Wellfleet Personnel Board
Minutes of Meeting of July 22, 2003
Town Hall, 2nd Floor Conference Room
Present: John Makely, Chair; Sue Peters, Ken Kimball, Patricia Foley; Tim Smith, Town Administrator, Rex Peterson, Assistant Town Administrator
Excused: Lisa Benson
Chair Makely called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m.
Future Role of Personnel Board. Tim Smith, Town Administrator, joined the Board for a discussion of Personnel Board's future. Noting that all town employees are represented by labor contracts except for four employees who negotiate personal services contracts, Smith pointed out that the only town employees needing Personnel Board services would be summer temporaries. In this situation, he noted, many towns have done away with their Personnel Boards; in Wellfleet, this would require a change in the Charter (Town Meeting vote) and an elimination of the Personnel Bylaws, a procedure which would take perhaps 6 months.
Chair Makely stated that in his examination of the list of town positions he found no title for Human Resources. He suggested that the Board could be used as a human resources link, offering guidance and rewards and recognition for performance.
Sue Peters noted that the Personnel Board's role in formulating job descriptions was a worthwhile contribution. Smith stated that this function would become part of the responsibility of the Assistant Town Administrator position.
Ken Kimball noted that Board members had been asking the same question concerning their future role when he joined the Board. He agreed that the Board's most valuable contribution was in job descriptions; looking at former responsibilities, he stated that grievances could be handled without the Board, perhaps by a neutral team, and that the Board has taken criticism for its participation in warrant recommendations for or against addition of a new position. He concluded that perhaps Personnel Board is redundant.
To Peters' question as to the responsibility for subsequent re-grading of positions, Smith replied that this would probably be done in-house. He reviewed the reasons for the current compensation study by Bennett Associates (see minutes of 7-1-03), noting that in view of union representation, he is hesitant about grade changes done outside of contract negotiations.
Peterson added that personnel issues have become complicated legally; for example, lawsuits can be expected from employees who have been dismissed. He emphasized the necessity that department heads keep adequate documentation of personnel issues.
Chair Makely asked Smith his opinion of the Board's future. Smith replied that Wellfleet has other Boards that need skilled volunteer help and that Personnel Board's tenure may be about to end. He cited former Board Chair Don Lewis' belief that the present union representation would make the Board unnecessary, although he added that he could not predict what Town meeting would do.
Chair Makely suggested a career planning element (i.e., career goals for near term, intermediate term) in the employee "Job Description Review" prepared by Bennett Associates as part of its Classification and Compensation Study. Smith stated that career planning is a problematic issue in small towns where there is not much upward movement and advancement usually implies changing towns.
Comparison of Rating Systems: Town of Wellfleet & Bennett Associates. Rex Peterson led the discussion, stating that there were many similarities between the two rating systems; he noted that the "Supervision Required" category does not exist in OMNI and is a valuable analysis tool. Additionally, the supervision component has been broken down according to the number of people supervised, and Bennett provides a better definition of supervision given. Peterson felt that Bennett was more specific to a municipality than OMNI. He discussed the fact that Bennett does not give out its point system as the Wellfleet system does, pointing to the dilemma about whether or not the numbers should be "secret" so that department heads, etc. can't work numbers to
advantage. Peterson concluded that the similarities between the two systems are valuable, since they make this reclassification project easier and more accurate.
Chair Makely pointed out that it should be made clear that the varying duties listed under the degrees in "Education/Knowledge" (p. 3 of the Bennett position rating manual) were being cited as examples.
Kimball stated that whatever system was used, it should be consistent.
Makely added that if the Bennett system had worked well in other towns, it should not be "nitpicked." He distributed a sheet listing suggested additions to Bennett's "Job Description Review" and stated that he had not seen anything that would cause the town not to use this system.
General discussion followed, including the following:
The value of performance evaluations: Peterson's noting the Town Administrator's belief that these need not be an annual formal occasion but should be ongoing throughout; Ken Kimball's contention that they should be formal and occur at stated intervals
The dilemma of union-negotiated pay increases, which offer no real incentive for individual excellence nor real recognition for performance
The crucial role of the department head in making sure job descriptions are up-to-date
Peterson then explained the process the Don Jacobs of Bennett Associates will follow in the current study (as explained in Bennett Associates' "Scope of Services"). In addition, Jacobs has sent out a survey to 6 communities suggested by the Wellfleet Employees Association; these are similar in structure to Wellfleet, seasonal tourist-oriented towns. Chair Makely moved that the Board, in accordance with Peterson's description of the classification and compensation study procedure, await the next step in the process. Kimball seconded; the motion carried, 4-0. It was determined that this next step would probably occur in early fall, following the time line in the "Project Objectives" issued to the Board at the last meeting.
Other Business:
Minutes of July 1, 2003. Sue Peters moved and Patricia Foley seconded the approval of the minutes of 7-1-03; the motion passed, 4-0.
Mail. Sue Peters will respond to the memo from the Steering Committee of the "State of Wellfleet Harbor" program, thanking them for informing the Board of their project.
It was agreed that Peterson would inform the Board of the date for the next meeting. Sue Peters moved for adjournment at 5:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
________________________________ ______________________________
Frances J. Castillo, Assistant to the John Makely, Chair
Committee Secretary __________________________Date
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