Fringe Benefits In Missouri Municipalities: A Current State Analysis

What is the current landscape of benefit packages in Missouri municipalities?

In the post-COVID-19 pandemic era, Missouri municipalities were especially interested in the changed landscape of fringe benefits offered amidst a significant shift in workplace norms. MML and the Truman School of Government and Public Affairs co-created a periodic survey on municipal fringe benefits to explore this further. Literature on fringe benefits across all sectors indicates that fringe benefits increase employee retention rates and positively affect job satisfaction (Dale-Olsen, 2006). MML members may request copies of the complete Fringe Benefit Survey analysis as well as the Excel workbook containing the tabulated survey data, from all 91 surveyed questions. The complete analysis includes sections on leave time, insurance benefits, overtime pay, collective bargaining and many other important topics. This article highlights three important topics: tuition reimbursement, remote work and parental leave while considering rural and urban differences.

Data & Methods

The University of Missouri and MML codeveloped and administered a 91-question fringe benefits survey to more than 600 Missouri municipalities.

The research team modeled the survey after previous fringe benefit questionnaires administered by the Missouri Municipal League, with additional questions added by the University of Missouri to further understand the prevalence of non-traditional benefits such as parental leave and remote work options, as well as retention rates and vacancies.

Survey collection took place throughout March 2023. We asked respondents to complete the survey to the best of their ability, and participation in UM research was optional. The total count of observations (municipalities who agreed to participate in the study) was 210. Based on the research questions and literature review, we identified urban/rural geography, general workforce size, number of vacancies during 2022, number of employees leaving in 2022, parental leave, remote work options, 401k matching, and tuition reimbursement as variables of interest.

We created cross-tabulations of the variables of interest to understand how benefits differ across geographic areas and municipality size. Additionally, we generated a basic multivariate regression model with no transformations to assess the relationship between urban/rural identity and workforce size, keeping residency requirements for general and administrative staff constant.

Findings & Analysis

Two hundred and ten municipalities, 1/5 of the total population of interest, participated in UM Research.

General Survey Findings

Regarding workforce size, almost 50% of all survey responses were from municipalities with workforces of less than 10 employees. Our multivariate regression further finds an association between rural geography and small workforce size. Holding residency requirements for general staff constant, rural municipalities were associated with a workforce of 47.8 fewer employees than urban municipalities.

Remote Work

Remote/hybrid work options are generally underrepresented among municipal benefits, as only 20% of Missouri municipalities provide this benefit.

Surprisingly, 46% of municipalities offering remote work options have less than 25 employees. Several possible explanations exist for the greater prevalence of remote work among smaller governments. We posit that tracking and creating a controlled work-from-home (WFH) system may be more accessible when fewer employees are involved.

Remote Work - Urban/Rural Findings

Of all the municipalities that offer remote/hybrid work options, 24% were urban, 39% were rural, and 36% were suburban. We can compare this to the 80% of municipalities that do not provide remote work options, where an overwhelming 66% were rural.

Tuition Reimbursement

Of those surveyed, 59% of Missouri municipalities offer tuition reimbursement.

Municipalities differed in the extent to which tuition is covered, with the highest number of municipalities offering between 50-100% of tuition, fewer municipalities covering up to 12 credits per year, and the least number of municipalities setting a dollar limit with a range of $1,500 to $10,500. Thirty-five municipalities responded that there was a required number of years an employee had to work before becoming eligible for tuition reimbursement.

Tuition ReimbursementUrban/Rural Findings

Ideas transform communities

Building strong communities is at the heart of our endeavors. We’re proud to support the Missouri Municipal League.

hdrinc.com

When looking at survey respondents based on urban, rural and suburban status, there is a clear divide between rural municipalities and urban/ suburban. Ninety percent of rural municipalities do not offer tuition reimbursement to employees, whereas a majority of urban (58%) and suburban (67%) municipalities do. The scope of this research does not explain the stark difference in this benefit offering. Still, future research would prove valuable to understand why tuition reimbursement is not as popular in municipalities.

However, almost half of all municipalities (47%) do not provide maternity leave. More than 60% of these municipalities have under 10 employees, providing more insight into why specific governments do not offer this benefit. Smaller municipalities often have a smaller budget, leading to difficult decisions to include or exclude certain benefits.

Parental Leave - Urban/Rural Findings

We find that 54% of urban municipalities provide some form of maternity leave and paternity leave. Forty-eight percent of rural municipalities offer some form of maternity leave, while 28% offer paternity leave. These findings are also consistent with the available literature on family leave. The U.S. has no universal law requiring organizations to offer paid parental leave. There may not be enough funding for paid

Parental Leave

Fifty-three percent of all municipalities provide some form of maternity leave, paid or unpaid, while only 38% of municipalities across Missouri give some form of paternity leave. Cities are cautioned that treating employees differently based on sex may create liability.

Municipalities offer maternity leave 15% more frequently than paternity leave. Twelve percent of municipalities provide paid maternity leave.

104268, parental leave for public institutions, that often rely on tax revenue to continue operations. Furthermore, budgetary processes often require approval from a legislative or executive authority. When funding and expenditures are scrutinized, the argument for paid leave may not always be successful.

800-726-9304.

A Note From MML

MML wishes to thank the Truman School of Public Affairs for collaborating on this project, particularly Jayci Fox, Smon Tesfaldet and Amarachi Onyema. Not only did the project provide MML with an updated resource for member use, but it also exposed the graduate students to municipal government. We hope to continue these collaborative efforts in the future. This article only summarizes a portion of the 91 questions from the survey. MML members may download the complete Fringe Benefit Survey analysis from the League website (MML Handbook page) as well as the Excel sheet with the raw dataset.

Endnotes are available by contacting MML at info@mocities.com

by Anthony J. Zito and David W. Ostlund