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Home My WebLink About2004-08-09 City Council (7)12 City of Palo Alto C ty Manager’s Report TO:HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL FROM: CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: HUMAN RESOURCES DATE: SUBJECT: AUGUST 9, 2004 CMR:389:04 APPROVAL OF CONTRACT FOR UNPAID SABBATICAL LEAVE FOR RUBEN GRIJALVA FOR ONE YEAR (AUGUST 2004 TO AUGUST 2005) RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends Council approval of the attached contract between the City of Palo Alto and Ruben Grijalva effective August 14, 2004 through August 14, 2005. BACKGROUND Ruben Grijalva has worked for the City of Palo Alto for 15 years, 10 of which have been as Fire Chief. The Governor’s office has offered him an appointment to the position of State Fire Marshal, subject to confirmation by the Senate. Due to the uncertainty of the confirmation, Chief Grijalva has requested an unpaid sabbatical from the City of Palo Alto for one year. The sabbatical will provide restructuring opportunities that will result in significant ongoing savings to the City. DISCUSSION Due to the honor associated with an appointmentto a key State position and Chief Grijalva’ s exemplary performance during his 15 years of service to Palo Alto, the City Manager is recommending the City Council approve the attached contract to enable Mr. Grijalva to accept this appointment. The contract provides the following: One year unpaid sabbatical without benefits commencing August 14, 2004 up to August 14, 2005. CMR:389:04 Page 1 of 3 During the sabbatical Mr. Grijalva shall not be the Fire Chief and shall be placed in a vacant management position within the City for which he is qualified so the Fire Chief position may be filled. All earned but unpaid accrual balances shall be paid to Mr. Grijalva during the pay period closest to August 14, 2004. An agreement that Mr. Grijalva will return to City of Palo Alto for minimum of six months after the end of the sabbatical in order to be eligible for the management benefit programs that he would otherwise have been entitled to prior to the sabbatical. An agreement that, in the event Mr. Grijalva does not return to a position with the City for at least six months, he shall not be entitled to the above benefits. Mr. Grijalva agrees to indemnify the City of Palo Alto against any lawsuit claims or litigation resulting from this agreement. RESOURCE IMPACT As with all organizational vacancies, Executive Staff has reviewed this vacancy to determine if a restructuring opportunity exists within the Fire Department. Based on staff’s analysis, a total of approximately $174,000 of regular salaries and benefit costs can be saved during fiscal year 2004-05. This can be achieved by not filling the vacant Fire Chief position until January 2005. After January 2005, staff would recommend filling the Fire Chief position and eliminating the Coordinator, Environmental Protection position. The responsibilities of the Coordinator position would be transferred to the Fire Marshal/Deputy Fire Chief. POLICY IMPLICATIONS This action recommended in this report is consistent with prior Council policy regarding management sabbaticals, although an unpaid sabbatical is not part of the Management Compensation agreement. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW This action does not require an environmental review. ATTACHMENT A. Sabbatical Agreement Between the City of Palo Alto and Ruben Grijalva. CMR:389:04 Page 2 of 3 PREPARED BY: Leslie Loomis, Director of Human Resources DEPARTMENT HEAD:fi ,..~)_~/~,_L, /,.~).~I,.~,~./ LESLIE LOOMIS Director of Human Resources CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: FRANK BENEST City Manager CMR:389:04 Page 3 of 3 ATTACHMENT SABBATICAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF PALO ALTO AND RUBEN GRI JALVA This Sabbatical Agreement (~Agreement") is entered into , 2004, by and between the CITY OF PALO ALTO ("City"), and RUBEN GRIJALVA (~Grijalva"). RECITALS: WHEREAS, Grijalva has served the City with distinction for 15 years, i0 of which have been as Fire Chief; and WHEREAS, the Governor’s office has offered Grijalva an appointment to the position of State Fire Marshal, subject to confirmation by the Senate; and WHEREAS, the position of State Fire Marshal is a key state position and~a prestigious appointment; and WHEREAS, due to the uncertainty of the confirmation, Grijalva has requested an unpaid sabbatical from the City of Palo Alto for one year; and WHEREAS, entering into a sabbatical agreement with Grijalva will further the City’s interests in restructuring opportunities and in professional development of City employees. NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the covenants, terms, conditions, and provisions of this Agreement, and based upon the foregoing, City and Grijalva agree to the following: i. An unpaid sabbatical is authorized for Grijalva, for up to a one-year period, commencing August 14, 2004, subject to compliance with the other provisions of this agreement and City rules and policies. 