City Council - Regular Meeting

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Heat up. Thank you so much for attending the public hearing regarding the fisc year 2027 compensation plan for employees of the city of Tucson. I'm going to call this uh public hearing to order. Miss Clerk, do we have to acknowledge this? Okay. Um during the April 7th mayor and council study session, Dr. Terry Train,

the director of human resources, presented the fiscal year 2027 annual compensate compensation plan recommendation. In accordance with the Tucson Charter Chapter 7, Section Two, the mayor is required to hold the public hearing within 10 days of that recommendation being presented in order to afford all interested parties the opportunity to raise disputes in connection with the recommendations. The deadline to file disputes is 5:30 p.m. today. They must be filed electronically through the link the human resources department provided to all City of Tucson employees via email on April 7th and April 8th. There's also a QR code posted um here at the mayor and council chambers linking to the dispute form for those in attendance who need to file. Requests to speak at this meeting were sent to the city clerk's office per the notice for this hearing. Those requests were due by noon no noon today. Um we've received a list of speakers and I have it here in front of me. I will call speakers in the order they were registered by the clerk's office. Uh when I call your name, please come to the podium. State your name, job title, and your department. If you represent a group of employees, please identify that group. I also ask that each speaker limit their remarks to three minutes. Madame city clerk, thank you for the list of individuals who requested to speak. We will start our with our first speaker. Our first speaker is Brian O'Sullivan.

Uh good afternoon and thank you all. My name is Brian O'Sullivan. I'm a crime laboratory coordinator at the Tucson Police Department Crime Laboratory and I am here representing the Forensic Scientist 3 uh position. Uh first off, thank you for this opportunity to address you all. Uh as I said, the dispute I submitted is in regards to the forensic scientist 3 position at the lab. Uh prior to the market study, it was determined that the position was 21.84% out of market. Uh following the market study, the current recommendation for the upcoming fiscal year was to move up one pay grade uh G 109 to 110 uh resulting in approximately a 10% pay increase for the position. While this is an improvement over the current salary range, it would still be significantly out of market with the same positions in the authorized comparator studies. Even with the proposed increase, the pay is not competitive enough to attract and retain employees at this level. Last April, my colleague Gigail Warren, she spoke here and she warned that the practice of paying forensic scientists at a rate lower than what we were paying a decade ago would have an adverse impact on the lab. Specifically, we train people and then they go elsewhere. This exact scenario ended up coming to pass in October of 2025. I had a trainee Elijah Vela who was on track to promote to forensic scientist 3 in the summer of this year. Uh he had spent the last four years being trained and gaining competency in mobile device extraction, computer acquisition, digital forensic incident response, digital video recovery, and computer forensic analysis. However, once he realized that he would not be earning a salary equivalent to the rest of his colleagues at that level, he sought out employment other employment opportunities. He ended up taking a job opportunity

with another municipal law enforcement agency that offered him over $20,000 more per year for the same work. We invested upwards of $30,000 to train him to do this work, and we lost the entirety of our investment. Perhaps more importantly, we now have no personnel dedicated to performing computer forensic analysis on a full-time basis. We have a backlog of cases, most of which involved child sexual exploitation material that are not able to be analyzed until I get another training through the training program. In fact, for the first time ever in my tenure at FEMU, we actually had to send a case to DPS to be worked uh because we lack the capacity. Uh this also has implications for our succession planning. Over 44% of our workforce has over has less than five years and we have eight tenured employees who are either already eligible for retirement or they will be eligible within a couple of years. If we don't shore up the forensic 3 position, we lose our succession planning. So I respectfully request to be upgraded to pay grades for this position. Thank you very much.

Thank you Mr. O Sullivan. Our next speaker is William Lumis.

Good afternoon and thank you for hearing me. I'm William Lumis. I'm a forensic scientist 3 at the uh crime lab assigned to the toxicology unit. Uh just as my previous colleague just mentioned, we are looking at the current uh increase of one pay grade. I will say that just like we lost Eli, we lost my colleague in toxicology, Samantha Wooten, to the Department of Public Safety Laboratory because they also offered more than $20,000 per year more than our current position. This is my main focus for my official dispute that I actually submitted already that uh this is the what uh compared to the market we are not meeting. My second dispute is not official. It actually has to do with the report that I got that showed that my experience as a forensic scientist one and a forensic scientist 2 is considered indirect experience for my current position. It is illogical for the experience that is required to be promoted to a forensic scientist 3 to be considered indirect in uh accounting for my base pay. And that is my uh talk. So thank you very much.

