HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 2026-4817ORDINANCE NO. 2026-4817
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF
MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING CHAPTER 78 OF THE MIAMI BEACH
CITY CODE, ENTITLED "PERSONNEL," BY AMENDING ARTICLE IV,
ENTITLED "UNCLASSIFIED EMPLOYEE'S LEAVE," BY AMENDING SECTION
78-181 ENTITLED "DEFINITIONS" CLARIFYING THE DEFINITION OF
"IMMEDIATE FAMILY" BY ELIMINATIING DUPLICATIVE LANGUAGE; BY
AMENDING SECTION 78-182 TO ALLOW SERVICE MEMBERS TO CASH OUT
ON HOURS ACCRUED IN EXCESS OF THE CARRY -FORWARD CAP
OTHERWISE FORFEITED AS A RESULT OF ACTIVE MILITARY DUTY; BY
AMENDING SECTION 78-183 TO INCREASE THE CAP ON THE MAXIMUM
AMOUNT OF ANNUAL LEAVE HOURS THAT MAY BE ACCRUED FROM 500
HOURS TO 600 HOURS RETROACTIVE TO DECEMBER 31, 2025; BY
AMENDING SECTION 78-189 TO AUTHORIZE TRANSFER OF PART OR ALL
ACCRUED LEAVE TO AN EMPLOYEE'S 457(b) ACCOUNT UPON
RETIREMENT, RESIGNATION, TERMINATION OR DEATH AND AUTHORIZE
THE USE OF ACCRUED LEAVE TO BE USED TO EXTINGUISH A DEBT OWED
TO THE CITY SUCH AS REIMBURSEMENT OF OVERPAYMENTS THROUGH
PAYROLL OR UNPAID INSURANCE PREMIUMS; REPEALING ALL
ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT WITH THIS ORDINANCE; AND FURTHER,
PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY, CODIFICATION, AND AN EFFECTIVE
DATE.
WHEREAS, the City Commission of the City of Miami Beach wishes to update and clarify
provisions within Chapter 78 of the City Code relating to unclassified employees' leave, to ensure
the Code remains consistent, accurate, and administratively efficient; and
WHEREAS, Section 78-181 of the City Code contains duplicative language in the
definition of "immediate family," and the City finds it necessary to clarify and streamline this
definition to remove redundancies while ensuring alignment with the City's domestic partnership
ordinance; and
WHEREAS, the City recognizes the importance of supporting employees who serve in the
Armed Forces of the United States, and finds it appropriate to amend Section 78-182 to allow
returning service members to cash out annual leave hours accrued in excess of the carry -forward
cap that would otherwise be forfeited due to military service; and
WHEREAS, the City acknowledges the need to update annual leave accrual provisions to
reflect operational realities and competitive employment practices, and therefore finds it
necessary to increase the maximum allowable accrued annual leave balance from 500 hours to
600 hours and to apply this new cap retroactively to leave balances as of December 31, 2025;
and
WHEREAS, the City seeks to provide employees with greater flexibility in managing
earned leave balances at the time of separation or retirement, and therefore amends Section
78-189 to authorize employees to direct payment of accrued leave into a City -sponsored 457(b)
deferred compensation account, consistent with legal limits; and
WHEREAS, the City further finds it necessary to expressly authorize the use of accrued
leave to satisfy payroll overpayments, missed insurance premiums, and other debts owed to the
City, thereby improving administrative efficiency and financial reconciliation practices; and
WHEREAS, the Mayor and City Commission desire to make these amendments to ensure
that the City's personnel policies remain equitable, up-to-date, and reflective of best practices in
public sector human resources management.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF
THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA:
SECTION 1: Article IV of Chapter 78, entitled "Unclassified Employee's Leave" is hereby
amended as follows:
CHAPTER 78. PERSONNEL
ARTICLE IV. UNCLASSIFIED EMP OYEE'SEMPLOYEES' LEAVE
Sec. 78-182. - Definitions: amounts of leave.
(a) Definitions. The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this division,
shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly
indicates a different meaning:
Immediate family membeK shall mean a group of any of the following living together as a
unit: spouse, including registered domestic partner as that term is defined in the city's domestic
partnership ordinance, children, stepchildren, adopted children, mother, father, sister, brother,
stepbrother, grandmother, grandfather, grandchildren, mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister-in-law,
brother-in-law, and any person in the general family whose ties would normally be considered
immediate family and who is living w#h within the same household (proof may be required).
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Sec. 78-182. - Special provisions for employees on military leave.
All employees shall be entitled to military leave of absence from their respective duties in
accordance with the provisions of, and subject to the conditions set forth in F.S. ch. 115, and
USERRA. Employees holding regular status who serve in the Armed Forces with military leave
of absence from the city and who return to active employment with the city in accordance with the
terms of the military leave of absence, shall upon such return to employment with the city, be
granted leave in the same amount as if they had been working for the city. Upon return to active
employment with the city, the employee shall be paid in cash for the vacation hours in excess of
the carry -forward cap provide in section 78-183 he would have been entitled to use had he not
been called into military service. Such payment will be at the rate of pay received upon return to
employment with the city and such vacation pay shall be charged against adjusted annual leave
credit.
