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Home My WebLink About4037 Vol Separation Incentive1 RESOLUTION NO. 4037 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF MOSES LAKE, WASHINGTON, ESTABLISHING A VOLUNTARY SEPARATION INCENTIVE PROGRAM FOR ELIGIBLE CITY OF MOSES LAKE EMPLOYEES Recitals: A.As a strategic management tool to align the City’s workforce with current budgetary realities and long-term operational goals, the City Council desires to establish a Voluntary Separation Incentive Program (VSIP). B.The City deems it is in the City's best interest to provide an incentive for eligible employees, defined in Section 1.B, to voluntarily separate or retire from the City. C.The purpose of a voluntary separation program is to reduce compensation costs and full-time employee levels, facilitate redeployment, reorganization, and other efforts to make more efficient and effective use of the City's limited resources, avoid the disruption and administrative costs associated with involuntary layoffs (reductions in force), and provide the City Manager with the flexibility to reallocate resources to high-priority core and basic city services. RESOLVED: Section 1. Program Establishment and Definitions A.Voluntary Separation Incentive Program Description. The City hereby establishes a Voluntary Separation Incentive Program (Program, or VSIP) for Eligible Employees as defined in Section 1.B. B.“Eligible Employees" All regular full-time and regular part-time employees who have completed at least five years of continuous service and have not previously provided written notification of upcoming retirement. C.“Ineligible Employees”: City Manager and Department Directors. Regular employees with less than five years of continuous service. Temporary/seasonal employees, employees currently under a performance improvement plan (PIP) or other current disciplinary action, or those who have already submitted a notice of resignation or retirement. D.The "Date of Separation" is the final day of an employee's employment with the City, as specified in the voluntary separation agreement described in Section 4 of this Resolution. E.The Program is subject to collective bargaining obligations as required by RCW 41.56. Document Ref: X57MS-EOVFA-OK9EV-CUZVZ Page 1 of 4 2 Section 2. Basic Provisions A.Participation in the Program shall not be based on protected class status, protected activity, or other unlawful factors. B.Participation in the Program is voluntary. Eligible Employees choosing to participate in the Program must acknowledge in writing that their decision to participate is voluntary. C.Voluntary separation will be subject to all applicable terms and conditions of labor agreements in effect on the date the Eligible Employee applies for voluntary separation. No Eligible Employee shall have a contractual right to an incentive offered through this Program. D.Eligible Employees who apply and are approved for voluntary separation under the Program will receive: 1.Participants whose applications are accepted will receive a one-time cash Separation Incentive Payment exclusive of additional pays such as longevity, out-of-class, lead pay differential, call out pay, holiday premium, and overtime, based on their completed years of service with the City of Moses Lake: Years City Service Incentive Amount (Lump Sum) 5 – 10 Years 10 weeks of base salary 11 – 19 Years 15 weeks of base salary 20+ Years 21 weeks of base salary Notwithstanding the above, the Incentive Amount for employees who are at PERS/LEOFF retirement age or for employees with twenty or more years of experience working for counties, cities, and/or the State of Washington is 21 weeks of base salary. 2.COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) Bridge: The City will provide a one-time payment equal to [e.g., 3 months] of the employee’s current COBRA premium rate to assist with the transition of health benefits. 5 – 10 Years 3 months 11 – 19 Years 4 months 20+ Years 5 months Five months of the COBRA Bridge is also for employees who are at PERS/LEOFF retirement age or for employees with twenty or more years of experience working for counties, cities, and/or the State of Washington. 