The Administration recommends the City Commission approve the proposed ordinance on first reading and set the ordinance for second reading on November 16, 2022.

The City of Miami Beach has the following five (5) classified employee groups that are represented by bargaining units:

·       Group I - Represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 1554;

·       Group II - Represented by the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) William Nichols Lodge No. 8;

·       Group III - Represented by the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) Local 1510;

·       Group IV - Represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 3178; and

·       Group V - Represented by the Government Supervisors Association of Florida (GSAF), OPEIU, Local 100

In addition, the City has one classified employee group, Group VI, comprising all other classifications in the classified service not covered by a bargaining unit. This group is commonly referred to in the City of Miami Beach as “Others”.  There is a seventh salary group comprised of at-will employees commonly referred to as Unclassified.

The Administration will be presenting a separate item before the City Commission during the October 26, 2022 City Commission meeting, requesting approval to ratify a three-year labor agreement (“Agreement”) between the City of Miami Beach and the Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 3178 from the period of October 1, 2021 through September 30, 2024.

The ratified agreement between the City and the CWA mandates the implementation of a retroactive two percent (2%) across the board cost of living adjustment (“COLA”), effective the first full pay period ending in April 2022, for all classified employees represented by the CWA; a three percent (3%) across the board COLA, effective the first full pay period ending in April 2023, for all classified employees represented by the CWA; a three percent (3%) across the board COLA, effective the first full pay period ending in April 2024, for all classified employees represented by the CWA. The ordinance amendment will ensure the City has an employee classification and compensation system that is reasonable and competitive.

Any of the classified employees who separate from employment with the City prior to the date of implementation of the COLAs, will not be eligible to receive the COLA increases.

Furthermore, there is a need to amend the Classified Salary Ordinance to reclassify Dispatchers from H27 to H28, Communication Operators from H25 to H26, and Complaint Operators from H26 to H27.

The fiscal impact of the COLAs for CWA is estimated at $198,551 for FY 2021/22, $710,527 for FY 2022/23, and $1,353,813 for FY 2023/24. The total estimated three-year impact is $2,262,891.

The Administration recommends amending Ordinance No. 789, the Classified Employees Salary Ordinance of the City of Miami Beach, Florida, by providing a retroactive COLA effective the first full pay period ending in April 2022, April 2023, and April 2024, and increasing the minimum and maximum of each CWA bargaining unit classification pay range correspondingly.

Based on the foregoing, the Administration recommends that the City Commission approve the proposed ordinance on first reading and set the ordinance for second reading November 16, 2022.