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City of Colton AGENDA REPORT FOR COUNCIL MEETING OF MARCH 7, 2000 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY CONCIL APPROVAL: HENRY T. GARCIA, CITYMANAGEk' FROM: AL HOLLIMAN, FINANCE DIRECTO!;JV SUBJECT: EMPLOYEE COMPUTER PURCHASE PROGRAM DATE: FEBRUARY 23, 2000 BACKGROUND: There is an emerging trend among employers, including California cities, to provide incentives for employees to acquire (for home use) personal computers, software, and system upgrades which are compatible with those used in the employer's workplace. Employers benefit by the employees' enhanced computer skills, which increase job productivity. In addition, subject to normal system controls and safeguards, employees can access work files on the City's computer network from home. This is of particular benefit to the City as related to management and confidential employees. DISCUSSION/ANALYIS: Computers are becoming increasingly more vital in city operations. In Colton, all executive, management and confidential and most clerical employees have a computer terminal either on their desk or at their disposal. Staffing limitations and technological advancements have required managers to learn to work with computers to perform their duties and to maximize productivity. Management and office employees with strong computer skills are becoming increasingly more valuable to their employers. This is true in the private sector as well as in public agencies. In order to ensure that Colton's staff continues to develop their computer skills, it is proposed that the City begin an interest free computer loan program. Under this program, full-time employees who have passed probation can apply for a loan of up to $2,500 to purchase computer hardware, software and related support equipment. The funds will be repaid over a two-year period through payroll deductions. Employees separating from the City with an outstanding loan will be required to retire the debt prior to receiving his/her final paycheck from the City and/or have the remaining balance deducted from final pay. The computer systems must be compatible with the City's computers (Windows '98 or higher operating system), as well as the primary application software. To ensure compatibility with the City's system, the Information Systems Coordinator, Finance Director or his/her designee must approve all loan requests. Exhibit 1 is the proposed Employee Computer Purchase Program, with a complete list of conditions and requirements. Based on a California Society of Municipal Finance Officers survey, eighty-eight of the two hundred eighteen responding cities have financial assistance programs in place for computer purchases, and most of those offer direct loans. ALTERNATIVES: The City Council has the following alternatives to the staff recommendation in this matter; I . Not implement an employee computer purchase program at all. 2. Implement this program but modify some of the terms (i.e., charge interest on the unpaid balance; shorten or lengthen the repayment period, etc.) Item #11