2. During the sabbatical, Grijalva shall not occupy the position of City of Palo Alto Fire Chief, and that position will be filled. 3. All earned but unpaid accrual balances shall be paid to Grijalva during the pay period closest to August 14, 2004 at his current rate of pay. 4. Grijalva agrees to return to City of Palo Alto employment for a minimum of six months after the end of the sabbatical. He will not return to the position of Fire Chief or 040729 sm 8120496 1 Deputy Fire Chief, in order to avoid any appearance of, or actual, conflict of interest. 5. Grijalva agrees that, in the event he does not return to work with the City for a period of at least six months after the sabbatical concludes, he shall not be entitled to City benefits. 6. Grijalva agrees to protect, indemnify, defend and hold harmless CITY, its Council members, officers, employees and agents from any and al! demands, claims, or liability of any~ nature, including death or injury to any person, property damage or any other loss, caused by or arising out of Grijalva’s negligent acts, errors, or omissions, or willful misconduct, or conduct for which applicable law may impose strict liability on Grijalva in the performance of or failure to perform its obligations under this Contract. 7. If Grij~lva retires from the City of Palo Alto and is found to meet all PERS requirements, he would be eligible for standard City management employee retiree medica! benefits, as provided in the compensation plan for management employees. 8. This Agreement is null and void if Grijalva does not return to City employment. 9. Grijalva shall return to employment of the City on or before August 14, 2005. i0. Except as otherwise specifically provided herein, all City rules, policies, procedures and agreements remain applicable to Grijalva’s emp!oyment with the City. ii. All notices hereunder will be given, in writing, and mailed, postage prepaid, by certified mail, addressed as fol!ows: CITY: Attn: Mayor City of Palo Alto 250 Hamilton Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94301 Phone: (650) 329-2226 FAX: (650) 328-3631 GRIJALVA:ADDRESS TO BE DESIGNATED BY GRIJALVA WITHIN i0 DAYS 12. Entire Aqreement/Amendment. This Agreement constitutes the entire understanding and agreement between the 040729 sm 8120496 2 parties as to those matters contained in it, and supersedes any and~ all prior or contemporaneous agreements, representations and understandings of the parties. This Agreement may be amended at any time by mutual agreement of the parties, but any such amendment must be in writing, dated, and signed by the parties and attached hereto. 13. Applicable Law and Venue. This Agreement shall be interpreted according to the laws of the State of California. Venue of any action regarding this Agreement shall be in the proper court in Santa Clara County. 14. Severability. In the event any portion of this Agreement is declared void, such portion shall be severed from this Agreement and the remaining provisions shall remain in effect, unless the result of such severance would be to substantially alter this Agreement or the obligations of the parties, in which case this Agreement shall be immediately terminated. 15. Wa±ver. Any failure of a party to insist upon strict compliance with any term, undertaking, or condition of this Agreement shall not be deemed to be a waiver of such term, undertaking, or condition. To be effective, a waiver must be in writing, signed and dated by the parties. 16. Representation by Counsel. Grijalva and City acknowledge that they each did, or had the opportunity to, consult with legal counse!of their respective choices with respect to the matters that are the subject of this Agreement prior to executing it. // // // // // // // // // 040729 sm 8120496 3 // IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Agreement as of the day and year first above written. ATTEST:CITY OF PALO ALTO City Clerk Mayor APPROVED AS TO FORM: City Attorney APPROVED: City Manager Title: Director of Human Resources 040729 sm 8120496 4