Thank you Mr. Lumis. Our third speaker is Brandon Navo. He's not here. Okay. Lassero carinho not present. Um Cody Mormon.

Hello, my name is Cody Mormon. I'm a operator for the Los Railos landfill and we're here today on these topics of concern. solid waste equipment operators position grade adjustment from 103 to 106 which places this position at a higher grade than the landfill EOS position. The tier system similar to the SEWS was proposed by the city manager several months ago and responses pending. The tier system was intended to provide pay equity between the two positions. The EOS staff operate daily heavy equipment machinery such as track dozers, D9s, and garbage compactors 836s to manage all municipal solid waste from the city of Tucson residents. Mun municipal waste from the region and commercial wastess. Each one of these machinery weighs over 110,000 lbs. EOS staff also operate landfill operations, support every he heavy equipment such as industrial excavators, hall trucks, 7,000galon water trucks, loaders, and motor graders. The Los Rialis landfill receives an average of 750,000 tons of waste each year and over 325,000 customers per year. The landfill compares the city of Phoenix and landfill SR85 in the amount of waste we receive and manage. This landfill is open six days per week from 6:00 a.m. to 5:00 p p.m. and open to anyone therefore operates a regional landfill. Additionally, we are open during every city holiday except Thanksgiving Day, Christmas, and New Year's Day. Otherwise, we are open providing landfill services. We are even open during heavy weather events, including snow and icy roads. The landfill waste handling equipment has GPS for grade control and to assist the operator to reach the optimal levels of trash and compaction. Effective trash compaction ensures the landfill's valuable resource airspace and is used up properly. You may know the last the waste sale liner systems was almost 8 million dollars to install

in the landfill solid waste fill area. The equipment operations specialist operator compacts all the residential trash including the hazardous materials people also throw in the trash. We also handle commercial and industrial waste materials. In 2021, mayor and council declared the landfill sites the Los Rial sub sustainability campus equipment operations specialists help support all the new activities on the site, including the compost operation, green waste diversion, green waste diversion, glass recycling, and bifusion plastic diversion program. Other other operations US supports of the landfill include the recycling, scrap metal recycling, and appliance recycling. This position is highly safely sensitive position because operators have the heavy machinery next to the residential people and their trash from the vehicles and other large commercial trucks uploading at the field area. At the landfill EOS manager landfills, which are primarily caused by the lithium ion batteries that residents throw in the trash, we respond to these fires during regular operating days. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Mr. Mormon. Uh, Christopher Francis. Okay. He is the one that wants to speak. So, we go ahead and call him. Gilbert Decker.

Gilbert Decker. Uh, ESW Los Railis landfill. I'm continuing on with his. In a landfill solid waste area, operators are exposed every day to landfill gas that is generated by the thick layers of contaminated waste buried beneath our working deck. at the landfill. EOS's are a managed uh landfill fires which are primarily caused by lithium ion batteries that residents throw in their trash to respond to these fires regular operating days and are also called in at night to handle the fires. This requires heavy equipment like the D9 dozers and a 7,000galon water trucks to handle the burning fires and smother the fires. We also use large amounts of soil brought in with the large hall trucks to cover the flaming trash. Although Tucson Fire responds to these fires, they are not equipped to handle landfill fires and only support the efforts provided uh to provide medical assistance if needed. The solid waste industry is number four on the list of industrial fat of fatalities. Landfill equipment operation specialists have always been classified higher than solid waste equipment operators. However, someone decided to change this by classing SWOOS at two grades higher. This is not right. For many years, the landfill EOSs have been overlooked by the city management eval evaluating the pay scale, which is lower than uh any other city or private industry landfill in the state. Additionally, landfill EOSs are pulled together with equipment operators from Tucson Water and Transportation. However, those types of tasks and skills required by landfill EOSs are more complex than those from the other departments. The landfill equipment is much larger and more complex to operate and in much tighter, much more dangerous areas. I'm going to add uh the landfill operates under the same regulations and safety requirements as private landfills and its workers

should be equally compensated. We are asking that city management look into our situation and stop overlooking the highly skilled work we perform and start properly compensating us. We understand that there are steps to address this inequity and the request process be started and include us with transparency. Our next step will to be to schedule a meeting with the city manager for more in-depth discussion. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you, Mr. Decker. Sarah Megazon.

