PERSONNEL
COMMITTEE
COG
Forum Room
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
12:00
Noon
AGENDA
1.
CALL TO
ORDER
Mr. Wilson will convene
the meeting.
2.
CITIZEN
COMMENTS
Members of the public are
invited to comment on any items not already on the agenda (five minutes per
person time limit, please). Comments relating to specific items on the agenda
should be deferred until that point in the meeting.
3.
APPROVAL
OF MINUTES
A copy of the minutes
from the April 8, 2008 Personnel Committee meeting is enclosed for
approval. A copy of the meeting notes from the Personnel Committee’s May 13,
2008 is enclosed for information purposes.
4.
CRPR
STAFF ASSISTANT FOR THE SENIOR CENTER
The COG’s Position
Classification Plan assigns the Personnel Committee with the responsibility for
reviewing and approving new job descriptions and reclassifications.
The Centre Region Parks
and Recreation Director, Ron Woodhead, is requesting that the Committee consider
approving a new job description for a Senior Center Staff Assistant.
Enclosed is a memo from Mr. Woodhead in support of the new job description.
The
COG Executive Director supports the approval of the proposed job description.
For the last 21 years, the Senior Citizen Center has been staffed by one
full-time employee. During this period the number of program visits has
multiplied several times. To accommodate this growth the program relied on
part-time employees. The CRPR and COG Directors believe that the program has
evolved to the point where a second employee is needed. In looking forward,
continued usage of the Center is anticipated. According to the 2000 census the
over age 65 co-hort is the fastest growing population group in the Centre Region
and with the proliferation of age restricted housing being developed, this trend
is likely to continue.
The
establishment of the Staff Assistant position was initially proposed in the 2008
Program Plan (provided to the General Forum last July) and funding was specially
identified and provided for in the 2008 COG budget adopted by the municipalities
in December.
During the Personnel
Committee’s May 13, 2008 discussion, Mr. Heinsohn suggested that the following
bullets under “Work Environment” be removed:
·
Ability to
work in high or low temperatures (possible leading to stress or decreased
ability to work effectively).
·
Ability to
work in awkward or confining workspace (conditions in which the body is cramped
or uncomfortable).
·
Ability to
work in areas with improper illumination (glare, inadequate lighting, etc.)
The requested deletions
were made in the enclosed draft job description.
Should the Personnel
Committee decide to approve the new job description, a potential enacting motion
is:
“That the Personnel
Committee approve the new job description of Staff Assistant – Senior Center
effective June 10, 2008.”
4.
CODE
DIRECTOR JOB DESCRIPTION
Mr. Steff will report on
the status of the job description for the Code Director. During the April 22,
2008 Executive Committee meeting, the Executive Director reported that Mr.
Mussi will be resigning as Director of Centre Region Code Administration (CRCA)
on June 12, 2008. Mr. Mussi is leaving the COG to spend more time at the
Autoport Restaurant, which his wife purchased in 2007. Greg has been Director
since August 1999.
The Executive
Committee asked the Personnel Committee to review the job description to make
sure it is current.
At its May 13, 2008
discussion the Personnel Committee reviewed the 2006 job description for the
position and offered the following changes:
·
Add to
Examples of Work:
Works in conjunction with the Executive Director and appropriate COG Committees
to assist in the evaluation and implementation of recommendations contained in a
management analysis of the regional code administration program.
·
Add to
Personnel:
Annually prepare job evaluations and work objectives for Agency’s supervisory
personnel in accordance with COG’s policies.
·
Add to
Finance:
Prepare annual budget documents (there are 3 documents)
·
Add to
Finance:
Provide for the collection, analysis, and presentation of Agency performance
information as may be requested by the Executive Director.
·
Add to
Public Relations:
Attends CRCOG General Forum, Committee and municipal meetings and represents the
interest of the regional code administration program.
·
Education Qualification:
Confirmed that the position requires a Bachelor’s degree in engineering,
architecture or related field.
The next day the Code
Administration Committee briefly discussed the newly revised job
description and suggested the following:
·
Education
Qualification:
This requirement should be revised to read “Bachelor's degree is required,
preferably in architecture, engineering and/or related field.”
·
Skills
and Abilities & Duties and Responsibilities:
Identify mediation responsibilities of the position and the need to have the
skills necessary to mediate problems between the customer and the Agency, and
within the Agency.
In
addition, the Code Committee asked the Personnel Committee for the opportunity
to review and provide comments on the newly revised job description at its June
11, 2008 meeting.
The
Personnel Committee agreed via email to the two recommendations offered by the
Code Committee and invited additional comments. Enclosed is a copy of the
draft job description for the Code Director. The highlighted sections were
revised to address the comments offered during the May 14, 2008 Code Committee
meeting.
The Code
Committee will be reviewing the job description during its June 11, 2008
meeting. Should the Code Committee have no changes or offer editorial revisions
a potential enacting motion is:
“That the Personnel
Committee approve the new job description of Director of Centre Region Code
Administration effective June 11, 2008.”
Should
the Code Committee recommend revisions that significantly alter the job
description, the suggested revision will be referred to the Personnel Committee
for consideration during its July 9, 2008 meeting.
5.
CODE
DIRECTOR RECRUITMENT PROCESS
Mr. Steff
will report on the recruitment process for the Code Administration Director.
Enclosed are copies of the following information:
·
Interview
Process:
Two questions have been raised regarding the proposed process –
Ø
Should
the Code Committee Chair be asked to participate in the interviews?
