Human Resources Committee Minutes – September 1, 2016
For your consideration, please review the minutes for the Human Resources Committee Meeting from September 1, 2016:
bgjwsc-human-resources-committee-minutes-september-1-2016
To read the minutes, please open or download the pdf from the link above or you may see more below:
PRESENT:
Johnny Cason, Chairman
Allen Booker, Commissioner
Thomas Boland, Commissioner (arrived late)
Jimmy Junkin, Executive Director
ABSENT:
Donald M. Elliott, Commissioner
ALSO PRESENT:
Cindy Barnhart, TSI
John Donaghy, Chief Financial Officer
Mark Ryals,
Baylie Lane, TSI
Chairman Cason called the meeting to order at 10:00 AM.
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD
There being no citizens that wished to address the Committee, Chairman Cason closed the Public Comment Period.
ADOPT:
Minutes of August 4, 2016 Human Resources Committee Meeting
Commissioner Cason made a motion seconded by Commissioner Booker to approve the minutes from the Human Resources Committee Meeting August 4, 2016 meeting. Motion carried 2-0-1 (Commissioner Elliott was absent for the vote).
DISCUSSION:
Public Information Officer Position – Comm. Elliott / J. Junkin
Commissioner Booker made a motion seconded by Commissioner Cason to defer the discussion of Public Information Officer position until more information can be obtained. Motion carried 2-0-1 (Commissioner Elliott was absent for the vote).
Protocol Policy for Inter-government Communication – Comm. Boland
Commissioner Boland discussed the Draft Protocol Policy and how JWSC handles interaction with the City and the County officials. The proposed policy discusses representatives for both the county and the city and that they should be our point of contact for information. If there are dealings with JWSC Commission and the County or City it should be from Chairman to Chairman and then Chairman to the Mayor, etc. It is not proper to go directly to the County or City Administrators to address an issue or to get action. In addition, the chairman of each governmental agency (County, City or JWSC) should not go directly to an employee of other agencies. But rather the counterparts of each agency should work directly together. JWSC is an independent commission and appointed by state law. Mr. Junkin was asked to attend the City Commission meetings whenever possible. Commissioner Cason asked for this to be reviewed and addressed at the next Human Resources Meeting before being adopted. Commissioner Booker asked for the Executive Director to provide a quarterly update in writing and present at the County meeting on occasion. The major projects that affect the county would be included in the report. There was further discussion on the footprint that JWSC leaves. Community meetings are very important for the relationship between all governmental agencies.
Performance Evaluations Section 7.1 – Mark Ryals
Mark Ryals addressed the Committee stated Cindy Barnhart and Baylie Lane will begin the discussion of the Performance Evaluations. Cindy provided an overview comparison of the performance evaluations in the previous fiscal year 2016/2017. She stated there is a 2 month evaluation for new hires with no monetary increase; a 5 month evaluation which prepares the manager to making decision at the end of the introductory period. At the end of the 5 month period the new hire is evaluated and receives a pay increase, if successful, based on their score. The annual performance evaluation was based on a pay increase based on their score. If the evaluation was late the increase pay would be retroactive to the date it should have been done. Additional pay is also if the employee receives a certification, professional license, or the employee is promoted they can earn a 5% increase in pay. Mark Ryals was placed in charge of the committee to overview and review the evaluation form itself and the way merit raises were being done. The plan is to move away from automatic raises. One of the decisions has been made is that of the new fiscal year 2016/2017 that merit raises will not be given out in the annual reviews due July 1st going forward. For any reviews that are past due, previous fiscal year, those will be handled in the normal manor where employees would get a point and a percentage based on their rate. There are about 10-12 evaluations/reviews that are due from the previous fiscal year. The decision needs to be made if JWSC will do away with the 5-6 increase in pay. The memo that was provided to Teamworks Services, Inc. that in the new fiscal year and annual budget process merit increases will not be given at the time of the evaluation but at the end of the year as directed by the Executive Director. It is a budget issue and it was noted that approx. 5 sections in the employee handbook will need to be changed soon. The notice and information needs to go out to the employees. Those that have not been processed yet was discussed and noted it has been greatly improved as Commissioner Boland worked to get them caught up. The particular date of when the evaluations should be done was discussed. It was stated that with Mr. Junkins’ arrival he may share additional insight on how he would like the process to run. Mr. Junkin asked to be included in the next committee meeting. John Donaghy stated that the current evaluation form is redundant which includes the signing and approval process and does not fit all positions. It was noted to be very important to get information out to the employees soon. Baylie discussed the evaluation programs that the team has proposed. The two suggested programs were Trakstar and Reviewsnap where both are available through mobile devices and have security using Amazon server to host. Survey Monkey was also suggested. Commissioner Cason suggested that Mr. Junkin work through this with the Evaluation Team and process the 9 pending evaluations and report back to the Human Resources Committee at the next meeting. Commissioner Boland stated that under the new budget the supervisors are to put aside for their staff reviews. It was suggested to provide the merit increase to coincide with the fiscal year budget. There was additional discussion on the time of the year that the evaluations would best fit. Commissioner Cason discussed the Public Information officer position. The county has this position titled as Management Analyst and Communications Officer and would be good for JWSC to be similar to. The position would require a person who is skilled in public outreach, education of JWSC.
