Salary : $50,829.81 - $60,664.59 Annually
Location : Lansing, MI
Job Type: Full-Time
Job Number: 00374
Department: PARKS
Division: Landscape Architect
Opening Date: 02/12/2025
Closing Date: 2/20/2025 11:59 PM Eastern

Job Advertisement
The City of Lansing is seeking a Parks Worker/Gardener 500 to join the team within the Parks and Recreation Department. The ideal candidate will have experience with roses, tropical, perennial, and annual flowers and have a pesticide license. If you have a green thumb and enjoy working outdoors, we encourage you to apply.

The City of Lansing offers a competitive wage and benefits package including medical, vision, dental, paid vacation, sick and holiday leave, professional growth and educational opportunities.
Special Requirements & Training:

Applicants for this position, upon notification of being recommended for hiring consideration, must present proof of a valid Michigan Category 3A and 3B Commercial Pesticide Applicators License. Failure to present proof of this license upon notification of being recommended for hiring consideration will result in the applicant being by-passed for selection. The selected applicant will be required to maintain this license during the course of employment within this position.

Qualifications for this position consist of:

Associate's degree in horticulture or a related field and one (1) year of experience in the design and care of gardens
OR an equivalent combination of training and experience

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Performs wide range of gardening duties at a city owned park facility.
Employs knowledge of geometric shapes and spatial relationships to create aesthetically pleasing and functional garden designs.
Operates a wide range of hand and power equipment including mowers, saws, edgers, blowers, rakes, shovels, seeders, tillers.
Sets-up and runs irrigation equipment and applies fertilizer and other materials to plants as required.
Diagnoses and treats a wide range of insect infestations and plant diseases in accordance with all applicable safety procedures.
Shovels and plows snow and performs other miscellaneous duties as required.

City of Lansing
U.A.W. Local #2256 Fringe Benefits Summary

Health Insurance: Coverage will be effective the first day of the month following your date of hire. However, there is a contract provision that in the event a new employee does not successfully complete his/her 120-day probationary period or terminates employment with the City of Lansing during his/her probationary period, said employee will be required to reimburse the City for all insurances premiums costs paid by the City. If an employee chooses the Base plan, they will be eligible for a $400 cash bonus annually. Cost of the Option 1 plan will be based upon the State Mandated Hard Cap amount, which changes annually. You may choose coverage under either Blue Cross Blue or PHP. Current plans offered are:

Base - includes a $40.00 co-pay for office visits. Prescription drug co-pays are $10/$40/$80. This plan includes a $1000/single and $2000/family in network deductible and 80% co-insurance. Emergency room services have a $250 co-pay and Urgent Care visits have a $60 co-pay.
Option 1 - includes a $30.00 co-pay for office visits. Prescription drug co-pays are $10/$40/$80. This plan includes a $500/single and $1000/family in network deductible and 80% co-insurance. Emergency room services have a $150 co-pay and Urgent Care visits have a $50 co-pay.

Option 2 - includes a $15.00 co-pay for office visits. Prescription drug co-pays are $0/$15/$40. Emergency room services with a $50 co-pay, and a 50% co-pay for mental health and substance abuse services.

If the employee chooses to "buy up" to Option 1, they will pay the difference between the premium cost and the State Mandated Hard Cap amount. If an employee chooses the Option 2 plan, they will be responsible for the premium cost difference between Option 1 and Option 2. Benefit summaries and rate sheets are available in the Department of Human Resources.

Opt out: Members of the bargaining unit, up to a maximum of fifteen percent (15%) of the bargaining unit, will be allowed to opt out of the City's health care plan annually, during the City's open enrollment period provided the employee provides written proof of coverage from another source. When one (1) to nineteen (19) employees select to opt out of the City's health care plan, they will be eligible to receive $1800 in any year which they receive coverage from another source. When twenty (20) or more active employees elect to opt out of the City's Health Care plan in a Plan Year, they will be eligible to receive twenty-five hundred dollars ($2500) in any calendar year they receive coverage from another source. In addition, such payments will be made twice a year, by separate check, following the period the employee had alternate coverage. City employees married to City employees are entitled to one coverage only and are not entitled to opt out payments unless the UAW member is in the Opt Out program on or before July 1, 2017.

