T o w n o f C h i l m a r k P e r s o n n e l B o a r d
M i n u t e s
Thursday May 21st, 2009
Chilmark Town Hall
8am
Present: Max McCreery (Chair), Jennie Greene, Susan Heilbron, Stephen Lewenberg, Frank Lo Russo, Polly McDowell (Staff Liaison)
Also Present: J.B. Riggs Parker (Selectman representative), Tim Carroll (Executive Secretary), Marina Lent (Personnel Board Secretary)
Minutes of May 7th 2009 adopted, with Jennie Greene and Susan Heilbron abstaining.
Agenda Members noted that a number of substantive agenda items had been added at the very last moment. Board Chair Max McCreery apologized for having been off-Island yesterday, and requested Marina Lent to work through Vice-Chair Susan Heilbron to prepare an upcoming meeting if he is ever unavailable. Members also asked that background material for upcoming meetings be prepared on the Friday preceding the meeting and disseminated to members via e-mail as far in advance of the meeting as possible.
Polly McDowell’s Retirement Members expressed their profound appreciation for Polly McDowell’s exemplary and superlative contribution to the work of the Personnel Board as elected staff representative, and wished her all the best in her retirement. The Board noted that a new staff representative will have to be elected, and suggested that the newly-elected staff member be invited to observe meetings of the Board prior to Polly’s departure in order to ensure a smooth transition.
Personnel Bylaw Revision The Board took up Draft #13 of the Human Resources Bylaw. It was decided that purely editorial changes should be transmitted directly to Susan Heilbron for incorporation into a final draft, and that discussion of the full Board should be reserved for substantive questions.
Regarding draft section 11, on performance evaluations, Board members felt that it was unadvisable to suggest that an employee whose supervisor has failed to complete a performance evaluation should appeal to either the Personnel Board or the Board of Selectmen (BOS). Riggs Parker noted that it is a political matter for the BOS to ensure that performance evaluations are completed, and that the burden should not be on the staff. If the BOS feels it is a priority to have proper staff evaluations, the BOS will see to it that it is done.
Susan Heilbron and Jennie Greene will edit the draft section on performance evaluation in light of the Board’s discussion.
Martina Mastromonaco Compensation for Hours Worked The Board reviewed material produced by Tim Carroll to clarify the Tri-Town Ambulance Committee’s (the Committee) request for guidance from the Personnel Board on this matter. The Committee had asked whether Martina should be compensated at her own rate of pay, or at the rate appropriated for the position she had been asked by the Committee to temporarily fill. Chilmark Treasurer Melanie Becker reported that, due to staff shortages during FY’09 in the Tri-Town Ambulance, funds exist in the ambulance salary budget for either option.
The Board noted that Martina Mastromonaco has already accrued more hours of compensatory time for work done to fill in for a prior vacancy than she could possibly take, so that, when the next vacancy happened, and Martina was asked to work the additional hours, for which she had asked for salary compensation rather than additional comp time. The Board felt that such a situation should never have been allowed to develop, and that the Committee should have notified the Personnel Board to help develop a reasonable and appropriate way to address the staffing shortages from the outset. The Board noted that this is part of a broader pattern of lack of communication and cooperation with the Tri-Town Ambulance Committee.
Frank LoRusso felt strongly that it was unacceptable to have allowed this situation to develop, and that both the Tri-Town Ambulance and Martina Mastromonaco should be held responsible for having allowed the situation to get to this point. He felt that Martina should not be paid for the hours worked. Other Board members felt that the Tri-Town Ambulance Committee bears the greater responsibility.
Following discussion, Melanie Becker pointed out that the Ambulance Coordinator is a non-exempt, salaried 20 hour per week position. The Beach Superintendent, as a seasonal position, is exempt from overtime, paid hourly.
Susan Heilbron made the following motion: The Personnel Board recommends that Martina Mastromonaco be compensated for 178 hours worked to fill the Clerical Assistant vacancy at the Clerical Assistant rate of $22.34/hour. Following further discussion, the Board approved the motion by a vote of four to one, Frank LoRusso voting against.
Riggs Parker pointed out that newly-appointed Chilmark Police Chief Brian Cioffi will be assuming his duties in the near future, including membership on the Tri-Town Ambulance Committee, and that it may be also time for more direct involvement of the Board of Selectmen on the Committee. Personnel Board members expressed support for having a member of the BOS on the Tri-Town Ambulance Committee.
The Board expressed the wish to meet with the Tri-Town Ambulance Committee in the future.
Steve Lewenberg made a motion that when an employee is asked to work outside of his/her regular job classification, the employee shall be compensated at his/her regular rate. Motion unanimously approved.
Jennie Greene left the meeting
Compensatory Time Policy Members determined to address the problem caused by accrued compensatory time, and to ensure that policies outlined in the Human Resources Procedure Manual will prevent undue accretion of compensatory time.
Salary of New Police Chief The Board unanimously approved the salary for the new Police Chief at a Grade 12, step 4.
Cemetery Superintendent The Board asked whether incoming Police Chief Brian Cioffi would also fill the position of Cemetery Superintendent. Riggs Parker stated that this has not been decided. The Board conveyed its opinion that there should be no obstacle to his service in both capacities from a human resources standpoint.
Tax Collector Position The Board felt that the position description needs to be updated to better reflect what the job entails. Polly McDowell was asked to work with Susan Heilbron to produce an updated position description for the Tax Collector position.
Step Upgrade for Nina Lombardi Nina Lombardi has asked for a step increase to grade 6, step 3 from the grade 1 she was hired at. Discussion ensued. The Board noted that the position had been advertised at a salary range between step 1 and step 3, depending on experience. The Board unanimously decided to raise Nina Lombardi to step 3, retroactively, on the basis that her qualifications would have easily justified hiring her at the higher end of the advertised range to begin with.
Marina Lent six-month review Members emphasized that suggestions for improvement were made in a fully constructive spirit and that the six-month review should be noted in the file as very satisfactory.
Susan Heilbron asked for better ongoing communication, particularly of the background material for upcoming Board meeting agenda items, well in advance of Board meetings, so that Board members could prepare and address issues more constructively during their meetings; Polly McDowell reminded Marina Lent to bear in mind that the role of a Secretary is different from the role of a Board member; Max asked that Personnel Board staff seek to provide an ongoing presence of the Board with other Town Departments and facilitate their relationship with the Board.
The Board unanimously recommended that Marina Lent, having satisfactorily completed her initial six-month evaluation period, be appointed as a permanent, part-time employee of the Town of Chilmark by the Board of Selectmen. Marina Lent was asked to draft a letter to this effect for submission to the BOS at its upcoming meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 9:36 am.
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