MINUTES
GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS COMMITTEE
JUNE 15, 2005
2:30 P.M.
SCOTT HEYMAN CONFERENCE ROOM
Present: M. Lane, Chair;
K. Herrera; D. Booth; D. Kiefer (arrived at 2:36 p.m.); G. Totman (arrived
at 3:46 p.m.)
Staff: C. Covert, Clerk of the Legislature; S. Whicher, County
Administrator; W. Skinner, Public Information; J. Wood, County Attorney;
N. Jayne, Administration; D. Ellis, Weights and Measures; D. Squires, Finance
Director; K. Bortz, Board of Elections; S. Dewitt, Elections Commissioner
Guest: N. Schuler, County Legislator
Called to Order
The meeting was called to order at 2:34 p.m.
County Administrator's Evaluation
Mr. Lane said the Committee met in executive session a
few months ago concerning the County Administrator's evaluation. No
further follow-up was done and he asked the Committee for direction.
Some members recalled that copies of the evaluation forms submitted by Legislators
would be made available to the County Administrator and then he would prepare
his goals and objectives. Other members felt a summary of the evaluations
would be provided to the County Administrator followed with the submission
of his goals and objectives. Ms. Herrera stated it was her understanding
that a summary would be done. Following a brief discussion, the
Committee agreed the evaluation forms would be given to Mr. Whicher.
Ms. Kiefer arrived at this time.
Report from the County Administrator
Mr. Whicher announced a resolution confirming the appointment
of Bill Sczesny to the position of Highway Manager will be presented to the
Legislature at their next regular meeting.
Chair's Report
Mr. Lane briefly reported on an article he read in the
Post Standard concerning policies relating to computer use by employees in
the workplace. He said he will be requesting that this item be on the
next Committee agenda and will ask Mr. Potter, Information Technology Services
Director, to attend the meeting. Mr. Wood commented that he recently
reviewed and provided feedback to Mr. Potter and Steve Estes of the Personnel
Department on proposed changes to the County's policy.
Report from the County Attorney
Mr. Wood said he did not have a report.
Report from the Finance Director
Mr. Squires reported and distributed information on the
tax foreclosure auction held June 9th. Over 60 bidders were present
and all properties were sold. He also updated the Committee on a recent
court decision appointing him administrator of two estates: one is
with some assets and the other is questionable if there is any benefit.
There also may be the potential of another appointment in the near future.
Report from the Public Information Officer
Ms. Skinner reported an employee team has been meeting
concerning the County's newsletter. A survey will be going to all employees
with the next paychecks. She hopes to report back to the Committee
in August on this subject.
Rollover Requests
Assessment
Following a brief discussion, it was MOVED by Mr. Booth,
seconded by Ms. Herrera, to approve the following request for rollover funds
as submitted. Mr. Lane said that since the Assessment budget was increased
last year he does not believe the department should be entitled to rollover
money.
A voice vote on the rollover request resulted as follows:
Ayes - 3; Noes - 1 (Lane); Excused - 1 (Totman). MOTION CARRIED.
$15,000 - Purchase of a 4x4 economy vehicle for field
work
Board of Elections
It was MOVED by Mr. Booth, seconded by Ms. Herrera, and
unanimously adopted by voice vote by members present, to approve the rollover
request as submitted. In response to a question, Mr. Dewitt commented
that it is anticipated the HAVA training money will be reimbursed.
$1,500 1450.54412
HAVA training for Commissioners and staff
800
.54403 Desk Chair
2,600
.52206 Printer
500
.54414 Mileage for HAVA meetings to educate public
734
.54303 Purchase election bags
County Administration
There was no request made to use rollover in 2005.
County Attorney
It was MOVED by Ms. Herrera, seconded by Ms. Kiefer, and
unanimously adopted by voice vote by members present, to approve the following
request for rollover as submitted:
$4,450 1420.54442
Professional Services (help fund office renovations)
County Clerk
It was MOVED by Mr. Booth, seconded by Ms. Kiefer, and
unanimously adopted by voice vote by members present, to approve the following
request for rollover as submitted. Ms. Herrera raised the question
again of sending out notices with the tax bills about the benefits of using
the local Department of Motor Vehicle office. A brief discussion followed
and Mr. Whicher commented that the current system does not have the ability
and there are also potential legal concerns with including information with
tax bills. Another suggestion made was to include information with
assessment notices; however concerns were raised that taxpayers may not be
receptive to the idea. Ms. Herrera stated for the record that she hopes
that ideas can be investigated to find a way to get the information out;
Ms. Kiefer concurred.
