Agenda Item No. 4
Correspondence for Proposed Budget
(CC Mtg 6/09/2025)
Supplemental Item 1 –
Correspondence for Item 4 FY 2025-27 Proposed Budget and FY 2025-30 Capital Improvement Program
WriƩen Public Comment From David SwiŌ for Item 4, City Council MeeƟng June 9th, 2025 Background
The city spends about 1.25% of the general fund on employee training, development, meeƟngs, and morale/recogniƟon. That equates to about $200,000 per year. Table 1 shows the spending in these categories for the last 4 years. Figure 1 shows the breakdown by category and year.
Table 1: Employee Overhead Spending by Category and Year.
Figure 1: Bar Chart of Employee Overhead Spending by Category and Year.
This spending is heavily weighted to training for the police department. Figure 2 Shows the spending by year and category without GBPD included.
Figure 2: Bar Chart of Employee Overhead Spending, Excluding GBPD.
The Training and EducaƟon expenses are dominated by conference and leadership training. The MeeƟngs and MarkeƟng expenses are dominated by food and beverage purchases for staff, employees, and city council.
Commentary
In federal contracƟng and many state governments, the expenses in MarkeƟng and MeeƟngs, and Employee RecogniƟon would be considered unallowable. California does not treat them this way. While perfectly legal, these expenses may look lavish to the taxpaying public. While police training is paramount to their readiness, qualificaƟons, and facilitaƟng public safety, $2000 holiday parƟes only serve the employees. Those same employees already have beƩer pay and benefits than most of the taxpaying public they serve.
RecommendaƟon
I have brought this to the aƩenƟon of city management, department heads, and the mayor. All were equally insistent that these expenses are necessary to improve morale, reduce employee turnover, and aƩract new staff. One can’t argue that spending money on employees doesn’t have a generally posiƟve effect. Happy employees and low turnover are ulƟmately good for the city and her residents.
What is needed is to do this in a public, transparent way. These expenses should be rolled into line-item budgets, by department. They should be evaluated for effecƟveness. The effecƟveness should be measured through the annual employee surveys. The City Council should publicly defend spending $200,000 per year on employee development and morale boosƟng acƟviƟes.
Department heads must have ownership for the budget and performance for these expenses.
ExpectaƟon
1) At the June 9th, 2025 City Council MeeƟng, the mayor and council members must fully and transparently voice their support for this category of spending and the budget to go with it.
2) Department heads must be accountable for their budget within these categories and be able to show posiƟve results.
3) Look to GBPD as a success story. They frequently get very high praise from the community they serve. How can that success be spread to all departments? Final Note
Rarely are employee morale problems caused by too few parƟes or donuts. Low morale and high turnover can almost always be traced back to a problem with employer culture or leadership. If overhead spending is increasing with the claim that it is to improve morale and retenƟon, it is the council’s obligaƟon to watch closely for other root causes and not just spend more taxpayer money on employee benefits.
hƩps://www.linezero.com/blog/5-factors-affecƟng-employee-morale 5 Factors AffecƟng Employee Morale
1. Leadership
EffecƟve leadership doesn't just shape the work environment; it's a key component to boost employee morale and elevaƟng team morale by fostering a sense of unity and purpose among team members.
2. CommunicaƟon
EffecƟve two-way communicaƟon is vital for maintaining morale. Employees feel empowered when their voices are heard and acknowledged.
…employees expect communicaƟons to be a two-way street!
3. Reward & RecogniƟon
RecogniƟon can make employees feel more connected, engaged, and producƟve. It makes them feel valued and eager to conƟnue performing well.
In fact, a study by Reward Gateway says that 75% of employees said their moƟvaƟon and morale would improve if their managers just thanked them more oŌen.
4. Work-Life IntegraƟon
Encouraging a healthy balance between work and home life is another crucial part of boosƟng employee morale.
5. The Nature of Work In RelaƟon to Your OrganizaƟon
The kind of work employees do impacts their morale. OrganizaƟons must understand how the nature of work influences employee morale and strive to make even mundane tasks saƟsfying.