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07-28-1982 ~ ,. ~ vw vv Minutes CITY OF EDGEWATER Merit Board Meeting July 28,1982 . Chairman Jack Kropp called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. in the confer- ence area of the Community Center. ROLL CALL Mr. Jack Kropp Mr. Michael Avery Mr. Terry Edgell Mr. Robert Bates Mrs. Betty Billups Present Present Present Present Present City Clerk Nancy Blazi Present City Manager Joseph Mitchell Absent (Also Present: Mrs. Henderson Acting City Attorney) APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Moved by Mr. Avery, seconded by Mr. Edgell, and CARRIED 5-0 to accept the minutes of the June 23, 1982 regular meeting, as submitted. COMMUNICATIONS Request for Merit Board review by Mrs. Karen Rickelman The City Clerk reviewed the events which transpired, and the reasons for the complaint filed with the Merit Board by Mrs. Karen Rickelman. She stated that Mrs. Rickelman received an outstanding evaluation by her Supervisor in January, 1982, but was told that the City Manager had advised there were no funds available for the merit increase. Upon learning of another employee receiving a pay increase, Mrs. Rickelman asked to see her file, and found the the City Manager had noted on her eval- uation sheet that merit increases were no longer associated with the evalua- tion rating. Mrs. Rickelman requested a Merit Board review, but was advis~d by the City Clerk to request a pay increase before taking the matter befpre the Merit Board. This was done, and the City Manager authorized a three per cent increase effective July 23, 1982. Mrs. Rickelman did not accept this increase, and requested a clarification of the statement that merit increases were no longer associated with the evaluation rating. Mrs. Rickelman said that there were no personal issues involved in her request before the Merit Board. She wanted the Merit Board to clarify the matter, and was requesting a five per cent merit increase, retroactive to January 20, 1982. She noted that Ordinance 81-0-16, Article 1, Section 7, para. 1, states that the merit ordinance cannot be changed without first being brought to the Merit Board and then to City Council, and changed by resolution. Mr. Avery questioned Mrs. Rickelman about the fund from which the other employee received the pay raise, and Mrs. Rickelman said that both employees were paid from the same budget. Mrs. Rickelman advised that she had been employed by the City for five and one-half years, and outlined her duties. Mr. Copeland mentioned that in October of 198* they were advised that there would be no more raises until October, 1982, and that he had not recommended merit increases for any of his employees because of this. Mrs. Blazi said that she did not get the impression from the supervisor's meeting that a supervisor could not recommend a raise if he felt it was justified. Moved by Mr. Avery, seconded by Mr. Edgell, and CARRIED 5-0 to grant a five per cent pay increase to Mrs. Rickelman, retroactive to January 20, 1982, her anniversary date. There was discussion regarding the protection of employee's records. Mrs. Henderson said she would look into the Public Records law concerning this. J ,'" - ~ . ~~ ~~ Mrs. Blazi brought up the proposed ordinance amending Chapter 13, Personnel of the Edgewater Code of Ordinances to transfer control of the position classification plan from the City Council to the Merit Board, and recog- nizing the role of the City Manager in Personnel Administration, and said that the City Manager/Personnel Director had requested that the Merit Board review it. Mr. EdgeUmoved to table the discussion on the proposed ordinance amending Chapter 13, and have workshops to go through it, seconded by Mr. Bates, and CARRIED 5-0. Mr. Crossland raised the issue of a raise, asking the procedure to follow if he wished to file a request for a hearing before the Merit Board. The members decided they would like to change their meeting time from 7:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Mrs. Henderson advised that a change in the By-laws must be approved by City Council. Moved by Mr. Bates, seconded by Mr. Avery, to change the meeting time of the Merit Board regular meeting from 7:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., and CARRIED 5-0. Some discussion was held as to what would be covered at the workshop. was agreed that the subject of merit increases should be cleared up. of the union contract would also be on the agenda. It Review The Board felt that the City Manager should have been at the meeting to discuss the Rickelman case, and to answer questions concerning the new ordinance. Moved by Mr. Edgell, seconded by Mr. Avery, and CARRIED 5-0, to send a formal letter to the City Council advising them that the City Manager was not present for the hearing on the Karen Rickelman case, nor to discuss the new ordinance. . Mr. Edgell moved to adjourn, seconded by Mr. Avery. The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 p.m. Minutes submitted by Nancy Blazi. City of Edgewater Merit Board Meeting Minutes, July 28, 1982 Page 2 -------- o o ,~ ~ Minutes CITY OF EDGEWATER Merit Board Meeting July 28, 1982 ' Chairman Jack Kropp called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. in th~ confer- ence area of the Community Center. ROLL CALL Mr. Jack Kropp Mr. Michael Avery ,Mr. Terry Edgell Mr. Robert Bates Mrs. Betty Billups Present Present Present Present Present City Clerk Nancy Blazi Present City Manager Joseph Mitchell Absent (Also Present: Mrs. Henderson Acting City Attorney) APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Moved by Mr. Avery, seconded by Mr. Edgell, and CARRIED 5-0 to accept the minutes of the June 23, 1982 regular meeting, as submitted. COMMUNICATIONS Request for Merit Board review by Mrs. Karen Rickelman The City Clerk reviewed the events which transpired, and the reasons for the complaint filed with the Merit Board by Mrs. Karen Rickelman. She stated that Mrs. Rickelman received an outstanding evaluation by her Supervisor in January, 1982, but was told that the City Manager had advised there were no funds available for the merit increase. Upon learning of another employee receiving a pay increase, Mrs. Rickelman asked to see her file, and found the the City Manager had noted on her eval- uation sheet that merit increases were no longer associated with the evalua- tion rating. Mrs. Rickelman requested a Merit Board review, but was advised by the City Clerk to request a pay increase before taking the matter before the Merit Board. This was done, and the City Manager authorized a three per cent increase effective July 23, 1982. Mrs. Rickelman did not accept this increase, and'requested a clarification of the statement that merit increases were no longer associated with the evaluation rating. Mrs. Rickelman said that there were no personal issues involved in her request before the Merit Board. She wanted the Merit Board to clarify the matter, and was requesting a five per cent merit increase, retroactive to January 20, 1982. She noted that Ordinance 81-0-16, Article 1, Section 7, para. 1, states that the merit ordinance cannot be changed without first being brought to the Merit Board and then to City Council, and changed by resolution. Mr. Avery questioned Mrs. Rickelman about the fund from which the other employee received the pay raise, and Mrs. Rickelman said that both employees were paid from the same budget. Mrs. Rickelman advised that she had been