Sec. 78-183. -Accumulation or forfeiture of annual leave and sick leave.
At the end of each payroll year, all employees will be allowed no more than 580 600 annual
leave hours to be accrued. Any hours of leave in excess of the above maximum will be forfeited
on the last day of the last full pay period of the payroll year. Employees shall be permitted to
carry vacation hours over the 5W600-hour cap until March 31 st of the following year. A request
to further extend the excess hours may be approved by the department director and the human
resources director. On the effective date of this ordinance the 600-hour annual leave car -
forward cap shall be retroactively applied to employee leave balances on December 31 2025 for
emeloyees employed with the city on the effective date of this ordinance
Sec. 78-189. — Payment for annual and sick leave.
(a) Retirement or death. Any earned balance of annual leave and sick leave of an
employee of the city, or who retires under the terms of any city pension plan, shall be paid to the
beneficiary or employee respectively at the rate of compensation received by such regular
employee at the time of his/her death or retirement. The employee may direct the city to pay any
Portion of any earned balance of annual leave and sick leave to the employees deferred
retirement account in a city sponsored 457(b) plan subject to the maximum payment prescribed
by section 78-189(c) and subject to the maximum amount permitted by law.
(c) Maximum payment. Upon resignation, retirement, termination, or death of an
employee, the maximum annual leave for which an employee or his/her beneficiary may be paid
is 620 hours. An employee or his/her beneficiary may be paid a maximum of 620 hours of
accumulated sick leave when the employee has reached more than ten years of creditable
service. An employee or his/her beneficiary may be paid one-half of the employee's accumulated
sick leave, up to a maximum of 620 hours after their probationary period through ten years of
creditable service. Subiect to the cap on hours to be paid as set forth in this subsection (c) an
employee may direct the city to pay any portion of the maximum payment due the employee to
the employees deferred retirement account in a city sponsored 457(b) plan subject to the
maximum amount permitted by law. Any benefit under this section must be bargained with the
respective unions.
(e) Repayments of overpayments. Accrued leave may be used to repay payroll
overpayments, missed insurance premiums, or any other debt owed by the employee to the city
or reasonable business transaction, which is approved by the city manager or designee at any
time prior to or at separation from employment.
SECTION 3. REPEALER.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances and all section and parts of sections in conflict herewith be
and the same are hereby repealed.
SECTION 4. CODIFICATION
It is the intention of the City Commission, and it is hereby ordained that the provisions of this
ordinance shall become and be made part of the Code of the City of Miami Beach as amended;
that the sections of this ordinance may be renumbered or re -lettered to accomplish such intention;
and that the word "ordinance" may be changed to "section" or other appropriate word.
SECTION 5. SEVERABILITY.
If any section, subsection, clause or provision of this Ordinance is held invalid, the remainder shall
not be affected by such invalidity.
SECTION 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Ordinance shall take effect 10 days following the adoption.
PASSED and ADOPTED this '.�? day of VkCA , 2026.
ATTEST.
MAY 2 6 2026 Steven Meiner, Mayor
Rafael E. Granado, City Clerk
(Sponsored by Commissioner Monica Matteo Salinas)
APPROVED AS TO
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City Attorney ;;m Date
Ordinances - R5 B
MIAMI BEACH
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission
FROM: Eric Carpenter, City Manager
DATE: May 20, 2026 9:16 a.m. Second Reading Public Hearing
TITLE: AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF
MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING CHAPTER 78 OF THE MIAMI BEACH CITY
CODE, ENTITLED "PERSONNEL," BY AMENDING ARTICLE IV, ENTITLED
"UNCLASSIFIED EMPLOYEES' LEAVE," BY AMENDING SECTION 78-181
ENTITLED "DEFINITIONS" CLARIFYING THE DEFINITION OF "IMMEDIATE
FAMILY" BY ELIMINATING DUPLICATIVE LANGUAGE; BY AMENDING SECTION
78-182 TO ALLOW SERVICE MEMBERS TO CASH OUT ON HOURS ACCRUED
IN EXCESS OF THE CARRY -FORWARD CAP OTHERWISE FORFEITED AS A
RESULT OF ACTIVE MILITARY DUTY; BY AMENDING SECTION 78-183 TO
INCREASE THE CAP ON THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF ANNUAL LEAVE HOURS
THAT MAY BE ACCRUED FROM 500 HOURS TO 600 HOURS RETROACTIVE TO
DECEMBER 31, 2025; BY AMENDING SECTION 78-189 TO AUTHORIZE
TRANSFER OF PART OR ALL ACCRUED LEAVE TO AN EMPLOYEE'S 457(B)
ACCOUNT UPON RETIREMENT, RESIGNATION, TERMINATION OR DEATH
AND AUTHORIZE THE USE OF ACCRUED LEAVE TO BE USED TO EXTINGUISH
A DEBT OWED TO THE CITY SUCH AS REIMBURSEMENT OF OVERPAYMENTS
THROUGH PAYROLL OR UNPAID INSURANCE PREMIUMS; REPEALING ALL
ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT WITH THIS ORDINANCE; AND FURTHER,
PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY, CODIFICATION, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
RECOMMENDATION
The Administration recommends adoption of this Ordinance.
