December 16 2014
Attendance: Larry Klein, chair, Bethany Mielke, committee clerk, Norma Champigny, Muriel Lazzarini, Bob Lazzarini, Ray Tryon, Scott Jenssen, Susan Gallant
Also in attendance: Melissa Noe, Emily Johnson
Meeting called to order at 4:07pm
1. 11/24/14 Minutes were accepted by the committee
2. Future meeting dates were established around the upcoming holiday: Monday 12/22 & Monday 1/5, Tuesday 1/13. With the hope to wrap up the committee by the end of January.
3. Four committee members submitted interview questions to the chair. It was decided that we would use the questions given as they pertain to the individual being interviewed. The committee discussed having interviewee's come separately and that the environment would be established in such a way that participants could speak freely.
4. There was discussion about what the purpose of the committee was. Committee members clarified that structure involves how people work together, the specific job descriptions from a state level, and being sure that every office is aware of and taking care of their responsibilities in hopes to minimize confusion and tension. Executive session laws were shared discussing the issue of addressing the character of any employee in the town hall. Members of the committee clarified that we are not addressing character throughout our discussions or research.
5. Emily Johnson, Town Clerk, attended the meeting and was willing to be interviewed. She shared that when interpersonal problems arise at work there is nowhere to go to have them resolved because they only seem to get worse. It was also shared that minutes from selectboard meetings are not an accurate reflection of what was discussed. In addition, she talked about how there were no actions that were carried through by the selectboard to help diffuse any situations. A suggestion was made by Emily that it would be helpful if the selectboard could check in to see how things are going and ask us how we are doing. When asked if there were any aspects of her job that she felt encroached upon she answered yes. She researched the responsibilities belonging to clerks that in our town hall are being done outside
of her office and agreed with committee member's that it was possible the administrative secretary was doing some of the clerks duties because she didn't know otherwise. Emily was asked what she thought could be done to make the offices run efficiently, she responded by mentioning that it's very hard when offices don't get along. Some of it is personality and some of it is the required duties of different offices. Emily articulated that its the clarity of what should be done in which office. It was suggested by Bob that we should look at the state listing of the clerks responsibilities.
6. At the conclusion of Emily's interview she was asked to address the job description and collect a list of things that are being encroached upon with Linda Hunt's help and have them cleared with the selectboard. Committee members discussed a shift of responsibilities back to where they belong.
Scott suggested that each department's job descriptions be looked at at the state level. Have the selectboard review all of these descriptions to be sure that each office is taking responsibility for only what is expected of them based on the state level description.
7. Larry asked the committee whether we were satisfied with the questions that were asked. It was shared that the objective was to reach harmony among all of the offices in the building. Scott shared that this seems to fall on the shoulders of the selectboard. It sounds like the primary concern comes down to understanding the positions. Bob Lazzarini suggested that the selectboard create a job description for the administrative assistant. Part of the problem is that responsibilities get thrust upon the wrong individuals.
8. Ray asked the group about their thoughts on a town administrator. He was asked to describe the idea of this job. He shared the idea that the administrative assistant has taken on that role. Whereas that role should be the responsibility of the selectboard.
9. As a previous selectboard member, Muriel shared a few suggestions for restructuring the responsibilities of the current selectboard members. First, too much responsibility is on Melissa, the board needs to step up and take on responsibility for certain things. Second, different departments should have a selectman to "go to" to discuss pro's and con's as they are happening as an advocate, liaison, guidance type setting. This was positively received by the other members of the committee.
In addition, the selectboard members may have to reconsider their jobs and assess their interpersonal interactions as a responsibility. They need to make certain that things that are being done are being done by the right person.
10. Ray had a chance to talk to the former clerks. He got a lot of excess information that didn't need to be brought to the committee. His research seemed to mirror Emily's interview. It came down to needing more support from the selectboard.
11. It was decided by the committee that we would schedule two individual interviews (elected officials first) for upcoming meetings.
Meeting adjourned @ 5:55pm
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