CHILMARK PERSONNEL BOARD MEETING NOVEMBER 3, 2005
CHILMARK TOWN HALL
CALL TO ORDER: 8:00 AM
PRESENT: Members Jennie Greene, Richard Williams, Max McCreery and Lois Norton. Also present: Rodney Bunker, Pam Bunker, and Chuck Hodgkinson. Absent: Henry Burkin, Executive Secretary Tim Carroll, Staff Liaison Polly McDowell and Selectmen’s Liaison Riggs Parker.
MEETING MINUTES: The October 20 meeting minutes were reviewed and discussed. Ms. Norton made a motion to approve the minutes as presented. Mr. Williams seconded and the vote was unanimous in favor.
FISCAL 2007 COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT (COLA): Rodney Bunker and Pam Bunker attended the meeting to hear the discussion about the Town’s fiscal year 2007 COLA. Mr. Bunker asked the PB to consider the higher cost of living on the island versus the mainland. Mr. Williams pointed out that the COLA is applied to wages to account for any inflation or changes in prices that may occur from year to year. It is not intended to account for the differences in costs of goods and services between the island and mainland. That difference should be considered and accounted for in establishing base wages levels. He added that perhaps the PB should sponsor a study that compares Chilmark’s base wages and the island’s cost of living to similar jobs, wages and cost of living off
island.
As a follow up to the October 20 meeting Mr. Williams made a proposal to change his recommendation for making prior year adjustments to the Town’s new COLA caused by “undershooting” the existing COLA factor. His new method adds 100 percent (instead of fifty percent) of any calculated deficit between the COLA that may be currently in effect and the most recent nine month CPI ending September of the current calendar year.
Max McCreery alternatively proposed adding an adjustment factor that considers the difference between Chilmark’s existing COLA and the average COLA factor of the other three non-union island towns of Edgartown, West Tisbury and Aquinnah. Mr. Williams asked why other non-union island towns were proposed. Mr. McCreery added that union contracts many times include other negotiated factors that may or may not affect the agreed COLA portion of the agreements.
After much discussion, Mr. Williams made a motion to adopt the following formula for calculating fiscal year 2007 and future COLA factors for Town employees. Mr. McCreery seconded and the vote was unanimous in favor.
PERSONNEL BOARD
COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT (COLA)
FORMULA
PURPOSE: The Personnel Board adopted a formula to calculate the annual COLA for Chilmark Town employees as follows:
1. Use the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index (CPI) database for Northeast Urban Wage Earners & Clerical Workers.
2. Each year the COLA will be the percent increase (if any) between the average CPI during the present 9-month period ending September versus the same 9-month period of the prior year. This will determine the “Base COLA Increase”.
3. If this “Base COLA Increase” is higher than the COLA currently in effect, the percentage point (pp) difference between the Base COLA Increase and the current COLA in effect will be added to the Base COLA Increase.
4. If the Base COLA Increase is lower than the COLA currently in effect, no adjustment will be made to the Base COLA Increase.
EXAMPLE FOR FY 2007:
Base COLA Increase for 9 months ending September 2005 versus year ago is +3.5 %.
The current COLA in effect for FY 2006 is +3.0 %.
The difference between the Base COLA Increase and the current COLA in effect is +0.5 pp.
The FY 2007 recommended COLA is 3.5 % (+) 0.5 % = 4.0 %.
Following this agreement Ms. Norton made a motion to recommend a + 4.0 percent COLA for FY 2007 based upon the above formula. Mr. McCreery seconded and the vote was unanimous in favor. Ms. Greene asked to have this recommendation put on the Board of Selectmen’s November 15 meeting agenda.
With no further business to discuss Mr. McCreery made a motion to adjourn. Ms. Norton seconded and the meeting adjourned at 9:50 AM.
Respectfully submitted by Chuck Hodgkinson, CAS.
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