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(a) Sick leave credit generally. Each full-time employee and individuals in part-time positions who are currently receiving sick time and hired prior to February 1, 2012, shall accrue, for each 80 hours of service, a sick leave credit in the amount of four and six-tenths hours with pay. The use of such credit shall be permitted for any of the following: personal illness; pregnancy; injury; exposure to contagious disease and/or illness or injury in the employee’s immediate family.
(b) Immediate family defined. For the purpose of this section, IMMEDIATE FAMILY shall be defined as follows: an employee’s children or the employee’s spouse, step-children, parents or children of employees designated as legal guardians. Proof of such relationship may be required by the city.
(c) Accumulation and use of sick leave credit. Sick leave credit shall be cumulative, limited as noted herein. When sick leave is used, it shall be deducted from the employee’s accrued balance on an hour-for-hour basis for every hour of absence from previously scheduled work, except that absence from previously scheduled work because of death in the immediate family, with the approval of the department head, not exceeding three days, shall not be so deducted. The appointing authority and/or the department head for each employing unit may require an employee to furnish satisfactory documentation upon request to justify the use of sick leave by an employee. However, in all instances where medical attention was required or when an absence is for three or more consecutive scheduled work days, the employee may be required to furnish written documentation stating the nature of the illness or injury to justify the use of sick leave. Falsification of any such documentation, or falsely using sick leave, shall be grounds for disciplinary action, including dismissal.
(d) Temporary disability. In the event that an employee is temporarily disabled and uses all of his or her accumulated sick leave, said employee may request that the city continue to provide group hospitalization coverage for the duration of said disability. Such request shall be made in writing to the Mayor for consideration by the Council Finance Committee.
(e) Prior service; sick leave credit. Previously accumulated and unused sick leave credit of an employee who has been separated from public service shall be placed to his or her credit upon re-employment in public service, provided that such re-employment takes place within ten years from the date of separation. Newly hired employees with prior service from other governmental agencies shall be allowed to transfer 40 hours of sick leave to Solon and those hours shall not be subject to payment to the employee in the event of retirement as defined in division (h) below.
(f) Certain employees excluded. All part-time employees not included in division (a) above, temporary, and seasonal employees, or those rendering intermittent or per diem service, shall be excluded from the benefits of this section.
(g) Compensation for unused, accumulated sick leave. Upon the retirement or death of an eligible employee, the employee, or his or her spouse and/or legal representative shall, upon written notification to the city, be entitled to a lump sum payment for the accumulated and unused sick leave credit subject to the limits as detailed in this chapter. For the purposes of this section, an employee shall be deemed to be retired when he or she applies for and obtains a retirement pension under pension plans afforded employees as a result of their public employment. When giving the city written notification, the employee shall request payment either immediately after retirement or at a later date within one year after retirement. In either case, only one payment will be made. If the employee elects payment at a later date, it will be at the hourly rate at retirement and no interest earnings will be accrued or added to the payment.
(h) Limits on payment of unused; accumulated sick leave credit. In the event of the retirement or death of an employee, payment of accumulated and unused sick leave credit shall be determined as follows.
(1) Employees hired prior to January 1, 1989, shall be paid for the first 960 hours of accumulated and unused sick leave credit on an hour-for-hour basis. All sick leave credit in excess of 960 hours shall be paid on the basis of one hour for every three hours accumulated and unused.
(2) Employees hired on or after January 1, 1989, shall be paid for the first 500 hours of accumulated and unused sick leave credit on an hour-for-hour basis. All sick leave credit in excess of 500 hours shall be paid on the basis of one hour for every four hours accumulated and unused.
(i) Sick leave credit; cash conversion option. On or before December 15, and each year thereafter, a full-time employee of the city credited with sick leave credit up to a maximum of 120 hours per calendar year may elect to convert such credit into a cash benefit, or carry forward such credit to his or her balance. The conditions for the cash conversion shall be as follows.
(1) An employee must have at least 360 hours of sick leave credit at the end of each calendar year, exclusive of the 120 hours of sick leave credit earned for the current year in which the election is made.
(2) An employee may convert all sick leave credit earned and unused during a calendar year of election to a cash benefit at the rate of three-eighths, payable at the employee’s current hourly rate in the year earned, excluding longevity, differentials, bonuses, premium payments, regularly scheduled overtime and all other forms of additional or supplemental compensation. Absent such an election by an employee, the sick leave credit earned and unused in a calendar year will be added to the total accrued sick leave credit balance of the employee.
