Employment
COMMISSION INFORMATION MEMORANDUM
VOL. 26, NO. 14
2004
May 7,
ADMINISTRATIVE BRIEF FROM DEB DEMEL:
EMPLOYMENT
Nationally, job seekers in 2003 found it difficult to compete for a limited number of jobs. The
City of Salina's own application numbers and hiring for the year fell right in line with what
economists were saying about the job market. There has been some turnaround in 2004 in
this arena and again the City of Salina is tracking along those lines. For all of 2003, the City
filled a total of 27 classified and regular part-time positions (temporary and intermittent
excluded) and these employees were selected from a total applicant intake of 1 ,397. From
January through April of 2004, we have filled 22 classified and regular part-time positions
from an applicant pool of 1 ,248.
Competition for municipal employment seems higher this year. For example, since the
beginning of 2004, five openings have drawn over 100 applications a piece with one opening
drawing an incredible 162 applicants. In 2003, this only occurred once. It appears that job
seekers are beginning to look for employment stability and benefits instead of just the
highest hourly rate.
BENEFITS
Working with Employee Council, Human Resources continues to look at benefit programs
for savings and improvements. The 2004 benefit year, which began in February, brought
changes in several benefits. Switching Section 125 Plan administrators from Keating &
Associates to ASI was one such change. Although the Plan did not change significantly,
employees benefit from quicker claims processing, daily instead of weekly and optional email
notification of claims status allowing for quicker resolution of incomplete claims. ASI
presented several employee meetings during the enrollment period to help employees
understand the benefits of a Section 125 Plan and to answer questions concerning ASI
administration.
The biggest change however was in the health insurance program. Employee Council and
Human Resources worked together to educate employees about the change from Blue
Select to Blue Choice and the implementation of deductibles. The changes were primarily
perceived as positive and employees were thankful that premium increases were held to a
. .
minimum.
Finally in the area of benefits, Human Resources is happy to report that our Employee
Assistance Program (EAP) is continuing to see wonderful participation. According to New
Directions Behavioral Health, our EAP provider, the national average participation in EAP's
is 4-6%. The City of Salina is showing 14.26% utilization through the third quarter of the plan
year, which began July 2003. Human Resources continues to work with New Directions to
ensure that employee awareness of the benefit program remains high.
CIM
Page 2
MONDAY'S MEETING:
1. Enclosed are other items on the agenda. If any Commissioner has any questions or
cannot attend the meeting, please contact me.
2. Let's begin the study session at 3:00 p.m. An agenda is attached.
Dennis M. Kissinger
City Manager