Microfilming (civil papers) 1410.54442
$ 4,200.00
Conversion of map microfilming 1410.54442
3,300.00
Archives grant completion (tax maps) 1410.54442
11,214.72
Inventory and microfilming (historic papers) 1410.54442
4,800.00
Shelving and storage 1410.54442 6,800.00
Backfilling of instruments into EDMS 1410.54442
9,200.00
Finance
There was no request to spend rollover in 2005.
Mr. Squires briefly reviewed the sources for having certified funds and said
there was a significant savings with not using GASB consultants.
He spoke about his plans for using the Rollover money as he expects more
burden on his department with the County's standards for post employment
benefits. He said the County is required by 2008 to provide an actuarial
estimate of what the value of health insurance for retirees is and quantify
it.
Legislature
It was MOVED by Ms. Herrera, seconded by Mr. Booth, and
unanimously adopted by voice vote by members present, to approve the following
request for rollover as submitted. A brief discussion followed concerning
the Proceedings project that was put on hold due to budget constraints a
few years ago. This project is currently several years behind and is
an area the Clerk is interested in getting started again. Mrs. Covert
agreed to look into funding and staffing needs to begin bringing the proceedings
up to date and report back to the Committee at a future date.
Computer equipment 1040.52206 $2,843.00
Tape deck and Dictaphone 1040.52299 860.00
Office supplies 1040.54303 800.00
Weights and Measures
It was MOVED by Mr. Booth, seconded by Ms. Kiefer, and
unanimously adopted by voice vote by members present, to approve the following
request for rollover as submitted:
Replacement of public works server
.52206 $900
Replace office chair
.52214
200
Human Rights Commission
There was no request made to use rollover in 2005.
Administrative Manual Policy
02-01 - Creating New Positions and Reclassifying Existing
Positions
The Committee reviewed and briefly discussed policy 02-01
as adopted by the Budget and Capital Committee and accepted the suggestions
submitted by Ms. Kiefer as reflected below. It was MOVED by Ms. Herrera,
seconded by Mr. Booth, and unanimously adopted by voice vote by members present,
to submit the following policy as revised to the full Legislature for approval:
CREATING NEW POSITIONS AND RECLASSIFYING EXISTING
POSITIONS
Objective: To establish procedures to create new, increase/decrease
hours of and reclassify existing positions.
Policy Number 02-01
Reference: Civil Service Law, Article 2, Section 22 and
Article 4, Sections 61 and 64 and Board Resolution No. 103 of 1972
Effective Date:
Modified Date: January 12, 1981, November
9, 2004
Policy: It is the policy of Tompkins County to have clear
procedures for creating and reclassifying positions, ensuring appropriate
civil service classification and compensation, and including an appeals procedure.
Procedures created pursuant to this policy shall be publicized to all county
employees.
Resolution #:103 of 1972
Department: Personnel
Procedures:
A. Civil Service Aspects
1. In accordance with the powers conferred upon the Commissioner of Personnel
by Article 2, Section 22 of the New York State Civil Service law, before
any new position shall be created or any existing position shall be reclassified,
the proposal therefore, including a statement of the duties of the position,
shall be referred to the Commissioner of Personnel. The Commissioner of Personnel
shall furnish a certificate stating the appropriate civil service title for
the proposed position or the position to be reclassified. Any new or
reclassified position shall be created only with the title approved and certified
by the Commissioner.
2. The procedure for extending temporary positions and for increasing or
decreasing the number of paid hours (or percentage of full time equivalent)
of existing positions is the same as for creating new positions. For
Civil Service Law governing the duration of temporary positions, see Article
4, Section 64, as amended L.1979, c. 185, s 1.
B. Creation of New Positions
1. Each request for a new position must be reviewed by the Commissioner of
Personnel prior to following the remainder of this procedure. It is
the responsibility of each department head requesting a new position to furnish
documentation explaining the proposed job action, cost of the position, funding
source and a copy of the completed New Position Duties Statement to the Commissioner
of Personnel, with a copy to the County Administrator's Office. (The New
Position Duties Statement, MSD222, is available from the Personnel Department
section of the County's Web site)
2. The Commissioner of Personnel's review will be sent to the department
head and to the County Administrator. If the County Administrator recommends
creation of the position, the Commissioner of Personnel will proceed (see
D below). If the County Administrator recommends against the creation
of the position, the department head must notify the Commissioner of Personnel
whether to proceed with D below.
