Parks Equipment Operator 500 (Cemetery)

About the role

The Operations and Maintenance Division within the Public Service Department is seeking skilled individuals to join their crew of Equipment Operator Workers for Cemetery. This position allows individuals to contribute their skills and abilities by performing maintenance both safely and properly for the overall improvement of City Cemetery Grounds.

Responsibilities

• Performs general grounds and landscape maintenance duties pertaining to the cemeteries, including but not limited to: mowing, shrub trimming, tree limb trimming, flower planting, fallen limb and branches and leaf cleanup, mulch and stone installation, grave restoration to include topsoil, seed, and mulch blanket, sweeping the cemetery to remove and dispose of prohibited gravesite items.
• Aids with measuring and laying out graves.
• Aids with burials including traditional vault style, cremations, and disinterment.
• Aids with marker cuts, measuring and laying out of monuments and headstones, to include making and pouring cement for foundations.
• Locates broken lines and faucets in the irrigation system.
• Performs winter maintenance activities at the cemeteries, parks, and river trail to include snow plowing and salting; utilizing equipment such as, but not limited to, a plow truck (single axle dump or pickup), salt truck, shovel, snowblower, Bobcat or tool cat, bombardier, and skid steer.
• Operates a wide variety of hand and power tools to include, but not limited to, saws, hammers, leaf blowers, weed whips, hedge trimmers, drills, etc.

Requirements

• Must possess and maintain a valid State of Michigan Commercial Driver’s License, Group B, with Air Brakes.
• Must have Pesticides and Herbicides Certifications, or be able to obtain them within one (1) year of hire date.
• Be able to locate any space within any section of all cemeteries and be familiar with burial layouts.
• This position requires the operation of a vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of 10,000 pounds or more. Therefore, pursuant to Section 601a of the Michigan Vehicle Code, the applicant recommended for this position must be able to pass the physical examination mandated by the State of Michigan in order to be transferred or hired for this position.

Qualifications

• High School Diploma or GED.
• Three (3) years of experience performing heavy manual labor tasks, with one (1) year of experience in landscaping, parks maintenance or cemetery maintenance preferred.
• One (1) year of experience operating construction equipment including backhoes, front-end loaders and other similar equipment.

Benefits

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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%
• 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.