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 June 4st, 2009
Chilmark Town Hall
8am
Present: Max McCreery (Chair), Jennie Greene, Susan Heilbron, Frank Lo Russo, Polly McDowell (Staff Liaison)
Also Present: J.B. Riggs Parker (Selectman representative), Tim Carroll (Executive Secretary), John Flender (Chair, Cemetery Commission), Tim Rich (Chief, Chilmark Police Department) Brian Cioffi (Cemetery Superintendent, Chilmark PD), Martina Mastromonaco (Ambulance Coordinator/Beach Superintendent), Marina Lent (Personnel Board Secretary)
Absent: Stephen Lewenberg
Chairman Maxwell McCreery opened the meeting with a moment of silence for former Personnel Board member Henry Burkin, who served with distinction for a number of years.
Minutes of May 21st 2009 approved with changes.
Tri-Town Ambulance Chilmark Representation: Selectman representative Riggs Parker reported that the Board of Selectmen (BOS) is reviewing representation on the Tri-Town Ambulance Committee. The tenure of long-time TTA Committee member Chief Rich is coming to a close; changes in the ambulance level of care, combined with recent pressures of staffing requirements, will require more direct involvement of the BOS in the work of the Committee. Personnel Board members also noted that TTA Committee membership for other towns is at the BOS level, and that higher level representation and more consistent and timely communication with the Town of Chilmark would go a long way towards addressing the difficulties experienced in the past.
The Personnel Board unanimously approved a motion to recommend to the BOS that a BOS representative be appointed to sit on the TTA Committee. Should no BOS member be available, the Personnel Board recommends that a member of the Chilmark Personnel Board member be appointed.
Library Assistant: Ebba Hierta requested that the Personnel Board approve hiring the new Library Assistant Ellen Bunch at a grade 3, step 3, as previously discussed with the Personnel Board. She noted the extensive experience and qualifications brought to the job by this candidate.
The Board unanimously approved the request. Discussion followed on the need for cost containment. Frank LoRusso noted that the Library was the only department that experienced a budget increase in the FY’09 budget. Ebba replied that cuts in the Library budget would quickly have to led to cuts in hours of operation, since there was little else to cut. Max suggested that the Town could consider hiring less-qualified staff in positions where extensive training and experience were not absolutely required by the job.
Cemetery Superintendent: John Flender reported that the Cemetery Commission and Cemetery Superintendent Brian Cioffi had reached a joint decision that it would be best to hire a new Cemetery Superintendent when Brian Cioffi takes on the duties of Police Chief starting on July 1st. He said that the position would be hired at a grade 7, step 1 at 5 hours per week. Members noted the excellent job Brian has done as Superintendent during his short tenure, and congratulated him on his appointment as Chief.
The Personnel Board approved the Cemetery Superintendent position description as revised, effective upon the resignation of the current Cemetery Superintendent, Brian Cioffi.
Procedure for last-minute, inter-sessional personnel-related decision-making: The Board addressed the issues around personnel questions which come up between sessions of the Board and require immediate resolution. This is not an infrequent occurrence, and a procedure is needed to guide the Personnel Board as to how it can best advise the Board of Selectmen on personnel issues with very short notice without running afoul of the Open Meeting Law.
Jennie Greene felt that where possible, the Board could call a brief emergency meeting to address such issues. Tim Carroll pointed out that, while desirable, input from the Personnel Board is not strictly required in order for the BOS to act on personnel-related matters. The BOS is required to approve the Vacancy Notice. In the case of the hiring of the Cemetery Superintendent, the BOS had not been notified in advance. He referred to a hiring procedure which was adopted by the Personnel Board in 2006, which had not been adhered to.
Riggs Parker felt that a reasonable “emergency” policy would be for the Department Head to talk to the Chairman of the BOS, the Chairman of the Personnel Board and the Executive Secretary. BOS approval is required to post a vacancy notice, but the Personnel Board should also be informed that a hiring process is underway.
Susan Heilbron noted that it needs to be clarified what constitutes an “emergency” requiring departure from regular hiring procedures. She felt that, while the hiring of a full-time, year-round patrolman by July 1st required expedited action, the hiring of a Cemetery Superintendent did not.
Max McCreery suggested that urgent hiring decisions be brought to the Personnel Board Chairman, who would undertake to notify the Chairman of the Board of Selectmen and ask if the BOS would like to review the advertisement prior to posting.