Commissioner Boland made a motion seconded by Commissioner Booker to add to the agenda the discussion of the Building and Maintenance Division Update. Motion approved
Facilities Building Maintenance and Security Division Update – J. Donaghy
John Donaghy updated the Committee on the Facilities Maintenance and Securities Division. John stated earlier this year during to budgeting process the Buildings Maintenance crew was previously under the Systems Pumping and Maintenance Division. They were moved out to create a separate operating unit to maintain the facilities of the JWSC. This crew was previously performing this function under SP&M but now can allow all superintendents a central contact for necessary building repairs and work orders. The budget will need to be amended to bring those into their own separate division to include wages, supplies, equipment and other line items of the budget for building maintenance. Doing this will allow this division their own operating budget so they can accomplish their work. What is lacking is the updated job description for this division and is being worked on with Teamworks. It was questioned as to how a previous criminal record is handled for new employees. Baylie stated that a criminal background check is ran and if the issue is dismissed it is not brought forward and announced. For anything not dismissed it is made aware to the supervisor which also includes vehicle records. John stated that the superintendent is made aware of the issues but is not an automatic disqualification from the hiring process. Mark stated that being transparent regarding their record is necessary. The JWSC job positions are posted in the front and a sign is needed to draw attention.
It was asked if the amount of applications have increased. Baylie stated there is significant interest and has been enhanced through social media like Facebook and Twitter. Mark stated that he has seen an increase in applications and it is much more than they used to get. It was questioned if temporary employees are used and if they are in the front for new open positions. It was noted that in-house employees may be considered first and then those afterwards. Each position should be advertised publically, in accordance with the employee handbook, even if a candidate is already available. Commissioner Cason discussed the advertisements and requested that we use every tool available to draw interest for the job positions. It was suggested to use the realtor signs to advertise hiring positions. Mailing out advertisements in the monthly bill mailers to rate payers would be most beneficial. Cindy stated that the various tools used to advertise job positions are: Teamworks Services website; JWSC display case in front; breakroom board; emailed to each supervisors for their posting; TSI provides First Friday display with JWSC positions; 3 Job Fairs with kiosk every semester at the college; Job Corp, ad posted in the newspaper every Thursday, Friday and Saturday; and the upcoming county fair.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S UPDATE
CHAIRMAN’S UPDATE
Commissioner Cason asked for the Human Resources Committee to consider looking at a cooling off process for the termination of employees. He stated he believes there is a need for a policy that includes a time period and procedure for any termination. It was stated that the process is in place to go from superintendent to Exec. Director to TSI and includes an investigation, if necessary. Cindy stated that TSI is brought into the situation and an investigation is conducted. The employee could be sent home until the investigation is complete. Mr. Junkin also stated he came from a process similar where the employee is sent home with pay until the facts are brought forward in an investigation process. Commissioner Cason asked for clarification on the policy for terminating employees to be discussed at the next HR Committee meeting. There was additional discussion of skilled managers and how they handle employees.
Commissioner Boland made a motion seconded by Commissioner Booker to close the meeting. Motion approved 3-0-1 (Commissioner Elliott was absent for the vote).
Meeting was adjourned at 11:30 am.