Form revised: December 14, 2010

FISCAL NOTE FOR NON-CAPITAL PROJECTS

Department:	Contact Person/Phone:	CBO Analyst/Phone:
Legislative	Ben Noble/684-8160	N/A

Legislation Title:

AN ORDINANCE related to the enforcement of the City’s sick and safe time regulations, increasing appropriations in the 2011 Adopted Budget for the Seattle Office for Civil Rights; and creating a position in the Seattle Office for Civil Rights; all by a two-thirds vote of the City Council.

Summary of the Legislation:

This legislation creates a new Civil Rights Analyst position in the Seattle Office for Civil Rights.  This position is needed to administer and enforce the sick and safe time regulations that have been proposed in a “companion” ordinance.  Funding for the position is provided for the fourth quarter of 2011.  This initial funding will support the staff work needed for development of the administrative rules called for in the regulatory ordinance and to conduct some level of educational outreach to local employers.  On-going funding will be for 2012 and beyond to conduct investigations and enforce the new regulations.

Background:

The City Council is considering legislation that would establish minimum standards for the provision of sick and safe time.  Enforcement responsibilities for these new regulations would be placed with the Seattle Office for Civil Rights.  After suffering budget reductions over the past few years, the Office is not able to absorb these new responsibilities without additional staffing.

____ This legislation does not have any financial implications.

_X  _   This legislation has financial implications.

Appropriations:

Fund Name and Number	Department	Budget Control Level*	2011 Appropriation	2012 Anticipated Appropriation
General Subfund (00100)	Seattle Office for Civil Rights	Civil Rights X1R00	$20,900	$84,000
TOTAL			$20,900	$84,000

Appropriations Notes: 

Unallocated balance in the General Subfund would support this appropriation in 2011.  For 2012 this would represent an additional expense that is not anticipated in the 2012 endorsed budget. 

Anticipated Revenue/Reimbursement: Resulting from this Legislation:

No revenues are anticipated.

Total Regular Positions Created, Modified, or Abrogated through this Legislation, Including FTE Impact:

Position Title and Department	Position # for Existing Positions	Fund Name & #	PT/FT	2011 Positions	2011 FTE	2012 Positions*	2012 FTE*
Civil Rights Analysts – Office for Civil Rights		X1R00	FT	1	1	1	1
TOTAL			FT	1	1	1	1

Do positions sunset in the future? 

No.

What is the financial cost of not implementing the legislation?

Without the additional position, the Office of Civil Rights will not be able to effectively enforce the new sick and safe time regulations.

Does this legislation affect any departments besides the originating department?

No.

What are the possible alternatives to the legislation that could achieve the same or similar objectives?

Staff now assigned to enforce other civil rights matters could be re-assigned to enforce sick and safe time regulations.  However, this would mean that regulations regarding matters such as employment and housing discrimination would not be enforced as effectively as they are now.

Is the legislation subject to public hearing requirements?

No.

List attachments to the fiscal note below:

None.