3. In every instance where a new position is created or the authorized hours
for a position are increased or decreased on a permanent basis, a resolution
shall be prepared for consideration by the appropriate committee(s) of the
Legislature. The resolution shall state the reason for classification,
change in hours, the Civil Service classification designation (competitive,
noncompetitive, labor or exempt), the labor grade, and job code. The
department's program committee and the legislative committee responsible
for the budget must review this resolution and make recommendation to the
full Legislature for action (for filling the position, see Policy 02-02,
Recruiting Employees, and Affirmative Action Plan).
C. Reclassification of Existing Positions
Article 4, Section 61-2 of New York State Civil Service law prohibits the
performance of out-of-title work, "No person shall be appointed, promoted
or employed under any title not appropriate to the duties to be performed
and, except upon assignment by proper authority during the continuance of
a temporary emergency situation, no person shall be assigned to perform the
duties of any position unless he has been duly appointed, promoted, transferred,
or reinstated to such position in accordance with the provisions of this
chapter and the rules prescribed there under. No credit shall be granted
in a promotion examination for out-of-title work."
1. The existence of the procedure for requesting a reclassification must
be publicized by the Commissioner to all County employees.
2. If an employee feels that the job duties have changed, or that the job
description, title, Civil Service classification, or labor grade of the position
are inappropriate and should be changed, the employee should submit a reclassification
request to the department head, the Commissioner of Personnel and to the
County Administrator. The remainder of the process is described in D below.
3. Within thirty days, the department head must review the request and submit
written comments to the Commissioner of Personnel and to the employee.
If the department head cannot meet the above timeline, the employee, the
Commissioner of Personnel and the County Administrator must be notified before
the end of thirty days of the reason for delay and shall be given a projected
schedule for completion of the review.
4. Alternatively, the department head may initiate the reclassification process
for any position in the department.
5. Following a reclassification, any affected employee shall be paid at the
same point on the salary schedule for the new position level and salary retroactively
paid as of the date of reclassification submittal.
D. Job Description, Civil Service Classification and Labor Grade
1. Job Description and Civil Service Classification Upon completion
of the processes in B or C above, the Commissioner of Personnel will, within
thirty days, develop and return to the department head and the County Administrator
a draft job description containing the job title and civil service classification.
2. Labor Grade Upon conclusion of D-1 above, the Commissioner
of Personnel will then apply the Point-Factor Rating System, recommend a
County labor grade and return the entire specification to the department
head within thirty days. If the Commissioner of Personnel cannot meet
the above timeline, the employee, the department head, and the County Administrator
shall be given a projected schedule for completion of the review. The Commissioner
of Personnel must include the recommended points allocated for each factor
under the Point-Factor Rating System. In the event that the Commissioner
of Personnel does not agree with the request the Commissioner of Personnel
must submit the reason for that determination in writing to the employee,
department head, and the County Administrator.
E. Appeal of Classification, Reclassifications or Point-Factor Ratings
Employees and department heads are encouraged to submit appeals freely, without
fear of any form of retaliation. Establishment of labor grades and
positions is a complex process. Appeals are an important part of this
process, not a challenge to it.
The existence of the procedure for requesting reclassification and appealing
the Commissioner of Personnel's findings must be publicized by the Commissioner
to all County employees.
Each year the Legislative Committee responsible for the Personnel program
shall receive training in the application of the Point-Factor Rating System
in order to be better prepared to hear appeals.
1. In the event the Commissioner of Personnel and the department head and/or
the employee do not agree on the classification, or job description, the
department head and/or employee may appeal this disagreement to the County
Administrator, or in the event the employee reports directly to the Legislature,
County Administration, or Personnel, directly to the committee responsible
for personnel function.
The County Administrator reviews the appeal unless the involved employee
is an employee of the Legislature, County Administration, or Personnel in
which case the appeal will go directly to the Committee responsible for personnel
function for review and submit to the Commissioner of Personnel, in writing,
an advisory opinion with copies to the affected employee (if any) and to
the Department Head.
2. If the labor grade recommended by the Commissioner of Personnel is not
acceptable to the department head or to the employee, either or both should
submit a written appeal to the Commissioner of Personnel in an attempt to
resolve the disagreement(s). If this appeal process does not resolve
the issue, the department head or employee may submit a written appeal to
the County Administrator, or in event the employee reports directly to the
Legislature, County Administration, or Personnel, directly to the committee
responsible for personnel function. The County Administrator or committee
must respond within thirty days; if this timeline cannot be met, the County
Administrator or committee must provide the employee and the department head
a projected schedule for completion of the review.
