Benefits for Employees

All regular full-time and regular part-time employees accrue vacation leave for each month of active service. Accrual rate increases are based on length of service and number of hours worked per regular work week. 

• Initial accruals are earned at the rate of 80 hours per year for full-time employees. 
• Firefighters working 24 hour shifts will accrue vacation leave at 112 hours per year.

Vacation accruals may be used after satisfactory completion of initial probationary period.

All regular full-time and regular part-time employees accrue sick leave.

• Regular full-time employees accrue 3.76 hours per paycheck.
• Regular part-time employees accrue sick leave in proportion to hours budgeted for their position.
• Firefighters accrue 5.17 hours of sick leave per paycheck.

• Full-time employees' additional pay of $50 for each completed month of service for a maximum of $600 each year.
• Regular part-time employees receive $25 for each completed month of service to a maximum of $300 each year.

Regular full-time employees' tax-deferred contribution into the Texas Municipal Retirement System fund is 7% of gross wages. The City matches this contribution on a 2 to 1 ratio, vested after 5 years. Employees are eligible to retire with 20 years of service at any age or at age 60 with at least 5 years of service.

All employees of the City are included in the Social Security and Medicare System. The City is required to deduct a percentage of gross income from each paycheck per IRS regulations.

The City offers medical and dental insurance plans. Medical and dental insurance coverages are paid by the City at 100% cost to eligible employees.

In addition, employees' dependent/spouse coverages are available on an optional basis. Dependent coverages are paid by the City at 50% cost.

*Employee premium costs vary depending on the plan chosen and the employee's election of dependent coverage.

Regular full-time employees may qualify for tuition reimbursement. Contact Human Resources for more information.

The long-term disability plan provides financial protection for regular full-time employees by paying a portion of the employee's income (up to 60% of monthly earnings to a maximum benefit of $5,000 per month) while the employee is disabled. 

There is no cost to the employee for this coverage. Disability claims must be approved by the insurance carrier before benefits will begin.

Group Life Insurance

The City provides group life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance coverage to all regular full-time employees, which is payable to an employee's designated beneficiary. There is no cost to the employee for this coverage.

Voluntary Life Insurance

Voluntary life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance coverage is available at the employee's expense to eligible employees and their dependents/spouse. Voluntary life insurance is payable to an employee's designated beneficiary.

Regular full-time employees may participate in the Flexible Spending Plan, which corresponds to Section 125 of the IRS Code. The plan allows employees to set aside pre-tax dollars to pay for qualified healthcare and dependent care expenses. 

Contributions are deducted from the employee's paycheck in equal amounts during the year and are not subject to federal income tax, FICA tax and, in most cases, state and local income taxes.

The City offers a voluntary Deferred Compensation Program through Nationwide. Payroll deductions are tax deferred. The City makes deposits directly to Nationwide on the employee's behalf.

The City provides other voluntary benefits for regular full-time employees. Participation in these benefits is strictly voluntary on the part of the employee.

These supplemental policies are not paid by the City, but they are offered to employees to supplement their current insurance coverage. These benefits may change from time to time.

Employees have the option of purchasing supplemental life, cancer, accident, critical illness and short-term disability insurance through existing payroll deduction accounts.

The City provides an Employee Assistance Program at no cost to employees through the insurance provider. The purpose of the program is to ensure employees and their families receive help to resolve personal problems in an effective and confidential manner.