Polly McDowell reminded the Personnel Board that the authority to approve a job posting or advertisement lies with the Selectmen, not the Personnel Board, and that, where there are no changes which need to be made to a given position description or grade classification prior to posting, as in the case of the Police Patrolman, it is perfectly acceptable to go to the BOS, obtain BOS approval for the posting, and have the BOS notify the Personnel Board, through the Executive Secretary, that a hiring is taking place.
Tim Carroll reiterated the previously agreed policy as follows: in the event of a vacancy, the department head informs the BOS by contacting the Executive Secretary, who in turn informs the Personnel Board. The Selectmen can act on the request or can ask the Personnel Board for advice or changes prior to taking action. If the process is delayed because of required changes, whether they are initiated by the Department Head or the BOS and Personnel Board, a temporary hire can be undertaken to fill the vacancy in the interim.
Susan advocated for emergency Personnel Board meetings in instances of urgent, expedited hiring processes. This would enable the Personnel Board to assure the BOS in a timely fashion that the position description is up-to-date and in order prior to BOS approval of a new hiring process. Max asked Susan or Jennie to work with Tim to produce wording to guide the process in the future.
Police Patrolman Hiring Process: Brian Cioffi stated that the Police Department would like to hire a full-time patrolman by July 1, if sufficient candidates respond. He assured the Board that no change in the position description will be required, and presented the hiring packet to the Board for comments. He felt that Personnel Board participation in the hiring process would be beneficial.
The Board unanimously approved the vacancy notice for Police Patrolman without changes.
Tax Collector: Polly McDowell noted that certain tasks she had been doing in her tenure with the Town more commonly fall under the aegis of the Town Treasurer. She has discussed these areas of work with Melanie Becker, who stated that she is willing to take on these duties in the future.
Staffing of Hiring Processes: The Board decided on the following assignments for Personnel Board observers of upcoming hiring processes:
· Cemetery Superintendent – Max McCreery
· Police Patrolman -- Max McCreery, Frank LoRusso
· Tax Collector – Susan Heilbron, Sara Mayhew
Bylaw Revision Process: Susan Heilbron stated that she felt it would be better to hold off on employee and department head input into the draft revision until the draft has been reviewed by legal counsel. That way, we have the assurance that our draft is legally correct, and we won’t waste time reading something that is not legally viable. The Board approved a motion to send the draft Bylaw and Procedure Manual to legal counsel
Susan Heilbron estimated that the combined draft would be ready to send to legal counsel within a week.
Martina Mastromonaco’s Compensation for additional hours worked: Martina Mastromonaco thanked the Personnel Board for its consideration of her request for compensation of hours worked to fill the vacant position of the Clerical Assistant to the Tri-Town Ambulance. She asked for clarification, however, as to the rationale for the Board’s decision not to include her case in the policy adopted at the same meeting, whereby a person working a different job in the same department would have to be paid at his/her regular rate, instead of at the rate of the position s/he is filling in for.
Frank LoRusso stated that, if it had been important to her, Martina would have been present at last week’s meeting to present her case. Martina responded that a long-standing medical appointment off-Island made her participation impossible.
Jennie felt that there was no money in the budget to pay Martina at her regular rate; however, other members recalled that Melanie Becker had confirmed that funding was available for either pay rate option.
Tim Carroll reported to the Personnel Board that the BOS had postponed the appointment of Martina Mastromonaco as Administrative Assistant to the Fire Chief.
Riggs Parker noted that Martina’s supervisors should come before the Personnel Board to address these questions, and that it should not be up to Martina to plead her own case. Martina noted that she had kept the Tri-Town Ambulance Committee fully informed from the start of her hours worked and her ongoing accrual of comp time, and had repeatedly requested the Committee to address the issue. Members agreed that the Committee should meet with the Personnel Board on these questions.
Max reminded the Board that, at its last meeting, the Board had decided to hold off on scheduling a meeting with the Tri-Town Ambulance Committee pending the assumption of membership of upcoming Chilmark Police Chief Brian Cioffi and resolution of the question of who is to be the appointed representative for the Town. Members agreed that the Tri-Town Committee needs to operate more effectively. Riggs Parkerfelt that Chilmark, as the host Town for the financial management of the Ambulance, needs to have timely and accurate knowledge of what is going on in the ambulance, and that it is not up to Martina Mastromonaco to bring about the necessary relationship between the Ambulance Committee and the host Town.
Personnel Board members reiterated the importance of having a BOS representative on the Tri-Town Ambulance Committee.
The meeting adjourned at 9:36 am.
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