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REPORT <br />To the Honorable Mayor and City Council <br />From the City Manager <br /> <br />June 27, 2016 <br /> <br />SUBJECT <br />Exception to Public Employee Pension Reform Act 180-Day Waiting Period to Hire <br />Retired Annuitant to Perform Extra Help Communications Dispatcher Duties <br /> <br />RECOMMENDATION <br />Adopt a Resolution approving an exception to the Public Employee Reform Act <br />(PEPRA) 180-day waiting period to hire retirement annuitant, Robin Hart, to perform <br />critical extra help Communications Dispatcher duties to ensure the required 24/7 <br />coverage of dispatcher services of the City <br /> <br />BACKGROUND <br />Assembly Bill 340, the Public Employee Pension Reform Act of 2013, also known as <br />PEPRA, was signed into law on September 12, 2012 and went into effect on January 1, <br />2013. PEPRA created Government Code Section 7522.56, which requires public <br />agency retirees to wait 180 days after retirement before returning to work for a public <br />agency. Government Code Section 7522.56(f)(1) provides an exception to this waiting <br />period, if the City Council determines that the appointment of the retiree is necessary to <br />fill a critically-needed position and that the appointment has been approved by the <br />governing body of the employer in a public meeting. <br /> <br />ANALYSIS <br />The Police Communications Center operates at a minimal staffing level of nine full-time <br />equivalent Communications Dispatcher positions. Due to the nature of this 24-hour <br />operation, and the required minimum staffing of at least two dispatchers at all times, <br />mandatory overtime is required for all Communications Dispatchers. The necessary <br />overtime to ensure full coverage is approximately 4,000 hours per year. In order to <br />address this issue in the most economical way possible, and to alleviate employee <br />burnout through mandatory overtime, extra help casual dispatcher positions have been <br />increased in recent years. <br /> <br />The position of Communications Dispatcher is very demanding and requires personnel <br />with a wide variety of skillsets. In recent years, recruitment of dispatchers, full-time or <br />extra help casual, has proved very challenging. Currently, there are two full-time <br />dispatchers on extended leaves from their regular duties. In addition, full-time <br />dispatcher Robin Hart retired on May 2, 2016. A recent recruitment has allowed the <br />department to fill the full-time vacancy created by Robin Hart’s retirement; however, the <br />7.B. - Page 1