To save money, Peachtree City is leaving its administrative services director position vacant and also eliminating a full-time customer service representative at City Hall.
The latter will be replaced by two part-time employees working the front desk at City Hall. The result of that move is a savings of $19,415, according to city staff estimates.
In addition, the city has upgraded the position of executive assistant to administrative services coordinator since the position will have increased supervisory responsibilities. That change wil cost the city an additional $3,851 a year due to the corresponding salary grade increase.
All the changes were approved last week by unanimous vote of the Peachtree City Council.
In addition, City Manager Jim Pennington presented his recommendations to change the city’s compensatory time and leave policies.
The change to the compensatory time policy would require employees to receive overtime pay at time and a half for all hours worked over 40 per week.
Department heads would be allowed to approve comp time to be accrued at the same rate, though it must be used within six weeks of accrual or paid out to remove it from the city’s records.
The city budgets only 1 percent of its total payroll costs for overtime pay for the current fiscal year, and city managers make sure overtime is used only “when absolutely necessary,” Pennington told council in a pre-meeting memo.
Pennington is also recommending changes to the city’s leave policies including:
• A cap on accrued sick leave for new employees of 240 hours. Existing city employees have a cap of 480 hours but the only time it is paid out is upon employment separation is if the employee retires or dies, according to Pennington’s memo;
• Discontinuing incentive programs for employees to earn additional paid leave each year for safety (avoiding an at-fault vehicle/equipment accident or on-the-job injury) or perfect attendance (with no sick leave or time off used in any pay period).
• Because those programs are being eliminated to simplify the leave policy, Pennington is recommending that the city add one floating holiday for each employee that would not be paid out upon employment separation.
