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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1983-06-13-AC-MIN.pdf DATE: May 11, 1983 TIME: 7: 30 P.M. PLACE: Director's Room, Cary Memorial Hall PRESENT: W. Dailey, R. Perry, S. Toye, E. Arlan, B. Marshall Voted in favor of a 1 yr. trial of Art. 51 - Hazardous Waste Disposal. (Same recommendation as Board of Selectmen) Respectfully submitted, Richard M. Perry, Secret. y DATE: May 16, 1983 TIME: 7:30 P.M. c; PLACE: Director's Room, Cary Memorial Hall -r PRESENT: W. Dailey, R. Perry, E. Arlan, P. Hall, H. Muehlmann, J. Campbell Discussed Article 7 override. No vote taken, but majority appeared to be against. Respectfully submitted, Richard M. Perry, Secretary 4 Meeting of the Appropriation Committee on Monday, June 13, 1983: Attached minutes were taken by Susan Adler, Ass't. to the Town Manager in the absence of Secretary Richard M. Perry. In addition the following transfer from the Reserve Fund were approved: Acct. 1125-Fire & Police Medical $ 5,000 " 1775-Law Fees 22,000 " 1800-Law Expenses 3,000 The balance of $32,018 remains after the above transfers. The resignation of Harry A. Hall, III from the Committee as of June 3, 1983 was acknowledged. Respectfully submitted, Richard M. Perry, Secretary Joint Meeting of the Personnel Advisory Board and Appropriation Committee June 13, 1983 Town Office Building Room 105 - 7:30 pm PAB members attending: Elmer Guilmartin, Mary Shunney, Neil Chapman Appropriation Commmittee members attending: William Dailey, Esther Arlan, Heinz Muhlmann, Barry Marshall, Bob Cataldo, George Silverman Also present: Susan Adler Mr. Dailey opened the meeting by explaining how the Personnel Advisory Board had originally been proposed to help the Appropriation Committee review salary sched- ules it was being asked to vote on. Since that point in time there had been changes in the administration and the Appropriation Committee's role was not as clear. Mr. Guilmartin distributed copies of the PAB's charge, and referred to a letter from Mr. Dailey that had ledyto this joint meeting. He responded to the 1st question in the letter by saying that the PAB membership had expertise to offer in the area of personnel and that they were not sure that various boards were aware of their availability to consult, apart from the library with which the PAB is developing a relationship. Mr. Dailey commented that the Appropriation Committee had made more effort this year to review the School Department's budget and operations. He said that in light of the fact that some School Department practices in collective bargaining generate problems for the municipal side, had consideration been given to the PAB becoming more involved in the school affairs, and asked if the school department would be interested in such involvement. Mrs. Shunney reported that the former chairman of the PAB, Dick Daggett, had met with the School Committee and had not felt there was interest in the PAB working with the School Department on a comparability/classification study. Mr. Chapman said he felt a long educational process was involved that would be started by a commitment from the chairmen of the board of selectmen and school committee. He suggested that they might agree to address a few key issues initially, such as disparate benefit levels for employees, salary differentials for secretarial staffs or pay disparity for chief executive officers. The chairmen could discuss a system of factor analysis such as accountability, decision-making, specialized knowledge required, etc. Mr. Muhlmann asked if the PAB could play a role after negotiations by commenting on the settlement. Mr. Chapman said the PAB's role has been discussed when the selectmen/manager form of government was adopted, and at that time the school depart- ment had not been responsive to the idea of a by-law committee. Mrs. Arlan commented that the loss of fiscal autonomy might increase the school department's fears of loss of control. Mr. Dailey asked if it would help if the PAB met with the school department before negotiations. Mr. Chapman replied that he felt the first need was to establish the relationship between the two chairmen. Mr. Dailey raised the issue of the use of PAB members on selection committes, suggesting that the Appropriation Committee might recommend that they be consulted on appointments of staff at and above a certain level. JUN 241993 Mr. Marshall said that a subcommittee had met with the Superintendent after the schools had settled a 2-yr. agreement with certain long-term impacts. They were considering having someone from Appropriations sit in with the negotiations in the future to help calculate the cost impacts of proposals. Mrs. Arlan said this was now a practice in 50% of communities. Mr. Dailey mentioned three recent personnel issues the School Committee had dealt with--the superintendent search, the elimination of Dr. Monderer's position, and the termination of Dr. Goodridge--and asked if the PAB could help with those or similar issues. Mr. Chapman said that the PAB could look at .broad principles but that it was essential to have the backing of the