Good afternoon, honorable mayor. Uh, my name is Sarah Megon. I'm a project manager in planning and development services and I've worked for the city of Tucson for nearly seven years. I submitted a formal compensation dispute that outlines four specific and documentable issues, the mislication of the base pay calculator, market data does not seem to align with peer jurisdictions, a structural problem and how grade changes are being implemented, and the use of the wrong job description to evaluate experience. I won't repeat that detail here, but I do want to speak to what it means beyond my individual case because this is not just about one employee. First, there is a clarity issue. Employee placement is presented as being determined by years of experience. However, the underlying system utilizes a point-based structure that may substantially adjust experience based on its cate categorization. If these distinctions are not explicitly communicated, individuals operate under assumptions about evaluation methods that do not reflect the actual process. Second, there is a consistency issue. Classifying relevant experience as not related can indicate that the framework does not align with the actual department work. Inconsistent inputs lead to inconsistent results. And this unpredictability not only undermines trust in the system but also causes severe morale issues among employees who feel undervalued, frustrated, and uncertain about their future within the organization. I've heard from many employees that how did they even get the job if they're in right now if all their prior experience was listed as not relevant. Third, there's a structural issue. When job profiles transition to higher pay grades, employees are not being reassessed within the updated salary ranges. As a result, they retain their existing salaries, which may diminish their standing relative to the range. Even if their prior placement was deemed suitable at 68%, they move to 48 44% of the of the scale. And this

misalignment can compromise the intended purpose of the adjustment from the employees perspective. Fourth, a career ladder design. Renaming planning positions is more than just an internal HR change. It affects the profession's retention by eliminating senior technical roles that hold institutional knowledge and expertise. Collapsing these roles into generic titles strips away important career pathways, risking loss of talent. To attract and keep top planners, we need structures that value technical mastery, career go growth, and management skills. As Arizona chapter president of the American Planning Association, I have seen firsthand how these changes impact planners and their professional journeys. It is crucial to implement clear pathways that recognize and reward technical excellence alongside managerial development. Unclear and inconsistent systems make employees uncertain about their future within the city. I've heard from long-erving staff across multiple departments who are now wondering if they can keep even growing their careers here. and that should matter. The organization depends on experienced staff. Thank you.

Thank you, Miss Megaen. Kevin Franklin.

Good afternoon, mayor personnel. My name is Kevin Franklin. I am a senior assistant prosecuting city attorney. I'm here on behalf of myself and six other attorneys who are currently obligated in court functions at this moment. Um, thank you for the opportunity to address the employee compensation process. I've been told we're only supposed to address the market study and uh salary survey. My colleagues have also been told that there is no plan to release that information as it pertains to our job descriptions. So, we are left in the coffusk position of only being able to address information that we don't have. So, let me address information that I do have. We've been told that any dispute must be filed by 5:30 today. My friend Brianna Braun has yet to receive her 4900 report. How is she supposed to file a dispute on a document that she does not have? We have been provided little information and no direction on how to enter the 4900 data. We were everyone essentially did the best they could. This has resulted in wildly different pay rates for employees with exactly the same experience. In my particular case, I am the most experienced attorney in the same position as my colleagues, yet I'm looking at 30% less of a raise because of how the data was tabulated. One of these colleagues with the same job description recognized the mistake and attempted to correct it and was told that the 4900 process was closed despite her best efforts to rectify that. HR has simultaneously presented us with raises we did not expect yet made people either unhappy or anxious about the situation they're in. This can't possibly be what mayor and council ordered, but it is what has been delivered. My current job title is senior assistant prosecuting s city attorney. That's a mouthful. I don't usually say it. Essentially, what I am is the most

experienced trial attorney in city court. I am often assigned to our more serious or challenging cases. I handled the case where the three individuals threatened to zip tie the Mosquet Elementary School teacher profal. Uh I also am dealing with Mark Brown and his associates whom I think you may know. The 4,900 process has placed me in the first quartortile of my pay range where I am supposedly developing my skills. These calculations do not represent who we are or what we do. This process should be open to input from people who actually work the jobs. The 4900 rubric was opaque and only became clearer after any opportunity to adjust it was closed. The intent seems good, but the execution has produced clear mixed and clearly erroneous results. I'm asking the mayor and council to provide clarity on the market study and salary survey and to allow adjustments to the 4900 data. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Franklin. Karen Dunder Wix, I'm sorry if I mutilated your name. That's fine.

