Hi all,
I have a few new updates and reminders, in the following order this week.
Prop424 Updates + Survey
UAEA November Meeting
Baking Contest/Dessert Exchange Reminder
FHL Updates Reminder
Office Hours Reminder
Thanksgiving Resources
PEHP/HRA Overviews
1. Prop 424 Updates: This is an update on Prop424 and UAEA's planned response. UAEA has spent the last week discussing our strategy for the next few months, gathering information to improve our ability to make budgetary proposals, and finding common ground with TSA so we can present some joint recommendations to City leadership and Department heads about ways Tempe can close its budget deficit (or otherwise address our current budget concerns). While we have already identified a few possible strategies, we are open to other suggestions - we put together a quick survey for members to anonymously share suggestions for cost savings or ways to raise revenue. Please take a few minutes and provide some feedback if there are places in your workgroup or department that you feel should be considered as ways to potentially reduce the budget gap. We'd also like to know if your leadership has already mentioned specific places they would like to make cuts or if you have knowledge from the last budget reductions in the 2010s and would like to provide feedback about what worked and what didn't during that period.
UAEA's primary role during this process will be to advocate for staff and push for employee-friendly budget solutions. We will continue to provide updated information about the approach the City is taking in emails throughout the coming weeks.
2. UAEA November Meeting: The next in-person UAEA members meeting will be on Thursday November 19th, from 12-1PM at the Kiwanis Recreation Center (6111 S All-American Way, Tempe AZ, 85283). As a reminder, this meeting was moved from the Price Water Plant due to construction - bulletin boards will be updated soon to reflect the change. Please also note this meeting will be snack-based - we’ll be bringing a bunch of pre-packaged snacks and drinks that members can enjoy in-person or take back to their offices/city vehicles. You can sign up for the meeting here - deadline is tonight at 5PM.
UAEA will also be hosting a virtual members meeting the same day (11/19) from 2-3PM. You can rsvp for that here.
3. Baking Contest/Dessert Exchange: UAEA would like to remind members about our Baking Contest/Dessert Exchange happening on November 17th at the Tempe Public Library. We’re letting members bring in and exchange desserts from 10-2PM on that date. Non-members can also participate (we mainly want more desserts to pick from), but only UAEA members will be eligible to enter their treats in the contest portion and/or win prizes. This year we will be accepting 4 types of entries, Sweet, Savory, Non-Traditional, and Allergen-friendly - if applicable, participants can enter one dessert in multiple categories and would be eligible for prizes in each.
A complete list of rules can be found at this link. You don’t need to, but the board would appreciate it if members could also sign up in advance at this link so we have a better idea of head count before the day of the event. We’ll be bringing (some) serving utensils, storage containers, utensils, cups, and a variety of drinks to enjoy with the desserts - we’ll need members to bring some desserts though. I’m personally planning on bringing 2-3 of my top creations to show off my cooking skills - if anyone has ever felt the burning desire to show up the UAEA President (and win prizes/acclaim in the process), please step up to the plate on the 17th!
4. Floating Holiday Leave Updates: As a reminder, members have until the last pay period in December to use their Floating Holiday Leave (FHL) hours. Any time not used by December 27th will be lost, then Floating Holiday Leave banks will reset in January. Members who do not plan to use their time can donate it to UAEA through November 15th. Each additional hour donated will count as an entry in the UAEA Donation Incentive Program, which will be raffling off at least 10x$100 giftcards in 2027. As a reminder, all members receive entries in the program based off of mandatory donations, but members who donate additional hours will receive extra entries and a higher chance of winning one (or more) of the giftcards. Hours can be donated at this link.
5. Office Hours: I will be hosting more office hours around Tempe throughout the next few weeks. There’s a complete schedule on the Events page of our website - it was recently updated to reflect some new meetings. As a reminder, these office hours were a quick test to see general interest - if they gain traction, we’ll send out a more detailed schedule in December with more concrete plans for 2027. I am also happy to consider adding more locations/time depending on member feedback - please let me know if that’s something you/your peers would be interested in.
Thursday, November 12th, 3 - 4:30PM - Kyrene Water Plant, 1st Floor Conference Room
Currently being rescheduled, likely to 11/24 at the same time
Tuesday, November 24th, 11 - 1PM - City Hall Ground Level Break Room (Behind Council Chambers)
(RESCHEDULED from 11/17 due to Baking Contest conflict
There is also time after 1PM for a separate office hours session elsewhere.
