CITY OF CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA
                CITY COUNCIL AGENDA



 Agenda Date:           February 22. 2022

 Action Required:       Adoption of Resolution (1st of 2 Readings)

 Presenter:             Michael C. Rogers, Interim City Manager

 Staff Contacts:        Lisa Robertson, City Attorney
                        Samuel Sanders, Deputy City Manager
                        Ashley Reynolds Marshall, Deputy City Manager

 Title:                 Appropriation of Funding to Study, Scope and Implement Collective
                        Bargaining

Background:
This Agenda Item seeks City Council’s approval to reallocate funding currently appropriated for a
Class and Compensation Study, to be used for a major project that will study, scope, design and
implement Collective Bargaining.

The Annual Budget is, in effect, a “spending plan” for a specific fiscal year. Within the Budget some
expenditures are allocated generally (“salaries”, “equipment”, “subscriptions”, etc.). Other
expenditures are identified as having a specific purpose, as may be indicated in a Budget Line Item
identifying a specific program or project). Within City Code Sec. 11-5 the City Council has specified
that “[n]o money shall be expended on any department of the city government beyond the amount
estimated in the budget for that department in the general appropriation ordinance for the fiscal year
unless such expenditure is authorized by the recorded vote of three-fifths of all of the members
elected to the council.” Further, if City Council wishes to re-allocate money appropriated for a
specific purpose, and authorize it to be expended in some other manner, or for some other purpose, a
“special appropriation” is required during the fiscal year, per City Code Sec. 11-4.

Discussion:
On February 3, 2020, City Council established a project account within the City’s Capital Projects
Fund, to accumulate money to fund a City-wide Class and Compensation Study. Currently the
amount accumulated within that project account is $1,250,000. The source of the funds was a one-
time appropriation approved as part of the FY 2019 year-end closeout. Recently, the City engaged a
firm to perform the Class and Compensation Study, at a contracted estimated cost of $105,100. The
study is expected to commence in late February 2022. Even leaving a reasonable contingency for
associated costs and reimbursable expenses associated with that contract, it is clear that the bulk of
the $1,250,000 originally appropriated for this purpose will not be needed to complete the study.

The City Manager, upon listening to Council and receiving feedback, suggests that Council re-direct
the money from the CIP Class and Compensation Study account and appropriate it to a new project
account to be set up within the Capital Projects Fund for Study, Scoping and Implementation of
Collective Bargaining, which City Council has articulated as a priority project. This money could be
used for project costs such as:
   • Scoping, designing and planning a Collective Bargaining Program (this would include items
        such as the costs of consulting services to evaluate and design a program that would fit
        Charlottesville’s needs, outside/ consulting legal services to assist in drafting an ordinance
        and in drafting processes and procedures necessary to administer the provisions of an
        ordinance, and consultants and attorneys needed during the process of negotiating agreements
        with recognized collective bargaining units.

Please note that: operating costs (such as the costs of additional human resources staff (FTEs),
training for City staff, etc.) will still need to be allocated to departments within the operating
budget—Human Resources, City Attorney and/or the City Manager’s office. Any operational
funding required as a result from decisions made in the design/ scoping/ ordinance development
process for Collective Bargaining will need to be included in the Human Resources’ or City
Attorney’s operational budgets. However, those funding needs can be discussed during the process
of approving the FY2023 Budget, or at a later time, such as during a year-end fiscal year closeout
process.

Alignment with City Council’s Vision and Strategic Plan:
Allocating this funding for class and compensation research and collective bargaining aligns with Goal 5
of the City’s Strategic Plan: “A well-managed and responsive organization”.

Community Engagement:
Appropriations of funds and Council’s discussions on both matters have been discussed publicly as part
of its business matters during meetings before the public.

Budgetary Impact:
No new funding is requested with this appropriation. Council is requested to move money from one
project account to another, within the Capital Projects Fund.

City Manager/ Staff Recommendation:
Staff recommends approval of the attached Appropriations Resolution, to leave sufficient funds available
for the Class and Compensation Study, and related expenses of contract administration, and to reallocate
the remainder of that money for expenditure for the study, design, and implementation of a collective
bargaining program. Recommended motion:

       “I move to approve the Resolution appropriating funding in the amount of $625,000 to a
       new Collective Bargaining Project Account within the City’s Capital Projects Fund”

Alternatives:
City Council may decline to take action on this request, which will allow the funding to remain
within the Class and Compensation Study account. No motion or other action is required if City
Council declines to implement the staff recommendation.

Attachment:
Proposed Resolution
                               RESOLUTION
             APPROPRIATING FUNDING IN THE AMOUNT OF $625,000
            TO A NEW COLLECTIVE BARGAINING PROJECT ACCOUNT
                 WITHIN THE CITY’S CAPITAL PROJECTS FUND


WHEREAS the Charlottesville City Council previously appropriated funds within its Capital
Projects Fund, in the amount of $1,250,000, and authorized the funds to be expended for a
Citywide Class and Compensation Study, and

WHEREAS pursuant to City Code Section 11-5, the City Manager hereby requests Council to
make a special appropriation, to move funds within FY2022 which will not be needed to
complete a Class and Compensation Study into a new Capital Projects Fund account designated
for a Collective Bargaining Project, to be used for contractual and consulting expenses associated
with the study, design, and implementation of a collective bargaining program for the City of
Charlottesville;

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of Charlottesville,
Virginia, that funding previously appropriated by City Council for expenditure in FY2022 for a
Class and Compensation Study is hereby re-allocated and appropriated for expenditure in
FY2022 to a Collective Bargaining account within the Capital Projects Fund, for contractual and
consulting expenses associated with the study, design, and implementation of a collective
bargaining program for the City of Charlottesville.

Capital Projects Fund:

Transfer From:
Expenditures - $625,000
Fund: 426                     Funded Program: P-01032                      G/L Account: 599999

Transfer To:
Expenditures - $625,000
Fund: 426                     Funded Program: NEW CODE                     G/L Account: 599999