09-17-2001 - Laserfiche WebLink

PERSONNEL OVERVIEW COMMITTEE SEPTEMBER 17, 2001--1 :05 PM 1. MEETING TO ORDER r- A meeting of the Personnel Overview Committee was called to order by County Commission Chair, John Meyer, at 1 :05 PM in the Commission Room, Cass County Courthouse. The following members were present: John Meyer, Scott Wagner, Robyn Sorum, Donna Schneider, Alon Wieland, Keith Berndt, Kathy Hogan, Kathy Ziegelmann, Birch Burdick, Don Rudnick, Michael Montplaisir, Bonnie Johnson and Char Aberle. The following members were absent: Donna Schneider, Greg McDonald and Diane Miller. Also present were several staff members from the Jail. 2. ELIMINATION OF COMPENSATORY TIME, Action de laved Mrs. Johnson discussed the history of compensatory (comp) time and said the private sector does not offer this to employees. The purpose of comp time is to allow employees to take time off since taxpayers do not have an endless supply of money to pay for additional hours worked. She said every county employee has to complete a form each year selecting either comp time or overtime pay. She said in some offices, taking this has become the norm rather than the exception and this creates problems. Two years ago, the county changed the policy so that only 40 hours of comp time may be accrued at a given time. Mrs. Johnson read correspondence from Greg McDonald and Donna Schneider. Mr. McDonald is on active duty and was not able to attend today's meeting. He polled numerous employees from the Jail and Sheriff's Department and the majority favored keeping the comp time option. Mrs. Schneider stated that she supports the elimination of comp time and the start date of January, 2002. Sheriff Rudnick said part-time staff would not be used under the proposal for the new jail. He said currently part-time employees are used to fill in shifts when an employee takes vacation or comp time. Mr. Berndt and Mrs. Hogan both discussed how their departments manage the use of compensatory time. Mr. Rudnick said __ most other departments do not have to find replacements when staff are gone, as his department does. Chief Deputy Jim Thoreson, who is serving as temporary Jail Administrator, discussed the jail's staffing schedule and said as a compromise, the majority of Jail and Sheriff employees would support eliminating comp time for the year with the exception of holidays, where an employee may choose either comp time or overtime for the holiday. Mrs. Johnson said holiday pay is completely separate in the payroll system and in the Personnel Policy Manual. Mr. Wieland supports eliminating comp time for all employees, with the exception of the holidays. Mrs. Sorum said decisions have not been made regarding staffing for the new jail. She is concerned that if comp time is eliminated, employees will become burned out from working extra hours when the new facility opens. Mrs. Hogan suggested printing a report that shows comp time used over the past year for the committee to review. Mrs. Hogan has a few employees who use this type of time and she has not had a problem with it. Mr. Berndt said if he truly felt that eliminating it would be in the best interest of the county, he would support the idea; however, he feels his department has been able to manage comp time effectively. Mr. Montplaisir asked if the committee would rather wait and review an employee list that outlines comp time earned, used and paid off for the year 2000. MOTION, passed Mr. Wieland moved and Mr. Burdick seconded to delay action on this item until further information is received. Motion carried unanimously. .- ~. ADJOURNMENT MOTION, passed On motion by Mrs. Sorum and seconded by Mr. Rudnick, the meeting was adjourned about 1 :50 PM. Minutes prepared by Heather Worden, Administrative Secretary