The Virginian-Pilot
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CHESAPEAKE
No, city officials insist, it's not a bonus.
But about 3,400 Chesapeake employees could get one-time checks of $100 or $200 as the city transitions to a new pay cycle, if the City Council approves it Tuesday.
The payments would cost the city $1.5 million. Some council members expect the discussion next week to be heated, especially as the city prepares to do layoffs and tries to endure the recession.
"It's not a bonus," City Manager William Harrell said. "A bonus is based on performance. This is a one-time transition check to help employees move to a new cycle."
Here's the issue: Some c ity employees are paid every week, and others are paid twice a month. Under the new plan, all employees will be paid every two weeks starting in August.
Officials say the issue can be clearly seen by looking at the weekly employees, 40 percent of whom earn about $24,000 a year. With the new system, those front-line workers will have to go two weeks without a check during the transition.
"We're thinking about those people," Harrell said. "They are the most vulnerable in the work force."
For an employee who will go from being paid twice a month to once every two weeks, "you're getting 26 smaller checks" instead of 24 checks, Deputy City Manager Betty J. Meyer said.
Officials are concerned that the new cycle could throw off employees' personal budgets as they adjust. Many employees will have to wait until December before they catch up on pay under the new cycle, officials said. Harrell said the city would encourage employees to save the one-time payments.
"It's really just a bridge," Harrell said. He noted that city employees did not get raises this year and have to pay rising health insurance costs.
The city is installing new human resources software, and officials say it will be more cost-efficient if everyone is paid at the same time.
To pull off the one-time payments, the city would also pay taxes on behalf of employees, which explains the higher cost of the program. So the total funding needed for a $200 net check, for instance, would actually be about $350, officials say.
The council originally set aside $400,000 to make transition payments to employees who are paid each week. Those payments will happen in August. But the new proposal would cost an additional $1.1 million - taken from anticipated year-end savings - to extend $200 payments to more of the work force. Those payments would happen in September.
Several council members, including Mayor Alan Krasnoff, declined to comment on the proposal until they heard more about it.
Mike Saewitz, (757) 222-5207, mike.saewitz@pilotonline.com
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Do not forget....
....that the recipients are also taxpayers and have contributed to the city's funds. The recipients are already underpaid as it is. Give them a break! By the way, none of my friends or family are city employees. I have nothing to gain. I just recognize fairness and appreciate those who have provided professional services for my family over many years. Chesapeake has the best mayor and council it has had in many, many years. Show somw gratitude!
Notice, savings, etc.
1st, as many posters pointed out, there was no notice of the change on the part of the City. Next, if the City needed to go from 3 pay cycles (weekly, bi-weekly and bi monthly) to save money, they should have adopted the bi-monthly pay cycles as that would mean only 24 pay periods per year verse the 26 pay periods they adopted. Finally, current weekly and bi-weekly employees will not lose any money from their household budget the new pay periods although the weekly employees will skip 1 check. However, bi-monthly employees will lose money until 12/31. Do the math: A $24,000/yr employee was paid $1000($24,000/24) per pay period from 1/1/09 through 7/30/09 for a total of $14,000. After the change, this employee will get $923($24,000/26) per pay check for the next 11 checks (2 per month until a 3rd check is paid on 12/31/09). This employee will be short $154 per month from August through December for a total of $770. On 12/31/09, they get that $770 back plus $153 to put back for January’s shortfall. Then, they start over, $177 short on their budget each month. Now, I am not sure how your bills work, but mine will not be reduced or delayed for the next 5 months until my pay
rest of post
checks can “catch up.” Chesapeake does not seem to be the “City that Cares” when it comes to their employees.
Not Stewards of the Public Fisc
As Chesapeake cuts services to its citizens due to funding reductions, the City Manager has found some $1.5M to provide a "bridge" payment to its employees. Not to be confused with a "bonus", the payment having nothing to do with performance, this payment is being made for the incovenience of either being paid less often and having to live two weeks between checks (weekly employees) or apparently, according to the Deputy City Manager, being paid more often and having 26 smaller checks (monthly employees). The payment is being made from "projected savings", savings no doubt realized from reductions in services, and so, I suppose, is viewed as "free" money to the bureaucrats. This sort of spending of taxpayers' hard earned money is unwise in the best of times, irresponsible during the current financial situation. As a City employee pointed out, it takes only 10,000 votes to change Council - I would urge the taxpayers to keep that in mind.
Chesapeake Employees do not want pay date changed
Chesapeake city employees do not want to have the pay days changed.
The reason given for the change was that the software for payroll was cheaper !!
Chesapeake School Employees are not changing their pay dates, they will continue getting paid on the 15th and 30th of the month.
Chesapeake Schools has more over 1000 more employees than the city.
CHESAPEAKE EMPLOYEES
I'm not sure if any other City employee remembers, but back in late-summer or early-fall of 1994 the City was going to change to a bi-weekly pay schedule. It got as far as sending out the dates of the paydays. Guess what happened? Public Safety decided they didn't like it, and it went away. If this had been done when it was supposed to have been implemented 15 years ago, none of this would be going on now. It's time to finally make this change and be done with it. Also, that 10 hours is NOT A BONUS.
Come On People
Lets think about this. These people work 40 hours a week at an average of $11.54/hour ($24,000/year) I am sure they work paycheck to paycheck as many of us do, and whether we like it or not, they struggle to pay their bills. What happened to helping your fellow citizens. The City is trying to save money on payroll processing. Wonderful! So help out the little guy for a bit!
Not Mentioned Here
Chesapeake currently pays it employees for the work they will do next week. Kinda crazy. Hope you show up for work next week. With this change they will join most of the rest of society and pay its employees for work they did last week. I know you were working last week. Because of this change there is a week or so that no will get paid, the lost week. This "non-bonus" is just making up for that lost week. The problem is with whoever decided years ago to pay the employees for work they have not done yet.
Not a threat
This city is very lucky to have proffesional staff who run the day to day operations of this city and make it such a great place to live. The employees are not asking for a raise or a bonus, just to be treated fair. If real citizens, not puppets of council members who are looking out for their own special interest, would look into the spending of the School Board and City Council they could see REAL waste and the employee pay would be no issue. Look at Grassfield High 35 million over budget with athletic fields that have padlocks on them that citizens can not use. What a great use of our tax dollars. Finally I again urge employees to come to council chambers Tuesday night and stand up. We, the citizens are counsels bosses, not vice versa and if we do not give them direction they are left alone to do whatever makes them happy. Employees remember it only takes 10,000 votes to change elected offciials in this city, we are over a third of the way there, we can make a difference.
for those talking about law suits,
threats, showing up at the next council meeting, blah, blah, blah....you should be HAPPY you have a job and are not standing in the welfare line. MANY of us in the working sector of this country have suffered pay cuts, no raises, extra expenditures just to work [like suddenly having to pay for parking, etc.]. BE THANKFUL YOU HAVE A JOB!!!!!!