policy-makers. Mr. Dailey said the Appropriation Committee could help in promoting the PAB as a resourcla. Mrs. Arlan commented that most organizational problems are not unique to a given group, and that knowing how others have dealt with problems can help evolve rational processes for dealing with issues that arise. Mr. Guilmartin proceeded with the third question of the effectiveness of Article 5. Mr. Chapman commented that it had been a response to the need not to establish wage adjustments for union personnel before bargaining was concluded. Mr. Guilmar- tin reviewed the role the PAB plays in establishing the figure for Article 5, which includes meeting with the Town Manager, discussing levels of increases in various industries learned from their own information and from professional literature, collecting comparative data and applying a judgment factor. This results in a recommendation to the Manager. He said they do not review individual salaries but do look at ranges, and based on comparative data and other factors recommend range adjustment. Mr. Chapman said that previously there had been no system for salary adjustments, and it was necessary to look line by line. He said now, the system looks at market and comparability factors for range adjustment, and performance dictates salary. The system is kept on an objective basis. Mr. Dailey said the Appropriation committee saw the personal services budget, the amount for Article 5 but salary schedules after they had been voted. He said they were interested in a breakdown of how Article 5 was arrived at, and how dispensed. Mr. Guilmartin suggested that more frequent meetings of the two committees might be helpful. Mr. Cataldo said he wanted to understand the system, and to get a sense of how the town stands on staff levels. Mr. Chapman said that with respect to classification, the Town had implemented a plan developed by AD Little, which compared benchmark jobs. The plan calls for a review of one-third of all positions every three years to keep it current. Mrs. Shunney suggested that the PAB could also provide some data from the private sector. Mr. Muehlmann commented that continuing to compare the Town with other communities could become a cycle where it would appear that the public sector can't be managed because it isn't managed. He said the Appro- priation Committee wanted to know where the School Committee would be going in the next few years, since it appears that funds are going into education at the expense of the service sector. He asked if the PAB could get more information from the school regarding staffing projections, looking at age, length of service, etc. Mr. Silverman said that the budget contains both controllable and uncontrollable aspects, but that the Appropriation Committee has little input into the personnel budget, except via the PAB. He asked if 5-7% increases were justifiable in light of the 21% limit on the growth in tax revenue. Mr. Chapman said the PAB would be interested in having more information on the town's financial condition from the Appropriation Committee, which could be reflected in their discussion with the Town Manager. Mr. Dailey asked if the PAB had been consulted on the question of how to save a given amount on salaries, if necessary? Mr. Guilmartin said no, but that economies could be managed from the standpoint of reducing the number of employees and total dollars, or by reducing the level of increase to the existing workforce. Mr. Sil- verman asked why the School Department was apparently so committed to paying top dollar? Mr. Cataldo replied that he felt they were operating as if they still had pre-21 fiscal autonomy. Mr. Dailey asked what was the PAB's attitude towards Article 5? Mr. Guilmartin said that it gave the town flexibility in dealing with the union negotiations. Mr. Cataldo said it had been put in place as a way to implement a true merit system. Originally a committee of three listened to department heads' recommendations. Mr. Chapman said the PAB had not considered Article 5 in that light. Mr. Guil- martin said he had been unaware of that history, and said there was a difference between the concept and the process of the wage pool. Mr. Dailey said that now there was a merit system administered by the Town Manager. Mr. Cataldo said the Appropriation Committee would like more information on the distribution of Article 5. Mr. Guilmartin suggested that this might be appropriate for an early fall joint meeting. Mr. Guilmartin said that in response to the Committee's fourth question, the PAB received data from staff but also provided information from the members' various business sources. He said they could and did ask for more information when needed. Mr. Chapman commented that there had been a problem of continuity in PAB membership. Mr. Dailey concluded the meeting by offering to write letters to the Board of Selectmen and School Committee, copy to the Town Manager, regarding the PAB as a resource, and by suggesting that the relationship with the School Committee should be discussed further. The meeting was adjourned at 10:10 pm. Susan Adler Assistant to the Town Manager