7/16 Weekly Email + Gas Survey Results
Hi all,
This week I have updates on our newsletter, information on our August member meeting, information on upcoming Employee Development classes, details on the Hydration Health Challenge, a reminder to take the Employee Survey, details about an upcoming event to help people with their electric bills, and a breakdown of Fuel Survey results.
Newsletter: The newest version of our quarterly newsletter is out. It is beautifully designed with many pictures and graphics and had to be compressed a little to fit in this email. Members can also find a copy on our website at this link (along with older copies), and physical copies of the newsletter will be posted on bulletin boards in the coming weeks.
I know not everyone will check out the newsletter’s contents, so I wanted to also spotlight our Employee of the Quarter winners. They are Zarina Mendoza Orduno, Efren Torres, Kecia Goudie, Brian Gonzales, and Mahmoud Alquran. If you’re interested in why they won, the newsletter provides some more details about why they were nominated
August Member Meeting: Our next Member Meeting will be on August 20th, 2026, from 5-6PM at the Apache PD Substation at 1855 E Apache Boulevard, Tempe AZ 85281. Non-PD personnel can park in the visitor parking lot east of the building, then enter through the main lobby. We will be in the conference room to the right of the main entrance. Members can rsvp to attend between now and August 13th, 2026.
Employee Development Classes: I’ve attached some information about upcoming Employee Development classes. Summer is a perfect time to brush up on some skills/learn something new - if any of these opportunities interest you, I would strongly encourage you to take a closer look.
JULY
7/22 Connect 101
7/22 Connect 201
7/23 Habits & Hacks: Your Playbook for a More Efficient, Effective, and Enjoyable Career in Tempe
AUGUST
8/4 Friday Night at the ER
8/12 Five Languages of Authentic Appreciation
8/19 Presentation Skills: Purposeful PowerPoint
8/24 Employee Development Book Club begins (The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness by Arthur Brooks)
8/25 & 8/26 Crucial Conversations for Mastering Dialogue
SAVE THE DATE: Employee Development Day (9/16)
Based on employee feedback, we’ve shifted this year’s event to the middle of the week to make it more accessible. Join us on Wednesday, September 16th, for a day of growth and connection, featuring professional headshots, interactive workshops, a keynote speaker, and more.
INVEST IN YOURSELF: Sign-Up for Premium On-Demand Growth
Now is the perfect time to express interest for a complimentary ~3-month subscription to MasterClass at Work or LinkedIn Learning. Sign up today to be a part of a future cohort and gain inspiration and insight from industry leaders, building practical skills, exploring new topics, and even earning certifications, all at your own pace.
Hydration Health Challenge: The Tempe Healthcare program is doing another wellness challenge from July 20th to August 17th. I’ve attached an email and the challenge flyer.
I do want to caution people - this challenge is not about drinking as much water as possible - you get entries just by drinking a total of 1,440 ounces of water over the next few weeks (about 51oz/day). I know prior challenges have had leaderboards and don’t want anyone thinking they need to be at the top to win - overhydration/water intoxication can be just as dangerous as dehydration.
Crisis Utility Bill Assistance: CPLC Family Assistance will be at the Tempe EnVision Center on Thursday, July 23, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. to provide up to $800 in SRP and APS crisis utility bill assistance for those who qualify.
Walk-ins are welcome, but appointments are strongly encouraged to help minimize wait times.
Please see the attached flyers for eligibility requirements, the list of documents participants will need to bring, and additional program information. Please share this information with anyone who might benefit from this information.
Employee Survey: The Strategic Management team asked that I share some additional information with UAEA about the employee survey and continue to encourage people to take it. Their copy is below.
“The annual employee survey is open now and takes approximately 10–15 minutes to complete. Your feedback plays an important role in helping City leadership understand employee experiences, identify opportunities for improvement, and make informed decisions for the future. Feedback from the 2024 Employee Survey resulted in the recent Class and Compensation Study and Implementation (HR), the Employee Town Hall (City Manager’s Office), Tempe Family Day (CMO) and the new Employee Recognition Program (HR).
