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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPersonnel Committee - Minutes - 5/3/2016Minutes of the Bayfield County Personnel Committee Meeting 4:00 PM, May 3, 2016 County Board Room, Bayfield County Courthouse, Washburn, WI Members Present: Brett Rondeau, Dennis Pocernich, Harold Maki, William Bussey, Rachel Coughtry Members Excused: Others Present: County Administrator Mark Abeles-Allison, Kristine Kavajecz, Rob Schierman, Deb Kmetz, Josh Rowley, Tom Toepfer, Elizabeth Skulan, Theresa LaChappele, Mary Motiff, David Renz, David Kontny, Larry Tutland, Matthew Ollanketo, Dick Weidinger, Martin Skaj, Lori Skaj, Jennifer Croonborg-Murphy Meeting called to order at 4:00pm by Abeles-Allison. Election of Chair and Vice Chair of Committee: Motion Bussey to nominate Rondeau as Chairman. Motion Pocernich, Bussey to close nominations and cast a unanimous ballot for Rondeau as Chairman. Motion Carried. Motion Pocernich to nominate Bussey as Vice-Chairman. Rondeau asked 3 times if there were additional nominations. Motion Rondeau, Pocernich to close nominations and cast unanimous ballot for Bussey as Vice-Chairman. Motion Carried. Public Comment: Theresa LaChappele, UW Extension and Tourism/Fair offices noted that the wage study Grade recommendation for one of her positions was incorrectly identified in the previous meeting minute notes and that she is a Clerk III in both positions. Toepfer asked if he and his staff will have an opportunity to speak at the time the wage study is discussed. The desire of the committee is to hear comments during public comment. David Renz Sr, Highway Patrolman, expressed disagreement with the moderate job safety rating assigned to the Highway Patrolman position in the wage study. Dave gave examples of safety situations the Patrolmen frequently encounter. He pointed out that the decision-making rating also appeared to be rated low in the wage study and that they make independent decisions on a daily basis. Martin Skaj, Highway Patrolman expressed disagreement with ratings in the wage study, particularly with regard to job safety. Martin posed a question as to what the county has paid for the two wage studies that have been conducted and asked why members of the highway department have been rumored to have been treated differently with regard to the wage study. David Kontny, Highway Patrolman expressed concern with the safety rating and shared a safety scenario. He also disagreed with the educational rating, explaining that although they may not require a degree, they have many years of experience. Lori Skaj, taxpayer and spouse of a Highway Patrolman, asked what the cost of the 2 wage studies was and asked why the wage studies were undertaken in the first place. She expressed a heartfelt comment that as a wife of a Highway Patrolman she is offended that the Highway Patrolman position would be placed at the same wage level as a WIC Clerk I. Jennifer Croonborg-Murphy, Assistant Zoning Administrator. Jennifer stated that the Assistant Zoning Administrator position requires a 4-year degree, not a 2-year degree. She explained that they work at times on highways, on-site with contractors, and in dangerous construction areas. She has law enforcement certification and does not know of another county position that has to deal with hostile customers, on their property, which is a safety issue. Personal safety is a major issue with this position. She is not dissatisfied with her wage, however, feels offended at how the position was rated when compared with other positions. She spoke in support of Josh Rowley stating that she believes that he should be paid at her same wage. Josh Rowley shared his opinion regarding his negotiated hire wage and a letter he was provided at that time outlining the county’s commitment to increase employees to the median wage. He also reiterated the points that Croonborg-Murphy shared regarding the safety aspects of their positions. Matthew Ollanketo, Highway Patrolman, provided a scenario that demonstrated the safety and decision-making level of this position (plowing snow during inclement weather, in the dark). Approval of Minutes: Motion Pocernich, Maki to approve minutes of the April 6, 2016 Personnel Committee meeting. Motion Carried. Wage Study Appeals: Abeles-Allison explained the number of appeals that were received and referred to the documentation that was provided in the meeting packet, including recommendations for specific positions from the wage consultant. With regard to the Highway Department Employees, Abeles-Allison explained that the county’s labor attorney stated that a one-time adjustment could be made to get employees onto the