October 4, 2022
Human Resources
DATE: October 4, 2022
TO: Mayor Butt and Members of the City Council
FROM:
Nickie Mastay, Deputy City Manager
Sharrone Taylor, Interim Human Resources Director
Subject:
Appointment of a Retired Annuitant to Perform Extra
Help/Special Project Law Enforcement Services in the
Police Department.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no new fiscal impact or budget action necessary resulting from the recommended appointments. The
proposed expenditures will be funded by salary savings
in the respective department’s approved FY 2022-2023
budgets – (Police Department Part-Time Budget
01191021-400006).
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
None
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
City Council approval is requested to appoint retiree
Louie Tirona as an annuitant prior to the end of the
CalPERS required 180-day waiting period.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: APPROVE the appointment of Louie Tirona as a retired annuitant for a limited term, extra help/special project role not to exceed one (1) year or 960 hours, whichever
comes first – Human Resources (Nickie Mastay/Sharrone
Taylor 510-620-6602).
AGENDA
REPORT
October 4, 2022
DISCUSSION:
The Police Department petitioned Human Resources to hire a retired employee to provide extra help/special project law enforcement services for a limited term not to exceed one (1) year or 960 hours, whichever comes first.
Mr. Tirona retired as the Assistant Police Chief on July 30, 2022, after twenty-eight years of service to the City. The City is currently recruiting for the Assistant Police Chief vacancy. Mr. Tirona's experience and expertise are critically needed to transition and train his replacement, who the Department expects to hire within the next sixty (60) days. Additionally, there exists several critical vacancies and unprecedented low staffing levels in the Department, necessitating the development of a strategic staffing deployment plan that accounts for staffing levels over the next three (3) years. Mr.
Tirona will assist with creating and implementing this plan, as well as providing direction to sworn staff as needed, to ensure that there is adequate oversight and coverage in the Department. These services are critically necessary for maintaining basic ongoing Police Department operations.
The requirements for retired annuitant appointments are based on California Public Employee Retirement Law (PERL) and federal tax law for post-retirement services provided by a retired annuitant. These laws allow employment of a retired annuitant in two (2) specific circumstances — (1) to provide "extra help"; or (2) to work in a vacant position on an interim basis during the recruitment process. Extra help appointments include when the retired annuitant is hired to perform work of limited duration, such as elimination of a backlog, special project work, or to perform work exceeding regular staff work. Additional restrictions for extra help appointments include:
The retired annuitant must provide services of limited duration; Compensation may be no more than another employee would receive for similar work; and
The annuitant’s work must not exceed 960 hours in any fiscal year.
CalPERS retired annuitants are generally prohibited from returning to work for a CalPERS employer within 180 days of their retirement. However, Government Code section 7522.56(f) provides for several exceptions from this general rule. One exception is for “a public safety officer or firefighter hired to perform a function or functions regularly performed by a public safety officer or firefighter.” Another exception is when the employer “certifies the nature of the employment and that the appointment is necessary to fill a critically needed position before 180 days have passed and the appointment has been approved by the governing body of the employer in a public meeting.” Such appointment must be approved as an item of business not on the consent calendar.
The requested return date for Mr. Tirona is less than 180 days after his retirement date, and therefore his appointment must fall within one of the exceptions under Government Code section 7522.56(f) in order to comply with CalPERS rules. City staff believes that
October 4, 2022
Mr. Tirona’s appointment meets both the public safety officer exception and the critical necessity exception, which requires a City Council resolution. Therefore, City staff is requesting that City Council adopt a resolution certifying the critical need for Mr.
Tirona’s appointment to perform extra help/special project law enforcement services.
ANALYSIS:
Mr. Tirona possesses specialized skills required to perform the extra help/ special project work needed by the Police Department and will perform the aforementioned services for a limited duration of less than 960 hours per fiscal year. The extra help/ special project work which he will perform is essential to maintaining the basic ongoing Police Department operations, implementing a strategic staffing deployment plan, and onboarding a permanent Assistant Police Chief.
In accordance with applicable laws, Mr. Tirona will be compensated $91.33 per hour.
This hourly compensation is within the compensation range for the Project Manager III position, the position which includes duties most comparable to those specific tasks that will be performed by Mr. Tirona. The current hourly compensation range for the position of Project Manager III is $57.38 per hour to $91.33 per hour. He will not receive any other benefits, incentives, compensation in lieu of benefits, or any other forms of compensation in addition to the hourly rate. His work schedule will be approximately 15- 20 hours per week.
Accordingly, City staff believes Mr. Tirona’s appointment meets both the independent statutory basis for employing a retired annuitant to provide extra help and the statutory exception to the 180-day waiting period for critically needed positions.
RECOMMENDATION:
City Staff recommends the City Council:
1. Adopt the Resolution approving an exception to the 180-day waiting period for Louie Tirona; and
2. Approve the employment agreement between the City and Mr. Tirona.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – Resolution for Louie Tirona
Attachment 2 – Contract Agreement