Take the survey now Open now through Aug. 1
Your responses are completely anonymous. Confidentiality is important and the city values honest feedback. The survey is administered by an independent survey contractor, and your individual responses are completely anonymous. Your name and any identifying information are never shared with City leadership or other employees.
New incentives: weekly drawings for gift cards and goodies
Employees who complete the survey may enter a drawing for great prizes. Prize winners will be announced intermittently, beginning now through the end of the survey.
Prizes include:
Gift cards to Pedal Haus and Chick-fil-A
A Tempe Tourism swag bag, Eureka! gift card, and a one-night stay at Residence Inn Downtown Tempe
A Tempe Tourism swag bag, Eureka! gift card, and a one-night stay at AC Hotel Tempe
Note on anonymity: If you choose to enter the drawing for prizes, you will do so after completing the survey by submitting a separate entry form with your name and email address. This information is collected only for the giveaway. The survey contractor, not the City, selects the winners, and your survey responses cannot be connected to your entry.
Friendly department challenge
The city is also launching a citywide friendly competition.
Departments (or office groupings) that achieve a 75% or higher survey response rate by August 1 will receive City-sponsored funding to host a department celebration with refreshments.
Gas Prices Survey Update: I wanted to share some insights from our shared TSA/UAEA fuel survey - thank you to everyone who provided feedback. UAEA has looked at your responses and prepared a summary report for City leadership - while we continue to have conversations, we have already spoken to directors in 3 departments and the City Manager about the results, as well as where we believe energy can be directed. We are also framing the information as useful both now and in the future - we believe some of the recommendations are valid (and important for morale and retention) whether gas prices remain high or not.
We had 94 responses, approximately 21% of the combined membership of UAEA and TSA. Given reports on income, I think we had more TSA than UAEA respondents, but this also could have been skewed a little by people with consistent computer access. Not every respondent answered every question, but most did.
For "How do you currently get to work," 94% of respondents said they drive to work by themselves, 2 people said they bike/scooter/walk, 1 person is fully remote, 1 person uses a combination of travel opportunities, and 1 person carpools.
For "How many days do you work each week, on average?" 67% of respondents said 5 days, 26% said 4 days, and the rest said either 9/80s or some altered, partially remote schedule. For the first surprising tidbit, an employee was more than twice as likely to have a 4x10 schedule if they make less than $80k/year. 33% of employees making $50-$60k, 45% of employees making $60-$70k, and 50% of employees making $70-$80k reported working 4x10 schedules. The other pay ranges were 18% for $80-$90k, 18% for $90-$100k, and 13% for $100k+.
For "How many total miles is your commute to/from work?", the average commute was 19.5 miles, with a low of 1.5, high of 65, and median of 15. We had a very small sample size for $50-$60k, but they reported an average commute of 31.8 miles each way, $60-$70k reported an average commute of 20.2 miles, $70-$80k reported an average commute of 26 miles, and the other groups all averaged about 16.5 miles, indicating they travel half as much as the people at the bottom of the pay range. Assuming an average gas mileage of 24.4 mpg (the current American standard), $5/gallon gas, and a 19.5 mile commute would mean employees are paying 20.5 cents per mile, or $4/day to commute to work. If a 31.8 mile commute, an employee is paying $6.52/day, while an employee traveling 16.5 miles is paying $3.38/day. This of course assumes that everyone has roughly the same fuel economy - I think it is likely that employees making less have lower vehicle mpg.
For "How big of a concern are rising fuel prices for you and your family?", 49.4% of respondents said it was a minor concern, 43.5% said it was a serious concern, 4.7% said it was not a concern, and one person said "I chose to live where I live and accept my choices," which I don't know how to code. 80% of people making $50-$60k said it was a serious concern, 40-55% of people making $60-100k said it was a serious concern, and 27% of people making over $100k said it was a serious concern.