3.The City Manager may allow retirement-level leave cashouts and other retirement benefits if employees opting for this program are at PERS/LEOFF retirement age. All other benefits shall be paid out in accordance with current city policies, labor agreements, and applicable state and federal laws. E.The City acknowledges that Eligible Employees choosing to participate in the Program may apply for unemployment compensation benefits following separation from the City. While such employees may not qualify for unemployment benefits, the City will not object to such Document Ref: X57MS-EOVFA-OK9EV-CUZVZ Page 2 of 4 3 claim. F.Voluntary separation payments will be paid in one (1) lump sum within three (3) weeks of the Date of Separation based on the payroll cycle. Voluntary separation payments will not be considered excess compensation and shall not increase an Eligible Employee's monthly pension payout or the City's pension contribution rates. G.Voluntary separation payments are subject to applicable tax withholdings but are not considered income (average final compensation) for retirement purposes. In accordance with Washington Department of Retirement Systems (DRS) rules: •Non-Reportable Compensation: These incentive payments are for the purpose of voluntary separation and are not for services rendered. Therefore, they are not reportable compensation for PERS Plan 2 or 3//LEOFF members and will not affect the employee's average final compensation (AFC). •PERS Plan 1 Exception: For Plan 1 members, if the incentive is calculated based on "years of service," it may be deemed "earned over time" and trigger an Excess Compensation bill to the City. The City reserves the right to cap or adjust Plan 1 incentives to avoid such liabilities. H.Re-Employment Restrictions. To ensure the City realizes the projected cost savings, any employee who accepts a VSIP incentive is prohibited from returning to work for the City of Moses Lake—including as a regular employee, temporary employee, or independent contractor—for a period of five (5) years from the Date of Separation. Section 3. Approval Criteria. Voluntary separation under this Program can be approved only by written agreement executed by the City, the Eligible Employee and the labor union, if applicable.Labor unions will be given notice of the proposed terms of any written agreement and be given the opportunity to negotiate on behalf of their members. The voluntary separation agreement shall be approved by the City Attorney and include indemnity and other waiver protections for the City. It shall also include the Eligible Employee's acknowledged acceptance of the terms and conditions of the Program, specify the cash-value of the Eligible Employee's incentive under Section 2.D, and designate the final date of employment with the City (the Date of Separation). Section 4. Notification and Separation Requirements A.To be considered for participation in this Program, Eligible Employees must apply by submitting an official application to the Human Resources Department within sixty (60) days of the Effective Date of this Resolution.Employees who submit an official application by this deadline will then be provided additional information, along with review periods as established by law. Applications will be reviewed by administration and may be approved or denied consistent with the purposes of the VSIP set forth in Recital C above.All decisions are subject to the discretionary approval of the City Manager. Document Ref: X57MS-EOVFA-OK9EV-CUZVZ Page 3 of 4 4 B.The Date of Separation shall be no later than one hundred (100) days following approval of the application, unless the City Manager determines that a later Date of Separation is in the best interest of the City. Section 5. Position Backfill A.The City Manager shall determine whether a position vacated via the VSIP will be: 1.Eliminated from the budget; 2.Held vacant for a minimum of 12–24 months; or 3.Restructured at a lower salary grade or change in essential job functions; 4.Replacement at a lower salary grade/level. . B.Requests to backfill positions vacated through the Program are subject to review and approval by the City Manager. Backfill requests that facilitate redeployment, reorganization, and/or other efforts to make more efficient and effective use of the City's limited resources will receive priority consideration. Adopted by the City Council on April 28, 2026. Dustin Swartz, Mayor ATTEST: Debbie Burke, City Clerk Document Ref: X57MS-EOVFA-OK9EV-CUZVZ Page 4 of 4 REF. NUMBER X57MS-EOVFA-OK9EV-CUZVZ DOCUMENT COMPLETED BY ALL PARTIES ON 29 APR 2026 15:39:36 UTC SIGNER TIMESTAMP SIGNATURE DEBBIE BURKE EMAIL DBURKE@CITYOFML.COM SENT 29 APR 2026 15:38:33 VIEWED 29 APR 2026 15:38:41 SIGNED 29 APR 2026 15:38:59 IP ADDRESS 63.135.54.162 LOCATION MOSES LAKE, UNITED STATES RECIPIENT VERIFICATION EMAIL VERIFIED 29 APR 2026 15:38:41 MAYOR DUSTIN SWARTZ EMAIL DSWARTZ@CITYOFML.COM SENT 29 APR 2026 15:38:33 VIEWED 29 APR 2026 15:39:23 SIGNED 29 APR 2026 15:39:36 IP ADDRESS 104.193.239.74 LOCATION MOSES LAKE, UNITED STATES RECIPIENT VERIFICATION EMAIL VERIFIED 29 APR 2026 15:39:23 Signed with PandaDoc PAGE 1 OF 1