CC - Item 5J - Approval of First Amendment to Interim Finance Director/Treasurer Employment AgreementROSEMEAD CITY COUNCIL
STAFF REPORT
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
FROM: GLORIA MOLLEDA, CITY MANAGER .
DATE: DECEMBER 14, 2021
SUBJECT: APPROVAL OF FIRST AMENDMENT TO INTERIM FINANCE
DIRECTOR/TREASURER EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
SUMMARY
The City has been recruiting for a permanent Finance Director since January 15, 2020. However,
with the current COVID-19 issues and other factors, the City has been unable to fill the position.
Until the City can fill the position, staff requests the City Council extend the Employment
Agreement ("Agreement") with Retired Annuitant Paula Chamberlain for the position of Interim
Finance Director/Treasurer as authorized Executive Order N-84-20 and to ensure adequate
staffing during this ongoing state of emergency.
The City and the Interim Finance Director/Treasurer entered into the Agreement on March 10,
2021. That Agreement will expire December 14, 2021, due to the accumulated hours of 960. As
the Finance Director position remains vacant due to the continued difficulty of recruiting for the
position during the COVID-19 pandemic and there remains an urgent need to fill the position to
assist with 2022-23 budget preparation and other financial duties, staff is recommending an
extension to the Agreement with Paula Chamberlain so that she may fulfill the necessary duties
until the City hires a permanent replacement.
Finally, on October 26, 2021, the City Council approved an increase in the Finance Director's
monthly salary range (Resolution 2021-50); therefore, the hourly rate also has changed, so the
Agreement must reflect that increase.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
That the City Council take the following actions:
1. Consider approving Resolution No. 2021-68, amending the Interim Finance
Director/Treasurer's Agreement to extend the term and restart the hours of the
Agreement as permitted by Executive Order N-84-20 by and make other minor
changes to reflect current law.
AGENDA ITEM 5.J
City Council Meeting
December 14, 2021
Page 2 of 2
2. Consider approving an amendment that would change the current pay rate for the
Interim Finance Director/Treasurer to reflect the monthly salary range approved by
the City Council on October 26, 2021 (Resolution 2021-50).
PUBLIC NOTICE PROCESS
This item has been noticed through the regular agenda notification process.
Prepared by:
Rachel Richman, City Attorney
Attachment A: Resolution No, 2021-68, - First Amendment to Retired Annuitant Employment Agreement
for the Position of Interim Finance Director/Treasurer between the City Of Rosemead and
Paula Chamberlain
Attachment A
Resolution No. 2021-68 & First Amendment to
Retired Annuitant Employment Agreement
for the Position of Interim Finance
Director/Treasurer between
the City Of Rosemead and
Paula Chamberlain
RESOLUTION NO. 2021-68
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF ROSEMEAD APPROVING THE FIRST AMENDMENT
TO THE INTERIM FINANCE DIRECTOR/TREASURER'S
RETIRED ANNUITANT EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
WHEREAS, the City and Paula Chamberlain entered into an Employment Agreement on
March 10, 2021, and now wish to amend the Employment Agreement to extend Paula
Chamberlain's term of employment and allow for additional hours of employment pursuant to
Executive Order N-84-20 and increase her rate of pay to reflect the monthly salary range approved
by the City Council on October 26, 2021 (Resolution 2021-50);
WHEREAS the City Council is authorized to approve amendments to the Employment
Agreement;
WHEREAS, Section 6.11 of the Employment Agreement requires any amendment be in
writing and signed by the parties;
WHEREAS, the usual limitations on retirement annuitant employment of 960 hours has
been lifted as may be exempted under the Governor's State of Executive Order N-12-21;
WHEREAS, Paula Chamberlain is a retired annuitant as further detailed in the Amended
Employment Agreement attached hereto as Exhibit A;
WHEREAS, the Rosemead City Council hereby extends Paula Chamberlain's appointment
as an interim retired annuitant to the position of Interim Finance Director/Treasurer for the City of
Rosemead, effective December 14, 2021, as detailed in the Amended Employment Agreement
attached hereto as Exhibit A;
WHEREAS, the current status of this recruitment is that the job opening for the permanent
position has been publicly posted, applications are being accepted and candidates are being
reviewed;
WHEREAS, the entire Amended Employment Agreement between Paula Chamberlain and
the City of Rosemead has been reviewed by this body and is attached hereto as Exhibit A;
WHEREAS, no matters, issues, terms, or conditions related to this employment and
extended appointment have been or will be placed on a consent calendar;
