Normal will expand some employee benefits as part of a recruiting and retention effort, after the town council approved the changes at its meeting on Monday.
Notable changes include expanding how far away from Normal town staff can call home, and adding to paid parental leave.
The city's personnel code hasn't been evaluated and modified like this in many years, said City Manager Pam Reece.
Loosening residency requirements from a 20-mile radius to a 60-mile radius will help Normal better recruit in a competitive market for talented municipal industry professionals; it's especially helpful in the local economy's current housing shortage, said Mayor Chris Koos.
Several council members praised the expanded benefits, especially in the context of the public sector's limitations in competing against the corporate world for workers.
"For us to come to a place and review this, and to find how we can be competitive and be a place, an employer, that you would want to be employed by — says a lot," said council member Chemberly Harris.
Also at Monday’s meeting, the council approved a 4% increase to its group annual health insurance program.
Paid parental leave added benefit
The council OK’d expanding several benefits for non-union employees. That means about 65% of the town's nearly 400 staff members will be affected by the changes that take effect Nov. 1.
In all, the changes will have a roughly $250,000 impact on the town's annual budget.
The vote allows the city manager to create a directive for a paid parental leave policy, addressing the immediate period after the birth or adoption of a child.
"We want to be able to recruit and retain employees. And when you are running into a work force where other employers are offering benefits, you need to take a look and make sure you're competitive," said Reece.
The Family Medical Leave Act guarantees job security for up to 12 weeks after the birth or adoption of a child. However, an employer isn’t required to pay the worker for that absence.
Currently, employees on leave use accrued paid time off, and then choose to remain home unpaid for the remainder of time allowed.
But the new policy means workers use their paid time off for the first two weeks, and then receive four additional weeks of pay at 70% their rate. They also can choose to supplement the remaining 30% from their accrued time off, said Reece.
At that six-week mark, they choose to use any remaining paid time off, as part of the FMLA period, said Reece.
The town also is tripling how far away Normal employees can live, and including key leadership positions in the new rule.
"This will significantly improve our ability to recruit staff" from communities such as Champaign, Peoria and Decatur, for example, said Reece.
Nearly 10 top Normal administrative positions that currently require residency within town limits also will now fall under the 60-mile radius rule. "A lot of cities have loosened their codes to allow that," Mayor Chris Koos said after the meeting.
"People tend to be more mobile in today's world and their ability to choose where they live is very important in their decision making," he added. "It just broadens our ability to hire the best candidates."
Other changes to employee benefits include:
- Putting in writing an informal policy of capping cost-of-living adjustments at 5%.
- Adding two paid holidays, Juneteenth and Veterans Day. That means Normal now will have 11 paid holidays. This brings the town in line with similar downstate municipalities, Reece said.
- For two-, three- and four-week vacations, the years worked requirement has been shortened and standardized.
Group health insurance
The FY2023-24 budget projected a 10% total premium equivalent increase in health insurance rates that run a calendar year, and which take effect in January.
But only a 4% increase was needed. So, the town will spend about $81,000 less than it expected. Over the past two decades, the average annual increase has been about 9%.
Dental insurance rates will go up about 6%, while no changes are expected for vision and life insurance plans. These rates also are based on calendar years.
In other business, the council approved:
- A five-year, $255,000 contract with Naperville-based accounting firm Sikich, for auditing services. The town previously worked with Lauterbach and Amen. But town policy is to switch auditors every five to seven years.
- A partnership with Veregy, a professional energy services company, to oversee energy savings and capital maintenance projects. There isn't a dollar amount assigned to the agreement, but it will be a percentage, based on work completed. The town aims to minimize deterioration of roofs, lighting and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems, in particular.
- An agreement with developer Interchange City West, allowing it to skip the requirement of gaining approval of a preliminary plan for its infrastructure project in southwest Normal. The change is made to ensure the developer meets a 2024 deadline for a $1.4 million state grant.
- The purchase of a back-up generator for the town’s public works facility on Warriner Street. The $103,200 contract is with Bloomington-based Anderson Electric.
