Supervisors OK Carson City Sheriff’s sergeants contract

The Board of Supervisors on Thursday approved two personnel contracts — an amended collective bargaining agreement for the Sheriff’s Office sergeants and temporary staffing services through a state joinder contract.

The amended, five-year agreement with the Carson City Sheriff’s Supervisory Association has a fiscal impact or cost of between $986,000 and $1.01 million, or approximately $200,000 a year.

Under the new agreement, the sergeants pay levels expand from four steps to seven, and the salary at the first step is bumped up 4.6 percent. Sergeants receive annual merit pay raises, assuming the sergeant meets expectations, of 3.5 percent between steps, up to step six; the raise at step seven is based on the average CPI (Consumer Price Index) at a minimum of 2 percent and a ceiling of 3.5 percent.

Several other minor changes were made, including an increase in uniform allowance and lost item damages, and a bump from 240 hours to 280 of annual leave that can be banked.

The agreement was negotiated over several months, said Nancy Paulson, interim city manager.

The supervisors also approved an annual contract not to exceed $1.7 million with four temporary staffing agencies.

The agencies — Marathon Staffing Group, Inc., Manpower, Acro Service Corp., and Talent Framework, LLC — are used by nearly all of the city’s departments to provide temporary workers when positions are vacant or short term, and some of the costs are reimbursed later if covered by grant money.

The biggest users are Public Works; Parks, Recreation, and Open Space; and Health and Human Services.

The total temporary staffing hours in fiscal year 2018 totaled 46,960 hours or the equivalent of 22.5 full-time equivalents or employees, said Paulson.

Sheri Russell, chief financial officer, said the city has been reducing its amount of temporary staffing and last fiscal year spent about $1 million, down from $1.5 million in 2017.

She expected the amount to remain at $1 million for fiscal year 2019, but wanted to approve an agreement for more in case staffing needs spike back up.

The board approved bonds to refinance water bonds it issued to pay for the acquisition of water rights in Minden.

The refinancing should save the city about $3.3 million. It’s being done through the state’s revolving fund, which requires the savings to be invested in another water project, so the supervisors also approved the hiring of Sherman & Howard as bond counsel to prepare for the issuance of $7 million in new bonds to finance the new project, the completion of the east-west water line between Minden and Quill Water Treatment Plant.

The board convened as the Board of Health and heard several presentations, including one on the Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response survey planned for the week of Sept. 17-21. Workers will conduct 210, door-to-door surveys to gather information that will help the city better prepare for disaster response.

The health board also heard a presentation on the city’s anti-tobacco efforts. Two success stories, said Sandy Wartgow, were an effort to get landlords to make multifamily properties no smoking that resulted in 900 apartment units that are now in smoke-free complexes. The other success story was Western Nevada College campus becoming 100 percent smoke free, part of a focus on reducing smoking among youth and young adults.

The supervisors appointed Nicholas Cranston to the Library Board of Trustees. Kurt Meyer and Lea Cartwright were appointed, and Donna Curtis reappointed, to the Parks and Recreation Commission.