WHEREAS, the compensation paid to retirees cannot be less than the minimum nor exceed
the maximum monthly base salary paid to other employees performing comparable duties, divided
by 173.333 to equal the hourly rate;
WHEREAS, the maximum base salary for the position of Finance Director/Treasurer as
listed on a publicly available pay schedule approved October 26, 2021, is $15,420 per month and
the hourly equivalent is $88.9615, and the minimum base salary for this position is $11,862 per
month, and the hourly equivalent is $68.4346;
WHEREAS, the hourly rate paid to Paula Chamberlain will be $ 88.9615 per hour;
WHEREAS, PaulaChamberlain has not and will not receive any other benefit, incentive,
compensation in lieu of benefit or other forms of compensation in addition to this hourly pay rate
as so provided in Government Code § 21221(h) and related Ca1PERS regulations and policy
statements;
NOW, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROSEMEAD, DOES HEREBY RESOLVE,
DECLARE, DETERMINE, AND ORDER AS FOLLOWS:
1. The extended appointment of Paula Chamberlain as described herein is necessary to
fill the critically needed position of Interim Finance Director/Treasurer for the City
of Rosemead effective December 14, 2021, because the City has been unable to fill
this permanent position for various reasons, including the ongoing COVID-19
pandemic, and the City needs to ensure adequate staffing during this ongoing state
of emergency;
2. The First Amendment to the Retired Annuitant Employment Agreement for the
Position of Interim Finance Director/Treasurer attached hereto in Exhibit A is
hereby approved; and
3. The City Clerk shall certify the adoption of this resolution, and hereafter the same
shall be in full force and effect.
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED, this 14th day of December 2021.
Polly Low, Mayor
ATTEST:
Ericka Hernandez, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM
Rachel Richman, City Attorney
EXHIBIT A
FIRST AMENDMENT AGREEMENT
FIRST AMENDMENT TO RETIRED ANNUITANT EMPLOYMENT
AGREEMENT FOR THE POSITION OF INTERIM FINANCE
DIRECTOR/TREASURER BETWEEN THE CITY OF ROSEMEAD AND
PAULA CHAMBERLAIN
AMENDMENT NO. 1
This First Amendment (the "First Amendment") is made and entered into effective December 14,
2021, by and between the City of Rosemead, California, a municipal corporation (the "CITY")
and Paula Chamberlain ("CHAMBERLAIN"), an individual. The CITY and CHAMBERLAIN
may be referred to individually as a "Party" and collectively as "Parties."
RECITALS
A. The Parties entered into an Employment Agreement (the "Agreement") on March 10, 2021;
B. Since January 15, 2020, the CITY has had two open recruitments for the permanent
position of Finance Director/Treasurer. Currently, the position remains vacant. It is the
City's opinion that the vacancy is due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic and difficulty
in recruiting;
C. The COVID-19 Emergency continues to put significant strains on the CITY especially in
its financial affairs, causing staffing issues, internal control issues, and providing needed
services to the CITY and the Community and needs to ensure adequate staffing during this
state of emergency;
D. The CITY continues to need help in the Finance Department to train and mentor the
Finance staff, run operations and do various financial projects as well as handle the
financial needs and impacts during the COVID-19, including additional actions related to
the American Rescue Plan revenue granted to cities by the Federal Government in response
to the pandemic, and related emergencies and to provide the required legal and
administrative functions while the CITY recruits to permanently fill the vacant position of
Finance Director/Treasurer;
E. CHAMBERLAIN has over 35 years of Municipal and Local Government Financial
Experience and has held the position of Interim Finance Director/Treasurer for the CITY
since March 10, 2021. CHAMBERLAIN is qualified and has the requisite specialized
skills, training, and experience to continue to serve as Interim Finance Director/Treasurer
for the CITY;
F. CITY desires to continue to employ the specialized services of CHAMBERLAIN as
Interim Finance Director/Treasurer for CITY in consideration of and subject to the terms,
conditions, and benefits set forth in the Agreement, as amended, and State Law;
G. CHAMBERLAIN desires to continue her Retired Annuitant employment as Interim
Finance Director/Treasurer in consideration of and subject to the terms, conditions, and
benefits set forth in the Agreement, as amended, and State Law; and
H. The Parties now desire to amend the Agreement to reflect the extension of
CHAMBERLAIN's term of Retired Annuitant employment as Interim Finance
Director/Treasurer at the top of the Finance Director's monthly salary range as approved
by the City Council on October 26, 2021 (Resolution 2021-50).
