HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Provided Information - 2/3/2026CITY COUNCIL OF SALT LAKE CITY
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COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
CITY COUNCIL of SALT LAKE CITY
TO:City Council Members
FROM: Austin Kimmel
DATE:January 20, 2026
RE: RESOLUTION: SLCPL AND AFSCME COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT
NEW INFORMATION
ISSUE AT-A-GLANCE
Item Schedule:
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Goal of the briefing: To review the collective bargaining agreement negotiated between the Salt Lake City
Public Library and AFSCME Local #1004, and to understand the Council's role in approving the agreement.
POLICY QUESTIONS
1. Implementation and Budget Impact:
a. The Council may wish to ask the Library which CBA provisions take effect immediately upon
Council approval versus July 1, 2026, and whether enacting those immediate provisions will
have budget implications or require budget amendments.
b. The Council may also wish to ask the Finance Department if conversations with the State and
County on taxing authority, tax rate limits, and other factors may affect negotiated elements of
the CBA.
2. Compensation and Benefits:
a. The Council may wish to ask the Library how pay scales and benefits in the CBA were
determined, including whether the City’s compensation and benefits were considered during
negotiations.
b. The CBA specifies cost of living adjustments occur at the first pay period of August each year
through the term of the agreement. The Council may wish to ask the Library to explain how
August was determined and not the beginning of the fiscal year in July. The Council could also
ask if some employees might receive a pay adjustment on July 1, 2026, when transitioned to the
new scale, followed by an additional 3% increase in August 2026.
3. Staffing Levels: The Council may wish to ask the Library about its anticipated staffing needs for the
upcoming fiscal year and future fiscal years. The Council may also want to know if the Library’s
proposed General Obligation bond would require additional staffing to meet operational demands.
KEY POINTS
The following points highlight provisions of the CBA and other supporting information that may be most
relevant to the Council's role in approving the agreement and appropriating funds to implement its terms. For
additional details on matters such as leave accruals, disciplinary procedures, grievance processes, and other
employment terms, please refer to the complete CBA included in the Library's transmittal.
I. Council Role and Process
The Salt Lake City Library is considered a separate legal entity from Salt Lake City. The City Council's
role in the Library budget process is unique to other City enterprise funds. The Library Board sets the
policy for Library operations. The Council is tasked with reviewing and approving the overall budget and
setting the Library's tax rate.
On February 4, 2025, the Council approved a labor resolution that established the framework for
collective bargaining with eligible Library employees. The CBA under consideration today was the result
of negotiations conducted pursuant to that resolution.
Paragraph 8 of the labor resolution states that the collective bargaining memorandum of understanding
will not be binding until the Council votes to ratify it and appropriates the funds needed for its
implementation in the Library’s budget.
The Attorney’s Office has prepared a resolution to accompany the CBA, which would allow the Council
to act within its authority. The resolution provided by the Attorneys Office refers to the agreement as a
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), terminology consistent with Salt Lake City agreements with
employee unions. For purposes of this process, "CBA" and "MOU" are interchangeable.
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II. Library Employee Representation
While AFSCME also represents employees in other Salt Lake City departments, AFSCME would
represent Library employees as a separate because the Library is structured as separate from General
Fund departments and enterprise funds. The Library's compensation and benefits are also separate
from the City's.
Under this agreement, part-time employees would be eligible for union representation. This is unique
compared to the City's labor resolutions because nearly half of Library employees are part-time.
As outlined in the labor resolution detailing the CBA process, the October 2024 vote on union formation
was limited to employees who had maintained continuous employment with the Library for six months
or more, regardless of their full-time or part-time status.
Like the City's labor agreements, Library employees holding supervisory and management positions are
ineligible to be represented by the union.
Base wage increases: The entire Library employee wage schedule is set to receive cost-of-living
adjustments every year over the term of the agreement:
Effective July 1, 2026 (beginning of FY27): employees will be paid according to the hourly wage
scale found in Appendix A, with steps that are 2.5% apart.
Effective the first full pay period of August 2026, 2027, and 2028, the entire wage scale will
increase by 3% annually.
Additional compensation: Individual employees may receive wage adjustments based on specific
qualifications or scenarios:
Higher classification incentive: Employees assigned in writing to perform the duties of a
manager or supervisor for five or more consecutive days receive a 5% incentive, or 3% if the
classification is within the bargaining unit.
Bilingual premium: Employees who demonstrate proficiency in a recognized language receive
an additional $0.50/hour; those proficient in Spanish receive $1.00/hour.
On-call pay: Maintenance technicians assigned to "on-call" duties receive $50 for each day
assigned.
Call-back pay: Employees called back to a worksite outside regular hours receive a minimum of
two hours pay at their regular rate, or overtime if applicable.
Tuition reimbursement: The CBA provides up to $5,250 per year for both full-time and part-time
eligible Library employees. By comparison, this tuition reimbursement program contrasts with:
The City's program: $4,000 per year for full-time employees who have completed probation.
Salt Lake County's program: $5,250 for full-time employees, prorated for part-time employees.
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In separate correspondence with City staff, increasing the reimbursable tuition amount for City
employees is under consideration, but a final determination has not been made.
Health benefits:
Full-time employees are eligible for various health insurance programs, including dental and
vision insurance, as well as other insurance policies such as life, accidental death, and
dismemberment insurance.
Library part-time employees will be eligible for a telehealth program (already available to full-
time employees), with the Library paying the monthly premium for those who enroll.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Failed Appropriation Contingency
Section 8.G, of the labor resolution, which the Council approved on February 4, 2025, addresses a scenario in
which the City Council does not appropriate funding to implement the CBA:
(g) If the City Council fails to appropriate the funds required to implement a proposed collective
bargaining agreement or wage schedule, the Library Board shall, following good faith negotiations
with the Certified Employee Organization, adopt a one-year compensation plan or wage schedule for
the affected employees and/or adopt a one-year extension of the existing collective bargaining
agreement, and shall present the same to the City Council pursuant to the City Council budget process.
After good faith negotiations, the Library shall retain final authority regarding the terms and content
of any one-year compensation plan or wage schedule adopted under this paragraph for presentation
to the City Council.
BACKGROUND
On February 4, 2025, the Council approved a labor resolution establishing the structure and process for the
Library to begin collective bargaining with eligible Library employees. The CBA under consideration is the result
of negotiations conducted pursuant to that resolution.
The consideration of the CBA is the Council’s final step in the collective bargaining process before it considers
the Library’s Fiscal Year 2026-27 (FY27) budget, which would include funding to meet the terms of the
agreement. If the CBA is approved by the Council, many provisions outlined in the agreement will take effect.
Provisions determining vacation tier accruals, an increased compensation wage schedule, bilingual premium,
and other benefits, are stated to take effect July 1, 2026, the beginning of the FY27 fiscal year.
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Hourly Rate of Pay (Appendix A)
The following tables, copied from pages 43-44 of the Library’s transmittal, are included here for convenience.
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