To: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council
From: Steve Potter, City Manager
Prepared By: Liz Habkirk, Deputy City Manager
TITLE:
Title
Voluntary Natural Disaster Leave Donation Bank Program
LABEL
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommendation
Adopt a resolution establishing a Voluntary Natural Disaster Leave Donation Bank Program to assist employees impacted by natural disasters.
Body
DISCUSSION:
Over the last several years the frequency and intensity of natural disasters in the Napa region have resulted in tremendous upheaval for community members, including City employees and their families. These negative impacts have included evacuations, damage, and loss of homes. As an outcome of bargaining in 2019, the City and representatives of the City employee bargaining groups began discussing potential opportunities for assisting employees in managing a personal impact to their home caused by a natural disaster.
In lieu of a voluntary leave donation program being established after the “LNU Lightning Complex Fire” and “Glass Fire” which impacted employees in the Fall of 2020, the City Council directed the City Manager to establish a City-sponsored disaster leave program for the remainder of calendar year 2020. Based on the program requirements, 25 qualifying staff were provided with 614 hours of leave to assist them in managing the impacts of a natural disaster.
Since the adoption of the 2020 City-Sponsored program, staff and bargaining unit representatives have met and developed a Voluntary Disaster Leave Program.
Today’s resolution will approve a voluntary leave donation program to assist employees in future natural disasters, and authorize the City Manager to finalize an Administrative Regulation to implement the program. The proposed Administrative Regulation is shown on Attachment 2. Like the City’s Catastrophic Sick Leave program, the program will establish the ability for employees to donate discretionary leave such as management leave and vacation, to a bank of time that would be made available to their fellow employees experiencing impacts of natural disasters. The criteria to receive a donation of time would include being subject to a mandatory evacuation or the loss/damage of their primary residence. The grant of time would be limited to no more than 40-hours per employee.
The Administrative Regulation provides the specific requirements of the program to maintain compliance with IRS regulations, and includes a role for employee representatives from each bargaining group to make recommendations for approval of disaster leave requests to the City Manager.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS:
The establishment of a voluntary leave donation program does not generate a new financial impact the City.
CEQA:
The City Manager has determined that the Recommended Action described in this Agenda Report is not subject to CEQA, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(c).
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
ATCH 1 - Resolution
ATCH 2 - Administrative Regulation
NOTIFICATION:
Bargaining Units Representatives.