Personnel Committee

MINUTES PERSONNEL COMMITTEE FEBRUARY 14, 2020 VERONA CITY HALL 8:00 AM 1. The meeting was called to order by Sarah Gaskell at 8:04 a.m. 2. Roll Call: Sarah Gaskell and Charlotte Jerney were present. Heather Reekie was absent and excused. Also present: City Administrator Adam Sayre, Human Resources Coordinator Mitch Weckerly, Senior Center Director Stephanie Ehle, and City Clerk Ellen Clark. 3. Public Comment: None 4. Approval of the minutes from the January 22, 2020 Personnel Committee meeting. Motion by Jerney, seconded by Gaskell, to approve the minutes of the January 22, 2020 Personnel Committee meeting. Motion carried 2-0. 5. Discussion and Possible Action Re: Position description and recruitment of Senior Center Health and Wellness Intern. Ehle explained the internship position is an opportunity to try something new and for the Senior Center to give back to the community. She’s worked with interns in the past. Ehle explained the internship would be mutually beneficial to the intern and the Verona Senior Center because it would allow the intern to gain required course credit and valuable experience while helping the Senior Center. Ehle has worked most often with programs from UW-Stevens Point and UW-La Crosse. Ehle explained that the intern could help with the employee wellness program in addition to performing duties for the Senior Center. The position would work approximately 600 hours/ semester. Ehle explained the initial intent would be to fill the position for the summer semester. Gaskell asked if we have money to pay them. Sayre replied as a line item, no. Ehle explained interns work for credit, not for money. Gaskell was not in favor of unpaid internships and asked if we could pay a stipend. Sayre replied we could probably do a stipend at the end of the internship. Jerney asked how they would be recruited. Ehle replied we have contacts with UW-Stevens Point, UW- La Crosse and Madison College and that potential other options could be explored. Motion by Gaskell, seconded by Jerney, to approve the position description and recruitment of Senior Center Health and Wellness Intern, and determine an intern stipend upon successful completion of the internship. Motion carried 2-0. 6. Discussion and Possible Action Re: Position description, recruitment and compensation for Parks and Forestry LTE position. Weckerly explained the purpose of the position was to help gather and convert tree data to electronic form. The position would be seasonal for the summer of 2020 and would pay $17/hr. Sayre added the position would focus on GIS inventory and would gather information such as age, breed etc. Sayre explained the position was half funded by a DNR grant and half funded by the budget. Motion by Gaskell, seconded by Jerney, to approve the position description, recruitment and compensation for the Park and Forestry LTE position. Motion carried 2-0. 7. Discussion and Possible Action Re: Update on recruitments for current vacancies. Weckerly explained second round interviews were being completed for the vacant Parks Maintenance-Arborist position and the vacant Reference Librarian Communication Coordinator position. The first Utility Accountant recruitment did not result in a hire. The position was reposted as a part-time position with benefits. Phone interviews were being scheduled for next week and eight candidates were invited to participate. Second round interviews for the Fire Chief position were completed last week and the PFC has not made a final hiring decision. After the full-time Police Records Clerk recruitment did not result in a hire, the Police Department hired several LTEs to complete the work. One of the LTEs has been hired permanently into the Police Records Clerk position part-time at 60% FTE. Additionally, the FTE of a currently filled part-time Police Records Clerk position has been increased from 50% to 80%. Although a number of FTE shifts have occurred, the positions are still under budget from the original full-time Police Records Clerk position that was originally approved. Sayre stated that the situation worked out well because the department was able to bring people in and then move them up later as needed. The situation is similar to what could happen with the Utility Accountant. The first Planning Director recruitment did not result in a hire. The short-term plan is for the department to work without a Planning Director and hire consultants as needed throughout the year. Additionally, Adam will speak with Katherine about her role. A planning LTE or intern may be considered, as well. Sayre explained the City is experiencing challenges finding management level recruits. The City is having trouble competing on the wage side and is not bridging the gap. 8. Discussion and Possible Action Re: Negotiations for a Collective Bargaining Agreement with the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 311 unit. Sayre stated that he, Alder Gaskell and Mayor Diaz have been involved in the bargaining process. The latest proposal was made recently and they are waiting on a response to that proposalHe anticipated that the next proposal would be brought to the Common Council within the next few weeks. 9. Discussion and Possible Action Re: Cell phone usage policy Sayre explained he drafted a cell phone usage policy and that it was currently under review  by the City attorney. The City does not currently have a cell phone policy. Currently, some staff receive stipends on their own phones and some have separate City phones. The drafted policy is modeled after the one being used in Sheboygan. Under the policy, there is an option to have a City phone (with approval) or to use your own device and receive a stipend. The intent is to give staff using their own phones flexibility while on call. Sayre explained he hoped to get the policy to the committee in the next month or so. He added the City attorney was reviewing the draft. Specifically, what cell phone items would be subject to open records request. Gaskell asked how many phones we have across the City and if it would make sense to put all the phones under one carrier. Sayre responded that the City is reviewing the use and need of current landlines. After completing the review, the City could explore options of combining landlines and cell phones under the same contract if it would result in additional cost savings. Jerney asked if employees are getting emails on their personal devices as well. Sayre replied yes. Gaskell stated someone should be appointed to keep everyone’s phone up to date and keep public records information available. The phones should not be scrubbed when an employee leaves City employment. Gaskell suggested creating an administration intern position for the summer. The purpose of the position would be to complete general administrative tasks that other administrative employees have not had time to complete. Sayre stated that staff would start drafting a position description and would present it to the Personnel Committee at a future meeting. 5. Adjournment: Motion by Gaskell, seconded by Jerney, to adjourn at 8:36 a.m. Motion carried 2-0. Adam Sayre, City Administrator