MINUTES
PERSONNEL COMMITTEE
SEPTEMBER 13, 2006
3:00 P.M.
SCOTT HEYMAN CONFERENCE ROOM
Present: J. Dennis, Chair; P. Mackesey; F. Proto; D. Kiefer; L. McBean-Clairborne (arrived at 3:25 p.m.)
Staff: C. Covert, Clerk of the Legislature; J. Thomas, Personnel; P. Younger, Deputy County
Administrator; A. Fitzpatrick, Personnel Commissioner; S. Whicher, County Administrator; P. Meskill, Sheriff; C. DeMarco, Mental Health Department
The meeting was called to order at 3:07 p.m.
There were no changes to the agenda.
Mr. Dennis reported that Sheriff Meskill received the signed tentative agreement dated February 8th. The agreement covers the clerical staff (5 employees) at the Sheriff’s Department. The Union membership will be meeting September 15th and he believes ratification will take place at that meeting or shortly thereafter. Following that action, the Legislature will need to ratify the tentative agreement on fact-finding and non-interest arbitrable issues. He also stated he was informed by Paul Mayo that the language for the road patrol two-year agreement has been agreed upon and that will be coming from the arbitrator in early October. That tentative agreement is for a two-year period and expired February 2006. Following this, the Sheriff’s Union will likely then make a demand to begin negotiations for the next contract.
At this time and in response to a question raised about the cost of this process, Ms. Fitzpatrick outlined the expenses to date. A total of $37,000 has been paid including the amount in the proposed resolution the Committee will be considering later in the meeting to pay Rance Reynolds, Esq., however we received no bill yet from the arbitrator. The total estimate for this process is $40,000-$50,000.
Mrs. McBean-Clairborne arrived at 3:25 p.m.
Ms. Kiefer asked about the status of the Management and Confidential employees’ salaries. Mr. Whicher said money has been budgeted in the 2007 tentative budget. He has not brought anything forward and said the Legislature needs to make a decision.
Ms. Kiefer also asked about the status of the Workforce Diversity and Inclusion Committee Logo and the Health Insurance Steering Committee. It was noted that the Logo will be presented next month. Ms. Fitzpatrick provided a brief update on the Steering Committee and said it meets every two weeks. The Steering Committee has developed a plan for offering options it is willing to adopt. The consultant and Ms. Kominos are working on getting the literature through Blue Cross Blue Shield that is necessary to outline the plan. The next step would be for the Steering Committee to contact and work directly with the unions in a labor management type of format, not formal negotiations. Some conversations have taken place with two presidents of the White and Blue Collar unions. Meetings will be scheduled with union representatives by the end of September to see if there is interest in signing a Memorandum of Understanding for a pilot program that may last for a one- to two-year period. The plan will be an alternative plan that would be an additional option for employees. It does not replace what County employees currently have elected for Health Insurance. If the unions agree for this to be a voluntary option, a window of opportunity exists in November when all employees can elect a health insurance plan for the following year.
Process and Timeframe
Mrs. McBean-Clairborne recalled that Committee members were going to receive additional information concerning what other agencies or counties have been doing for these positions. If that information is not available she recommends a subgroup work with appropriate staff from Administration and/or Personnel to come up with a plan to evaluate.
Mr. Dennis again referenced the file he received that contains a variety of evaluation formats of the four employees including self-evaluations. Mrs. McBean-Clairborne also raised the question that has not been resolved of asking the employees of those individuals to provide feedback.
Ms. Mackesey agreed there should be a subcommittee to review and develop proposals to discuss. Ms. Kiefer said she thought the Committee was going to discuss the evaluation forms members received at the previous meeting. Ms. Kiefer said she is familiar with the file Mr. Dennis referenced, and said she thinks everyone who is on the Personnel Committee is here because of interest in performance evaluation, too, so there will be lots of volunteers for a subcommittee. She, too, did not object to having a subcommittee to discuss this.
Ms. Younger cautioned the Committee not to focus so much on a document or one isolated process, but to begin working towards an overarching ideology of what you want and expect of the organization as a whole. Mrs. McBean-Clairborne agreed with many of the comments made by Ms. Younger and feels that the organization needs to be considered holistically as this process is developed. Mr. Proto noted that whatever processes are developed need to be tailored to the four individual positions. In addition, the individual(s) developing the work plans for these positions need to be identified and that evaluations should be done annually. Mr. Whicher spoke about the importance of getting input from the four individuals being evaluated as well.
Further discussion followed and the Committee agreed to Mrs. McBean-Clairborne offer to put together next week a “plan of action” that would include dates, timeline, etc.
Mr. Dennis asked the Committee to discuss the previous and upcoming negotiations in terms of the road patrol. The County’s Negotiating Team consisted of Sheriff Meskill as a joint employer; County Administrator Steve Whicher; County Legislator James Dennis; Paul Mayo, hired negotiator; and Personnel Commissioner Anita Fitzpatrick. Ms. Kiefer said she was not satisfied with the outcome of the selection process of the negotiator for reasons of potential conflict. She feels it would be sensible to put out a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) before hiring a negotiator in the future.
