In their fifth year in office, the Denver City Council has finally figured out why the mayor’s office is on the third floor and theirs is on the fourth of the building that proclaims: “Erected by the people of the City and County of Denver.”
The council’s job is to represent the people – all of them, including city employees. If that means taking on popular Mayor John Hickenlooper, so be it. And after several years when the third floor failed to come up with a defensible method of compensating workers, the fourth floor finally found its groove.
Reform failed
In May 2003, Denver voters approved Amendment 1A, permitting the mayor and the city council to change the city’s antiquated personnel system. For decades, city employee wages were based on comparable wage surveys. Combined with a poorly executed method of assessing employee performance, the result was a system where more than 90 percent of workers received so-called merit raises. In addition, Denver’s health care, pension and other benefits were consistently at the top of comparable surveys – including payout for unused sick and vacation time.
Unfortunately – and notwithstanding the mayor and council’s enthusiasm for change – attempts to reform the system have been lackluster.
On the one hand, employees continue to collect big dollars for unused sick and vacation time, though this practice has become increasingly rare in the private sector. The result is a substantial unfunded liability for Denver taxpayers.
On the other hand, the pay system that’s replaced the old “sliding range” is impossible to explain, difficult to implement and after four years has left employees frustrated and behind in actual take-home pay.
Since 2004, the council, many of whom rely on city employees in various departments to solve constituent problems, have heard complaints about both the new pay system and the similarly challenging bonus pay plan. Council members have developed good relationships with employees and have learned to separate whining from legitimate concerns. The mayor doesn’t really rely on individual employees to carry out his agenda. He looks to his Cabinet officers and appointees to implement policy.
City employees, chaffed by small raises, increased health insurance premiums, reduced pension contributions, an unfair bonus plan and a mayor who thinks government can be run like a business, rebelled. Nine of 13 council members were listening.
Now, both the third and fourth floors are determined to fix the problem. But fixing it may require a lot more than good intentions.
All levels affected
Any effective, progressive and efficient personnel system must recognize that managers at every level – from department heads to middle managers to team leaders – require comprehensive and ongoing training. An effective human resources department must reflect the values and priorities of management and have the ability to work with both management and the labor force.
Denver’s Career Service Authority, established more than 50 years ago as an alternative to a patronage system riddled with nepotism, cannot fill that bill.
If policymakers are serious about reinventing government, ensuring equity and fairness along with accountability and enhanced efficiency, they’d better look to an entirely new model.
Perhaps policymakers committed to reform should begin by interviewing Gov. Bill Ritter about his determination to engage and empower employees in a 21st century partnership.