employed by the City for five and one-half years, and outlined her duties. Mr. Copeland mentioned that in October of 1982 they were advised that there would be no more raises until October, 1982, and that he had not recommended merit increases for any of his employees because of this. Mrs. Blazi said that she did not get the impression from the supervisor's meeting that a supervisor could not recommend a raise if he felt it was justified. Moved by Mr. Avery, seconded by Mr. Edgell, and CARRIED 5-0 to grant a five per cent pay increase to Mrs. Rickelman, retroactive to January 20, 1982, her anniversary date. :1 I i I II II I There was discussion regarding the protection of employee's records. Nrs. Henderson said she would look into the Public Records law concerning this. o o ~ Mrs. Blazi brought up the proposed ordinance amending Chapter 13, Personnel of the-Edgewater Code of Ordinances to transfer control of the position classification plan from the City Council to the Merit Board, and recog- nizing the role of the City Manager in Personnel Administration, and said that the City Manager/Personnel Director had requested that the Merit Board review it. Mr. Edge~ved to table the discussion on the proposed ordinance amending C--- Chapter~r3~ and have workshops to go through it, seconded by Mr. Bates, and CARRIED 5-0. Mr. Crossland raised the issue of a raise, asking the procedure to follow if he wished to file a request for a hearing before the Merit Board. The members decided they would like to change their meeting time from 7:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Mrs. Henderson advised that a change in the By-laws must be approved by City Council. Moved by Mr. Bates, seconded by Mr. Avery, to change the meeting time of the Merit Board regular meeting from 7:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., and CARRIED 5-0. I I I I II I Some discussion was held as to what would be covered at the workshop. was agreed that the subject of merit increases should be cleared up. of the union contract would also be on the agenda. It Review The Board felt that the City Manager should have been at the meeting to discuss the Rickelman case, and to answer questions concerning the new ordinance. Moved by Mr. Edgell, seconded by Mr. Avery, and CARRIED 5-0, to send a formal letter to the City Council advising them that the City Manager was not present for the hearing on the Karen Rickelman case, nor to discuss the new ordinance. . Mr. Edgell moved to adjourn, seconded by Mr. Avery. The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 p.m. Minutes submitted by Nancy Blazi. City of Edgewater Merit Board Meeting Minutes, July 28, 1982 Page 2 ~ " Q o CITY OF EDGEWATER MERIT BOARD REGULAR MEETING July 28, 1982 ~-- The Merit Board meeting was called to order at 7:00 P.M. in the Conference Area of the Community Center. The following is a verbatim transcript of the meeting: Chairman Kropp: Let's call this meeting to order. The City of Edgewater Merit Board. Roll call please. Mr. Kropp: Here Mr. Avery: Here Mrs. Billups: Here Mr. Edgell: Here Mr. Bates: Here (Also present: Nancy Blazi, City Clerk Mrs. Henderson, Acting City Attorney Mr. Kropp: First item on the agenda is June 23, 1982. I think you've all had are there any comments or corrections? to accept the minutes. the approval of minutes for a chance to look them over If not we'll accept a motion Mr. Avery: Mr. Edgell: I make a motion to accept the minutes. I'll second it. Mr. Kropp: Seconded by Mr. Edgell, roll call please. Mr. Edgell: Yes, Mrs. Billups: Yes, Mr. Avery: Yes, Mr. Bates: Yes, Mr. Kropp: Yes. Mr. Kropp: The next order of business lS communication. Nancy, do you want to go over this synopsis. Mrs. Blazi: We have had a request from an employee to appear before the Merit Board. If I may, I'd like to summarize what led up to this. At the time of Mrs. Rickelman's evaluation in January, 1982, her Supervisor recommended a merit increase. The City Manager/Personnel Director noted on the evaluation form that merit increases were no longer associated with the evaluation rating. On July 7, 1982, Mrs. Rickelman wrote to her Supervisor questioning an increase for anoth~r employee under the same budget. On July 8th, the Finance Director, Mrs. Rickelman's Supervisor wrote to the City Manager again requesting a pay increase. The City Manager requested at that time that I, the Assistant Personnel Director, answer the Finance Director's memorandum. On July 14th in a memo to the Finance Director, I pointed out that a raise in pay for one class was unrelated to a raise in pay for another class and merit increases are not associated with pay increases. This was substantiating the original statement by Mr. Mitchell. On July 20th, a memo was addressed to the Merit Board from Mrs. Rickelman requesting a review of the denial for an increase in pay. On July 21st, I answered Mrs. Rickelman's request for a Merit Board review suggesting that a request for a pay increase stating the reasons for this request be submitted her Supervisor, since a determination on this request should be made before it becomes a matter for the Merit Board. On July 21, 1982, Mrs. Rickelman submitted a request for a pay increase to her Supervisor stating increased job responsibilities. Mrs. Rickelman's Supervisor forwarded the request to the City Manager and Assistant Personnel Director. The City Manager authorized a 3% increase effective 7/23/82. Mrs. Rickelman did not accept this increase. It was requested that I contact other municipalities in the area to ascertain salaries for employees doing work similar to Mrs. Rickelman. Mrs. Rickelman requested a 5% retroactive to January 1982. I might add, I didn't put this down here, going over her job description and checking what I already have on variqus positions in other cities, I'll be very honest, I think it would be extremely difficult to pinpoint salary. In most municipaiities they have different people doing, I mean four or five people doing, in essence what Mrs. Rickelman's doing for the simple fact that at this time Edgewater is not large enough and certainly doesn't have a big enough budget to have say a bookkeeper, a computer operator, a utility billing, etc. so it really is a dual position and when I start checking I think I am going to have trouble trying to pinpoint.exact salary for that type of position. Anyway, on July 22nd . . o 2 - o ~'- Verbatim transcript of Merit Board Meeting 7/28/82 - cont. I received a memo from Mrs. Rickelman requesting clarification of merit increases based on yearly evaluations. For your information, the job classifications have not been approved by Council. They were tabled pending union negotiations. The City is presently in negotiations with the PBA and the PEA and the City anticipates it will soon commence negotiations with the Supervisors Public ~mployee's Association. It is expected that policies concerning management rights, empllyee rights, rules and regulations, classifications, pay plans, etc. will be incorporated into the bargaining unit contracts. I have provided you with the back up material leading to this request. Mr. Kropp: Mrs. Rickelman are you here? Would you care to address the board? Mrs. Rickelman: Ladies and gentlemen of the Merit Board, I would like to start by stating that this is not a personal issue against anyone but that certain questions have arisen concerning changes in the merit ordinance of which the city employee's have not been made aware of and we feel clarification should be made. I speak specifically of my yearly evaluation of January 20, 1982. This evaluation is the same given all city employees on their employment anniversary date. I was evaluated by my Supervisor as outstanding and was so marked on my evaluation. Also checked was the recommendation for merit increase. The evaluation was signed by my Supervisor and myself then submitted to the City Manager for his approval. The City Manager stated to my Supervisor there were no funds available for the merit increase. This statement was told to me which I accepted and understood at the time. On June 24, 1982 another employee who is paid out of the same budget, as I was, was given a 5% increase and it was given before their first anniversary date. I was not opposed to the raise but wondered why there was suddenly money available for pay increases. At this time, I pulled my evaluation and found under my signature in the employee comment section, the following written statement: Merit Increases are no longer associated with E.R. 