(j) Voluntary sick leave donations. In the event an employee has exhausted his or her accumulated sick leave due to an extended use as described in division (a) hereof, the Mayor may approve the transfer of sick leave to this employee from other employees who wish to voluntarily donate a portion of his or her unused accumulated sick leave. A list with the donor’s name, the number of hours donated and the donor’s signature shall be presented to the Mayor for his or her approval and forwarded to the Finance Department. Employees may donate no less than eight hours and up to a maximum of 40 hours per employee per a 12-month period. The donated sick leave shall be proportionately applied and any unused sick leave shall be returned proportionately to the donating employees once the employee that received the donations has returned to work.
(Ord. 1998-25, passed 5-18-1998; Ord. 2007-142, passed 5-21-2007; Ord. 2009-108, passed 6-1-2009; Ord. 2012-46, passed 2-21-2012; Ord. 2012-61, passed 3-5-2012; Ord. 2018-252, passed 12-17-2018)
Funeral leave shall be granted for all full-time employees, up to a maximum of three scheduled work days off with pay for attendance of the funeral of an employee’s family. For purposes of this section, the family members shall include the following: an employee’s children or the employee’s spouse, step-children or parents, stepparents, brother, sister, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, grandparents-in-law, and grandchildren. Proof of such relationship may be required by the city.
(Ord. 2000-74, passed 4-3-2000; Ord. 2012-46, passed 2-21-2012; Ord. 2012-61, passed 3-5-2012; Ord. 2022-33, passed 2-7-2022)
All full-time employees of the city shall be entitled to compensation for longevity, to be paid in equal installments coinciding with the employee’s normal pay. Such compensation shall be determined as follows.
(a) Eligibility. Employees hired prior to January 1, 1989, shall be entitled to longevity pay which shall be calculated as an additional 0.5% of the base salary for each full year of service. Employees hired on or after January 1, 1989, shall be entitled to longevity pay which shall be calculated as an additional 0.25% of the base salary for each full year of service. For employees hired after December 31, 1986, the payment of longevity shall begin on January 1 following five full years of service.
(b) Years of service. Full years of service shall be calculated on the employee’s anniversary date of hire year and the compensation shall be adjusted to reflect any increased amount on the first pay following January 1, 1998, using the salary in effect at that time, and each subsequent January 1. An employee shall be credited for time served during his or her probationary period for purposes of calculating longevity pay. With the exception of allowed absences, including vacation, holidays, sick leave, disciplinary suspension and authorized leaves of absence, any other absences shall be deemed a termination of an employee’s eligibility for the purposes of determining his or her eligibility for longevity.
(c) Maximum allowable compensation. For employees hired prior to January 1, 1989, the maximum longevity pay shall be 10%. For employees hired on or after January 1, 1989, the maximum longevity pay shall be 5%.
(Ord. 1998-25, passed 5-18-1998)
When an employee of the city is authorized to travel on official city business, the city shall provide for mileage reimbursement and for related expenses, as follows.
(a) Mileage allowance. All employees of the city who are authorized to travel on official business with the written approval of their department head shall be compensated in an amount equal to the current amount permitted to be deducted by the Internal Revenue Service for such use. Such compensation will not be afforded an employee when he or she has available to him or her a city-owned vehicle.
(b) Daily travel allowance. An employee or elected official of the city who is authorized to travel on official business shall be reimbursed with a valid itemized receipt or have the city pay expenses directly for the following.
(1) Lodging. At an amount not to exceed the per diem allowance rates in effect per Internal Revenue Service Code or publications (currently #1542). The only exception to this limit is when the employee or official is staying at the same hotel or lodging facility where the conference or seminar is being held.
(2) Meals. At an amount not to exceed the per diem allowance rates in effect per Internal Revenue Service Code or publications (currently #1542). The federal standard meal allowance shall be allocated based on the following limits and the amount reimbursed for meals may include tips of 15% or less and sales tax, and will be included as part of the allowance:
A. Breakfast: 20%;
B. Lunch: 30%; and
C. Dinner: 50%.
(3) Incidentals. For expenses directly related to the conference or seminar. This includes cab fares and tips not to exceed 15% to cab drivers for transportation between a hotel and the conference and books or supplies for use at the conference or seminar.
