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Personnel Board Meeting Minutes 11-25-2013
Subject:        Minutes of Meeting Held on November 25, 2013

Present:        Diane Doyle, Steve Salvo, Evie Sutter, Rick Harris, John Lucey, Mark Gleckman, Tracy Blais

Excused:           John Wilkinson

Convened:       7:00 PM at Town Hall


  • Call to Order:
The meeting was called to order by Mark Gleckman at 7:00 PM.

  • Minutes of Prior Meeting:
Steve Salvo moved to have the minutes of the September 26, 2013 meeting approved.  The motion was seconded by John Lucey, voted and approved unanimously by the full board.     

  • Report on Employee Issues:
None other than PAFs submitted for Dispatcher and Reserve Officer which for both no action is required by the Board.

  • Personnel Action and Job Vacancies:  
There will be Meals on Wheels van driver position posted soon.

  • Job Description Evaluations:   
  • Clam Warden: The position’s job description needs to be reviewed. A discussion took place regarding changes to the position.  The Town Administrator will work with Steve Salvo, Rick Harris and Mark Gleckman (subcommittee) to put together an updated job description for review in advance of January meeting. Tracy and subcommittee will research Shellfish/Clam Warden positions in neighboring towns like Essex, Rowley and Ipswich for guidance.   
  • Diane Doyle inquired as to whether there is a complete list of job descriptions. Tracy confirmed that the Christine, the Assistant Treasurer compiled what the Town has and Steve Salvo has sent what he has. To determine whether any are missing, Tracy will send a message to all Town Hiring Managers to make sure that any missing ones are identified and completed so that the Town can ensure that all positions remain competitive in terms of grades and salaries.   
  • Meals on Wheels Driver position has been rated as the same as the Van Driver for the Council of Aging position as a 12.2. Job completely evaluated and salary is $11.76/hour. Personnel Board recommended this evaluation and supports the determination.
  • On Call Firefighters: The determination was made that the rate of pay is $15.47 per call.  Tracy feels as though this rate of pay is low and asked the Board to evaluate external rate of pay numbers from neighboring Towns.  Diane Doyle to look at MMPA data by January meeting to check benchmarking to see if the Town rate of pay should be adjusted.   
  • MMPA Salary update: None
  • Sexual Harassment/Discrimination policy Update: None.  
  • Vacation Policy:  None.
  • Safety Issues:  None
  • Discussion Item: FY 14 Goals, Employee Development Plans & Succession Planning:
Rick Harris asked the Board to consider whether it would be feasible for the Job Descriptions to reflect development plans for all employees to address the Town’s needs in the future.  Is there a formal plan for job training, succession planning? At this time, there is nothing formal, responded Tracy Blais, but in the last budget cycle the Town Building Inspector received State and National certification.  Diane and Angel have been certified in their respective fields—all employees have taken a great step forward with training as funding allows.   Rick asked if there was a need for a succession planning policy and Tracy agreed it would be helpful and Steve indicated such a plan did not have to cost money. Tracy indicated this was true—there are many free trainings offered that enhance the skills of Town employees. Rick challenged the Board to think about skills that would be beneficial for employees to learn in their jobs to take their careers to the next level. John Lucey mentioned that the Police Department participates in many “train-the-trainer” activities so that they can do training in house/on demand. Mark Gleckman had one word of caution—to proceed with small steps so that new training feels positive and not heavy.  The goal is for Town employees to embrace training and not feel overburdened. For example employees may pass along knowledge in small groups, as in if one person earns a certification, to share that knowledge within their group so that all may benefit. Steve Salvo and Rick Harris agreed that a checklist, born from the Employee Handbook, should be developed to address training gaps among employees. Completion of the checklist is targeted for the Spring. Diane Doyle agreed that support for employees and skills training has drastically improved over the past years. Mark Gleckman noted that individual growth energizes employees but additional training does not need to be part of their formal job description.   Steve Salvo agreed—there are subtle ways for the Town to be a learning organization—to learn new skills or about another job so that an employee can perform their job better.   The Board unanimously agreed this item required further attention however the most pressing item was the Clam Warden job evaluation.   

  • Next Meeting:  The next meeting of the Personnel Board will be held on Monday, January 27, 2014 at 7PM at Town Hall.  

  • Adjournment: A motion was made by Diane Doyle and seconded by John Lucey to adjourn.
 
        

Adjourned:      Approximately 8:05 PM                                   
                                                                        
Scribe:         Evie Sutter