Dental Insurance: The City pays the full premium costs for the Dental plan provided by the City; coverage includes the employee and family members. Coverage is effective the first day of the month following thirty calendar days of service. Coverage includes 100% coverage for cleaning: 50% coverage for treatment costs with an $1500 maximum per person per contract year. Employees and dependents will also receive orthodontic coverage which provides fifty percent (50%) of treatment costs with a $3,000.00 lifetime maximum per person. Booklets and summaries are available in the Department of Human Resources.

Vision Plan: Employees are eligible for the BCBS VSP 12/12/12 Vision Plan. This plan provides vision exams, lenses, and frames, and contact lenses with a co-pay. Benefit summaries are available in the Department of Human Resources.

Life Insurance: The City pays the premium for a base $50,000 of group life and $50,000 Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance for full-time regular employees. Life insurance coverage for dependents is available for a reasonable cost to the employee, in accordance with the following schedule:
Spouse $50,000
Unmarried child, age
14 days to 6 months $ 500
6 months to 23 years $ 2,500
Medical and Dependent Care Reimbursement: Employees have the opportunity to pay for unreimbursed medical expenses, and dependent care costs with pretax dollars through AFLAC. AFLAC also offers supplemental insurances that may purchased on a pretax basis through payroll deduction. Unreimbursed medical will be limited to $2,500 per plan year.

Sick and Accident Insurance: Employees will be eligible for a twenty-six (26) week sickness and accident policy that includes a benefit beginning on the eighth (8) day.
following accidents and the fifteenth (15) day following illnesses. The weekly benefit will be 66 2/3's percent of the employee's weekly wage, with a maximum benefit of $1,500.

Bereavement: At the time of the death of a spouse, child, stepchild, parent, stepparent and parent of a current spouse, an employee will be entitled to use a maximum of the next five (5) working days with pay, to arrange for and/or attend the funeral. Additional time may be taken off with the approval of the department head and charged to vacation, personal leave, or compensatory time. An employee will be entitled to use a maximum of three (3) working days with pay, to make arrangements and attend the funeral for child-by-law, brother, sister, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, grandparents, grandparents-in-law, grandchild, aunt and uncle.

Holidays: Employees will be eligible for holiday pay for the following holidays:

New Year's Day
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Good Friday
Memorial Day
Juneteenth
Independence Day
Labor Day
Veterans Day
Thanksgiving Day
Friday After Thanksgiving Day
Day Before Christmas
Christmas Day
Day Before New Year's Day

Longevity: Longevity bonuses will be paid to employees as follows:

5 but less than 10 years of service 2%
10 but less than 15 years of service 4%
15 but less than 20 years of service 6%
20 but less than 25 years of service 8%
25 years or more of service 10%
Following completion of five (5) years of continuous full-time service by October first of any year and continuing in subsequent years, each employee will receive annual longevity payments as provided in the schedule. Payments to employees will be paid by December first.

No longevity payment as above scheduled will be made for that portion of an employee's regular salary or wage which is in excess of the negotiated maximum base wage, which is currently $25,000.

Vacation: A new full-time employee shall be credited with forty (40) hours vacation time credited to their leave bank following 6 months of service. After the first year of service the regular full-time employee will receive an additional forty (40) hours of vacation time credited to their leave bank. In subsequent years two (2) years through five (5) years of service, employees receive 10 days' vacation. Thereafter, employees will receive one (1) additional day per each year of additional full-time service, not to exceed a maximum vacation leave of 20 workdays.