(c) Lost wages. All elected officials of the city, excluding the Mayor, and all non-employee members of boards and commissions, shall be entitled to lost wages of up to $150 per day when required to travel overnight on official business, provided that such travel has been approved by the Council Finance Committee.
(d) Procedures for reimbursement. The Director of Finance is hereby authorized to establish procedures for reimbursement relating to this section.
(e) Personal benefits. No personal benefits such as frequent flyer miles, rewards, prizes and the like shall be procured by a city official/employee when traveling at the city’s expense.
(Ord. 2000-236, passed 9-5-2000; Ord. 2001-29, passed 2-5-2001; Ord. 2007-284, passed 12-3-2007; Ord. 2010-44, passed 2-16-2010; Ord. 2010-244, passed 11-1-2010)
The purpose of this section is to provide a clear set of policies and guidelines regulating the use of city-owned vehicles by city employees and to avoid and conflicts or misunderstandings regarding their use. Any violations of this section may result in disciplinary action including, but not limited to, verbal warning, written reprimand, time off without pay (suspension), loss of use of vehicle, termination or fine. The city vehicle policy and guidelines are as follows.
(a) City-owned vehicles are to be utilized exclusively for city business and matters relating to the operation of the services provided by the city to the community. This policy covers all vehicles owned by the city.
(b) No city vehicle shall be used or operated for the daily purpose of transporting any city employee to and from work unless one or both of the following conditions apply:
(1) The operator of the vehicle is on a 24-hour call to meet valid emergency situations; or
(2) The department head to which the vehicle is assigned can provide justification to the Mayor that such take home use is in the best financial interest of the city.
(c) The Mayor, with the advice of the department head, may grant temporary use of city vehicles for commute purposes when deemed appropriate or necessary, subject to the restrictions set forth in divisions (a) and (b) of this section.
(d) The Director of Finance shall report the use of vehicles in accordance with the guidelines of the Internal Revenue Service Code. The vehicles are not an inducement for employment nor should they be considered as compensation.
(e) A vehicle is purchased or leased on an annual basis for use by the Mayor. This vehicle is considered a necessity for the performance of the duties of the Mayor/Safety Director. The Mayor/Safety Director’s use of this vehicle shall be at his or her discretion.
(f) City employees in the following positions will be provided with a vehicle to be used for city business only and commuting privileges while in and outside the corporate limits of the city:
(1) Police Chief;
(2) Assistant Police Chief;
(3) Fire Chief;
(4) Assistant Fire Chief;
(5) Fire Lieutenant (Administrative Head of Fire Prevention Bureau);
(6) Service Director;
(7) Director of Water Reclamation;
(8) D.A.R.E. Officer (during the school year); and
(9) Police Department Canine Officer.
(g) Additional proposals for vehicles to be used for commuting privileges shall be subject to the approval of the Mayor and submitted in ordinance form for Council’s subsequent approval or rejection.
(h) The Mayor, at his or her discretion, may authorize extended use of the vehicles being used by the Police and Fire Chiefs for the health, safety and welfare of the residents of the city.
(i) No employee shall operate a city vehicle or heavy equipment or machinery if any of the following apply:
(1) The person is under the influence of alcohol or any drug of abuse, or the combined influence of alcohol and any drug of abuse;
(2) The person has a concentration of 0.04% or more by weight of alcohol in his or her blood;
(3) The person has a concentration of .04 of one gram or more by weight of alcohol per 210 liters of his or her breath; or
(4) The person has a concentration of .06 of one gram or more by weight of alcohol per 100 milliliters of his or her urine.
(j) Non-employees are not permitted to ride in a city vehicle except for business related reasons (i.e., carpooling to a permitted function). Only in extreme emergency (i.e., safety) would a non-employee minor under the age of 18 years old, be permitted to ride in a city vehicle. Activities such as routinely dropping children off at school or picking them up from daycare are strictly forbidden.
(k) Seatbelts are to be used at all times when driving or riding in a city vehicle.
(l) All vehicles owned or leased by the city are to be operated and maintained in a safe and efficient manner. The operator of any such vehicle shall be responsible for reporting any defect, damage or unsuitable condition of any city vehicle to their department head. All operators of city vehicles must be properly licensed in accordance with state law to operate the class of city vehicle so operated and shall provide to their department head proof of being so licensed upon request and in any event each time his or her license is renewed. Each employee who operates a city vehicle must provide a copy of his or her license to their department head who shall be responsible for maintaining a current list of all employee’s licenses who may operate a city vehicle.