wage schedule, even if they were unionized. This is what was done for the Highway Department (Teamster) employees. Under the current law, the county may only negotiate with unions regarding wages up to the Consumer Price Index. Pocernich answered Skaj’s question that the wage study cost was approximately $40,000. The initial study was $15,000. Bussey stated that the wage study was undertaken when Act 10 was implemented to determine what wages should be with regard to the average market and to establish a process for wages going forward, since the county would no longer have union contracts to dictate wages. The County Board felt that they were not satisfied with the initial study, so undertook a second study which was much more thorough with more county comparisons and was conducted with a firm that had more experience in the public sector. For clarification Abeles-Allison explained that the wage study was approved and is in place as of January of 2016. Only the appeals are what is being discussed today. The committee will consider the recommendations of the consultant with regard to the appeals. This wage study was also unique because of how many times the consultant met with both the Committee and Department Heads. The Consultant spent substantial time visiting the county. Included in the recommendation from the Consultant was to develop a task rate for specific tasks in the Highway Department. Specifically, the Highway Commissioner and County Administrator are recommending $1 more per hour for Lead Mechanic duties when the Shop Foreman is out of the office for more than 1 day and that the Working Foreman wage be paid when employees are assigned those duties. Motion Bussey, Rondeau to approve the wage study appeal recommendations (appeals and task rate), with the correction noted for the UW Extension Clerk III position. Discussion: Bussey noted that no study is perfect, however, he feels that this study is much more thorough than the initial study and we need some finality and need to move forward. Maki noted that he has voted against both wage studies and he feels that the county is no further ahead than they were, and that the work could have been accomplished in house. Pocernich agrees with the wage study as originally presented, however, does not agree with the appeals. He believes the study should be accepted as originally presented, without the appeals. Bussey responded that the appeals process was included as part of the proposal for the wage study. Roll Call Vote: Rondeau- Yes, Bussey- yes, Maki-no, Pocernich-No, Coughtry-No. Motion Failed. (2-3) The wage study will remain as originally implemented with no adjustments. Motion Pocernich, Coughtry to authorize a task rate of $1 per hour for Lead Mechanic duties when the Shop Foreman is out of the office for a full day. Motion Carried (5-0) Consensus of the committee was to go into closed session at this time. Motion Pocernich, Maki to go in and out of closed session pursuant to Wisconsin Statutes §19.85(1)(c) for the purpose of Approval of closed session minutes of April 6, 2016 and to consider employment, promotion compensation or performance evaluation data of any public employee over which the governmental body has jurisdiction or exercises responsibility: specifically, discussion and possible action regarding wage study implementation concerns of specific employees. The committee reserved the right to call in individuals to discuss specific topics as necessary. Motion Carried. Entered closed session at 5:00pm Motion Pocernich, Maki to return to open session. Motion Carried. Returned to open session at 5:37pm. Reports: a. Health Insurance Summary, end of March 2016: The average as of the end of March is 111% for the year so far. Coughtry asked how the figures compared to previous years. Figures for 2015 show that claims in the first 3 months of the year are typically higher than the rest of the year. b. End of April payroll financial report: Total payroll is at about 34% for the year, right on track. Committee Introduction, Personnel Manual and Wage Study: A section of the WCA Supervisors Handbook was reviewed, which talks about the Personnel function of counties. Kavajecz provided an overview of the Policy Manual. The next meeting will include a presentation/discussion with a department head. Future Agenda Items: Suggestion was made to discuss specific concerns brought up by employees that attended this meeting and shared concerns in public comment. Consensus of the committee was to not discuss the concerns further. Maki requested that the meetings be kept as open as possible. Meeting adjourned at 6:05pm. Respectfully submitted by Kristine Kavajecz, Assistant to the County Administrator.