LTC 30-2003 CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
Office of the City Manager
Letter to Commission No.
To:
From:
Subject:
Mayor David Dermer and
Members of the City Commission
Jorge M. Gonzalez \
City Manager ~)1-~""'0
MENTORING PROGRAM
Date: January 31, 2003
The purpose of this LTC is to make you aware of the City's new policy regarding mentoring
(policy attached) and to thank Commissioner Bower for suggesting the idea and working
with the Administration to make this a reality.
In keeping with efforts established during Participate America Week and the Governor's
Mentoring Initiative, I am encouraging our employees to volunteer their time as mentors to
our community's youth. To support this initiative, the City has established a new mentoring
leave policy that enables employees to serve four hours with pay each month as volunteer
mentors in local schools and aftercare programs during work hours. We are partnering
with several local agencies, including the Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Florida, to
provide a variety of mentoring opportunities to employees to suit their busy schedules,
including weekend opportunities
Mentoring is a rewarding experience that enables all of us to contribute our time to a youth
in need of adult mentorship. If you, or any member of your staff, are interested in mentoring
or learning about other volunteer opportunities, please feel free to contact Maria Ruiz in our
Office of Children's Affairs at extension 7491.
If you have any questions or need any additional information, please feel free to contact
me.
JMG\ri
F :lcmgrlalllLTC-O31Mentoring
CITY Of MIAMI BEACH
Human Resources Department
Policies and Procedures
Mentoring Program for City of Miami Beach Employees
POLICY:
To allow employees paid time off from work to participate in a mentoring program.
By establishing this policy, the City of Miami Beach is adopting the Governor's Mentoring
Initiative as created by Executive Order 99-212 (Attachment A), with a maximum of four
hours per calendar month allowed for mentoring within the City of Miami Beach or two
hours for mentoring outside City boundaries. Travel time is included in these maximums.
This program shall include the following school or community voluntary activities:
mentoring, tutoring, guest speaking, and when participating in an established mentoring
program serving a school district, providing any related services at the direction of the
program coordinator; and participating in community service programs that meet child,
elder or human needs, including Guardian Ad Litem, Big Brother/Big Sister, Senior Corps
and Family Literacy.
This program is initially offered to Unclassified employees and those in the group "Others".
Upon successful negotiation with the bargaining units, employees of those groups will be
allowed to participate.
The attached Agreement form must be completed by the employee and approved by the
supervisor.
PROCEDURE:
Each interested employee must receive prior approval from his or her Division or
Department Director in order to participate in the program. It will be each Department or
Division Heads discretion as to whether the granting of leave for this program will be
approved. In granting leave for this program, the manager will take into consideration the
following:
The impact of such leave on the work unit - a request may be denied when the
absence would be detrimental to the accomplishment of the responsibilities and
duties of the unit;
· This leave will not count as hours worked for the payment of overtime;
· The employee's current performance, attendance and conduct
· Any other work related concerns a supervisor may need to take into
consideration.
If an employee does not use leave as authorized in this procedure, the employee shall not
accrue or be paid for such unused leave. Use of leave under false pretenses may be
grounds for disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment.
For tracking and payroll purposes, time spent by employees as mentors or tutors under this
program must be documented on appropriate payroll reporting forms (Attachment C) using
a separate payroll code. Departmental payroll coordinators are responsible for entering
this information in the payroll system. HED code "048" will be used for "Mentor" time for
purposes of this program.
Mentoring activities are not performed in the course and scope of employment with the City
of Miami Beach and these activities are for the benefit of the person/entity for whom
services are being provided. Any injury suffered while traveling to or from mentoring
services and while on leave for mentoring activities is not eligible for City of Miami Beach
workers compensation benefits.
Employees taking part in this program will need to complete a Volunteer Agreement Form
(Attachment B). You may be subject to a background check conducted by FDLE if required
by the school or community organization.
This policy will be in effect until it is discontinued by the City Manager.
PREPARED BY: HUMAN RESOURCES
APPROVED BY: Jor.qe M. Gonzalez DATE:
CITY MANAGER
APPROVED BY: James Sutter DATE:
INTERNAL AUDIT
12/26/02
12/16/02
Created: 10/02
MENTOR/VOLUNTEER AGREEMENT APPLICATION