Ø
Which
community group should represent the new construction entity, Heritage I or the
Builders Association? Enclosed is a communication from Harris Township
suggesting that a representative from Builders Association be included in the
interview process.
·
Job
Advertisement “A”:
This longer job notice is now available on in ICC website (no cost) and
the ICMA website (no cost); and will be published in the ICMA June 9th
newsletter ($500); the PSATS July newsletter ($192).
·
Job
Advertisement “B”:
This shorter job notice will be published in the CDT and the PA Borough
Association July newsletter ($185).
·
May 27,
2008 communication from Harris Township regarding the recruitment process.
The
Personnel Committee should review the proposed recruitment process and note
areas of concern. Mr. Mussi has been invited to the meeting to serve as a
resource person for the Committee.
6. Medical Insurance Waiver
Program
During its March 4 and
April 15, 2008 meetings, the COG Personnel Committee discussed a recommendation
from the Executive Director that the COG implement an incentive program that
encourages employees to waive their COG health care coverage when their
household has another comparable health care option. For any employee waiving
coverage, the proposed incentive would be a reimbursement equal to 15% of the
full premium cost. The employee would be required to provide proof of
comparable coverage with a qualified provider. Reimbursement would be taxable
income paid in bi-monthly increments as part of the regular paycheck.
The two benefits of this
proposal are:
·
If 2
additional employees waive their coverage, the premium savings incurred more
than covers the payout amount. It appears that there is the potential for at
least 6 employees to waive coverage and be carried by a spouse’s policy. For
COG employees currently paying 10% of their health insurance costs, the
additional 15% incentive would actually provide a 25% savings to each employee.
·
Currently
there are 12 employees that have opted out of COG’s health insurance programs.
As other local employers increase their required employee co-pays for health
insurance, there will be more of an incentive for these 12 COG employees to
change their insurance provider to the COG.
The Personnel Committee’s
proposal was referred to the Finance Committee for consideration and comment at
its April 15, 2008 meeting. The Finance Committee reviewed the proposed
administrative policy and believed it was a good idea. The Patton Township
Finance Director and the Chair of the Centre Region Insurance Cooperative (CRIC),
Ms. Kim Wyatt, was in attendance and raised the following issues, the Executive
Director’s comments are in italics:
·
The COG’s
enrollment date (August) for individuals wishing to change insurance providers
will be a different date (November) than the other members of CRIC.
Response: Having
different enrollment dates does not violate any CRIC policy. Individuals can
drop COG insurance at any time; the August deadline applies to individuals who
want to join the COG’s insurance program.
·
Will this
incentive cause so many people to waive coverage, that the minimum group size
will be too small for CRIC?
Response: The minimum
group size for CRIC is 6. COG provides health insurance to 59 employees (another
12 have waived coverage). At most 6 employees have duplicate medical insurance
through their spouses.
·
How would
change of life events be handled?
Response: Employees who
have a change in life event (divorce, spouse death, spouse’s job loss or other
qualified event defined by the insurance carrier) may enroll in the COG’s health
insurance program at any time, as required by IRS regulations.
Enclosed
is a draft administrative procedure that provides for the implementation of the
Medical Insurance Waiver Program. The draft has been reviewed by the COG Agency
Directors and reflects their comments. It has not been reviewed by the COG’s
Solicitor.
The Committee should
review this draft and note areas of concern. Should the Committee decide to
implement the administrative procedure a potential enacting motion is:
“That the COG Personnel
Committee adopt the Medical Insurance Waiver Program, dated May 13, 2008, for a
three year term beginning January 1, 2009, subject to the review by the COG
Solicitor.”
7. SEXUAL HARASSMENT POLICY
During its March 4, and
April 8, 2008 meetings, the COG Personnel Committee reviewed draft revisions of
the Sexual Harassment Policy originally approved by the General Forum in 1994.
In addition, the policy was reviewed by the COG Solicitor (see enclosure).
The recommendations of both the Committee and Solicitor have been incorporated
into the enclosed policy dated May 1, 2008.
The Committee is asked to
review the latest version of the Sexual Harassment Policy and note areas of
concern. Should the Committee decide to advance the revised Policy to the
General Forum for consideration, a potential enacting motion for referral to the
COG Executive Committee is:
“That the General Forum
approve the revised COG Sexual Harassment Policy dated May 1, 2008, as
recommended by the Personnel Committee; and furthermore, rescind the policy
previously approved on September 26, 1994.”
8. SEXUAL HARASSMENT STAFF TRAINING
Mr. Steff will present a
proposal to provide staff training relating to sexual harassment through Penn
State University’s Continuing Education Program. Enclosed is a proposal
in the amount of $1,770. The cost of this program has not been negotiated with
the University. There is also the possibility of providing similar training to
municipal employees.
The Personnel Committee
should discuss this concept and provide initial comments on its desirability and
feasibility.
9. OTHER
BUSINESS
A.
Matter
of Record –
The Executive Director has designated Mr. Mike Rupert as Interim Director of the
Centre Region Code Administration Agency. Mr. Rupert joined the Agency in
August 2003 and currently serves as Senior Building Inspector.
B.
Matter
of Record –
During its April 9, 2008 meeting, the Schlow Library Board approved a Code of
Conduct for library employees. No changes were made to the draft that was
included with the Personnel Committee’s April agenda packet.
C.
Matter
of Record –
The COG Administrative Staff has interviewed six individuals for the vacant
position of Refuse/Recycling Administrator.
10.
ADJOURNMENT
