City Council to Consider Tightening Up Employee Leave Policy

The Oakdale City Council plans to discuss whether to amend the city’s ordinance governing employee personal and funeral leave at its meeting Tuesday.

Council members will be asked to approve the amendment, which will tighten up the city’s policy on funeral and bereavement leave, allowing it only for employees to attend funerals or “in response to the death of immediate family members.”

The proposed change eliminates the phrase “personal leave” from the ordinance and also eliminates the use of such leave for “extraordinary circumstances and situations in which vacation or other forms of leave cannot be used.”

Under the new ordinance, city employees would be entitled to 24 hours of paid funeral or bereavement leave per year for funerals or in response to the death of a spouse, children, parents, siblings, grandparents and mother- and father-in-law.

Also Tuesday, the council is scheduled to approve a feasibility report for a rear yard storm sewer between 23rd Street and Helmo Court.

The project was initiated by a petition signed by seven of 16 property owners, asking for improvements to the drainage in their rear-yard areas.

Oakdale city staff have concluded that installing a storm sewer with three drainage structures would improve drainage in the area, and have recommended that the council approve the project. The estimated cost of $47,784 would be assessed on a per-unit basis among the 16 contributing parcels of land.

Also Tuesday, the council is scheduled to:

• Approve issuance of a fireworks license to Kmart at 7191 10th St.
• Approve the appointment of Lee Stolarski to the Oakdale Planning Commission for a term that expires June 30, 2014.

Tuesday's meeting will begin at 7 p.m. in city council chambers.