General Counsel Commission

MINUTES GENERAL COUNSEL COMMISSION SPECIAL MEETING OF OCTOBER 25, 2023 Present: Council Member Carta, Council Member Nocera, and Council Member Salafia. Staff: Deputy General Counsel, Kori Wisneski; HR Director, Justin Richardson Public: Cathy Lechowicz, Jen Hobart, Kelly Robinson 1. Call to Order: Meeting was called to order at 5:00 p.m. 2. Public Comment: Cathy Lechowicz, Director of Recreation and Community Services, spoke regarding the labor management item on the agenda. She explained that she has three main points to raise. The first is that she fully supports the upgrades and doesn’t want to cause a delay, second is that the custodian upgrade causes a direct inequity issue in the department, and third is there is a simple solution. She explained that the Custodian/Program Aide is a 5 and has additional duties than the Custodians. If the Custodians go from a 4 to a 5 it will be the same grade. Director Lechowicz advocated to give the Custodians their raise but also the Custodian/Program Aide to go from a 5 to a 6. Jen Hobart, President of 466, spoke in support of the labor management agenda item and the appreciation for the City and the Union working well together. 3. Approval of Minutes Council Member Salafia made a motion to approve the August 16th special meeting minutes and Council Member Nocera seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 4. New Business A. Labor Management 1. Administrative Assistant to the Fire Chief 2. Building Superintendent I 3. Custodians 4. Lead Master Mechanic – Parks 5. Heavy Equipment Operator – Water & Sewer Director Richardson read his executive summary, which was presented as part of the meeting packet. He explains that the summary outlines the process of the labor management presented. Council Member Nocera questioned if the city knew about the inequity in the Recreation and Community Services department and chose to continue with it the GCC. Director Richardson explained that once the city found out about the inequity, they tried to correct the issue but were unable to come to an agreement with the Union on adding it to the labor management process. He explained that he ran the numbers for the impacts and spoke with Carl, but was not successful. Council Member Salafia asked if it could done through an MOU and Attorney Wisneski explained that the union did not agree to it. More discussion ensued. Council Member Nocera made a motion to table the labor management items until the next GCC meeting and Council Member Salafia seconded the motion. More discussion ensued regarding scheduling a special meeting for next month. The motion passed unanimously. 5. Other A. City of Middletown 2022-2023 Employment 4th Quarter Report Attorney Wisneski explained the Director Jackson could not make the meeting and this item is on the agenda as a result of a request from Council Member Blackwell. There have been emails as to whether GCC is the appropriate commission, as the Affirmative Action Commission oversees and reviews the report. B. Discussion of HR Specialist JD Attorney Wisneski explained that Maria Scarlett was hired on a temporary basis in the HR office. She has been doing outreach for the city and staffing the Anti-Racism Task Force. She was hired in conjunction with input from Councilman Ford, as well as co-chair Sasha Crockett. Attorney Wisneski explained that the intent is to not hire permanently until the Baker Tilly final job descriptions are related and approved. C. Discussion of Baker Tilly Director Richardson explained that the Baker Tilly Bi-weekly meeting is coming up and he will have an understanding of where our deliverables are. The prior meeting was to go over the finalizations of the FLSA data. He explained there was a stall and that was because the peers responded to the salary surveys but did not respond to the benefits portion. Attorney Wisneski explained that the intent it have a sit down with the unions and department heads and then present the final package to the Council. Council Member Salafia expressed that Council should be the first step before presenting it to the unions. More discussion ensued. Council Member Nocera suggested an executive summary that describes the discussion to develop the final report. Council Member Salafia suggested that before the final package is presented, the Council needs to have some input. Attorney Wisneski stated that she would take the comments back and talk with the Mayor to see where he stands. 2  D. Recruitment Efforts Director Richardson explained that his office has been doing a number of outreach events. He explained that they are networking with Middletown Businesses, Wesleyan, and Middlesex regarding diversity recruitment. Council Member Salafia questioned how many open positions the City has and the status of them. Director Richardson explained that because they are vacant, doesn’t mean they are recruiting for them because they can be burning out time or need new eligibility lists created. More discussion ensued regarding the ability to hire when people are running out time being a management policy and Finance allowing it to happen. 6. Adjournment: Council Member Nocera made a MOTION to adjourn and Council Member Salafia seconded the motion and the meeting adjourned at 5:35 p.m. 3