Personal Leave: Employees receive two (2) personal leave days annually on January first or at time of hire. Personal days must be used by December 31, or they will be forfeited.

Sick Leave: Employees will be credited with 3.70 hours of sick leave each pay ending
(Approximately (1) one day per month). Employees may use sick leave for absences due to his/her illness or injury, including pregnancy, or an illness or injury in his/her immediate family. No sick leave credit will be accrued by an employee during an unpaid leave of absence.
An employee who has accumulated 60 days of sick shall have the option at the end of the calendar year to relinquish and receive a reimbursement for up to the first four unused sick leave days accrued that year over 60 days.

Compensatory Time: In lieu of receiving pay for overtime, which is worked, an employee may, with prior approval of the department representative, request to receive compensatory time off earned at the rate of one and one-half (1 ½) hours compensatory time off for one (1) hour of overtime worked. Compensatory time shall be cumulative up to a maximum total of one hundred twenty (120) hours.

Boot Allowance: An annual boot allowance of $250 for full time employees will be issued to members who are on active payroll as of April 15th of the year. Seasonal employees will be eligible for a $150 allowance under the same provisions as above.

Education Reimbursement: The City will reimburse for tuition and lab fees for approved college level course work or other departmentally approved training or education programs which are taken off-duty. Costs will be reimbursed at a rate not to exceed $500.00.

Parking/Transportation Subsidy: An employee will be eligible for a monthly CATA bus pass at the City's expense or elect to receive a parking subsidy.
Deferred Compensation: Employees are eligible to participate in the City's 457 Deferred Compensation Plans. Currently the City contracts with two vendors that employees may choose from; these vendors are VOYA and T. Rowe Price. Employees may contribute up to a maximum annually allowed through payroll deduction. The minimum contribution is $15.00 per pay period. The City of Lansing will match up $250 per year. Summaries are available in the Department of Human Resources.

Retirement: Employees will belong to the City of Lansing General Employees Retirement System (ERS) and a Deferred Compensation Plan.

Defined Benefit Plan - The retirement factor for full time members will be one and one-half percent (1.50%). Employee contributions for retirement will be three percent (3%) and deducted on a pretax basis. Vesting in the Defined Benefit plan is based upon eight (8) years of full-time service. Pension eligibility is twenty-five years of service and age 50 or age 58 and eight (8) years of service. Annual retirement amount is calculated by final average compensation the sum of a) 1.5 times the first 35 years of credited service, plus b) 1.5% times the next 5 years of service, plus c) 1% times credited service in excess of 40 years of credited service. The maximum pension allowance is not to exceed 110% of an employee's base wage.

Deferred Compensation Plan - The employee is required to make a 2% mandatory contribution, and the City of Lansing will contribute 4% calculated on the member's base salary. Base salary includes the amount the employee receives prior to any premium payments. Vesting in this plan is immediate, and eligibility to access this fund is the date of termination.

Retirement healthcare will consist of an account through MERS. Employees will contribute 3% of their base wages, and the City will contribute 4%. Vesting in this plan will be five (5) years.

NOTE: The benefits listed above reflect the current benefits for United Auto Workers bargaining unit members. These benefits are subject to change depending upon the terms and conditions that are negotiated in future collective bargaining agreements between the City of Lansing and UAW Local 2256.

Department of Human Resources, 8th Floor City Hall, 124 West Michigan Avenue, Lansing MI 48933. Phone: 483-4014

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
01

Do you have and are you willing to maintain a valid Michigan Category 3A and 3B Commercial Pesticide Applicators License?

02

What is your highest level of education

High School Diploma or G.E.D.
Associate's Degree
Bachelor's Degree
Master's Degree

03

Please share how many years of of professional experience you have in the design and care of gardens

Less then one year
One year
Two years
Three years or more

04

Do you have professional experience growing and maintaining rose gardens?

Required Question

City of Lansing, MI

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Parks Worker/Gardener 500