CITY OF DALTON, GEORGIA





_________________________ _________________________

City Clerk David E. Pennington, Mayor



ORDINANCE 08-26



To Amend The City Of Dalton Employees’ Pension Plan By Amending Section 3 Captioned: “Normal Retirement” By the Addition Of A New Subsection 3.06 Captioned: “Special Normal Retirement Benefits For Certain Administrative Employees”; By Amending Section 4 Captioned: “Early Retirement” By the Addition Of A New Subsection 4.06 Captioned: “Special Early Retirement Benefits For Certain Administrative Employees”; To Provide For An Effective Date; To Provide For The Repeal Of Conflicting Ordinances; To Provide For Severability; And For Other Purposes.

BE IT ORDAINED by the Mayor and Council of the City of Dalton and by the authority of the same, IT IS HEREBY ORDAINED as follows:

Section 1.

Amend The City of Dalton Employees’ Pension Plan by amending Section 3 captioned: “Normal Retirement” by the addition of a new Subsection 3.06 captioned “Special Normal Retirement Benefits for Certain Administrative Employees”, which shall read as follows:

3.06 Special Normal Retirement Benefits for Certain Administrative Employees

Each “eligible Participant” (as such term is defined below for purposes of this Section 3.06) may apply to the City, on or before December 30, 2008, to Retire and receive the Normal Retirement benefit defined in this Section 3.05. An “eligible Participant” means any Participant who as of December 30, 2008 (i) is an administrative employee of the city finance, human resources, clerk or administration departments; (ii) applied to participate in the “Early Retirement Plan” for the city finance, human resources, clerk or administration departments established in 2008 (the “ERP”); and (iii) and was determined by the City to eligible to be a participant in the ERP eligible for Normal Retirement, taking into consideration the enhanced service benefit and/or enhanced age benefit provided under this Section and credited service for any accrued but unused vacation and sick leave up to the amount authorized pursuant to the resolution by the Mayor and Council dated March 3, 1997, with an effective date of April 1, 1997. Each eligible Participant whose application for special Normal Retirement benefits is approved by the City and who meets the criteria established by the City for such special benefits shall be an “approved Participant”. The enhanced service benefit provides the approved Participant with the minimum number of months of Credited Service that would allow the approved Participant to meet the requirements for Normal Retirement up to a maximum of twenty four (24) months. The enhanced age benefit deems the age of the approved Participant to be increased by the minimum number of months required for the approved Participant to reach the age requirement for Normal Retirement benefits up to a maximum of twenty four (24) months. An approved Participant eligible for the special Normal Retirement benefit under this Section 3.06 may divide the twenty four (24) months enhanced benefit between Credited Service and age, subject to the limits in the preceding two sentences. The application by an eligible Participant to receive a Normal Retirement benefit under this Section 3.06 must be made pursuant to the application procedures and requirements established by the Board. An approved Participant electing the special Normal Retirement benefit must Retire on or before December 30, 2008, as determined by the City. The Normal Retirement benefit of an approved Participant retiring under this Section 3.06 shall be equal to his or her Pension Benefit, which shall be determined after taking into account the enhanced service and/or age elected by the approved Participant.

Section 2.

Amend The City of Dalton Employees’ Pension Plan by amending Section 4 captioned: “Early Retirement” by the addition of a new Subsection 4.06 captioned “Special Early Retirement Benefits for Certain Administrative Employees”, which shall read as follows:

4.06 Special Early Retirement Benefits for Certain Administrative Employees

Each “eligible Participant” (as such term is defined below for purposes of this Section 4.06) may apply to the City, on or before December 30, 2008, to Retire and receive the Early Retirement benefit defined in this Section 4.06. An “eligible Participant” means any Participant who as of December 30, 2008 (i) is an administrative employee of the city finance, human resources, clerk or administration departments; (ii) applied to participate in the “Early Retirement Plan” for administrative employees of the city finance, human resources, clerk or administration departments established in 2008 (the “ERP”); and (iii) was determined by the City to be eligible to be a participant in the ERP eligible for Early Retirement, taking into consideration the enhanced service benefit and/or enhanced age benefit provided under this Section, and credited service for any accrued but unused vacation and sick leave up to the amount authorized pursuant to the resolution by the Mayor and Council dated March 3, 1997, with an effective date of April 1, 1997. Each eligible Participant whose application for Early Retirement is approved by the City and who is approved meets the criteria established by the City for such special benefits shall be an “approved Participant”. The enhanced service benefit provides the approved Participant with up to an additional twenty four (24) months of Credited Service under the Plan. The enhanced age benefit deems the age of the approved Participant to be increased by up to twenty four (24) months. An approved Participant electing the special Early Retirement benefit under this Section 4.06may divide the twenty four (24) months enhanced benefit between Credited Service and age, as long as an Early Retirement criterion is met. The application by an eligible Participant to receive an Early Retirement benefit under this Section 4.06 must be made pursuant to the application procedures and requirements established by the Board. An approved Participant electing the special Early Retirement benefit must Retire on or before December 30, 2008, as determined by the City. The Early Retirement benefit of an approved Participant retiring under this Section 4.06 shall be equal to his or her Pension Benefit, which shall be determined after taking into account the enhanced service and/or age elected by the approved Participant.

Section 4.

This Ordinance shall be effective upon the posting of this Ordinance in two (2) public places in the City of Dalton for five (5) consecutive days following its enactment by the Mayor and Council, the public health, safety, and welfare requiring it.

Section 5.

All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.

Section 6.

It is hereby declared to be the intention of the Mayor and Council of the City of Dalton that the section, paragraphs, sentences, clauses and phrases of this Ordinance are severable and if any phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section of this Ordinance shall be declared unconstitutional or otherwise invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction such unconstitutionality or invalidity shall not affect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs or sections of this Ordinance.

SO ORDAINED this ____ day of __________, 2008.

The foregoing Ordinance received its first reading on ____________________ and a second reading on ______________________. Upon second reading a motion for passage of the ordinance was made by Alderman _________________, second by Alderman ________________ and upon the question the vote is ____ ayes, ___ nays and the Ordinance is adopted.

ATTEST:



______________________________ _____________________________________

CITY CLERK MAYOR



A true copy of the foregoing Ordinance has been published in two public places within the City of Dalton for five (5) consecutive days following passage of the above-referenced Ordinance as of _____________________________.

___________________________________

CITY CLERK, CITY OF DALTON