The County Administrator reviews the appeal unless the involved employee
is an employee of the Legislature, County Administration, or Personnel in
which case the appeal will go directly to the Committee responsible for personnel
function for review and submit to the Commissioner of Personnel, in writing,
an advisory opinion with copies to the affected employee (if any) and to
the Department Head.
3. The Commissioner of Personnel shall consider the advisory
opinion, make a final decision and notify all affected parties in writing
of this final decision within thirty days.
Public Information
Report from the Meeting Record-Keeping Task Force
Ms. Skinner reviewed the report and recommendations from
the Meeting Record-Keeping Task Force dated June 2005. Following discussion,
the Committee agreed this report would be accepted at the Committee level
only and distributed to the appropriate staff and officials. Mr. Lane
thanked the members of the task force for their work on the report and feels
it is a real service to the Legislature.
It was MOVED by Ms. Herrera, seconded by Mr. Lane, to
accept the report as submitted. Mr. Booth stated he appreciated the
work from the task force as well, but said he strongly disagrees with the
recommendations as he feels far too much time is spent on minutes at various
levels. A voice vote resulted as follows: Ayes - 3; Noes - 1
(Booth); Excused - 1 (Totman). CARRIED.
Finance Department
Resolution
It was MOVED by Ms. Kiefer, seconded by Mr. Booth, and
unanimously adopted by voice vote by members present, to approve and submit
the following resolution to the full Legislature for approval:
RESOLUTION NO. – AUTHORIZATION
TO EXECUTE QUITCLAIM DEEDS – SALE OF FORECLOSURE PROPERTIES AT PUBLIC AUCTION
WHEREAS, by tax foreclosure proceedings, the County acquired
certain parcels in the County, and
WHEREAS, said properties were sold, contingent upon Legislature
approval, at public auction on June 9, 2005, now therefore be it
RESOLVED, on recommendation of the Government Operations
Committee, That upon payment in full of the bid price, plus current taxes
and filing fees, that the County Administrator be and hereby is authorized
to execute quitclaim deeds for all parcels sold at the public auction.
SEQR ACTION: TYPE II-20
* * * * * * * * * *
Resolution - Public Art Task Force
Ms. Schuler spoke briefly about the following resolution
and said she and Wendy Skinner inventoried the County's collection of artwork
in the Old Jail, Mental Health building, Human Services Building, and Transit
Center. Six of the art pieces are not where they should be and are
located in private offices or behind file cabinets. This resolution
is requesting that artwork be displayed in public locations as they were
intended to be displayed.
It was MOVED by Ms. Herrera, seconded by Ms. Kiefer, and
unanimously adopted by voice vote by members present, to approve and submit
the following resolution to the full Legislature for approval:
RESOLUTION NO. - ESTABLISHING A PUBLIC ART
TASK FORCE TO OVERSEE THE DISPLAY AND INVENTORY OF COUNTY'S PUBLIC ARTWORK
WHEREAS, the County established a policy to purchase artwork by local artists
to be displayed in public areas of county buildings, and
WHEREAS, this artwork was placed in the Mental Health Building, the Transit
Center, the Human Services Building, the Old Jail, and the Old Courthouse,
and
WHEREAS, this initiative dates back to the early 1990s, and
WHEREAS, over time, spaces have changed and some areas that used to be public
are no longer functioning that way, some of the art has been moved or is
blocked from view or is otherwise not visible to the public, and
WHEREAS, in April 2005, an inventory of all the public art owned by the County
was undertaken with the result that approximately six pieces are not appropriately
displayed for public viewing, now therefore be it
RESOLVED, on recommendation of the Government Operations
Committee, That the public art purchased and currently owned by the County
is intended to be displayed in appropriate public spaces in said County buildings,
RESOLVED, further, That the artwork may be rotated among the buildings,
RESOLVED, further, That the Chair of the Legislature shall appoint a Public
Art Task Force to oversee the display and inventory of the County's public
artwork.
SEQR ACTION: TYPE II-20
* * * * * * * * * *
Mr. Totman arrived at this time.
Approval of Minutes
It was MOVED by Mr. Totman, seconded by Mr. Booth, and
unanimously adopted by voice vote, to approve the minutes of the May 18,
2005, meeting as submitted.
Next Meeting
The meeting of June 22, 2005, was cancelled due to lack
of agenda items.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 3:48 p.m.
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