We had our first meeting on February 3rd. Our next meeting is February 17, then every Wednesday in March. The proposals exchanged were primarily clean up language to remove out dated references to paper forms no longer used or references to things like Phoenix at Your Fingertips. We do not expect the City to talk about pay issues until the beginning of March. We will let you know when that occurs.

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The city sent a survey out today to assist them in determining which employees have already received the vaccine, who is not interested in receiving the vaccine and who is interested when it becomes available. This was done because the only data the city has is from the city site at the State Fairgrounds. The 1A group, specifically Fire employees had their vaccine administered by the county, so the city received no stats on who got it. The vaccine for the priority 1B group (approximately 6800 employees) was offered by the state one week earlier than the city was able to offer it so several of those people signed up at the state site (Cardinals stadium), once again, the city got no data on who received their vaccination. Right now, it is anticipated that the rest of 1B will probably begin no later than April. The county health department is the one providing the vaccine to the city and setting the rules for distribution. Following the priority 1B group, the county has decided that those 65 and older will be the next, there are just under 250 city employees in that group but even when they are done, the city still has to wait for permission to begin with the rest of 1B. Right now, the city is able to vaccinate 200 people a day at the fairgrounds. My estimate is that about 7000 employees will remain to be vaccinated following the end of priority 1B and 65+. If the county changes their priority schedule to allow 1B sooner, the city will order and schedule vaccines immediately. At this point, no one will be required to get the vaccine. All information is subject to change at any point. I will let you know ASAP when any changes occur.

Camp Colley is now open for summer 2021 enrollment, and this year we have allocated three week long sessions for City of Phoenix employees to send this children or youth relatives to camp. Parents, grandparents, or aunts/uncles of children between the ages of 8-14 as of May 31, 2021 can register for camp by visiting the Camp Colley website, completing a camper enrollment form for each participant and choosing which of the three sessions the camper will attend. Registration and more information is available at www.campcolley.org/our-camp/sessions/. The cost for these sessions is $430 which includes a $25 round-trip transportation fee to cover the costs of the camper’s trip to/from Camp Colley in Happy Jack, AZ. This total cost is well below the typical fee for similar summer camp programs in Arizona.

Camp Colley, the City of Phoenix’s summer camp, is managed by the Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department and is funded and operated by the Camp Colley Foundation. The five-day, four-night program serves more than 500 children annually and is facilitated by well-trained staff members that are educated by career experts. Camp Colley offers activities such as: archery, hiking, canoeing, horseback riding, campfires and field games.

Camp Colley is a member of the American Camp Association (ACA) and aligns their standards to the ACA, making Camp Colley one of the premier camps in the United States. Camp Colley is proud to promote inclusion and works to make sure every camper has a safe, positive and influential experience.

Click Here to read the latest information from the City of Phoenix Employees Retirement System.

The next membership meeting is scheduled for February 9th at 5 p.m.

The meeting will be held via Zoom. Topics include upcoming negotiations, Super Recruiter, city budget and volunteers for Education Awards Committee.