(m) Any employee who sustains or causes injury or damage to any property while in possession or being assigned a city vehicle shall report such damage or injury immediately to any governmental authority as is required by law and thereafter promptly report in writing, the details of such occurrence to their department head. Failure to promptly report the details of any occurrence to the employee’s department head may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.
(n) In the event an employee’s driver’s license expires or is revoked, suspended, forfeited or restricted in any manner, the employee shall be required to report that information with 72 hours of its occurrence to their department head, or within 24 hours of returning from vacation or other authorized leave if the expiration, revocation, suspension, forfeiture or restriction occurred during such leave.
(o) De minimis personal use of city vehicles by administrative officials or employees is permitted where such personal use is de minimis and incidental to his or her use of the city vehicle for the city’s business, and does not result in:
(1) A significant deviation from the course of travel on city business;
(2) Exposure of the city vehicle to substantial additional risk of loss or damage; and
(3) Exposure of the city to substantial additional risk of liability.
(p) City owned gas and other vehicle fluids and parts shall be placed into city vehicles only. No employee is permitted to place city-owned gas or other fuel in his or her personal or other private vehicle under any circumstances.
(q) Employees who operate their personal vehicle for city business shall be paid a mileage allowance in accordance with established city code.
(r) All vehicles owned or leased by the city shall display the city emblem and vehicle number as set forth in § 204.01.
(s) It is the responsibility of the department heads to provide, keep and maintain mileage logs regarding use of vehicles.
(t) Unmarked vehicles and covert license plates (tags) used by the city in undercover investigatory operations are prohibited unless authorized by the Mayor and Police Chief.
(u) In order to provide for an appropriate adjustment period, all city employees previously allowed to use a city vehicle for commuting purposes shall continue to be allowed to use the vehicle for commuting purposes until April 1, 2003. This adjustment period should give the affected departments and employees an opportunity to prepare for the new policy.
(Ord. 2003-5, passed 2-3-2003; Ord. 2003-215A, passed 9-15-2003; Ord. 2005-167, passed 7-18-2005; Ord. 2014-244, passed 12-15-2014)
(a) Health care coverage.
(1) The city shall provide health insurance coverage to all properly appointed permanent full-time employees of the city not currently covered by a collective bargaining agreement. Below is a list of the health care plans offered to eligible employees:
A. Medical with prescription and hearing coverage;
B. Dental insurance plan;
C. Vision insurance plan; and
D. Life insurance plan.
(2) City Council shall determine contributory amounts/percentages for employees to pay towards their health care coverage.
(b) Medical insurance opt-out plan.
(1) Full time employees may choose to not be part of the city’s medical insurance plan (opt-out) and receive a payment in lieu of city medical insurance coverage if the following conditions are met:
A. The employee provides evidence to the Human Resource Department and the Director of Finance that they have, or will have, other medical insurance coverage from another employer, spouse’s employer or elsewhere.
B. Full-time employees hired prior to February 1, 2007, must currently be enrolled in the city’s medical insurance plan to be eligible for this opt-out.
C. Full-time employees hired after February 1, 2007, will receive the option of participating in the city’s medical insurance coverage or may choose the opt-out plan if they meet requirement of subsection (1) stated above.
(2) Full-time employees qualifying for the opt-out plan will be paid an amount equivalent to 15% of the COBRA equivalency rate for medical coverage (medical, drug and vision). The Director of Finance shall determine the manner in which payments are made to participants. Payments shall be made in accordance with IRS and State of Ohio Pension Board regulations.
(c) Life insurance. Every full-time employee shall be eligible for a term life insurance policy in a minimum amount of $25,000 subject to the limitations and provisions of the selected carrier. Terms and conditions of eligibility for coverage shall be determined by the carrier. The cost of procuring the aforementioned term life insurance shall be the sole responsibility of the city.
(Ord. 2000-319, passed 11-20-2000; Ord. 2004-22, passed 2-2-2004; Ord. 2007-8, passed 1-18-2007; Ord. 2010-27, passed 1-19-2010; Ord. 2014-4, passed 1-21-2014; Ord. 2018-251, passed 12-17-2018)
Employees shall be entitled to an annual clothing allowance and other allowances for certain safety equipment as follows.
