Personnel Committee

PERSONNEL COMMITTEE Monday, November 17, 2014 6:00 P.M. The Personnel Committee will hold a meeting on Monday, November 17, 2014, at 6:00 p.m. in the Village Hall, 123 N. River Street, Waterford, WI. AGENDA Call to Order Approval of the Minutes 1. Review and act on October 20, 2014 minutes. Old Business 2. Review and provide a recommendation on fire and rescue equivalent certifications. a. All members are compensated based upon qualifications, with the exception of the $7.25/hr. for time spent in meetings, trainings and public relations and fundraising activities, with a range of $10 - $17.50 per hour (with the exception of two Village Designated fire inspectors that could earn up to $19.50 if they meet all of the requirements and Fire tactic requirements below) as follows: Member base rate $10/hr. Rescue Lieutenant base rate $12/hr. Add the following based upon qualifications: FFI $0.50 FF2 $0.50 MPO $0.50 Aerial $0.50 EMT $0.50 AEMT $1.00 Paramedic $2.00 Fire Inspector $0.50 Fire Inspector – Village Designated $2.00 Bachelor Degree $0.50 Associate Degree $0.50 Fire Instructor I $0.50 Fire Instructor II $0.50 Fire Tactic – Investigation $0.50 Fire Tactic – Outside Fire Attack $0.50 Fire Tactic – Transitional PPA $0.50 Fire Tactic – Transitional PPA A&B $0.50 b. The Chief would like to check in with the Committee to see whether he can designate certifications for individuals based upon equivalent certifications. c. For example: The department has a fire and rescue member who is ASE certified. ASE is short for the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence. This certification requires competency through testing to assure quality working on vehicles and attending school. This is a needed skill particularly when we need work reviewed and done on fire and rescue vehicles. The Village currently lists certifications for individuals who drive specific vehicles such as motor pump operator and aerial operator, but not maintaining them. d. It would be challenging to develop an all-encompassing list of certifications. e. The Chief desires the authority to grant a comparable certification for one listed. f. This item was listed on the 10/20 agenda and the Committee requested the Fire Chief attend the next meeting to provide additional comment.  The Committee is requested to provide a recommendation. 3. Review and provide a recommendation on joint application concept for the fire and rescue department.  a. Included in your packet is a draft application for applying for three departments: Eagle Fire Department, Mukwonago Fire Department and Waterford Fire Department. b. All three departments seek part time employees that may desire to work in multiple departments given their various schedules and availability. This is another attempt to increase the poll of eligible applicants for part time work for the fire and rescue department and increases awareness of applicants regarding the availability for employment. c. At this time staff is seeking the Committee’s direction on the process and if favorable requesting approval to finalize the concept with neighboring departments, conduct legal review and provide to the Village Board for approval. Staff requests the inter department review to continue and, if acceptable to the Committee, provided to the Village Board for final action when complete.  The Committee is requested to provide a recommendation on the joint application process. 4. Review and discuss, and provide possible direction regarding correspondence from Central States regarding health insurance. a. In March of 2014 this matter was brought to the Personnel Committee for review with the following provided by our attorney: 1. President Roanhouse received the attached correspondence from Central States legal counsel. 2. The request was reviewed by the Village’s legal counsel. 3. As you will recall, the Village specifically did not sign the new agreement from Central States proposed in 2013 because they did not have a way to digitally modify the agreement to reflect that only regular full time employees are eligible to receive health insurance and that the regular full time employee has the option of enrolling in the health insurance program. The Village legal counsel amended the agreement originally signed from 2007 with this language, 2013 signatures lines and rates for the next three years. The Committee approved this document, signed and submitted to Central States for renewal in 2013. 4. The Village is the only community that the Village’s legal counsel is aware of that allows for this exception. Central States typically requires that every employee (part time and full time be required to enroll in their health insurance program). 5. The Village’s legal counsel recommends the Village do one of two things: Option 1: not respond Option 2: respond that the Village will only sign a new agreement if the language required by the Village relative to full time employees and the participants option to enroll is inserted in the document 6. Legal counsel preferred option 1 so that the Village may gauge Central States level of importance regarding the matter. b. The Village recently received correspondence from Central States with new agreements that do not exclude part time employees and allow the full employees the option to elect the insurance. This matter was again reviewed by legal counsel and the attached e-mail was prepared and sent to the Village’s Central States Field Representative. No response was received prior to the 10/20 meeting and the item was tabled. c. On 11-11-14 the Administrator received a voicemail late in the day from Central States legal counsel explaining that he had received the e-mails sent to the field representative and that they were unable to respond until they met with the Trustees of the fund to seek guidance on how to proceed. A phone call was had on 11-12-14 between the Village and Central States legal counsel. The Village provided Central States with a copy of our Personnel Manual which defines the difference between regular full time, regular part time and limited part time employees. Central States was also informed that the Village department heads and supervisors are responsible for monitoring the weekly hours of regular part time employees to ensure they are not exceeding and average of 30 hours per week to fall under the requirements for ACA. It was suggested by the Village that this practice be implemented into the personnel manual if that would provide Central States assurance that the Village would adhere to that practice. While voicemails have been left for Central States following the Trustee’s meeting, we have  not yet received a response as of the writing of this memo. A verbal update of any information received will be provided at the meeting.  