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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance No. 3267-2022Sponsored by: Administration CITY OF KENAI ORDINANCE NO. 3267-2022 AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENAI, ALASKA, AUTHORIZING COVID LEAVE FOR CITY EMPLOYEES THAT TEST POSITIVE FOR COVID - 19, AND AUTHORIZING THE USE OF FUNDS FROM A GRANT FROM THE STATE OF ALASKA-DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES – DIVISION OF PUBLIC HEALTH – COVID EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER TO FUND THE LEAVE. WHEREAS, the City of Kenai was awarded a grant for $326,985.32, enacted through Ordinance 3208-2021, to support COVID-19 related activities related to recovery and prevention strategies; and, WHEREAS, recent expansion of this grant allows funding to be used for leave time of employees who contract COVID-19 and are required by City policy, and CDC recommendations to be away from work due to illness; and, WHEREAS, this additional leave, to be used for employees who test positive for COVID-19, may be used by employees in lieu of their personal leave; and, WHEREAS, as the result of new variants to the virus, the State of Alaska and the United States continues to see high levels of COVID transmission among all populations; and, WHEREAS, it is in the best interest of the City to keep and promote a healthy working environment for all employees ensuring its capacity to provide essential services to the community; and, WHEREAS, addition of this leave will encourage employees to test for and stay home if they test positive for COVID-19, thereby protecting other city employees and the community from further spread; and, WHEREAS, authorizing the expansion on the use of grant funds for COVID-19 employee leave, is in the best interest of the City. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENAI, ALASKA, as follows: Section 1. That notwithstanding the provisions of Kenai Municipal Code 23.40.030 – Annual Leave, the City Manager is authorized to use funding approved through Ordinance 3208-2021, to provide leave for use by employees testing positive for COVID-19, to support the safety of employees and the public, to execute all needed grant agreements, and expend the funds in accordance with grant provisions, and this ordinance. Section 2. Severability: That if any part or provision of this ordinance or application thereof to any person or circumstances is adjudged invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, such AMENDED BY SUBSTITUTION Ordinance No. 3267-2022 Page 2 of 2 _____________________________________________________________________________________ New Text Underlined; [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED] judgment shall be confined in its operation to the part, provision, or application directly involved in all controversy in which this judgment shall have been rendered, and shall not affect or impair the validity of the remainder of this title or application thereof to other persons or circumstances. The City Council hereby declares that it would have enacted the remainder of this ordinance even without such part, provision, or application. Section 3. Effective Date: That pursuant to KMC 1.15.070(f), this ordinance shall take effect immediately upon enactment. ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENAI, ALASKA, this 2nd day of February, 2022. BRIAN GABRIEL SR., MAYOR ATTEST: ___________________________________ Michelle M. Saner, MMC, City Clerk Introduced: January 19, 2022 Enacted: February 2, 2022 Effective: February 2, 2022 MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor Gabriel and Council Members THROUGH: Paul Ostrander, City Manager FROM: Tony Prior, Fire Chief DATE: January 12, 2022 SUBJECT: Ordinance 3267-2022 COVID Leave 2022 We became aware of the ability to expand the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the City of Kenai and the State of Alaska-Department of Health and Social Services Division of Public Health-COVID-19 Emergency Operations Center (DPH-EOC), to cover COVID-19 leave. This ordinance would provide leave for employees that have tested positive for COVID-19. The City Manager was given authority to approve the original MOA through Ordinance 3208- 2021, which established the mobile vaccination program that began in April of 2021. We were approved for reimbursement of up to $326,985.32, to complete this program. We have approximately $220,000 remaining in this account and do not anticipate that we will get close to utilizing all of these funds. If 50% of City employees were to test positive for COVID-19 and utilize 40 hours of the leave authorized by this ordinance, the cost to the City would be approximately $90,000 There has been a recent rise in COVID-19 cases due to newer variants that may affect our employees through illness, or exposures through close-contact. The health of our employees is vital to the daily operations of the City, as well as the health of community members that we serve. One component of that health and wellness is making sure employees have adequate time to isolate, quarantine and recover, should they test positive for COVID-19. Another is making sure our employees are not passing this virus on to co-workers or the public they come in contact with. In following CDC guidelines, employees will need to quarantine and isolate for at least 5 days if they test positive for COVID-19, potentially resulting in employees taking 40 hours of leave time. These 5 days are focused on the time that the individual is the most infectious, and should stay away from others to minimize the spread of this virus. Another concern is employees may not be getting a test when they are having 1 or 2 symptoms for fear of a positive result, resulting in personal leave time used during the required isolation/quarantine period. We are trying to be as consistent as possible as we move forward in our response to COVID-19 and we have updated our policies following CDC’s updated guidelines. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/quarantine-isolation- Page 2 of 2 background.html Using funding allowed by this grant, to provide additional leave to employees, will encourage them to test for and stay home if they test positive for COVID-19., thereby protecting other city employees and the community from further spread. We have an amazing group of people working for the City that are truly our greatest asset, and doing everything we can to keep them healthy and productive will maintain the outstanding service we provide to our community. Your consideration is appreciated.