Wednesday, November 25th, 11 - 1PM - Tempe Transit Center Don Cassano Room
6. Thanksgiving Resources: I’ve updated the resource section at the bottom of this email with some information about cheap Thanksgiving meal bundles at local grocery stores as well as a link which summarizes free Thanksgiving resources being given away around the Valley. If you would like to celebrate Thanksgiving but worry about the affordability, please check them out - please also pass them along to friends and family if relevant to their needs.
7. PEHP/HRA Walkthrough: There were some questions at our last virtual meeting about Post-Employment Health Plans (PEHPs) and Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs), so I wanted to provide a brief summary of what they are and what Tempe offers so Tempe staff are aware of their options as they approach retirement.
Health insurance is incredibly expensive and is not projected to get any cheaper anytime soon. One of the primary reasons people delay retirement is to either keep their existing healthcare coverage or to bank enough money to pay for their healthcare before age 65 (when they are eligible for Medicare). To help avoid this situation, some employers offer a benefit to longterm employees where they will set aside some funds every month into a separate account which is meant to help cover insurance costs between when someone ends their Tempe employment and when they start Medicare. These are known as PEHPs or HRAs - Cities like Phoenix offer a PEHP program, while Tempe offers a HRA - while there may be some quirks in administration, they’re intended to address the same thing. Tempe does not provide thorough guidance on healthcare options when you retire but will point you towards the healthcare insurance offered by Arizona State Retirement System as well as the options through COBRA. Importantly, funds in your ASRS account can be used to pay for their insurance options if you go in that direction.
The following information only applies to employees in Group 3 of our Health Insurance - these are staff who obtained or will obtain 10 years of service with Tempe after June 30th, 2009. Group 2 members (those who obtained 10 years of service prior to June 30th, 2009) have a slightly more complicated system that varies depending on whether or not someone has dependents and whether they are Medicare-eligible when they retire, but the same basic principle of funding applies.
As of July 2026, after an employee has reached 10 consecutive years of service with Tempe, Tempe HR will create a HRA account for that employee and deposit $16,403.23. This amount goes up by 2% each year - if you reach 10 years of service after July of 2027, for instance, the amount deposited would be $16,731.29. Tempe HR will also begin depositing money into the account for every month you work after you reach 10 years - this will continue indefinitely until you end your service with the City. This amount currently comes to $205.03 per month ($2460.36 per year) and also increases by 2% every July 1st - in 2027, it will rise to $209.13 per month. All Group 3 employees are entitled to this after 10 years of consecutive with Tempe (not ASRS in general), but part-time staff may have their contributions prorated to be proportional with their normal work hours (ie, a person on a 30 hour/week schedule would receive 75% of the base contributions each month). The funds are held in what is essentially a big Mediflex account - employees can get reimbursed from the account for qualified post-retirement healthcare expenses. If employees have over 10 years of consecutive service, they can check their HRA account balance by logging into their Nationwide Account portal - there should be an extra section for HRA funding.
If you have additional questions about HRA accounts and post-retirement healthcare, feel free to reach out to me or Tammy Milhoun in HR. You can also reach ASRS to discuss benefits at contactus@azasrs.gov or 602-240-2000 if you are in the Phoenix area.
Holiday Party RSVP: This is the rsvp for our annual holiday party. I will be updating bulletin boards across the City in coming weeks with a poster and QR codes for this event. We will be at Spokes on Southern from 430pm to 8pm on Friday, December 4th. Entry is free and we will be providing food, some drinks, and giveaways. We will also be collecting toys for donation to Helen’s Hope Chest (a charity for Phoenix foster children) - for each toy you bring, we’ll give you an extra entry into our prize drawing. Please note that, like last year, we will be allowing plus ones - you can bring a friend, partner, or family member as long as they are above 21 (Spokes has restricted entry for underage individuals). Finally, please also make sure to rsvp by Thursday, November 26th - we need to give a final count to Spokes a week in advance.
We recognize that this time may overlap with some member’s normal work schedules. We apologize for the inconvenience and want to do something for those who can’t attend due to their work schedule - if that applies to you, please fill out this survey.
Tempe Fitness Challenge: If you’re part of Tempe’s healthcare program, you are eligible to participate in November’s “Wellbeing Airways” Challenge. Participants who earn 2,000 fitness points during November will be eligible for weekly drawings of $25 giftcards and a grand prize drawing of $50. More information can be found on healthymetempe.com.
