SUMMARY:
This item is associated with the recent expiration of DPW employee pesticide licenses. Presently, the municipality does not posses the internal capacity to bait for rodents & other nuisance animals, to spray for weeds in public spaces such as Brentwood Park, or to spray for weeds in rights-of-way. At last month's meeting, Council approved a contract to utilize Court Pest Control to provide a third party response to resident rodent calls. However, long term use of an outside firm is not sustainable if the municipality seeks to continue to provide this service to property owners at no cost. Consequently, while it would be economical to subcontracting spraying duties to a landscaping firm, it is preferable to restore rodent removal to an internal duty.
Maintenance of a pesticide license is not a condition of employment, and efforts to convince a member of the DPW crew to recertify have not been successful. Through negotiations with the Teamsters Union, it has noted that the members are requesting incentive pay for the receipt of this license. The Borough has tentatively agreed to permit each employee to take the required tests and to provide an hourly rate increase to all workers who pass, regardless of the frequency at which they ultimately end up performing rodent baiting duties.
TEMPORARY AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE NO. 5 – JOB CLASSIFICATIONS AND WAGE RATES
It is understood and agreed by both parties that the Borough of Brentwood will revise language as it pertains to Article No. 5 – Job Classifications and Wage Rates due to the addition of a Certification Base Pay Increment.
It is understood and agreed this amendment shall be on a non-precedent basis.
A. CERTIFICATION BASE PAY INCREMENT
A DPW Employee will be entitled to the following certification base pay increment. Any DPW Employee successfully completing the requirements for any of the following certifications shall be entitled to an extra $0.40/hour added to their base hourly rate, for each approved certification, commencing the first month after successful completion and receipt of said certification, providing that no DPW Employee shall be entitled to be paid said base pay increase unless:
1. The DPW Employee submits to the DPW Director, Borough Manager, and Human Resources Director documentary proof of successful completion of said training and certification.
2. The Borough will cover the initial cost of the certification and associated exam. Should the DPW Employee fail said exam, all future exams will only then be reimbursed by the Borough upon proof of successful certification.
3. The DPW Employee will be responsible for ensuring said certification is current and all requirements, if any, are met. Should the DPW Employee let said certification lapse said DPW Employee will not be eligible to become recertified and any of the Certification Base Pay Increment received without said certification will be deducted from his next paycheck.
4. If DPW Employee no longer wishes to retain their certification, or is unable to retain or maintain their certification, said employee shall give the DPW Director 90-days’ notice of such decision.
5. No DPW Employee who is certified for any of the below certifications can refuse to perform the task/job assignment associated with their certification without forfeiting their Certification Pay Increment received to date.
6. The following certification(s) are eligible for the Certification Pay Increment:
a. Public Health Vertebrate Pest Control ...................... $0.40/hour
This includes use of a pesticide to manage and control an invertebrate pest affecting public health. (eg. Baiting for rat control.)
7. When the need arises for a DPW Employee to perform the required task/job assignment that requires said certification, the DPW Director, or his/her designee, shall assign said task/job assignment to a certified DPW Employee at their discretion.
8. Such additional pay is included in the calculation of the regular rate of pay for overtime purposes
9. Such additional pay is not included in any base pay salary increases that may occur.