's and it was initialed by Mr. Mitchell. This was the first knowledge I had that comments could be made after the employee's signature, without their knowledge, and then placed in permanent files. I then asked my Supervisor if she had knowledge of this additional statement or the ne~ policy that merit increases were no longer associated with performance evaluations. She indicated no knowledge of either. At this point, a written request for a 5% merit increase retroactive to 1/20/82 for myself was given to Mr. Mitchell through my Supervisor. Mr. Mitchell called my Supervisor into his office to discuss this matter. It was requested by my Supervisor that I be present to which Mr. Mitchell told her this didn't concern me that it waa between him and her. During this meeting he denied saying there were no funds in the budget for merit increases I and that the other employee getting a raise had no bearing on me. II I felt this to be very prejudicial as there is now not only money available for pay increases but an outstanding evaluation apparently has no I monetary meaning and leaves the employee no incentive or motivation to do an outstanding job. I have here all correspondence relating to this incident, including my evaluation with Mr. Mitchell's comment as well as the new evaluation form Mr. Mitchell made which deletes the recommendations for promotion, merit increase or release from probation. We also feel this form was changed in error as it was approved by the City Council on November 3, 1980 and according to the merit ordinance cannot be changed without first being brought to the Merit Board then to the City Council and changed by resolution. This per Ord. 81-0-16 Article 1 Section 7 para. 1. Mr. Kropp: Any questions from the board or comments? Mr. Avery: I would like to direct a question to Mrs. Rickelman. Karen, the money that you were told you couldn't get a raise from and the other person did get a raise carne out of the same funds, right? Mrs. ~ick8Iman: Same budget that I'm paid out 9f she was given her. increase Gut of. Mr. Avery: Okay, I wanted everybody to understand that. o o - 3 - Verbatim transcript of Merit Board Meeting 7/28/82 <--,' - Mrs. Rickelman: She has received 16% more than the rest of the employees and she's not been with the City even one year yet. Mr. Bates: How many years have you been employed, Mrs. Rickelman? Mrs. Rickelman: With the City? Five, almost five and one half years. Mr. Bates: Five and one half. Mr. Edgell: I have a question. What does ER stand for? Mrs. Blazi: Evaluation rating, I believe. 'Mr. Edgell: The other question I have is that this. is a lot of information to absorb at one time, why were just given this tonight. Mrs. Blazi: Because of the date it was given to me and then originally we were coming merely with the request to review the change in the evaluation. I mean review and decide or talk about the merit increase. Then it was the City Manager/Personnel Director's decision to take all of this before the board and it was not ready until today. Mr. Edgell: I'm finding it very hard to absorb all the information here at one time even following the time line it is difficult. Mrs. Henderson: and a review? Is this when a request was made for a full hearing Mrs. Blazi: pay increase included her to it, or at Right and we requested that she resubmit a request for a which she did based on additional responsibilities. I've job description with the.additional responsibilities added least some of them. Mr. Avery: I want to ask Nancy, Nancy hasn't it been in the past these evaluations come on your anniversary date and you have a fine evaluation like Karen that you automatically get a raise? Mrs. Blazi: I think that has been pretty much the policy, yes. Mr. Avery: Well, what happened to that. Mrs. Blazi: I can't answer that question. Mr. Avery: Wasn't I told when I was on. vacation that this evaluation that the promotion, merit increase, release from probation was taken out? Mrs. Blazi: This was discussed at a supervisor's meeting. The question was raised as to whether or not from a psychological point of view when the employee signs that there are those three lines and, of course, you feel one of them should be checked. Naturally, if they are off probation that should be checked. The feeling is that if I have gotten an awfully good evaluation something should be checked up there. The supervisors thought at that time that possibly it might not be a bad idea to remove that. I don't think their intent, at least I didn't get that feeling and I am a supervisor, I don't think their intent was that evaluations would certainly have nothing to do with merit increaseE I think the intent was to add some more lines where you could put comments on similar to a request from a supervisor to give someone an increase. I can't speak for all the other supervisors, but that was my impression at that meeting. Then we received a memo from the Personnel Director stating tha~ would be removed from the evaluation forms. I think I don't know if I have a copy of that. or not, it was sent around to the supervisors. Voice identified by transcribing secretary as Mrs. Kinsey: get one. I didn't Mrs. Blazi: You didn't get a memo? o o - 4 - Verbatim transcript of Merit Board Meeting 7/28/82 ~-- Mrs. Kinsey: Not removing that from .. Mr. Avery: I didn't get one, I was told about it by you. This doesn't have to be taken to Council to remove something like this? Mrs. BLazi: I don't know. I think Karen covered that. Mr. Avery: I think she deserves a raise if anybody else ever did. Mrs. Rickelman: May I ask why the City Manager is not here tonight to discuss this change since he's the one who initiated the change? Mrs. Blazi: ~ He merely told me he would not be here tonight. I, of course, some time ago was put in as secretary so to speak for the Merit Board and then made assistant Personnel Director and he asked me to, I would ~ave to be here anyway and he said he was not going to be here tonight. He did not give a reason. Mrs. Rickelman: Did he give you the reason why I was denied my right according to the rules and regulations to discuss this matter with my Supervisor and him on the day it was first brought up? Mrs. Blazi: No. I was not there at the time that happened. He never said anything to me about it. Mrs. Rickelman: Why weren't the City employees notified about a change in the merit increase policy. Mrs. Blazi: I thought I saw a memo on that but I may be mistaken. Mr. Avery: But Nancy, everyone who signs this, myself included, naturally thinks they are getting a pay raise. Otherwise you are working here for years for nothing. You're never going to get a pay. raise. Mrs. Blazi: Let me check with Copeland. He was there at that meeting. Mr. Copeland: My understanding was Nancy, if I remember correctly that the reason this was taken off - when we use to have these things every six months - how often did we get those evaluations? Mrs. Blazi: It is supposed to be about once a year unless otherwise stated, I thought, on your anniversary date. Mr. Copeland: My understanding was that a person just takes for granted that when he reads this and signs it that he is going to automatically get a pay raise and I think everybody agreed that this wasn't a good idea. Maybe a guy deserves a raise and maybe he doesn't and I think it was the reason it was took out. Mrs. Blazi: That is what I got but I also didn't get the impression that the supervisors felt as a group that the evaluation.should have nothing to do with a pay increase. Mr. Copeland: No, not that. Mrs. Blazi: I'm sorry, I thought I saw a memo on this, I guess I didn'i Mr. Copeland: I haven't seen a memo, all I know is what was discussed at the meeting. If I remember correctly that is the reason it was taken out. Mrs. Blazi: Either that Dr I saw a form with that taken off of it. Mrs. Rickelman: Nancy, has Mr. Mitchell related to you how he thinks the employees feel about being a conscientious employee when he has taken away the only motivation for them to be a good employee? Mrs. Blazi: No. I have discussed with him the fact that we need incentives. I did it from a personal point of view and from the employees point of view and where these incentives are coming from o - 5 - o Verbatim transcript of Merit Board Meeting 7/28/82. ~.- 1S certainly something else again but you certainly have to have them. Mrs. Rickelman: I have taken on more responsiblity as far as audit work goes for the City in order to save the City money in accounting and auditing fees which is stated in one of my memos. Mrs. Blazi: That is reflected here. Mrs. Rickelman: I did the State report, this year they put on me to do the financial statements, compiling it and submitting it for them to type. Now I have taken on all this because I thought it would be a savings to the City and I would be rewarded for that in a merit increase. Now it comes to find out that we don't even get a merit increase cause he's decided that he doesn't want to have that policy. Mr. Copeland: This is where I understood the reason they took this out of here, Connie being, I think, Karen's Superviso~, with this taken out of here when the time comes for her evaluation, if Connie feels that Karen is justified for a pay increase then I don't think there should be any questions asked. Mrs. Blazi: No she could put it under comments. Mr. Copeland: You would leave it up to the Supervisor's discretion. Mrs. Blazi: Connie, you were at that meeting weren't you? Mrs. Kinsey: This is a new plan because I did check merit increase and I did request a merit increase last January. My idea it was the procedure. Mr. Copeland: With or without this taken off the back here, I think if you wrote on there Karen was justified in getting an increase I think she should get it. Mrs. Kinsey: My sentiments exactly. Mrs. Rickelman: But it was denied. Mr. Copeland: Huh? Mrs. Kinsey: But it was denied. Mr. Bates: The thing that was denied was the dollar amount 3% versus 5% plus the date of retroactive. In other words instead of being 1/20 it said 7/23 about 6 months difference plus 2% difference in the pay for all that period. Mr. Edgell: What is the percentage in the step for increases? Mr. Copeland: We don't have any. Mr. Avery: We don't have any Mrs. Rickelman: It varies from a penny to maybe l5~ between steps. That is how the classification is, I have a copy with me if you would like to see it. Mr. Edgell: I'd like to see it. Also, as I understand it on page 3 there are no merit increases at all, is that correct. Mrs. Blazi: Not in there, but in your Merit Ordinance you have a section which states appointments and other personnel (which may or may not be clear) actions involving a change in employee status requiring the application of the merit principle shall be based on evaluations and qualifications. That is in the ordinance. Mr. Avery: Well, Nancy, if we have that and do away with this what good is it? What good is this? Mrs. Blazi: My feeling and I think Earl said the same thing that o - 6 - o Verbatim transcript Merit Board Meeting 7/28/82 ~'- whether you have that on there or not you have room for comments and as a supervisor after evaluating someone then you certainly have the right, under comments, to state that this person has done an exceptional job and I recommend this person for a pay increase _ I don't care what you want to call it. But basically because they have done such a fantastic job that i~ why you are. recommending them. So actually those three lines don't necessarily have to be there as long as the supervisor has the right to put his comments, which he does, on an evaluation. Mr. Avery: But you see they were they when Connie signed it. Mrs. Blazi: They were there last January, yes. Mr. Avery: And it has in the ordinance or that is the way I'm reading it - shall be based on the evaluation and qualifications which she is. Mr. Edgell: What is the date of that ordinance? Mrs. Blazi: This one was passed back in 1981. Mr. Edgell: Is this the 916? Mrs. Blazi: This is 81-0-16. We have had, I couldn't tell you how many merit ordinances. However, this is the latest one and it states here - whats that standard - ordinance or parts of ordinances or resolutions or parts of resolutions in conflict herewith be and the same are hereby repealed. This is the one in the code book and in effect it makes anything that carne before it obsolete. Am I correct? Mrs. Henderson: In order to repeal something you have to mention it specifically in the general language. It is just that this would take precedent over something that might be a conflict. Mrs. Rickelman: I would also like to point out that this merit ordinance was voted on by the people of Edgewater by a referendum and the purpose and intent of the ordinance was to eliminate any political hassle." Mrs. Blazi: You have in your present charter that there shall be - I don't have my book, you don't have your book, why don't you have your book. Mrs. Henderson: What is this right here? Mrs. Blazi: This is a proposed change in the Merit Ordinance that the City Manager gave to the Merit Board to look over. Section E page 2 I don't know if that is in the proposed one or not. Mrs. Billups: Did we have a copy of the new one? Mrs. Blazi: It should have been in your package, it doesn't have any number on it. Mr. Bates: The one we are operating under then is 81-0-16. Mrs. Blazi: Tt~says"just that, what I just read. Mrs. Henderson: Appointments and other personnel action involving a change in employee status requiring the application of the merit principle shall be based on evaluations and qualifications. But is this a change in employee status requiring the application of the merit principle. Mrs. Blazi: You'll have to explain that one because I don't know. Voices saying - did you have one of these - I have one of the new ones yes, I have this one - you're sure you didn't get this - (speakers not totally clear. o o - 7 - Verbatim transcript of Merit Board meeting 7/28/82 ..