Significant Changes Memo

Human Resources 
10000 N. El Mirage Road, El Mirage AZ 85335 
623-876-2949; Fax 623-876-4604; TDD 623-933-3258 
www.elmirageaz.gov  
MEMORANDUM 
TO:  
HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL 
FROM:  
HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR DAWN KUREK 
CC: 
CITY MANAGER J. CRYSTAL DYCHES 
 
DEPUTY CITY MANAGER ROBERT NILLES 
 
FIRE CHIEF MICHAEL LONG  
SUBJECT:  
SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO THE TENTATIVE FIRE MOU 
DATE:  
MARCH 20, 2024 
 
The term of the current Memorandum of Understanding between the City of El Mirage (COEM) 
and the El Mirage Fire Fighters’ Association (EMFFA) ends on June 30, 2024. Over the past three 
months, designated representatives of the City and EMFFA met and conferred regarding wages 
and other terms and conditions of employment, exchanged information, and proposals, and have 
reached a tentative two-year agreement. Management and the EMFFA share the goal of 
effectively recruiting and retaining well-qualified employees and fostering and rewarding 
employees’ performance and professionalism. 
  
Significant changes to the proposed MOU are listed below.   
  
The City Manager agreed to recommend a language update authorizing association officers or 
members up to a maximum combined total of two hundred forty hours of release time per year. 
No individual shall be permitted to use more than eighty hours of release time per year. Unused 
release time will not carry over to the following year. Release time will not be used for outside 
organizing. (Article 2: Contractual Rights of the Parties) 
  
The City Manager agreed to recommend an update to the disciplinary letter section to match the 
Employee Policy Manual and added language under limited circumstances in which a disciplinary 
letter could be removed from the employee’s personnel file. (Article 2: Contractual Rights of the 
Parties)

The City Manager agreed to recommend an initial wage increase in the first year of the 
agreement and include language in the MOU to provide a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) 
consistent with non-MOU employees in the second year of the term. (Article 3: Wages) 
  
The City Manager agreed to recommend an increase in Paramedic Pay to $3.25 per hour, from 
$2.50 per hour. (Article 3: Wages) 
  
The City Manager agreed to recommend an update to the tuition reimbursement section to 
match the Employee Policy Manual, allowing the City to pay up to the non-taxable IRS allowance 
per year for tuition and lab fees. (Article 9: Tuition Reimbursement) 
  
The City Manager agreed to recommend an increase to the annual uniform allowance to $1,200 
per year from $1,100. (Article 10: Uniform Allowance) 
  
The City Manager agreed to recommend that members temporarily upgraded by management 
to perform substantially the full range of duties and responsibilities of another MOU position be 
paid an additional 5% for each position upgrade when working out of class. (Article 12: Working 
Out of Class) 
  
The City Manager agreed to recommend adding language to make the vacation and sick accrual 
rates the same for employees assigned to a 48/96 shift schedule or a 40-hour schedule; allow the 
use of vacation in the first year of employment; allow vacation accruals to begin at hire and 
update the use of leave to the nearest quarter-hour. (Article 13: Paid and Unpaid Leave) 
   
The City Manager agreed to recommend that association members be ineligible for holiday 
closure leave in exchange for an increase to the City’s contribution to the Post Employment 
Health Plan to $100 per pay period (from $35). (Article 3: Wages and Article 13: Paid and Unpaid 
Leave) 
  
The City Manager agreed to recommend an update to the vacation leave payout section, allowing 
eligible employees to voluntarily exchange up to the lesser of their current vacation leave bank 
or their annual vacation accrual hours for compensation at their regular rate of pay. Employees 
in the first twelve months of employment are ineligible to receive vacation leave payout. 
Members will be required to make an irrevocable election on the designated form to the Human 
Resources Department by December 31st in the year before the year the payout will be paid. 
Employees may use or cash out their vacation leave payout during the calendar year, before the 
second paycheck in December. Any unused balance will automatically be paid out on the second 
paycheck in December. The Human Resources and Finance Departments will implement

processes and procedures to ensure that the program complies with constructive receipt. (Article 
13: Paid and Unpaid Leave) 
  
The City Manager agreed to recommend a two-year MOU agreement from July 1, 2024, to June 
30, 2026. (Article 20 Term and Effect) 
  
The estimated two-year cost increase for this agreement is approximately $854,000 (excludes  
vacation leave payout expenses due to the varying leave payout elections that may be made by 
employees).