Broken Arrow City Council
Meeting of: July 31, 2023
Title:
title
Consideration, discussion and possible direction regarding Chapter 2 of the City of Broken Arrow Ordinances, Article IX-Employee Rules and Regulations, Section 2-146 Employment Requirements
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Background:
Earlier this year, the City Council discussed Section 2-146, Employment Requirements, of Article IX, Chapter 2 of the Broken Arrow Code of Ordinances (nepotism). Discussions amongst the City Council requested my office look at the current Ordinance and bring forward recommendations to Council for consideration and possible implementation. Notably, City Council has broad authority to both define and adopt the City’s policy governing nepotism.
As a result of Council’s request, my office created an internal committee to discuss the current rules and regulations concerning our nepotism policy. The committee discussed the current provisions in the code and possible suggestions for improvement. Additionally, a determination was made to conduct a survey of the employees to provide them an opportunity to respond to current and/or potential nepotism relationships within the city. I am pleased to report that over 300 employees responded to the survey, or approximately 33% of our workforce. In reviewing survey results, the following data was derived:
• 88.64% agreed with the current definition of “immediate family” as defined in the current ordinance.
• 81.82% agreed with the current employment requirements ordinance.
• 53.90% had concerns with a supervisor having a family member work within their same department.
• 40.58% had a concern about married couples (including common-law, live-in, and engaged couples) working in the same department.
• 59.74% had concerns with a director having a family member work within their department.
• 23.38% had concerns about Human Resources personnel having family member work for the city.
• 17.86% had concerns about Finance or Accounting personnel having family members work for the city.
After consideration of the current policy, a thorough review of the survey results, and in concert with the committee, the following recommendations are being made to the governing body regarding the current policy:
• Define “immediate family” as an employee’s spouse (including common-law and domestic partnership), parent, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother, sister, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandparents of the employee or spouse, son, daughter, and grandchildren, or “foster” or “step” situations within these relationships.
• Include the following language in the ordinance:
o Is not a member of immediate family of the city manager, of an elected official of the city, or of anyone in the department of Human Resources, Legal, the City Manager’s office, Information Technology, the division of Payroll, or a member of the immediate family of a supervisor within the department of Finance.
o A Director or Department Head may not hire an immediate family member in their department, or a division under their span of control.
o If an employee is at a higher grade of employment than a relative of another employee, then the employee at a higher grade shall not be in direct supervision of their relative. There shall be a distinct separation of duties of each related employee. The higher-grade employee shall not participate in any way in the relative’s evaluation, nor shall the higher-grade employee be involved in any aspect of the relative’s promotional or disciplinary process and shall not handle confidential material that could create improper or inappropriate access to confidential material by the relative.
There are current situations which exist within the city organization which will need to be addressed and managed individually for those who are currently employed. After consideration and discussion by the City Council of the above recommendations, an appropriate ordinance can be drafted by the legal department to meet the desires and direction of the Council.
Cost: n/a
Funding Source: n/a
Requested By: City Manager’s Office
Approved By: City Manager’s Office
Attachments: Nepotism survey final 041223
PDF Yes and No responses
Recommendation:
recommend
As directed by City Council
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