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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPersonnel Committee - Minutes - 7/22/2004Personnel Committee Minutes 05/20/04 Page 1 of 5 Minutes of the Bayfield County Personnel Committee July 22, 2004 – 2:00 p.m. County Board Room, Bayfield County Courthouse, Washburn, WI The meeting was called to order by Chairman John Blahnik at 2:02 p.m. Present were David Good, Brett Rondeau, Delores Kittleson and John Blahnik, Neil Paulson. Others in attendance were: Mark Abeles-Allison, Verne Gilles, Kris Kavajecz. A motion was made by Good and seconded by Paulson to adopt the Personnel Committee Minutes of June 9, 2004 with corrections. The motion carried. Corrections made included showing that the committee did “Move Out” of Executive Session and that the meeting was called to order at 2:05. Awaiting the arrival of the County Administrator & committee member Rondeau, the committee chose to discuss item #6 on the agenda first. Discussion and Possible Action Regarding County Personnel Policy & Procedures Manual Revisions: The committee reviewed the comments received from Department Heads regarding modifications to the Personnel Policies & Procedures Manual. Department Head Topic: Section V. (C )(3)(a) Discussed the policy regarding requiring a doctor’s note after 3 consecutive sick days. Suggestion that the policy state that the county MAY request a doctor’s note after 3 days. Discussion also included the need for clarification of the consequences if an employee does not provide a doctor’s note when requested. Abeles-Allison and Rondeau joined the meeting at this time. The committee felt that the policy needs to state that documentation WILL be required (not may). The committee discussed raising the absence period to 5 days before documentation is required. The committee discussed consequences if the employee fails to provide requested documentation. Withholding pay and other disciplinary measures were discussed. Department Head Topic: Section V. (A)(3) & (A)(7) Discussion regarding the statement that seniority MAY be a consideration in determining vacation schedules. Department Personnel Committee Minutes 05/20/04 Page 2 of 5 Heads felt that seniority was not always the deciding factor in vacation selection. Discussion regarding # of carry-over days permitted. Some felt that 5 days was more appropriate and some felt that 3 days is sufficient. The committee held a discussion regarding seniority when considering vacation. Union Contract is the policy on this issue. Discussion regarding the amount of carry-over days allowed. Committee agreed to leave the carry-over at 3 days. Department Head Topic: Section II (N) Management Rights: Clarification of the addition of “Modify benefit levels”. Abeles-Allison stated that there was some concern from non-union employees regarding this issue. The committee suggested that the policy elaborate on the statement for clarification. Department Head Topic: Section VII (A)(1) Work hours: Department Heads explained that if overtime is warranted, they should not need approval of County Administrator to authorize overtime. Abeles-Allison clarified that this would only be when overtime was needed on a long-term basis, not one or two days. For example, if there were a natural disaster and highway crew would be required to put in a great deal of overtime for several months, the County Administrator would need to be aware of the situation, from a staffing and financial standpoint. The committee suggested adding wording to clarify that the “dept head may authorize overtime as long as it remains within their authorized budget”. If overtime will cause the department to exceed their budget, they would require County Administrator Approval. Department Head Topic: Section V. (H)(9) Insurance when operating personal vehicles for county business. Clarify if the county will REQUIRE proof of insurance, and also question regarding the insurance coverage amounts. The committee discussed whether $500,000 or a one million dollar coverage limit is more appropriate. Committee suggested that the County Administrator investigate the coverage limit recommended by area insurance carriers. Administrator to provide info at the next meeting. Department Head Topic: Section V. (H)(7)& (H)(8) Discuss hotel reimbursement and meal reimbursement rates. The committee discussed meal reimbursements at length. Department Heads expressed frustration with the need for each employee to provide Personnel Committee Minutes 05/20/04 Page 3 of 5 their own receipt for meals (separate receipts) Discussion regarding whether receipts should be required. Mark will check into this. Discussion regarding the allowance limits that should be allowed for meal reimbursements and hotel stays. Department Head Topic: Section VII. (C )(1) Add specific timelines for reclassification requests: 1) Request to Department Heads by March 31. 