The following provisions shall govern the normal advancement procedures for employees assigned to positions having a salary range:
A. Notification of Eligibility to Department Head. Thirty days prior to each employee's salary anniversary date and annually thereafter until the employee reaches the maximum step of the salary range for his/her class, the personnel officer shall advise the department head in writing of the employee's pending eligibility for a merit salary increase. The department head shall subsequently advise the personnel officer in writing prior to the employee's salary anniversary date whether or not he/she recommends advancement of the employee to the next higher step in the appropriate salary range.
B. Notification of Authorization to Finance Director. If the department head recommends the advancement of the employee to the next higher salary step, and the city manager approves such advancement, the personnel officer shall notify the finance director in writing of the approval merit salary increase, and such notification shall constitute authorization for the finance director to make payment to the employee at the specified higher rate. Such payment shall commence at the beginning of the pay period in which the employee's salary anniversary date falls.
C. Postponement of Merit Salary Increase. If a department head recommends that advancement of the employee to the next higher salary step be postponed pending further review of the employee's job performance, and the city manager approves, the employee will not be assigned a new salary anniversary date providing that said postponement does not exceed a period of three months. If during or at the conclusion of the period of postponement, the department head recommends that the employee be advanced to the next higher salary step, the personnel officer shall notify the finance director in writing and such notification constitutes authorization for the finance director to make payment to the employee at the specified higher rate. Such payment shall commence at the beginning of the pay period in which the recommendation is made. If said postponement exceeds three months, the employee will be assigned a new salary anniversary date which shall be the date to which his/her previous salary anniversary date was postponed.
D. Failure to Notify Department Head of Employee's Eligibility. Should an employee's salary anniversary date be overlooked through error, and upon discovery of the error, the employee is recommended for a merit salary increase, the finance director shall, on the next regular paycheck, include payment compensating the employee from the beginning of the pay period in which his/her salary anniversary falls.
E. Error in Determination of Correct Salary Rate.
1. Should an employee be advanced to a higher step in the salary range for his/her class than for which he/she was recommended through error, such error shall be corrected immediately following its discovery. Reimbursement to the city by the employee for said error shall be made by reduction of next or subsequent paychecks or any other method mutually agreed to.
2. Determination of which one or combination of the above methods of reimbursements should be used shall be made by the department head subject to the approval of the personnel officer. Should the employee terminate before full reimbursement to the city has been made, the money required to complete reimbursement shall be deducted from his/her final paycheck.
F. Adjustment in Salary Anniversary Date Due to Leave of Absence. The granting of any leave of absence without pay exceeding fifteen consecutive calendar days shall cause the employee's salary anniversary date to be postponed by the number of calendar days for which such leave of absence has been granted, less the first fifteen calendar days of such leave. The employee shall be assigned a new salary anniversary date which shall be the date to which his/her previous salary anniversary date has been postponed.
(Ord. 86-03-970 § 1 (part), 1986)