The number of city employees injured on the job or who experienced motor vehicle incidents last year increased compared to 2021, although the number of property damage incidents decreased.
From Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2022, eight city workers were injured on the job, whether for a slip, trip or fall; overexertion; being caught in, by or between something; allergens; sprains; or environmental, according to a fourth-quarter report presented during the March 13 city council meeting.
There were also four employees who required medical aid and six who had lost-time incidents, while there was a total of 45 days lost.
In comparison, 16 municipal employees injured themselves during the same quarter in 2021, while five required medical aid. However, there were zero lost-time incidents or days lost.
For all of 2022 (year-to-date, YTD), there were 56 injuries, 19 instances of medical aid, 12 lost-time incidents and 45 days lost, the report said. In comparison, in 2021, those numbers were 42, 14, zero, and zero, respectively.
Meanwhile, for 2022 YTD, there were 36 total motor vehicle incidents involving city workers, along with six collisions, six incidents of the public being at fault, four reversing issues, and three environmental incidents (poor roads).
In comparison, in 2021, those numbers were, respectively, 18, five, 10, three, and zero.
Also, there were 39 total incidents of property damage last year compared to 44 in 2021, while there were 10 dangerous occurrences last year versus eight in 2021, the report added.
The city hired a second safety officer in 2021 to help reduce such incidents, but it seems the data has substantially increased, Coun. Jamey Logan said. He wondered if that was simply due to more reporting versus an actual increase in safety problems.
Municipal employees are reporting more incidents, but there has also been an increase in disciplinary issues — especially with vehicles backing into things — that city administration is handling, said city manager Jim Puffalt.
Even though city hall is short a safety officer, directors and managers continue to work on addressing preventable issues, he added.
Several factors contribute to these higher safety numbers, said human resources director T.J. Karwandy. For example, safety becomes top of mind for staff the more they are on the job site. This leads to more reporting, which — while counterintuitive — is positive since managers want employees to bring forward those issues.
“There are some culpable incidents happening. There doesn’t seem to be a particular trend or driver in that,” he continued. “We hope to address those … (with) safety talks and targeted policy updates (and) education sessions that will hopefully raise awareness that.
“So we’re addressing them (safety incidents) as they come up. It’s a multifaceted problem.”
The next regular city council meeting is Monday, March 27.