2) Recommendations from Department Heads to County Administrator by April 30. 3) Recommendations from Co. Administrator to Personnel Committee by May 31. 4) Personnel Committee take action on request by July 31 The committee agreed with clarifying the reclassification timeline to include dates for submitting reclassification requests to the County Administrator and Department Heads. A comment was made by Paulson that reclassification requests should be initiated by the Department Head, not the employee. Department Head Topic: Section VII. (G)(5)(l) Clarify “Represent the county appropriately”. Abeles-Allison explained that this is along the lines of a dress code, without being specific. Discussion regarding “Decision-Suite” report. Conference with Kim Hurtz: Abeles-Allison called Kim Hurtz to discuss the Decision-Suite report. Kim was not at her desk. A message was left for her to call. Discussion and Possible Action regarding Reclassification Requests: 6 requests were received this year. Abeles-Allison reviewed the process that the county generally follows when considering reclassifications. A suggestion regarding creating multiple levels of “Deputies”, (ie Deputy I, II, III) was discussed. Michele Heglund and Jane Cook both applied for Clerk III status. These reclassifications were denied in 2003. Reclassification requests from these individuals were circulated among the committee members for review. Department Head, Committee and County Administrator recommend approval of these two reclassifications. Suggestion from Paulson to incorporate reclassification criteria into the employee evaluation process. Personnel Committee Minutes 05/20/04 Page 4 of 5 Kathryn Franta’s request was reviewed. Joan Tousignant’s request was reviewed. Abeles-Allison explained that the Coordinator III level requires Master’s level classes, which Joan does not have. Rosie Kozeneski’s request was reviewed. This request is to move from an ESS I to ESS III. The reason for the significant increase is due to case load and the complexity of the work Rosie is doing, which were always performed by an ESS III. Holly Hemingway’s request was reviewed. Discussion regarding “Decision-Suite” report. Conference with Kim Hurtz: Kim Hurtz called at this time to discuss the Decision Suite statistics. Kim reported that the actuaries are gathering Year-To-Date information presently. Hurtz provided information about how and why Decision Suite was compiled. She explained that it is a comparison with other entities in the GHT. The report was reviewed and Hurtz will forward color copies for the County Board Supervisors. Discussion and Possible Action regarding Reclassification Requests: Motion by Paulson, second by Good. to approve the reclassification requests of Cook, Heglund, Franta, Kozeneski and to deny the reclassification requests for Hemingway and Tousignant. In addition, Dave Lee will be asked to provide a revised job description for a new GIS Technician position in his office, to possibly replace the current Clerk III position. Motion Carried. The next meeting is scheduled for August 26, 2004 at 2:00pm. Staff Updates and Discussion: Judicial Assistant position and Clerk I for Clerk of Court filled by Denise Nordin. Deidre Zifko was promoted to the Deputy Clerk of Court position. Public Health Nurse, Barb Gonderzik has resigned. Abeles-Allison provided an update on the Home Health Aide position. Gail Cook was a part-time Aide in the Health Department. She was hired as part-time Jailer and then applied for a full-time jail position. She was hired Full-time in the jail and still worked part-time as a Home Health Aide. This situation is being resolved. Personnel Committee Minutes 05/20/04 Page 5 of 5 UW Extension position update. Two part-time horticulture assistants as well as summer and fair help have been hired. Highway Department: Equipment Operator and Account Clerk have been hired. The committee may go in and out of Executive Session pursuant to Wisconsin Statute 19.85 (1) (e,c) for the purpose of discussing employee promotion, compensation and bargaining issues. The committee chose not to enter executive session for this discussion. Abeles-Allison reported that the unit clarification hearing for the Teamsters regarding the Confidential Secretary position is set for October 20th. The arbitration brief regarding the Lindahl grievance has been submitted. The rebuttal brief is due August 13. Motion by Rondeau, second by Kittleson to adjourn. Motion Carried. Meeting adjourned at 4:05pm.