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No., city of <br /> 44INEW <br /> H ON <br /> the city that works for you <br /> Council Worksession <br /> April 3, 2012 <br /> Present: Mayor Dave Jacobsen <br /> Councilmember Char Samuelson <br /> Councilmember Mary Burg <br /> Councilmember Paul Jacobsen <br /> Councilmember Gina Bauman <br /> Absent: None <br /> Staff in Attendance: City Manager Dean Lotter <br /> Assistant to the City Manager Schawn Johnson <br /> Others in Attendance: <br /> Ann Antonsen, Springsted <br /> The meeting was called to order at 5:30 PM. <br /> 2012 Non-Union Compensation: <br /> Per Council direction at the December 12, 2011 council meeting, City staff completed research regarding the <br /> possibility of implementing a merit pay program in-lieu of COLA and step increases for full-time and <br /> permanent part-time non-union staff members. City Manager Dean Lotter reported that City staff reviewed the <br /> merit pay concept with Attorney Mary Tietjen (Kennedy& Graven). Attorney Tietjen noted that state law <br /> prohibits government employees from receiving lump sum compensation. Lump sum compensation(or merit <br /> pay bonuses) could legally be considered a personal gift and therefore an unlawful City expenditure. Any <br /> compensation received by a government employee in the State of Minnesota must be tied to job performance. A <br /> merit pay program can be implemented by a government entity,but the entity must establish written guidelines <br /> and procedures regarding how the merit pay will be earned and paid before the program is implemented and in <br /> advance of the time employees can begin earning the additional compensation. <br /> City Manager Lotter introduced Ann Antonsen to the City Council. Ann Antonsen is a consultant from <br /> Springsted that was hired by the City to review its existing compensation plan for non-union personnel to <br /> determine if the compensation plan is competitive amongst the City's comparable cities. <br /> City Manager Lotter provided an overview of the memo that was provided to the City Council regarding <br /> compensation for non-union personnel. The memo from staff included an overview of the Pay Equity Act, <br /> information regarding the legal limitations of implementing a merit based bonus system, and potential action <br /> items for the City Council to consider in regards to compensation for non-union staff members. <br /> After much discussion, Council asked City Manager Dean Lotter and City staff to provide more information <br /> regarding 2012 non-union compensation and staff benefits. <br /> 1 <br />