Floating Holiday Leave Updates: As a reminder, members have until the last pay period in December to use their Floating Holiday Leave (FHL) hours. Any time not used by December 27th will be lost, then Floating Holiday Leave banks will reset in January. Members who do not plan to use their time can donate it to UAEA through November 15th. Each additional hour donated will count as an entry in the UAEA Donation Incentive Program, which will be raffling off at least 10x$100 giftcards in 2027. As a reminder, all members receive entries in the program based off of mandatory donations, but members who donate additional hours will receive extra entries and a higher chance of winning one (or more) of the giftcards. Hours can be donated at this link.
If you’d like to check your remaining FHL hours, log into Peoplesoft HR, click on “My Time,” and then check the hours listed in the row next to “Floating Holiday Leave.”
The UAEA Board promised that we would be good stewards of FHL time and would not take more time than was needed from our members each year. We took 8 hours of FHL last year, but due to high membership levels, additional time donations, and board vacancies, we believe we will be able to operate with only 6 hours of FHL donated by members this coming year. This time will be automatically deducted from member’s leave banks in January, leaving them 18 hours to use in 2027. We would like to continue asking for 6 or even fewer FHL hours in coming years, but we unfortunately cannot forecast our needs that far in advance - everything will depend on currently unknown factors like the additional leave donations that we receive from employees, our total membership count, and our burn rate of UB hours. We will do our best to keep members posted of our needs well in advance of 2028.
Adopt a Path Signup: UAEA is currently planning to do our next Adopt a Path Cleanup on Saturday, November 21st, from 7-9AM. We’ll meet in the Tempe Parking Lot on the southeast Corner of Curry and Miller (approximate address is 1325 E Curry Road, Tempe AZ 85281, see attached photo), then walk north up our path to Mckellips Rd. Breakfast, drinks, safety gloves, trash pickers, and trash bags will be provided. Please bring a hat, sun block, and/or sunglasses. This event normally takes 1.5 hours to complete, is eligible for community wellness points, and is a great opportunity to meet members of the board and your fellow union members. If you’d like to attend, please sign up here by Thursday, November 19th, at 5pm.
Community Resources: UAEA is aware of rising fuel prices and how this is impacting members. We are having some internal city discussions about possible workplace changes, but also wanted to post some resources for members who may be struggling to make ends meet. This is a similar list to what we posted in November with a few new additions. Please feel to reach out if you have additional recommendations about local resources.
AZ Food Bank Network: This link contains information about dozens of food banks and assistance sites across Arizona. You can search by the directory and the zipcodes they provide services for to find food banks in your areas.
AZ Medical and Nutrition Assistance: This is an Arizona-State run program that can help connect people with Arizona State programs that provide assistance for people who need medical coverage, WIC support, or additional access to nutrition. I do not know all that the program entails.
Maricopa County Utility Support: This is a Maricopa County program that can help people receive assistance paying for utilities. Some cities have unique offerings while others are covered under one umbrella program.
AZ 211: This is a Arizona-State run help line that can help people connect with a variety of resources and support they may be unaware of in their area.
Tempe Employee Relief Fund: This is a Tempe-run program (paid for by employee donations) that can provide support of up to $1,200 to assist Tempe employees with unplanned emergency bills (housing, mortgage, utilities, etc).
Employee Assistance Program: If you have insurance through the City of Tempe, you can take advantage of the EAP, a group of resources which can provide free therapy, legal consultations, or classes on stress management.
Cheap Recipe Guides: These are two free cookbooks designed for cooking high-nutrition and easy meals on a budget. Even if you’re not a fan of the recipes, there are some good tips on stocking a kitchen with affordable and long-lasting staples.
Free Transit Pass: This contains information on how to obtain your free bus, streetcar, and lightrail pass as a Tempe employee.
Sun Bucks: This program offers direct payments in the summer to families whose children receive free or reduced cost school lunches
Discount Grocery Stores: This link provides a few examples of discount/salvage grocery stores around Phoenix that resell food that supermarket chains don’t want (everything is still good, usually stores get rid of items that are out of season or past their best-by date, even if still viable).
First Time Homebuyer Assistance: These links provide information on a few programs designed to help municipal or low-income employees purchase homes for the first time. Some are loans, some are down-payment assistance, some are direct financial support. The first link is an Arizona program meant for home buying in Maricopa County, but the same program is also available to Pima County residents.
Discounted Thanksgiving Info: These links provide some information on cheap or free resources to host Thanksgiving with your families or get a free Thanksgiving meal. Please check them out and/or pass them along to the less fortunate in your lives if the information does not apply to you.
Thanks for a great week, everyone!