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TItURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2000 <br />managers throughout Virginia, due to very tough competition in the private sector and a tight labor <br /> <br />market, and that this was an important benefit for this purpose. Mayor Crabtree noted his example of <br />a "worst case scenario", in which the city invests two years of training and experience in a police <br />officer, at a cost of $50,000 or more, and then lose them well before they reach the 20 year retirement <br />point, or lose several at the same time at the 20 year point. Council Member Dallas agreed that this <br />benefit was needed to attract and keep good employees. Council Member Roop stated that <br />government jobs, historically, had not paid the kinds of salaries that the private sector paid. In <br />addition, he noted that public sector professions such as police, fire and teaching require a long term <br />commitment on the part of the employee to get the most from their service, and that such incentives <br />were necessary to gain such commitment. Council Member Dallas then noted that benefits for <br />former Dupont employees were excellent, and that the private sector often provides much better <br />benefits than the public sector. Mrs. Read pointed out that the City's benefit package was equal to as <br />much as 40% of the total compensation package of the typical employee. She then noted <br />recommended improvements in the areas of annual and sick leave accrual rates. Mayor Crabtree <br />asked if the City offered a disability plan to its employees, and was told that such was not offered at <br />this time but would be considered in the future. Council Member Dallas asked if there had been a <br />negative impact on the value of the benefit of free access to the city schools for employees who <br />resided outside the city, now that the charge for that had been eliminated for other out-of-city <br />residents, and was told that this issue would be examined in the future along with other related <br />recruitment issues. Council Member Haskell asked about the changes in the holiday schedule, and <br />was told that these mirrored the state schedule, and that the cost to add the new Martin Luther King <br />Holiday was about $35,000 to the City. Vice-Mayor Teague stated that it would be better to give <br />employees a floating holiday than to add another holiday in the month of January. Mrs. Read then <br />spoke on the compensation program recommended for the coming year, and reminded Council that <br />there would be a market survey of about 40 positions in the plan this year. She then noted that a <br /> <br /> <br />