--.... - Mrs. Blazi: The establishment of the Merit Board is in the charter and as Mrs. Rickelman pointed out that was voted in back in 1975. It states in the charter that the Merit Board shall consist of 5 members one of them elected by the employees and its duties shall include but not be limited to classifications, qualifications of employees, grievance procedure and rigpts of appeal for disciplinary action. Mrs. Henderson: Who is the Personnel Officer? Mrs. Blazi: The City Manager. Mr. Edgell: I have one comment. I am reading this E and you could interpret this many different ways but my interpretation reading this thing is that if you get an evaluation and it is good you can change your status, you can be promoted, merit ways or whatever position promot~on. Mrs.1 Blazi: The City of Edgewater does not have all that many jobs to rise up through the ranks on so it would in most cases mean a merit increase. There is no place for Karen to go up. Mrs. Rickelman: I could be City Manager. (More voice overs) Mrs. Blazi: If you are crazy enough to apply for the job. Mr. Edgell: Karen, how many people work in your department? Mrs. Rickelman: There are two other girls and my supervisor. Three girls under the Finance Director. Mr. Edgell: Do you handle all the input into the computer? Mrs. Rickelman: Yes, everything but utility billing, its not in my description. Mr. Edgell: Yes, I was looking at that but usually job descriptions don't give the whole. Mrs. Blazi: No, that is not possible. Mr. Edgell: Do you do any programming? Mrs. Rickelman: No that is done by the computer firm. Mr. Edgell: Ok so you handle the input? Mrs. Rickelman: Yes. Voice identified by transcribing secretary as Mr. Walter Gross) Who evaluates the City Manager? Voice (not identifiable) He does. Mr. Gross: He got a raise from twenty to twenty five thousand dollars is that a merit raise? Mrs. Henderson: Section 6 of this ordinance talks about the Personnel Officer with the Merit Board shall present an employee manual rules and regulations to the City Council for their consideration. Mrs. Blazi: That is this. Mrs. Henderson: ' Does. the Council review this annually? Mrs. Blazi: Well, we just sent some changes to them which they approved. Mrs. Henderson: And the rules and regulations shall cover the procedure and policies to govern the following phases: position compensation. Do the rules and regulations talk about '" o o - 8 - Verbatim transcript Merit Board Meeting 7/28/82. ~'- Mrs. Blazi: I'm not too sure its in here, I don't think so. This covers these items. No, not per see Mrs. Henderson: It does not seem to have compensation or pay raises. At what point did they quit tying merit raises into_the performance evaluation? Mrs. Blazi: This may mean January of 82. Mrs. Kinsey: Between January and July. The first I heard it was in July. Mrs. Rickelman: Obviously we have had merit increases before since it was on the form but it has been eliminated now by the City Manager. Mrs. Henderson: Where was it before? In rules and regulations, . personnel rules? Mrs. Blazi: I gather that because it was on the form that was adopted by Council and the Merit Board, the original form that is in essence, where it showed up. By doing that I guess they felt that that was giving - well they were in effect saying that this form, since the word merit increase appeared on the form, would certainly give it and the form was approved some time ago. We had a different and we sent a new one in for their approval I can't remember when. Mrs. Henderson: November 3, 1980. Mr. Edgell: Has this come up with any other employee that you know of. Mrs. Blazi: Not before the board. Mr. Avery: Terry, it almost came up but it was solved. Mr. Edgell: There have been other employees that have been evaluated because it says on their anniversay dates since July to now. Mrs. Blazi: I can't answer other case except this one. the personnel department as that I step in as Assistant that because I was not called in on any I don't have that much knowledge of a whole except as Mr Mitchell requests and sit in with the Merit Board. Mr. Kropp: Yes, you have a comment? {Voice identified by transcribing secretary as Mary Hines} As far as I see it, the merit raises must have quit before January 82 because most of the men in the department and street department didn't receive any raises last year as merit raises. None that I know of. Mrs. Blazi: Were they recommended for them? Mr. Copeland: When we made up the budget in 1981, my understanding was that there were absolutely no more raises until October 1982. Mrs. Blazi: Last year's budget? Mrs. Kinsey: Except the across the board raise. Mr. Copeland: We got across the board raise in October 1981 and they said there would be no more raises until October 1982. Mrs. Rickelman: But, this one person got 16%. Mr. Copeland: This is what I was told. Mrs. Blazi: Oh this is this year's budget 1981-82, I thought he was talking about last year's budget. I was told that too in Oct. 81. o o - 9 - Verbatim transcript Merit Board Meeting 7/28/82. ,........ - \'0 Mrs. Blazi: I still have to ask the same question, though. If Earl was told there wasn't any money in his budget then possibly he did not - did you recommend a merit increase? Mr. Copeland: No. Mr. Kropp: May I ask a question, where did the authority come from to cut the merit increases without notifying the supervisors, without a memo or a change or recommend it or something. Mrs. Blazi: He brought it up at this supervisor's meeting. Is that what you are talking about taking it off of there? As I explained earlier, I believe most of the supervisors felt that they would have room for comments and could still - it was my feeling anyway that I wasn't being told I couldn't recommend someone for a raise. . I was being told that because in some cases you might not want to recommend sqmeone the line there would make the employee feel that something should have been checked on one of those three boxes. Mr. Mitchell had suggested that be removed. It was not my feeling and I can't speak for other supervisors, that under comments you have a number of lines under comments and as a supervisor you are supposed to make a few comments like Mrs. Kinsey made comments on Mrs. Rickelman's job. and whether or not that had been there she could have still gone ahead and requested, under her comments, an increase based on her job, her evaluation, based on her added responsibilities whatever, she still could have requested it. I didn't get the feeling - otherwise I would have been very much opposed to it if I had had the feeling that at least I couldn't request that someone under me get a raise if I felt they were due one. Mrs. Henderson: At this meeting was it made clear that not every request for a raise will be granted. As a supervisor you can request but the raise won't be automatically tied to -- Mrs. Blazi: What was discussed was the psychological effect of the three lines there. You sign your name and you look up there and you figure something should have been signed either getting off probation, getting a merit increase or whatever the other third line is. Mr. Copeland: As I understand it, Nancy, if its got a merit increase on that sheet there then there is no reason for filling out an evaluation if a man is going to automatically get a raise anyway. Mrs. Blazi: Yes. Mr. Copeland: So I think this is one of the main reasons we had discussed taking it off. Mrs. Blazi: You didn't get the feeling that you were being