The Committee is requested to review and provide direction if necessary. 5. Review and provide recommendation on revised electronic information systems, e-mail, social media and internet policy. a. Earlier this year the Village’s personnel counsel reviewed the policy and it came to the Committee for recommendation. b. The Committee requested that department heads and supervisors review the draft prior to recommendation by the Committee. That review is now complete and following the following comments from staff are identified in redline format on the attached.  The Committee is requested to provide a recommendation on the policy. 6. Update on advertisement for snow removal employees. a. The Village ran the attached advertisement in the Hi Liter for two weeks and did not receive any applications. b. The Director currently has three limited part time employees to assist with snow removal activities. c. Staff is currently considered a second advertisement with less restrictive requirements.  This is an update only. No action required. New Business 7. Review and provide a recommendation on flexible spending plan limits. a. On 10/30/2014 the Internal Revenue Service released Revenue Procedure 2014-61 that included an inflation adjustment for healthcare Flexible Spending Arrangements (Health FSAs). Effective 1/1/2015, the maximum contribution to a Health FSA/Medical Reimbursement FSA has been increased to $2,550. The increase applies to both general purpose Health FSAs and limited purpose/post deductible Health FSAs. b. The Village current limits annual FSA contribution to $2,500 annually and dependent daycare (DDC) to $5,000 annually.  The Committee is requested to provide a recommendation on whether or not they desire to change the FSA annual limit to be consistent with the new IRS regulation. 8. Review and act on Flexible Benefit Plan Amendment. a. In 2013 the federal government approved a carry-over provision for funds up to $500 remaining at the end of plan year in a flexible spending account to be carried over into the following year. The Committee and Village Board approved this change, identified in Section 1. b. In 2014 the Affordable Health Care law triggered federal modifications to the flexible benefit plan. Premiums for employer sponsored health insurance programs that are the employees responsibility maybe the deducted pre-tax for the employee if the employer has an approved flexible benefit plan. This amendment specifies that the employee may opt to participate in the ACA market plan plans if they qualify resulting in pre-tax deductions will cease for in the plan. If the employee chooses to purchase health insurance from the market plan, the premiums are no longer eligible for pre-tax treatment under the village’s flexible benefit plan. c. These have been forwarded to the legal counsel for review, but in substance appear to conform to the new standards. A copy of the existing Summary Plan Description is included in your packet in addition to the proposed amendment.  The Committee is requested to provide a recommendation on the amendments subject to any revisions recommended by legal counsel. Adjourn There may be a quorum of Village Trustees present, which would constitute a public meeting of the Village Board Jerry Filut Chairman Please note that, upon reasonable notice, accommodations can be made for the needs of disabled individuals through appropriate aids and service. For additional information or to request this service contact the Clerk’s Office at 534-3980. Posted 11/14/14, 5:00 p.m.  Personnel Committee Unofficial Meeting Minutes October 20, 2014 – 6:00 p.m. Present: Allen, Bell, Filut, Pollnow, and Vaccaro Also present: Rebecca Ewald Filut called the meeting to order at 6:02 p.m. Pollnow moved and Vaccaro seconded to approve the August 18, 2014 minutes. Motion carried. The Administrator updated on the approved contract for the Village’s flexible spending plan with Diversified Benefits for five years with a 0% increase for all years, the meetings occurring to roll out the new Employee Assistance Program and advertisement for limited part time snow removal position. It was noted that the hiring policy delegates the hiring to fill the seasonal positions to the Director of Public Works. The Committee reviewed the Fire Chief’s request to allow him to approve equivalent certifications to those specified in the pay scale based upon qualifications that was approved earlier in 2014. The Fire Chief was unable to attend the meeting due to a prior commitment. The Committee desired to meet with the Chief to review what other certifications this may apply to and how it could apply in the future. The pay per qualifications is a new system and they desired to make sure approved equivalent certifications would be reviewed fairly and judiciously in the future. Pollnow moved and Allen seconded to table the item until the Committee met with the Chief. Motion carried. The Committee reviewed the updated EMS Lieutenant position. Pollnow moved and Allen seconded to recommend approval of the revised description. Motion carried. The Committee was updated on recent correspondence from Central States regarding health insurance. In March of 2014 this matter was brought to the Personnel Committee