Hello, my name is Karen Danderitz. I am an associate prosecuting city attorney in two treatment courts, mental health court and community court. I've worked alongside Councilwoman Schubert at Puma Community College and she can in attest my integrity integrity and interest in helping marginalized people in our community. I'm here on behalf of myself, other prosecutors who are currently in court and those who are not here. I'm here because I've been tasked with a fool's errand. I've been instructed to appeal the market data and salary survey data, but none exists publicly or internally. When I asked my HR representative, it was not provided. When I asked the city attorney, my boss, it could not be he could not provide anything either. Our ask is simple. Please be transparent and provide the market data and salary survey data because the proposed compensation plan directly impacts our department and our case loads. It directly affects our ability to do our jobs well. We want to ensure that y'all get it right because our department is hemorrhaging. We cannot retain prosecutors and we struggle to attract new talent due to the lack of competitive compensation. We cannot retain or attract staff to review bodywn camera and process our cases. It has been this way since I started working here in 2021. We are overwhelmed and we know we will lose more prosecutors and staff if it does not change. This is important because the s the success of your safe initiatives, safe city initiatives lies in the hands of prosecutors. If we can't recruit or keep attorneys or staff due to the lack of competitive compensation, the prosecutors can no longer sustain prioritizing your initiative. For example, as of this week, I'm the only

mental health court prosecutor. I now have over 1700 cases assigned to me because we lost our only mental health court attorney to more money and a more manageable workload. I am also the lead attorney for community court, which now has become a separate and additional case load. Finding prosecutors within our office to cover community court falls on me. And every week it's a struggle to find two two out of 15 prosecutors who are not in court and may be available to cover. God forbid if I get sick or try to take a vacation. If we can't hire new attorneys, we can no longer prioritize cases that matter to you in our community. The 67% increase of the core deployment arrest will be pointless because we will dismiss those cases. That means defendants will not have services or treatment plans they need. In turn, your safety day initiative will itself turn into a fool's errand. The prosecutor's input matters. We want to be confident in the proposed compensation plan, but we need the market data and the salary service data to review the work you've done. Thank you. I'll leave my input here.

Thank you so much. Our next speaker is Fabian Gonzalez.

Hi, good afternoon. Thank you for this uh opportunity here today. Um I work for environmental services uh heavy equipment operator, drive the garbage truck. Um what brings me here today is the dispute that I have filed um in regards to my pay. Um, I do understand that some stuff was not uh calculated for on my resume. Um, however, me and my cousin have uh attended a CDL class together. Um, we had the same driving experience. We I was actually with the department before he was. I brought him into the department. Um, I introduced him to the department. Um, he's he's been with the department nine days or uh sorry, nine months um less than I have. um and he's receiving more pay than I have. Um however, we have the same driving experience. Um I'm no disrespect to my cousin, but I'm a higher candidate. I'm a I bring more to this department than he does. Um I've been signed off on rolloff, front load, residential, uh rear loader, you name it, I've pretty much done it with the department. Um the departments used me for advertisement and um for all social media platforms. They used me for safety videos as well. Um, they didn't compensate me for it, which I wasn't expecting it. I did it because I love my department. I love working for them. I don't look any further for, you know, for another job. Um, all I'm trying to do is just be compensated for what I feel I deserve and be treated equal as everyone else is. So, thank you guys.

Thank you, Mr. Gonzalez. Um, our next speaker is Haime Carvajal. Hi, Madame May and staff. Thank you for hearing me. I'm here about the compensation plan. I just feel that it wasn't I feel I should be a little bit higher. I have eight years in the city, but my experience of 36 years in the HVAC department with general services, but I I feel I've been through some trainings and go around and take care of these buildings that are need a lot of help, including this one. And I just feel that the with my experience that I wasn't ranked correctly, and I would like to if you guys would reconsider and see if you can put me a little bit higher. Thank you. Miss Clerk, do we have any other requests to speak?

Uh, no. We do not have any other requests to speak at this time. Um, if there is anyone that has not yet filled out a speaker card that did not sign up in advance, please signal and a clerk can bring out a card to you. Does look like we're concluded.

Okay, so that was the last of the speakers who registered. Um, I do take all of your input and um, uh, advice and, uh, what you bring to this compensation hearing very very seriously. As a matter of fact, we've been able to resolve um, many complaints. I don't want to call it complaint many concerns from employees in terms of their pay um because of this public hearing. So I take this uh this time for input very very seriously and I appreciate you all for coming um today and submitting your request to speak. Uh we are going to close the public hearing. Is that correct madame clerk? Let's see. Okay. So, the public hearing is uh closed and um if there's no additional comments and Okay, the public hearing is adjourned. Thank you all so very much. Really appreciate you all. Thank you.

Thank you.