CITY OF SEATTLE
ORDINANCE __________________
COUNCIL BILL __________________
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AN ORDINANCE relating to City employment; amending Sections 4.14.140 and 4.14.150 of the Seattle Municipal Code to expand eligibility for the moving expenses reimbursement benefit for certain individuals; and ratifying and confirming certain prior acts.
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WHEREAS, Seattle Municipal Code Section 4.14.140 provides that appointing authorities may offer a moving reimbursement benefit when relocation is required to accept a City position; and
WHEREAS, though departments of The City of Seattle may seek to recruit nationally to hire positions critical to City business needs and challenging to fill, current Personnel Rules are not currently authorized for individuals appointed to job titles earning less than the 300 salary range, or $35.74 to $41.66/hour in 2022; and
WHEREAS, on May 24, 2022, the City Council passed Ordinance 126589 that requested changes to the City’s personnel policies to allow greater flexibility for appointing authorities to offer moving assistance to a broader range of positions and circumstances when a City department is unable to recruit persons in the immediate employment area who possess the unique skills, expertise and/or educational qualifications; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF SEATTLE AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 4.14.140 of the Seattle Municipal Code, last amended by Ordinance 124567, is amended as follows:
4.14.140 Payment of moving expenses for certain employees((.))
A. If necessary to obtain the services of a particular individual, the following persons may have moving expenses, incurred by them in relocating to the City (from a distance consistent with the Internal Revenue Service Distance Test for moving expense deductions), reimbursed or advanced by the City upon presentation of verifying documents and upon the additional conditions set forth below:
1. Department, office, and agency heads appointed by the Mayor, upon confirmation by the City Council of such appointments, when payment or reimbursement is authorized by the Mayor;
2. Executive Director of the Legislative Department or comparable position(s), upon appointment by the City Council, when such payment or reimbursement is authorized by the President of the City Council;
3. The following positions, when authorized by the head of the employing unit and the Seattle Human Resources Director, and when conditions specified by the administrative guidelines issued by the Seattle Human Resources Director are met:
a. Positions ((identified in the Salary Ordinance (Ordinance 97330 as amended) by)) with salary range 400 and above, or a salary equivalent to or higher than the top step of range 400 when no range is given, or
b. Positions under salary range 400 ((but over salary range 300)), or the equivalent thereto, for which the employing unit was unable to recruit persons in the immediate employment area who possess the unique skills, expertise, and/or educational qualifications therefor((e)), or
c. Positions assigned to the Accountability Pay for Executives Program, the Manager Compensation Program, or the Strategic Advisor Compensation Program, that do not otherwise meet any of the eligibility criteria in this ((section)) Section 4.14.140.
B. The appointing authority and the employee for whom moving expenses have been authorized must stipulate in writing that, if the individual leaves the employing unit which paid the moving expenses within 12 months of initial appointment, ((he or she)) the individual shall reimburse ((this)) the employing unit for such expenses. ((In the event)) If the employee moves from one City department to another within 12 months, the City department that makes the subsequent job offer may instead make the reimbursement payment to the City department that paid the moving expenses.
Section 2. Section 4.14.150 of the Seattle Municipal Code, last amended by Ordinance 124567, is amended as follows:
4.14.150 Moving expenses defined((.))
For purposes of implementing this ((chapter)) Chapter 4.14, the phrase "moving expenses" includes expenses incurred for transportation to Seattle to secure housing, as well as food and lodging expenses for a period not to exceed five days, incurred while engaged in securing housing. In addition, moving expenses shall include all lodging, food, and transportation expenses of family and household goods and personal effects ((which)) that are incurred solely for the purpose of relocating, from departure of such family and goods from place of current residence until the time that family and possessions arrive in the City, unless such expenses have been otherwise reimbursed; provided, that nothing in this ((section)) Section 4.14.150 shall prohibit the payment of other types of moving and related expenses as approved by the appointing authority but in no case shall moving expenses in total exceed the maximum as provided for in subsection 4.14.150.A ((of this section)) .
A. Effective January 1, 1994, the authorized maximum rate for moving expenses as defined ((herein)) in this Section 4.14.150 shall be $11,908. The authorized maximum rate shall be adjusted each year by the percentage change in the Seattle-Tacoma-((Bremerton)) Bellevue, WA Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), All Items (or successor index) for the 12 month period ending the previous June 30th, rounded to the nearest dollar. The revised maximum shall take effect January 1((st)) each year.
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Section 3. Any act consistent with the authority of this ordinance taken after its passage and prior to its effective date is ratified and confirmed.
Section 4. This ordinance shall take effect and be in force 30 days after its approval by the Mayor, but if not approved and returned by the Mayor within ten days after presentation, it shall take effect as provided by Seattle Municipal Code Section 1.04.020.
Passed by the City Council the ________ day of _________________________, 2022, and signed by me in open session in authentication of its passage this _____ day of _________________________, 2022.
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President ____________ of the City Council
Approved / returned unsigned / vetoed this _____ day of _________________, 2022.
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Bruce A. Harrell, Mayor
Filed by me this ________ day of _________________________, 2022.
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Monica Martinez Simmons, City Clerk
(Seal)
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