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1999-05-05 Quarterly Meeting MINUTES Personnel Advisory Board 2nd Quarter Regular Meeting May 5, 1999 5:15 p.m. I. CALL TO ORDER The Personnel Advisory Board second quarter regular meeting of May 5, 1999 was called to order by Chris Nielsen, Chairman, at 5 :20 p.m. in the borough conference room. II. ROLL CALL Present Staff Chris Jamin Chris Nielsen Warren Russell (arrived at 5:45 p.m.) Jody Spivey Sharon Blakeslee Bill Bissett Linda Freed Becky Lorentz Jeff Johnson Bob Scholze James A. Skog Jamie Zurfleuh Linda Moore- staff support A quorum was established. ID. ACCEPTANCE OF AGENDA The agenda was accepted with the deletion of item B, Manager's report. The secretary stated that Mr. Manninen would not be present and that he had no new information that he could share with the Board until after his meeting with the Assembly on Saturday. IV. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS REGULAR MEETING The minutes of the first quarter meeting of January 27, 1999 were approved unanimously. v. ITEMS OF BUSINESS a) Election of Officers The election of officers was deferred at the last meeting. There continues to be a vacant position on the board. The floor was open to nominations for calendar year 1999 for Chairman. Jody Spivey nominated Chris Jamin. Ms. Jamin was elected Chairman by acclamation. Personnel Advisory Board Page 1 May 5, 1999 The floor was open to nominations for Vice-Chairman. Chris J amin nominated Warren Russell for Vice-Chairman. Mr. Russell was re-elected to the office of Vice-Chairman by acclamation. The new officers will preside beginning with the next meeting. b) Personnel Status Report Mr. Spivey acknowledged the receipt of the personnel status report. There were no questions from the directors. Ms. Jamin referred to the copy of the memo from the Manager stating that there was a KIB hiring freeze effective May 4, 1999. There was brief discussion. v. COMMENTS Public Comments: The chairman opened the floor to staff attending the meeting. Linda Freed, Community Development Director, asked for a copy of the Personnel Status Report. A copy was given to her and it was distributed to other staff attending. Sharon Blakeslee, senior system's analyst, inquired about the duties of the Personnel Advisory Board and what part they have in making suggestions regarding the budget and the information that positions may be cut due to the revenue forecast. Mr. Nielsen and Ms. Spivey responded with reference to the personnel manual and duties listed for the Personnel Advisory Board. Mr. Nielsen added that he had advised the assembly on their views in the past. Mr. Nielsen suggested to Ms. Blakeslee that union employees speak with the shop stewards for negotiable items such as reduction in hours or benefits to reduce costs. Ms. Spivey added that her understanding was that the board could make recommendations to the Assembly. In response to other questions, Mr. Nielsen reminded staff that no changes could be made to the union contract. The Personnel Board; however, would listen to any grievances and make recommendations to management in a mediator fashion. Jody Spivey asked about the agenda for the board meetings. Ms. Moore answered that the final agenda from the manager is posted for all employees and they have until five o'clock on the Monday preceding the Wednesday meeting to add items to the agenda. James Skog, union steward and baler operator, added that the budget work session scheduled by the Assembly for Saturday morning, May 8, 1999 would be a public meeting and he would be there. Regarding Ms. Blakeslee's issue of possible cuts in positions, Ms. Spivey stated that she was not aware of problems, had not received any memos, and this meeting was her first knowledge. She asked staff how they found out about position cuts. Personnel Advisory Board Page 2 May 5,1999 Ms. Blakeslee replied that they got information from their department heads after meetings they attended. She added that no one seemed to know about the sequence of events or the process that will follow since this occurrence is new to everyone. Ms. Freed added that the Manager had sent an email to encourage employees to provide suggestions to him or the Finance Director on how to come up with additional revenues or ideas to cut expenses. Email was also sent to employees notifying them of the work session scheduled for Saturday Mr. Nielsen suggested attending the work session on Saturday to gain more information on Borough personnel issues and to check the newspaper for the time. Mr. Nielsen pointed out that although the board meets quarterly, a special meeting could be called if needed. Board Comments: The board members updated Warren Russell on the items that had been discussed prior to his arrival, including the election of officers. They referred to the items that had been distributed prior to the meeting which included an organizational chart with all current borough positions and a copy of the memo from the Manager regarding the hiring freeze. Ms. Moore presented an additional memo, which she had overlooked earlier in the meeting, from the Borough Manager dated May 5, 1999 in which he asked for the support of the Personnel Advisory Board for the Human Resources Assistant position. Discussion indicated that the board at this time was not inclined to support just one position but supported all positions of the borough. Ms. Spivey made a motion, seconded by Mr. Warren, "To acknowledge receipt of the memo dated May 5, 1999 from the Manager and to take no action at this time." The motion passed with none opposed. In response to questions, Ms. Freed indicated that there were thirteen non-union positions within the borough including the manager and the human resources assistant. She added that she believed that about eighty percent of the employees felt that their jobs were in jeopardy. The amount of the budget shortfall or gap was also an unknown. Mr. Nielsen stated that there were guidelines in the union contract for the layoff process of union employees. Non-union employees can be subject to layoffbut cannot bump another position. Mr. Skog provided additional information on the employee seniority list and bumping rights stating that the union contract was worded to protect the long-term employee in case of a layoff. He explained the process of bumping another employee for their job and the requirement to meet job qualifications. In response to questions from the board, he stated that the union contract had a "no strike" clause. Ms. Freed added that this was the first time that union positions might be eliminated due to budgetary constraints. She stated that the union did not normally support modifying of hours or job sharing to save money and the Borough was the smallest unit of government in Kodiak, which made it an easy target for cuts. Personnel Advisory Board Page 3 May 5, 1999 There was discussion of the municipal revenue sharing cuts from the State of Alaska that were impacting the Borough budget. Ms. Freed reported that the budget was being produced using a fifty percent cut in this funding although the final decisions from the State would not be known for a couple of weeks. Mr. Nielsen asked about the listing of Borough employee positions and wages in the newspaper. Ms. Freed replied that it was a paid ad and that some information was incorrect including the number of employees. Grants and not general funds funded some positions, which was not explained in the ad. She stated that the recent Alaska Supreme Court ruling made this information public knowledge. She added that in Anchorage the list of municipalities salaries had been published regularly and was public knowledge. Ms. Spivey inquired about the adoption of the budget. Ms. Freed replied that it will be introduced on May 20, 1999 and adopted at the June 3, 1999 meeting and could be negotiated up until that date. Those subject to layoff would get a four-week notice. Mr. Russell stated that nothing could be done until after Saturday since nothing was definitive about cuts happening. Ms. Freed stated that the employees might gain more information at the all staff meeting scheduled for Friday morning prior to the work session. Mr. Nielsen added that the secretary could be contacted if needed and they could call another meeting to address items or for employees to make more comments. Mr. Nielsen congratulated Ms. Jamin on her election to the Chairman's position. VI. ADJOURNMENT The second quarter regular meeting was adjourned at 6:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted by: ~~/) / . ,j / -V-.: . .%tL Linda MeoFe- J Secretary ~~ Chris J . n, Chairman APPROVED: apsjil Personnel Advisory Board Page 4 May 5, 1999