At this time, Ms. Fitzpatrick outlined the process of negotiations for the Negotiating Team including the hiring of an external consultant or negotiator. In the past, in consultation with the County Attorney, we had hired outside counsel, etc., but had not generally used and RFP or RFQ.
Mr. Whicher said that with binding arbitration he would recommend an RFQ process for hiring an external consultant or negotiator. Mr. Proto feels a recommendation for process should come from the Negotiating Team. Mr. Whicher stated that if he were on the Team, he would recommend the County hire a negotiator as part of the process. Mr. Meskill said either hire someone right away or not at all. If Tompkins County does not have the money to meet what the unions want, hire right away. As a joint employer he wants to make sure his interests are represented. Ms. Kiefer asked if the hired gun is usually the spokesperson for the Team, or whether the Personnel Commissioner could be the spokesperson.
Mrs. McBean-Clairborne feels the Legislature should provide guidelines for the Negotiating Team but that the Legislature should not dictate how the Team should communicate with the negotiator.
Ms. Mackesey agreed that there are times when it makes sense to negotiate an outside arbitrator and that it should be done at the beginning of negotiations.
Ms. Fitzpatrick hoped that the roles and responsibilities of the Negotiating Team are clearly defined before negotiations begin. Ms. DeMarco stated that from her experiences it what would be helpful if there were clear guidelines from the Legislature.
Following further discussion and clarification that an RFQ provides both qualifications and cost information, it was MOVED by Ms. Mackesey, seconded by Mrs. McBean-Clairborne, and unanimously adopted by voice vote, to authorize the Negotiating Team for the road patrol of the Deputy Sheriff’s Union the option to hire an outside negotiator, if necessary, through a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) process and that the Negotiating Team has the authority to hire said negotiator with the understanding that a resolution would be prepared and presented at the next Legislature meeting.
In response to questions concerning the funding for this, it was discussed that an appropriation from the Contingent Fund could be made to cover the costs of hiring a negotiator and that a department should not be charged.
Resolution
It was MOVED by Mrs. McBean-Clairborne, seconded by Ms. Mackesey, and unanimously adopted by voice vote, to approve and submit the following resolution to the full Legislature for approval:
RESOLUTION NO.
– AUTHORIZATION TO PAY INTEREST ARBITRATION COSTS FROM THE CONTINGENT
FUND
WHEREAS,
the Employees Union of the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Department has been
working without a contract since March 1, 2004, and
WHEREAS, the Employees Union of the Tompkins
County Sheriff’s Department has, by Section 209.4 of the Civil Service Law,
been given the right to Compulsory Interest Arbitration, and
WHEREAS, Compulsory Interest Arbitration has
never before been exercised in Tompkins County and the amount of these interest
arbitration expenses could not have possibly been anticipated or budgeted in
advance, and
WHEREAS, no funds have been budgeted or
allocated for these or future interest arbitration costs, and
WHEREAS, the Personnel Department has paid
previous negotiation and interest arbitration costs from its own rollover funds
and these funds are now depleted, and
WHEREAS, additional funds are necessary to
pay these expenses, now therefore be it
RESOLVED, on recommendation of the Personnel
and Budget and Capital Committees, That attorney fees in the amount of
$16,300.47 associated with Compulsory Interest Arbitration will be paid from
the Contingent Fund,
RESOLVED, further, That the Director of
Finance is hereby authorized and directed to make the payments from the
contingent fund:
FROM: A1990.54440 Contingent
Fund $16,300.47
SEQR ACTION: TYPE II-20
____________________
Affirmative
Action Report
The
Affirmative Action report is a monthly report presented to the Committee and
any questions can be referred to Ms. Fitzpatrick.
Workforce
Violence Prevention Act
Ms.
Fitzpatrick said the Personnel Department is moving forward to comply with this
legislation as well as coordinating with appropriate staff and
departments. The Act takes effect
October 5th, however, the State will not be prepared until the first
of the year.
2006/2007
Diversity and Training Plan
Ms.
Fitzpatrick said she has a draft Plan and hopes the Committee will discuss it
at the next meeting. Ms. Kiefer said she hopes to have a
concrete proposal for training programs to discuss and consider.
Computer
Application Survey
Ms.
Fitzpatrick informed the Committee that her Department is working with
Information Technology Services and TC3 to conduct an assessment survey of all
County employees to identify needs for doing their jobs currently and for
mentoring and promotion later in their careers.
Training
Consortium
Ms.
Fitzpatrick asked that this topic be discussed next month.
Approval of Minutes
It
was MOVED by Ms. McBean-Clairborne, seconded by Ms. Mackesey, and unanimously
adopted by voice vote, to approve the minutes of the August 9, 2006 meeting as
amended by Ms. Kiefer. MINUTES
APPROVED.
Adjournment
The
meeting adjourned at 5:09 p.m.