For "If relevant, how have rising gas prices impacted you and your family?", I don’t want to share direct responses, due to concerns that it might reveal respondents. In general, people said that basic needs have been impacted, several people were unable to take anything resembling a vacation this year, and most people have cut back on non-essentials, like hobbies and eating out..
For "If relevant, is there a reason you can't use public transportation or carpooling to get to work?", here are some representative answers. 11% of respondents said they likely could use public transportation - the rest relayed disability needs, distance from work, lack of coverage in their area, commute time, need to drop off/pick up children, odd work schedules, safety cocnerns, and other valid reasons.
I have a service animal and exposure to heat while waiting for transportation is harmful.
Due to the time I work, meetings I have scheduled, and my current physical therapy schedule and helping out with my 6 year old niece -
I live in Gilbert along with a constant changing schedule make it hard or unreasonable to use mass transit. For instance at time I need to come i to work at 2 or 3 am to work in high vehicle traffic areas before the traffic starts. A lot of times this work pops up and cannot go too long with out attention because it is safety related.
Disability makes public transit difficult (too much walking)
Nearest stops are too far. Nearest Orbit stop 1.5 miles, Nearest light rail stop is 2.5 miles. Buses are not frequent enough to provide connections.
I live in San Tan Valley. There aren't any public transportation options. Also carpooling would be a little hard for me as I have after work commitments with my kid's sports, etc.
My standard commute of 20-30 minutes would take me and hour and 15 minutes which is impossible to take on with home responsibilities like cooking and helping children with homework. Public transportation in this area takes too long to get across the city.
hours I'm required to be at arrive at work , the time required to complete my duties. if on call cannot use Public Transportation
I drop off my children at preschool or pick them up from preschool. Sometimes my work location changes based on day, meetings out of the office, require me to have my vehicle accessible.
My position requires me to travel frequently within Tempe and having my car is needed. I also often need to assist my disabled daughter with transportation needs before and after work which necessitates me using my vehicle.
Public transit would take 600x longer than my driving commute. Carpooling is sometimes an option, but not consistently. Since meetings are in various locations throughout the city, the flexibility of a car makes meeting those obligations easier. Biking is something I am comfortable with, but not along the Apache and McClintock cooridors where drivers are driving too fast and there are not protected lanes.
I get off work at 3am and do not feel safe taking public transportation alone in the middle of the night.
For "Which, if any, of the following options would help you/your family address the impact of rising gas prices?," we had a mix of responses. 70% of respondents would like the ability to purchase discounted fuel from the fuel island, 67% said they would like expanded remote work options, and 49% expressed interest in condensed work weeks. Other ideas included fuel vouchers or additional payments to employees making under a certain amount of money each year, a one-time COLA payment to account for rising prices, free or reduced cost vehicle maintenance support for employees through City fleet, City incentives for electric vehicle or bike purchases, expanded benefits for employees participating in the clean air challenge, additional drawings each month for employees forced to work in-office or in-person due to their work responsibilities, improved resources to facilitate city-wide carpooling, and access to city vehicles for reasons other than on-call/standby reasons,
I did a deeper dive into responses by income. For people making $50-$80k per year, 80-90% of all respondents were interested in discounted fuel as an option. Interest went down to 50% over increasing income levels. For people making $50-$80k/year, 45-50% of respondents were interested in remote work options - for people making more, numbers were between 60 and 83% of respondents. Only 33% of people making $50-60k/year were interested in a condensed work week (likely because many already have this), while interest was between 45 and 55% for all the higher income groups. Responses by income were roughly the same for the other options but there was one standout - 50% of people making $50-$60k/year were interested in additional carpooling resources.
UAEA has taken this information and made some suggestions to departments and City leadership. Several of the solutions would require time and resources that the City might not have at the moment - while we’d like to see several implemented, we believe that one of the easiest interventions might be for the City to build out carpool resources so that they are more specific and accessible to staff and help people coordinate their commutes regardless of where they live in the valley. This will be an ongoing conversation though and new ideas may emerge over time - we don’t plan to drop the topic.