told - or that you would not be able to recommend someone for a raise. Mr. Copeland: Oh No, of course this happened sometime back but I think Connie should have the right to say whether that person is entitled to an increase. She ought to, she is a supervisor. Mrs. Henderson: When was this meeting? Mrs. Blazi: When were you gone? It was after the last Council meeting. The staff meets the Tuesday after a Council meeting. Not the staff, the supervisors, excuse me. Mr. Avery: Well, Nancy, I sure think something needs to be in black and white telling our' boys when you get a pay raise before this new budget is signed sealed and delivered in October. We can be working here from now on like this. This is a joke. This to me means nothing, this evaluation, if you're not going to get a pay raise. Specially at your anniversary date. When you come off of probation, you should get X amount and anniversary date and whatever if you've maxed out in your department you should get.. Mrs. Blazi: Well you're not saying everyone who gets an evaluation should get an increase? o o - 10 - '--"- Mrs. Blazi: Well you're not saying everyone who gets an evaluation necessarily gets an increase? Mr. Avery: No, I mean you could have a bad one and that person couldn't get a raise at all. Mrs. Blazi: Your saying above average or whatever should be clarified ~~~~ a certain level.. Mr. Avery: Right now at the level we're at no one could get a pay raise, if he didn't want to give you one. Mrs. Blazi: You could put it under the comments. Mr. Avery: Its not in black and white. Mrs. Rickelman: The way that the system is there is no incentive for an employee of the City to work any harder, to volunteer to do extra work if it is going to make a monetary va~ue differe~e in' what the City has to expend for these expenses. In my case, I went forward and said I can do this work and the auditors felt I could do it and asked me if I would do it and gave me all the forms to do it and I said ok 1'11 do it thinking that some day I would be rewarded for this in my pay check hopefully. You can't go to the grocery store and spend outstanding on your evaluation. Why should I put forth any effort to do extra work and save the City money if I'm not going to get any more for it and why should the rest of the employees. They're going to have the attitude that I was hired to do this, that's all I'm going to do and I'm not going to do anymore. It defeats your whole purpose of an incentive plan for the City employees if you are going to deny them a merit increase when your supervisor has put it in there for you. Mr. Avery: Karen, I can see you might have a problem getting that retroactive but I don't see why you couldn't get 5% raise from 7/23/82. I don't know whose in charge of that. Mr. Bates: I don't know why it should be difficult to get it retroactive to back then. That was her anniversary date and that's when the pay raise should take place. Mr. Avery: to get. I know, I'm just saying I'm thinking that would be harder Mrs. Kinsey: She has been doing the work. All that time. Mrs. Rickelman: It was put in for me at that time too. If I had gotten it then knowing all the changes and stuff then we would have done it the proper way that he specifies now. I could have had it all this time. But now 6 months later, we are finding out that the system has changed. He has not advised any of the supervisors or the employees that it has changed. Mr. Avery: True, but who determines... (Voice identified by transcribing secretary as Frank Opal.) I happened to be on a negotiating board such as this, what we call a merit board. Now the Merit Board represents the City. I was on a negotiating board for a union. Now the first man that we would always have come up there when we had a hearing on any negotiations would be the Personnel Director. I notice each one of you nobody mentions he conveniently absents him- self for some flimsy excuse. He should have been here not the assistant to answer questions and what took place. What good is this hearing .. Thats right in the middle and the man that is responsible for all this is missing. If we had that happening when we had the negotiating committee meeting with .the company, the man, the Personnel Director would be right there to answer our questions. Anybody on that board, otherwise that meeting would never function and that is the way you are functioning now. You're in between, you're groping in the dark and you don't know where to go but the man that is responsible for the whole thing is missing to answer questions. I mentioned this here sometime ago that the people in the City of Edgewater everyone of them including the supervisors should get into a union that is the only way of eliminating anyone who is biased, that's absolutely ahti and you have the whole problem. Here's something that's dragging out from last January. o o - 11 - ,....... - Verbatim minutes Merit Board Meeting 7/28/82. Mr. Opal cont. He knew this was an important meeting but he's not here. Mrs. Rickelman: Also in the merit ordinance 81-0-16 under section 3 Organization for Personnel Administration para. 2 towards the bottom. it says that the decision of the merit boarg shall be final unles~. appealed to the City Council which may reverse such decisions or recommendations only by 4/Sth vote of the City Council. Mr. Avery: I'd like to ask a question, because I'm new on this. I'm all for Karen getting her pay that is due to her, are we in charge of that or does it go back to the City Manager, the City Councilor what? Mr. Kropp: That is the board's discretion. If you recommend and if the majority vote that we recommend she. receive a raise just as she asked for it, it goes directly to the City Council and they can only return our vote by a 4/Sth vote against that " to voerride it. ' Mr. Avery: So you make a motion. Mr. Kropp: Is there any other discussion from the other board members. Mr. Edgell: I want to discuss something before you do it. Is it possible _ I'm going to throw this into this one and its going to cover a general statement too - that from now on we have these meetings that not only the person that is asking for the raise but the City Manager being the Personnel Director show up also because both sides should be represented. Right now Nancy is representing the City and she is not the Personnel Director and the City really has no representation at this meeting. The decisions were not hers, they came from the City Manager. Mr. Avery: Can you make a motion that Karen get her raise without the proper authority here? Mr. Kropp: I don't see why not (more than one person speaking at this time tape not as to what is being said and who is saying it) We'll direct our comment to the Council. Mr. Edgell: I think it ought to be in the motion. that the City was not fully represented at this hearing. Mr. Kropp: Mr. Avery: We have a motion? Mrs. Blazi: I haven't made it yet. Well, he hasn't made it yet. (Voice identified by transcribing secretary as Walter Gross) As a past Vice Chairman of the Merit Board, we did recommend and it was approved by the Council - merit raises as an incentive to the employees - and. Karen sat representing the City employees at that time- and (not clear) vote was approved at that time and we did speak to every supervisor, I think Earl Copeland remembers that. They came in individually, we questioned them and got their recommendations and the supervisors recommended that if they asked based on qualifications for a merit raise for any