RESOLUTION NO. 23-0165
A RESOLUTION OF THE MANHATTAN BEACH CITY
COUNCIL APPROVING POLICE OFFICER RECRUITMENT
AND REFERRAL BONUSES AND OTHER RECRUITMENT
AND RETENTION INCENTIVES
WHEREAS, the Manhattan Beach City C ouncil originally established recruitment and referral bonus es for the recruitment of Police Officers and the referral by existing Police Department employees for new hire Police Officers on February 1, 2000; WHEREAS, a Personnel Instruction titled “Police Officer/Lateral Recruitment Bonus” promulgated on August 1, 2003 , increased the amounts of the previously established bonuses;
WHEREAS, at its February 7, 2023 , meeting, the City Council provided direction on enhancing the recruitment and referral bonuses for Police Officers and members of the Police Department who refer Police Officers to ensure that the recruitment and referral bonuses remain competitive with the labor market and on February 21, 2023 , those changes were formally approved by Council by Resolution No. 23-0021; WHEREAS, the City hires the following categories of Police Officer:
1. Lateral Police Officers (laterals): Individuals who have passed the Police Academy and have at least one year of experience working as a Police Officer in another agency.
2. Academy Graduate Po lice Officers (academy graduates): Individuals who have passed the Basic Police Academy but do not yet have the required agency experience.
3. Police Academy Trainees (PAT’s or trainees): entry -level employees who do not yet have training and experience in law enforcement. The City pays the individuals hired while they are attending a Police Academy, and their appointment to Police Officer/start of formal probationary period begins following successful completion of the Policy Academy;
WHEREAS, the Manhattan Beach City Council has reviewed information regarding Police Department and other recruitment efforts, referral and recruitment bonuses, and additional recruitment and retention incentives; and WHEREAS, the Manhattan Beach City Council has provided author ity to its negotiators to negotiate these benefits with the affected employee labor associations.
THEREFORE, THE MANHATTAN BEACH CITY COUNCIL HEREBY RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1 . The City Council hereby provides the following authority for Recruitment and Referral Bonuses:
Recruitment bonus:
A recruitment bonus may be established as an incentive for an incoming employee for any position that is deemed to be “hard-to-fill”. The recruitment bonus for each of the specified levels may be between 3% and 10% of the individual’s starting annual salary.
Police Officers are hereby determined to be a continually “hard -to-fill” positions, and the amount of the referral bonus is subject to the discretion of the Police Chief, with City Manager approval required prior to the bonus being paid. Effective December 5, 2023, any Department head may establish a recruitment bonus for a position that has been deemed “hard to fill”, subject to Human Resources Director and City Manager approval prior to advertising the recruitment bonus.
With the exception of Police Academy Trainees, recruitment bonuses will be paid as follows: 50% at time of appointment and 50% upon successful completion of the probationary period (for employees with a probationary period) or 50% after the first full year of employment (for employees without a probationary period).
Any bonus approved for Police Academy Trainee will be paid as follows: 50% at time of successful graduation from the Police Academy and appointment to Police Officer and 50% upon successful completion of the probationary period.
If the incoming employee who received a recruitment bonus separates from service within three years of the date of appointment, the individual will be required to reimburse the City for the entire amount of the transfer bonus.
Referral bonus:
Any City employee who refers a candidate for Police Officer or Trainee will be eligible for a recruitment bonus of 5% of the Police Academy Trainee annual salary. Employees directly involved in the Police Department’s recruitment function (Sergeant, Lieutenant and support staff assigned to the Personnel and Training Section), employees in the Human Resources Department, and employees in the City’s Executive Team (City Manage r, Department Heads, and other staff designated by the City Manager) are not eligible for this bonus. Employees who refer candidates will be required to complete and sign forms req uired by the City to approve and process benefit.
Bonuses for referring lateral and academy graduates will be paid as follows: 50% at time of appointment and 50% upon successful completion of the probationary period.
Bonuses for referring trainees will be paid as follows: 50% at time of successful graduation from the Police Ac ademy and appointment to Police Officer and 50% upon successful completion of the probationary period.
SECTION 2. The City Council hereby authorizes the following incentives:
1. Provide vacation leave accruals based on total years of sworn police experience for both lateral Police Officers and existing sworn police employees in the Police Officers Association and Police Managers Association.
2. Allow an initial bank of sick or vacation hours to incoming Lateral Police Officers , at the discretion of the Police Chief, with a maximum of 80 hours combined sick leave and vacation hours per appointment.
3. Provide all current sworn police employees a one -time, non-cashable Paid Time Off (PTO) bank of 100 hours to be used in a 2-year period. New employees hired within the current fiscal year (ending June 30, 2024) will also be eligible for the PTO hours bank.
4. Provide each City employee (with the exception of the Division Chiefs and Manhattan Beach Firefighters Association employees assigned to suppression shifts) with a non-cashable floating “birthday holiday” that can be taken within their birthday month (or within 2 weeks before or after their birthday), subject to supervisory approval. Sworn Fire employees assigned to suppression shifts will receive an increase of 10 hours in holiday-in-lieu pay in recognition of the “birthday holiday”.
5. Close City Hall and other City facilities at noon on both Christmas Eve and New Years’ Eve and provide paid holiday time in the afternoon for any employees working on site who observe City Hall hours. This would not apply to facilities that do not observe normal holiday closures and employees in the City who work without regard to holidays.
SECTION 3. The City Council repeals Resolution 23-0021 in its entirety.
SECTION 4 . The Human Resources Director or her designee shall establish policies and procedures needed for the implementation of the recruitment and referral bonuses authorized under this resolution.
SECTION 5. The City Manager or his designee is authorized to enter into side letter agreements to the Memoranda of Understanding with the affected City labor associations establishing these benefits.
SECTION 6. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Resolution.
ADOPTED on December 5, 2023.
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
________________________________
RICHARD MONTGOMERY
Mayor
ATTEST:
____________________________
LIZA TAMURA
City Clerk