(a) Protective gear allowance. Effective January 1, 2016, employees will not receive a protective gear allowance, but will receive a reimbursement for each calendar year upon the city receiving the original itemized receipt(s) for protective gear purposes. The amount of the reimbursement rate per each City department shall be set by the Director of Finance and approved by the Mayor. Requests for reimbursement and receipts shall be reviewed by the Department of Finance prior to any proper payment being issued to the employee for the reimbursement. In addition, each department head shall list/define the protective gear required for each position eligible to receive protective gear reimbursement per City policy as determined by the Director of Finance:
(1) Engineering Department:
A. City Engineer;
B. Assistant City Engineer;
C. Assistant(s) to the Engineer; and
D. Project Engineer.
(2) Building Department: Chief Building Official.
(3) Planning Department: Zoning Inspector.
(4) City Hall Custodian Department:
A. Full-time custodian(s); and
B. Part-time custodian(s) 50% of allowance.
(5) Water Reclamation Department:
A. Director; and
B. Managers.
(6) Construction Department:
A. Construction Project Administrator;
B. Assistant to the Construction Project Manager; and
C. Inspectors.
(7) Service Department:
A. Director;
B. Managers;
C. All Service Department employees who are required to perform safety sensitive functions in the line of duty.
(8) Recreation Department:
A. Full-time Recreation Ground Crew Member(s);
B. Full-time Recreation/Community Center Maintenance Employee(s).
(9) Grantwood Department:
A. Full-time Superintendent;
B. Full-time Small Mechanic;
C. Full-time Irrigation Specialist.
(b) Uniform allowance. The following employees shall be entitled to an annual allowance in the amount indicated to be used for the purchase of uniforms and/or protective gear. The allowance shall be made by lump sum payment on or before March 1 of each year. Effective January 1, 2015, the following employees will not be entitled to an annual allowance to be used for the purchase of uniforms and/or protective gear, but will receive reimbursement in the amount indicated for each employee each calendar year upon the city receiving the original itemized receipt(s) for the purchase of uniforms and/or protective gear. In addition, each department head shall list/define the uniforms and/or protective gear required for each position eligible to receive uniform and/or protective gear reimbursement:
(1) Police Department.
Position | Allowance |
Position | Allowance |
Chief | $1,750 |
Assistant Chief | $1,275 |
Systems Records Manager | $700 |
Secretarial Staff | $625 |
Animal Warden | $500 |
Building Maintenance | $350 |
Auxiliary Officers | $150 |
Jail Supervisor | $925 |
Part-time correction officers | $300 |
Part-time Violations Clerk | $300 |
Part-time Building Maintenance | $150 |
(2) Fire Department.
Position | Allowance |
Chief | $1,750 |
Assistant Chief | $1,275 |
Secretarial Staff | $700 |
(c) Commercial driver’s license bonus.
(1) The following employees shall receive a bonus of $400 for maintaining a commercial driver’s license (CDL) in good standing for the period November 1 (year one) through and including October 31 (year two) to be paid before December 1 (year two) of each calendar year:
A. All full-time Service Department employees (effective January 1, 2006);
B. Full-time Senior Services employees with Senior Service bus driving duties; and
C. Full time employees in the Water Reclamation Department.
(2) Employees eligible for a complete CDL bonus shall possess and maintain the CDL license for the duration of the measurable period as defined in (d)(1) above. Employees obtaining an initial or reinstated CDL during the measurable period shall be compensated at a bonus rate of $200 if the CDL was obtained or reinstated for the period November 1 (year one) through March 31 (year two) or $100 if obtained or reinstated at any point after March 31 (year two) within the measurable period.
(Ord. 2000-22, passed 2-7-2000; Ord. 2004-34, passed 3-1-2004; Ord. 2004-98, passed 6-7-2004; Ord. 2009-30, passed 2-2-2009; Ord. 2009-108, passed 6-1-2009; Ord. 2010-45, passed 2-16-2010; Ord. 2010-280, passed 12-20-2010; Ord. 2014-38, passed 4-7-2014; Ord. 2015-214, passed 10-5-2015; Ord. 2016-52, passed 3-21-2016; Ord. 2016-168, passed 10-4-2016; Ord. 2019-116, passed 6-17-2019; Ord. 2019-195, passed 12-16-2019)
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