employee it would then go to the Council and that was appr~ved at the time that I was Vice-Chairman of the Merit Board. Thank you. Mr. Kropp: Mike would you like to Mr. Avery: I would like to make a motion that Karen get her pay that was due to her from January her anniversary date, ''': -. Mr. Edgell: I second it. Mrs. Blazi: Did you want something in there a~out the City not being represented. No ok. You can requ~st it lateB:~ Retroactive to January 82. Did we have a seccnd? M~. Edgell? Yes, Mrs. Billups? Yes, Mr. Avery? Yes Mr. Bates? Yes Mr. Kropp? Yes. Mrs. Blazi: The other thing on the agenda is the proposed new merit ordinance. Mrs. Rickelman: I would also like to suggest that the Merit Board clarify and put in writing that upon evaluation for city employees if they are recommended for a merit increase that the supervisor can put in for a merit increase and the City Manager can't deny it and there be a set percentage o o - 12 - Verbatim minutes of Merit Board meeting 7/28/82 .......... - maybe in that so that we don't get out of hand with this. Maybe between 3 and 5% merit increase. We all eventually, with the union contract will be getting an overall pay increase as it is. Mr. Avery: That would probably have to be done in workshops, wouldn't it Jack? - Mr. Kropp: Yes. We'll have to set a special workshop. We're somewhat in a bind right now as far as basic policy decisions because of the union contract, it has not been signed or ratified yet and it is my understanding that the contract will call for a specific pay increase.. Mrs. Rickelman: However, the merit system will still be in effect. Mr. Kropp: Yes because we still have employees not covered under the union contract. Mrs. Rickelman: So you still have the merit principle, merit increases.. Mr. Kropp: Yes that is in the charter. (not clear) Mrs. Rickelman: You need to get this clarified though so he doesn't do this again. (Voice identified by transcribing secretary as Sherry Reed) Does this also mean that he can still go back in your personnel files .. after your evaluation to write things down? Mr. Kropp: No that seems to be a question in point. In my opinion it has been a long period of time since January and this should have been brought up right away. Mrs. Kinsey: Unless you go look in your personnel file. I'm not in the habit of going to look in my employee's personnel file every five minutes to see if something has been added. Mr. Kropp: You should have been notified by written memo in my opinion.. Mrs. Kinsey: Prior to him writing it on ther~. Mr. Kropp: (not clear) ...definitely in black and white and dated. Mr. Opal: In the last two years before I retired I happen to be a supervisor, a foreman. I had job evaluation lists filled out by the employees, they signed it and I went to the personnel director and I knew then because I had to put my report on and that's what he went by and when he checked it with the employment record to see if there was anything that happened and this took place once a year. He informed me immediately and I informed the employee whatever it might have been but you don't have that here and I did this from a foreman's point cause I had 28 employees and everyone was told and knew but they were in a union. Mr. Avery: I just want to ask Nancy, talking about a union. There hasn't been a signed contract yet, right? Mrs. Blazi: Not with any of them for the next year. in negotiations. We are still Mr. Avery: This Merit Board does protect these people. Mr. Kropp: That's all we have right now. Mrs. Blazi: Yes, unless you are going to say you're suspending every protection the employee has until the contract is signed. Mr. Avery: But even if a contract 1S signed.. Mrs. Blazi: It depends on what is 1n the contract. Mr. Avery: Even then, the City has to honor this merit system. o - 13 - () Verbatim minutes of Merit Board meeting 7/28/82. ~'- (Voice identified by transcribing secretary as Mayor Christy) It takes a referendum to make any changes. state statute 166 even spells that out. Mrs. Blazi: Not the Merit Ordinance. In the charter, it takes a referendum to change to take out the merit system. The ordinance is in the code. Mr. Avery: What I'm saying is that the union would have to abide by our merit system. Mrs. Rickelman: In the union contract for general employees, the merit ordinance is in the union contract (voices talking not clear) by the merit ordinance. Mrs. Blazi: When it 1S ratified. Mr. Avery: That's what I'm talking about. Mr. Kropp: Now back under new business. Mrs. Blazi: Under new business. Mr. Bates: One last question, under what statutes are we now operating under. Are we operating under 8l.0-l6? Mr. Kropp: Yes. Mr. Edgell: I have another question for you? Isn't there something covering employee's records under state law about being altered? Mrs. Henderson: I haven't read one, I could try to find one. Mr. Edgell: But somewhere along the waY.r Mr. Avery: You mean without them seeing it Terry? Mr. Edgell: Yes without them being notified. Mr. Avery: Yes there is. Mrs. Henderson: I could try to look that up for you. Mr. Edgell: It's covered under Public Records law but I thought there was something in there about altering records. Mrs. Henderson: you know. I'll see if I can locate something like that and let Mr. Bates: I see what he is saying. What he is saying is that employee's records cannot be altered unless that employee 1S present and knows about it. Mrs. Henderson: That's what you're asking? Mr. Edgell: Yes. Mr. Bates: There definitely is. Mr. Edgell: I thought there was something. (Voice identified by transcribing secretary as Bill Rickelman) May I make a suggestion, that the merit board get with upper management people and maybe ask that the practice of making comments on the employee's evaluation after the employee has signed 6ff on it and has expected it to go back in his files that this be discontinued at least without the employee seeing it. Mr. Kropp: Yes City Attorney. ordinance is on being there and that is what Mr. Edgell was just talking about with the We'll check this and make sure what the statute or that. They should not be altered without the employee his supervisor as far as I'm concerned. o Q - 14 - Verbatim minutes Merit Board meeting 7/28/82 ,....... - Voice overs. Mr. Rickelman: Will the form remain as it is or will we be reverting back to the old form until the Merit Board and the City Council has a chance to act on it. Mrs. Blazi: I can't answer that question.