Title
From the Director of Human Resources, requesting authorization to amend Milwaukee County Ordinance 17.10 for advancement within a pay range related to Assistant Chiefs of Airport Rescue and Firefighting upon meritorious completion of two thousand seven hundred and four straight time hours paid.
Body
Background
Within the last two years, five new non-represented positions of Assistant Chief of Airport Rescue & Firefighting were created to provide 24/7/365 management coverage of Airport Rescue and Firefighting operations. Because of the need to schedule shifts that roughly correspond to Airport Firefighter shifts, each of these positions maintains an average work week of 52 hours, or 2,704 hours annually.
Under 17.10 of Milwaukee County General Ordinances (MCGO) - Advancement Within the Pay Range - employees are allowed to advance to next highest rate of pay in their pay range "upon the meritorious completion of 2,080 straight time hours paid." The historical intention of this ordinance was to provide that employees work a full year prior to being eligible for a step increase. As the ordinance currently stands, an Assistant Chief of Airport Rescue and Firefighting would be permitted to receive a step increase upon completion of 2,080 straight time hours, which constitutes only 77% of their normally scheduled work year.
Recommend Action
The Department of Human Resources recommends amending Chapter 17.10 MCGO as presented in the attached draft to specify that Assistant Chief of Airport Rescue & Firefighting may be advanced to the next highest step upon the meritorious completion of 2,704 straight time hours paid. This revision would prevent Assistant Chiefs from receiving step increases every nine months and would make ordinances consistent with the principle of no more than one step increase within a 12-month period.