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Wellfleet Personnel Board
Minutes of Meeting of April 30, 2002
Town Hall, 2nd Floor Meeting Room
Present: Lisa Benson, Chair; Ken Kimball, Sue Peters, Deborah Davis;
Rex Peterson, Assistant Town Administrator
Chair Lisa Benson called the meeting to order at 5:20 p.m. Stating that the main purpose of the meeting was to discuss ideas that members of the Board would like to implement, the Chair asked for topic suggestions from the floor. She commented that the Board needed an additional member and asked the membership to think of possible candidates for the empty seat.
Update of OMNI ratings: Sue Peters stated that some of the descriptions in the OMNI rating system are outmoded and asked if the Board had the authority to update them. Ken Kimball suggested that that Board stay with OMNI language but add an additional sheet which would be more appropriate for some jobs and to prepare a list of statements and associated points to use in addition to current OMNI statements which are less appropriate. Chair Benson suggested rewriting the document; Kimball added that first the Board should determine what it actually can change. In this regard, the Chair asked Rex Peterson to explore the possibility of amendment of the document, adding that such categories as manual dexterity, physical environment, accountability, etc. were
not equally appropriate to all jobs. She added that the Town had originally contracted with the OMNI group to write this rating system especially for Wellfleet, that perhaps equivalent criteria could be written for different positions, e. g., clerical and laborer, and that the aim would be to bring the document up to date and make it fairer. Kimball then read a statement from the OMNI document advocating review and amendment of the document by future Personnel Boards.
Personnel Boardupcoming departmental budgets to give the Town a clear idea of the implications to the total budget. Peterson recommended that the Board ask Tim Smith, the Town Administrator, to come to the next meeting (May 21 at 5:15 p.m.) to advise the Board on how new positions were placed on the warrant and whether proposed positions should be placed as budget items. Deb Davis suggested getting an idea how many new positions would be required in the future by changes in the town such as the new Senior Center and the staffing of the Catholic Church/Community Center. Ken Kimball stated that Personnel is the best board to make recommendations concerning the needs of the departments within the town because it hears a complete description of departmental needs along with proposed new positions. He suggested that a simple process, including a study of figures from adjoining towns, could be set up for such analysis. Kimball added that the BOS tries to keep town services
at the same level financially, but with increased use of technology and proliferation of state regulations, it has become more expensive simply to stay even. Chair Benson commented that she had no problem in making recommendations as long as she has enough information on the position and the departmental needs. A discussion followed of the order in which a department head submits materialEmployee Evaluations: Chair Benson introduced a discussion of whether or not Personnel Board should recommend employee evaluations, asking if provision for such evaluations existed in the employeesthat merit increases had been discussed for eons without conclusion. Kimball stated that he was convinced that the reason the proposed DPW position did not pass in Town Meeting was that the public did not thoroughly understand what was needed by the department, that an impetus for better performance could come from better understanding of department needs by the community.
Other Business: Chair Benson reiterated the need for another member of Personnel Board and asked for suggestions.
Minutes of March 19, 2002: Sue Peters moved and Ken Kimball seconded the approval of the minutes of 3/19/02; passed 3-0-1.
Mail: The Chair reviewed the Personnel Board budget, the balance of which is $88.37.
Sue Peters moved and Deborah Davis seconded adjournment. The meeting was unanimously adjourned at 6:25.
Respectfully submitted,
__________________________________ __________________________
Frances J. Castillo, Assistant to the Lisa Benson, Chair
Committee Secretary
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