OPERATIVE PROVISIONS
1. AMENDMENTS
a. Recital H of the Agreement is hereby amended to read as follows:
CHAMBERLAIN represents that she is a retired annuitant of the California Public
Employees' Retirement System ("Ca1PERS") within the meaning of Government Code §
21221(h) as of the effective date of this AGREEMENT. CHAMBERLAIN represents that
she retired from the Ca1PERS system at least 180 days prior to the effective date of this
Agreement. CHAMBERLAIN acknowledges that she is restricted to working no more than
a combined 960 hours for CITY, a state agency, or other Ca1PERS contracting agencies
(collectively "Ca1PERS Agencies") during CITY' S 2021-2022 fiscal year except as may
be exempted under the Governor's State of Executive Order N-12- 21 which exempts
Retired Annuitants from the 960 hours combined maximum with proper notifications, and
that her compensation is statutorily limited as provided in Government Code § 21221(h).
CHAMBERLAIN represents that she has not received any unemployment compensation
from any Ca1PERS Agencies during the 12 -month period preceding the effective date of
this AGREEMENT, that she has not received a retirement incentive upon retirement within
the meaning of Government Code § 7522. 56(g), and that she has attained normal
retirement age within the meaning of Government Code § 21220. 5;
b. Section 1.2 of the Agreement is hereby amended to read as follows:
Term. This AGREEMENT commences and is effective on December 14, 2021,
("COMMENCEMENT DATE") after being approved by the CITY Council and executed
by CHAMBERLAIN and CITY' S City Manager. Subject to the provisions set forth in
Section 3 [Termination], CHAMBERLAIN shall be employed in the position of Interim
Finance Director/Treasurer for a term commencing on the COMMENCEMENT DATE.
This AGREEMENT shall expire as of the first of the following to occur: (i) 6: 00 p.m. on
December 14, 2022, (ii) upon CHAMBERLAIN working the maximum number of hours
allowed by Ca1PERS in a fiscal year; or (iii) upon the termination of the AGREEMENT
by either CHAMBERLAIN or CITY as provided in Section 3 [Termination] of this
AGREEMENT.
C. Section 1.5 of the Agreement is hereby amended to read as follows:
Hours of Work. CHAMBERLAIN shall devote the time necessary to adequately perform
her duties as Interim Finance Director/Treasurer. The parties anticipate that
CHAMBERLAIN will work up to 40 hours per week during regular City Hall business
hours or as mutually agreed by CHAMBERLAIN and the City Manager. However, in no
event shall CHAMBERLAIN be required or permitted to work in excess of 960 hours
during any fiscal year except as may be exempted under the Governor's State of Executive
Order N-12- 21, which exempts Retired Annuitants from the 960 hours combined
maximum with proper notifications.
d. Section 2.1 of the Agreement is hereby amended to read as follows:
Rate of Pay. For all services performed by CHAMBERLAIN as the Interim Finance
Director/Treasurer under this AGREEMENT, CITY shall pay CHAMBERLAIN
compensation at the maximum salary range, which is currently Eighty -Eight dollars and
Ninety -Six cents ($ 88.9615) per hour. Such compensation shall be payable according to
the scheduled paydays for CITY personnel.
d. Section 2.2 of the Agreement is hereby amended to read as follows:
Compliance with Ca1PERS Requirements. The parties intend to compensate
CHAMBERLAIN only to the extent permitted under Government Code § 21221(h) and
corresponding Ca1PERS regulations and policy statements. The Rate of Pay set forth above
is based on the salary limitations established by CalPERS. The monthly base salary for the
position of Finance Director as listed on a publicly available pay schedule is a minimum
of $11, 862 - and a maximum of $15,420. The Rate of Pay is calculated by taking a monthly
base salary of $15,420 and dividing it by 173.3333 to equal an hourly rate of $88.9615.
2. REMAINDER UNCHANGED
Except as specifically modified and amended in this First Amendment, the Agreement
remains in full force and effect and binding upon the parties.
3. INTEGRATION
This First Amendment constitutes the entire understanding and agreement of the parties
and supersedes all negotiations or previous agreements between the parties with respect to
all or any part of the transaction discussed in this First Amendment.
4. EFFECTIVE DATE
This First Amendment shall not become effective until the date the City Council has
formally approved it.
5. APPLICABLE LAW
The laws of the State of California shall govern the interpretation and enforcement of this
First Amendment.
6. REFERENCES
All references to the Agreement include all their respective terms and provisions. All
defined terms utilized in this First Amendment have the same meaning as provided in the
Agreement, unless expressly stated to the contrary in this First Amendment.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have executed this Agreement, as of the date
indicated above.
CITY OF ROSEMEAD
A Municipal Corporation
By:
Polly Low
Mayor
ATTEST:
By:
Ericka Hernandez
City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
By:
Rachel H. Richman
City Attorney
Paula Chamberlain
An Individual
Paula Chamberlain
Interim Finance Director/Treasurer