for review with the following provided by our attorney. In March President Roanhouse received correspondence from Central States legal counsel requesting him to sign new participation agreements for insurance, as the documents the Village signed and sent to Central States called for the union’ signature. Due to Wisconsin new laws, local unions may no longer bargain over benefits and therefore their signatures are no longer needed. The agreements attached were not reflective of the Village’s requirement that health insurance only be offered to regular full time employees. The request was reviewed by the Village’s legal counsel. As you will recall, the Village specifically did not sign the new agreement from Central States proposed in 2013 because they did not have a way to digitally modify the agreement to reflect that only regular full time employees are eligible to receive health insurance and that the regular full time employee have the option of enrolling in the health insurance program. The Village legal counsel amended the agreement originally signed from 2007 with this language, 2013 signatures lines and rates for the next three years. The Committee approved this document, signed and submitted to Central States for renewal in 2013. The Village is the only community that the Village’s legal counsel is aware of that allows for this exception. Central States typically requires that every employee (part time and full time be required to enroll in their health insurance program). The Village’s legal counsel recommended the Village do one of two things: Option 1: not respond, Option 2: respond that the Village will only sign a new agreement if the language required by the Village relative to full time employees and the participants option to enroll is inserted in the document. Legal counsel preferred option 1 so that the Village may gauge Central States level of importance regarding the matter. At the March meeting the Committee elected option one and no further action was taken regarding the matter. The Village recently received correspondence from Central States with new agreements that do not exclude part time employees and allow the full employees the option to elect the insurance. This matter was again reviewed by legal counsel and the attached e-mail was prepared and sent to the Village’s Central States Field Representative. No response was received prior to the meeting. The Committee will be updated after a response is received. The Committee reviewed the Teamster Local No. 43 Union Agreement for 2015. Filut moved and Vaccaro seconded to recommend approved of the 2015 agreement. Motion carried. Pollnow moved and Allen seconded to adjourn at 6:50 p.m. Motion carried. Respectfully submitted, Rebecca Ewald Village Administrator USE OF ELECTRONIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS, E-MAIL, SOCIAL MEDIA, AND INTERNET ACCESS The Village recognizes that use of electronic, information systems, including e-mail and the internet, has many benefits for the Village and its employees, making communication efficient and effective. Appropriate use is required and unacceptable usage places the Village and the employee at risk. All Village supplied technology, including computer systems and Village related work records belong to the Village and not the employee. All library technology is under the exclusive charge of the library board. As per Wisconsin State Statute 43.58, the Waterford Public Library maintains its website and social media accounts separate from the Village of Waterford with administrators designated and approved by the Library Director. Library employees will adhere to all Village policies in regard to use of social media. Any employee who abuses the privilege of access to Village information systems, e-mail or the internet may be denied access and may be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination. Village of Waterford information systems shall not be used for transmitting, retrieving or storing any communication of a defamatory, discriminatory or harassing nature or materials that are obscene or pornographic. No messages with derogatory or inflammatory remarks including but not limited to an individual’s race, age, disability, religion, national origin, physical attributes, sexual preference, shall be transmitted. Harassment of any kind is prohibited. Also prohibited are: the use of disparaging, abusive, profane, or offensive language; distribution of materials that would adversely or negatively reflect upon the Village or contrary to the Village’s best interest; and any illegal activities including software piracy, extortion, blackmail, copyright infringement; and unauthorized access to any data files, computers, internet websites, e-mail, or social media sites. Each employee shall be held accountable for the content of all text, audio, images, video that he/she sends over the Village’s information systems. No e-mail or other electronic communication shall be sent which hides the identity of the sender or represents the sender as someone else. Village computers have a variety of software packages installed, based on the needs of the individual’s position. If an employee has a need for a program not currently available, he/she should contact the supervisor. Employees shall not copy software for any reason, install software on any of the Village’s workstations or servers, download software from the internet or other online service (including games and other entertainment software), or modify in any way existing computer program code. E-mail, internet usage, and social media postings are not guaranteed to be private or confidential. All electronic communications using Village information systems are Village property. Therefore, the Village reserves the right to examine, monitor and regulate e-mail messages, directories, files, and social media content as well as internet usage. Internal and external e-mail messages are considered business records and may be subject to open records laws and/or discovery. The