BACKGROUND/HISTORY
The city's workforce is primarily divided into the classified and unclassified service. The classified
service is further divided into five bargaining units represented by a local union chapter of the
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees ("AFSCME"), the
Communication Workers of America ("CWA"), the Government Supervisors Association of Florida
("GSAF"), the International Association of Firefighters ("IAFF), and the Fraternal Order of Police
("FOP"). The city strives to provide uniform employment benefits to the greatest extent possible
among all employee classes. This is a companion amendment to the amendment proposed to
the Classified Employees' Leave Ordinance. The proposed amendment intends to implement
similar changes to the Unclassified Employees' Leave Ordinance as those being proposed to the
Classified Employees' Leave Ordinance for employees in the unclassified service.
ANALYSIS
Increase to Cap on Carry -Forward Annual Leave Hours.
The amendment proposes to implement the increase to carry -forward caps from 500 hours to 600
hours on annual leave that applies to employees in the unclassified service to maintain uniformity
in benefits and ease of administration of employee benefits. Presently, employees accrue annual
494 of 1709
leave hours every pay period subject to an annual maximum based on their years of service and
an employee can only carry -forward a total of 500 hours of annual leave from year to year. With
this ordinance change, any annual leave hours exceeding a 600-hour cap at year end needs to
be used by March 31 of the following year, or else the employee forfeits those hours, unless the
department requests a temporary extension of time to use the excess hours after March 31 and
the request is approved. In addition to raising the cap on carry -forward hours, the Administration
proposes to enact the higher cap retroactively to December 31, 2025, for parity to align with the
bargaining agreements for classified employees and to avoid leave adjustments as we review
leave balances as of March 31.
Charaes Aaainst Annual Leave and Sick Leave.
The Administration proposes to amend the Ordinance to implement current administrative
practices already in place affecting the use of annual leave and sick leave accruals by employees.
First, the Administration proposes to allow employees who participate in a deferred retirement
plan (457(b)), to direct the payment of accrued leave on a pre-tax basis to their deferred retirement
account upon separation, at retirement, or death. This proposal does not increase the maximum
amount of accrued hours that an employee would be entitled to receive payment for - presently
set at 1,240 combined hours. Second, the Administration proposes to allow employees to forfeit
accruals to repay any debt owed to the city. Typical debts owed by employees to the city involve
an overpayment through payroll made in error or the repayment of missed premiums during an
approved extended leave primarily involving the health circumstances of the employee or a
qualifying relative of the employee. Finally, the Administration proposes to allow employees of
active military service who could not use the annual leave hours accrued in excess of the carry -
forward cap to receive an equivalent cash payment upon return to city service.
Miscellaneous Additional Changes.
The amendment proposes to consolidate the definition of "immediate family" for clarity.
FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
There are no immediate financial impacts resulting from the changes proposed in this ordinance
in that the rate at which leave is accrued by employees and the caps on payouts of accrued time
remain the same.
Does this Ordinance require a Business Impact Estimate? Yes
(FOR ORDINANCES ONLY)
If applicable, the Business Impact Estimate (BIE) was published on: 4/30/2026
See BIE at: hftps://www.miamibeachfl.gov/city-hall/city-clerk/meeting-notices/
FINANCIAL INFORMATION
N/A
CONCLUSION
The Administration recommends adopting the ordinance amending the Unclassified Employees'
Leave Ordinance to implement uniform benefits across the city's workforce related to leave
accruals and to update the Ordinance to reflect current administrative practices.
495 of 1709
Applicable Area
Citywide
Is this a "Residents Right to Know" item,
pursuant to City Code Section 2-17?
No
Is this item related to a G.O. Bond
Proiect?
No
Was this Agenda Item initially requested by a lobbyist which, as defined in Code Sec. 2-481,
includes a principal engaged in lobbying? No
If so, specify the name of lobbyist(s) and principal(s):
Department
Human Resources
Sponsor(s)
Commissioner Monica Matteo-Salinas
Co-sponsor(s)
Condensed Title
9:16 a.m. 2nd Rdg, Amend Unclassified Employees' Leave -Annual Leave Accruals. (MMS) HR
Previous Action (For City Clerk Use Only)
First Reading Public Hearing on 4/22/2026 - R5 Al
496 of 1709