Village is not responsible for material viewed or downloaded to the internet. If encountered with in-appropriate internet site(s) or e-mail(s) with inappropriate materials, disconnect from the site or e-mail and notify your supervisor. The Village, recognizing the value of social media as a communications tool, may utilize a variety of social networking delivery methods to communicate with employees, constituents, and the public at large. Many employees employ social media in their personal communications. Social media is defined as online communications dedicated to content-sharing, interaction, and collaboration. In 1 includes, but is not limited to, forums, microblogs like Twitter, social networking sites like Facebook, video and photo sharing sites like YouTube and Flickr, blogs, and similar sharing sites. This policy is not intended to govern employee’s personal use of social media, but employees should be aware that such usage may reflect upon the Village or give the appearance of representing the Village. For these reasons, employees contributing to public forums in which Village business is discussed are expected to apply a disclaimer on personal social media accounts that the views expressed are one’s own and are not an official policy, statement, position, or communication of the Village of Waterford, nor they represent the views of the Village or any Village officer. Employees should understand that public record laws may bring their use of social media under the scrutiny of the public and/or media. Employees who are authorized to post to official Village social media sites must abide by the policies set forth in this Village of Waterford Personnel Manual. No Village employee may establish a social media account in the name of the Village of Waterford unless the Village Administrator or designee has approved the establishment of said account and all information posted on the account is approved in accordance with social media policy guidelines. Authorized users must report unauthorized uses of Village social media to the Village Administrator or designee. Unacceptable social media usage includes the restrictions provided above, plus use of any material that contains confidential or ‘for official use only’ information or information that compromises the security of Village networks or information systems. Such ‘for official use only’ or confidential information includes, but is not limited to, information that is protected by federal, state, or local laws and regulations (except as permitted under such laws and regulations), as well as social security numbers and other personally identifiable information. Authorized users of Village accounts must maintain the confidentiality of information so considered, including financial and business, citizen, personal information about other employees or trustees and other information not generally available to the public. The Village Administrator will maintain a list of all social media accounts and domain names with the names of all authorized users and their associated user identifications and passwords. Social media pages must be clearly identified as created and managed by the Village of Waterford and include guidelines for the purpose of the page with clear description of acceptable topics; list of unacceptable comments that may lead to removal at any time without notice; that the site is not owned by the Village and is subject to the terms of use and privacy policy of the site operator subject to site’s collection and retention of passive information such as cookies and other information from and about visitors. It should also state that opinions are not controlled by the Village nor do they reflect an endorsement by the Village. All postings to the site(s) may be retained by the Village as required by applicable law or Village policy and may be subject to open records and disclosure laws, as well as discovery in litigation. Visitors should have no expectation of privacy or confidentiality with respect to any content they post to the site, not does the Village have any responsibility for maintaining such. Computers and other electronic devices (printers, copiers, etc.) use a large amount of energy. Employees are expected to shut down and turn off computers and equipment at the end of the work day. 2 No employee without proper legal authorization shall disclose confidential information concerning the property, government or affairs of the Village, nor will such information, computers, electronic devices or equipment be used to advance the financial or other private interest of the employee. 3  Limited Part Time Seasonal Snow Removal Position Village of Waterford The position will operate snow removal equipment, including snow plows, salt truck, snow blower and shovels for the purpose of clearing roads and pathways within the Village right-of-way including sidewalks and parking lots, perform daily operator maintenance checks and preventative maintenance on equipment, move equipment from one project/location to another and other duties as assigned. This position requires a valid Wisconsin Class B commercial driver’s license w/airbrake endorsement and Wisconsin Class D driver’s license. This position must have the ability to respond on-call during and after regular business hours and on weekends. Strong mechanical and electrical aptitude and significant snow plowing experience with a 5 yard dump truck equipped w/plow and wing required. Must possess the physical ability to sustain long workdays and able to function effectively in the outdoors in cold, or inclement weather. Must have the ability to respond the emergencies after hours. Employee is required to reside within 10 miles of the Village limits. Wages range $20. Please submit resume and employment application to the Village Administrator at 123 N. River Street, Waterford, WI. Employment application can be found online at www.vi.waterford.wi.gov . Applications due to the Village Administrator by Wednesday, November 5, 2014 at noon CST.