- Mr. Kropp: I don't know. Mrs. Kinsey: Well it was done without Council approval. Mrs. Henderson: Is he asking about going to another form that doesn't have this on it? Mrs. Blazi: I got a blank form with this taken out at the staff meeting and my feeling was that I still would' have the right to make a comment. (More voice overs not clear) I feel that when you sign this and the other supervisors seemed to feel the same way that something should have been checked on the old form. Mrs. Henderson: Is this for the employee's comment? (voice overs many people talking) Well one thing that needs to be clarified until it is changed. Even if this is on the form, the supervisor can recommend an increase in pay all day long but at this point isn't the discretion whether or not to give the pay raise the City Manager's? Is that the system we're operating under. Then if the City Manager doesn't give the raise you can appeal to the Merit Board as you have done? Mr. Edgell: I'm not sure what system we're working under it doesn't say anything in there. Mrs. Henderson: Well we need to find out and if we donlt like the system we're working under change it. Mr. Edgell: I'm not too sure of what form the City is operating under, I'm not too sure if there is a merit pay raise or not. There is a lot of question marks here. (Voice identified as Walter Gross) Could I say something? A lot of these rules were put through before you had a City Manager and it did revert to the Council. Along came the City Manager and he's making the rules. Getting back and not wasteing too much time, I spent many years at Bethlehem Steel and there was never a change made that the employee was not notified the day or the time that the change was made so rumors couldn't start. What happened here tonight I think is a disgrace. A person was entitled to a raise in January and six or seven months later the question comes up. whether they are entitled to it or not. It has been approved by the supervisor and the Council up until the time of the City Manager went along with the merit raise, incentive raise. If there was a change, the City is responsible for notifying employees of any change, on his application, on his merit, on his qualifications or anything they must be notified the day the cha~ge is made. If they don't do it, we have the responsibility to correct it. Mr. Avery: Jack, I'd like to say one more thing. I think we do need to get in black and white, when our employees get a pay raise otherwise we're going to be here in special meetings all the time, one a week. Mrs. Henderson: One thing that does need to be clarified is what kind of system we are operating under. Who has the say so on when the employee gets a raise, the supervisor or is it in the manager's discretion as a part of the jobs and duties of the City Manager. Even if it is in the manager's discretion, anyone can appeal to the Merit Board as Karen has done under this procedure or through the union at the point the contract is drafted. Mr. Rickelman: But that person works for the supervisor and the supervisor knows his job and how can the supervisor rate that person outstanding and then be shot down by the City Manager, unless there is a real financial problem, I can understand that. If the City Manager just out of prejudice gives it to one and not to the rest, that is not fair. o o - 15 - Verbatim minutes ~erit Board Meeting 7/28/82 ~'-- (Voice identified as Sherry Reed) some supervisor evaluated him and somebody else turned his down. Mr. Edgell: That's what we're discussing-there is no set policy. He probably wouldn't like it if recommended him for a raise and Mrs. Rickelman: That is why the supervisor evaluates the employees, they know.... (everyone talking at same time tape not clear) Mr. Avery:There's one other thing that we have to get in before October. The sewer boys and water plant boys go to school, study hard and get different classifications and they get raises with those classifications everywhere else. We did give one of them a raise before it came to what happened tonight but that should be in writing too when they go to Class A or B or however it works out they should get a raise. (Voice identified by transcribing secretary as Jack Sauers) I was the operator at the Wastewater Plant and when I got my license about three years ago I got a $1.05 an hour raise. Another person that works out at the Plant got 18~ an hour this year. Mr. Avery: For the same license? (Voice identified as Darryl Crossland) For the same license. I didn't know if this was the appropriate time to bring it up or not. The reason I got such a low raise was that the City Manager said there was no money. At the same time, his secretary got a hell of a lot larger raise than I did. (Voice identified as Councilman Lodico) I wonder if I could make a conunent please. It seems to me I heard Mr'. Opal talking' about 28 employees. When I was elected to this Council, there was three supervisors in the water and sewer department, those three departments only one employee, maybe two employees, am I correct, Nancy? Mrs. Blazi: I don't think so but I'd have to check.. Councilman Lodico: Each supervisor had one or two employees, it would be easy, now he said he had to okay maybe 28. What do you do when there is only one employee and you're a supervisor and you say he demands a raise or he wants a raise because he is working for me. Mrs. Blazi: I don't think we've ever had a supervisor with just one employee. Councilman Lodico: Two employees? Sewer or Water? Mr. Opal: Sewer has just two employees. Mrs. Rickelman: There's three there now isn't there? Voices: There's three, four there used to be two (not identifiable) Mrs. Blazi: You had a supervisor of the wastewater department, I don't know how far back you are going, but you had that and you had a supervisor.. Councilman Lodico: When we were elected. Mrs. Blazi: You had a supervisor of wastewater if Keven was still here then and you had a supervisor of the water department. Councilman Lodico: Nancy, when Mr. Asting said that no supervisor works there was two always riding around in a'truck, if you remember. Mrs. Blazi: No I don't remember that. Councilman Lodico: Oh come on, it just happened last year. Mrs. Blazi: No, I don't remember, it was two years ago. o () - 16 - Merit Board minutes verbatim 7/28/82 ,,-.. - (Voice identified as Mrs. McCallister) this other employee for a raise. I would like to know who recommended Voice not identified: My supervisor. Mrs. McCallister: No I'm talking about th~ other girl who got a raise after Karen had asked for hers. Mrs. Blazi: You're talking about the City Manager's secretary? Mrs. McCallister: Well who recommended her? Mrs. Blazi: The City Manager, he is her supervisor. Mrs. McCallister: I personally think that the City Manager should be reprimanded for his handling of this case here tonight and further for not being here tonight. Councilman Lodico: lId like to ask another question, Nancy, if I may and then I'm going home. We're talking about another who had a raise and I don't know what she gets. What does she get, do you know? Is it public? Mrs. Blazi: It's all public record. Councilman Lodico: Alright, what is it? Mrs. Blazi: Who are we talking about now. Councilman Lodico: Who got the raise? Mrs. Blazi: Mrs. Koser. I don't have the paperwork here. Councilman Lodico: Does she get as much as any other employee or get less than anybody at City Hall. Mrs. Rickelman: She received a 26% increase.. Councilman Lodico: No, no forget the raise. How much did they start her off at? Mrs. Rickelman: She started at $4.37 and hour and now she makes $5.56. Councilman Lodico: Well, how much do the other employees get including those that work in City Hall. Mrs. Rickelman: There are several that make less than she does. Councilman Lodico: Was she underrated? I understand she gets less than anybody else in their now. Mrs. Rickelman: No, that's wrong. (again several people are talking at the same time, voices and tape now clear. 2a Voices talking - not clear _ Mrs. Blazi: We have a proposed ordinance amending Chapter 13 Personnel of the Edgewater Code of Ordinances to transfer control of the position classification plan from the City Council to the Merit Board, and recognizing the role of the City Manager in Personnel Administration. The City Manager/Personnel Director has requested that the Merit Board review this, make any comments they feel might be necessary. Mr. Edgell: As I understand this what is being changed is crossed out and what's underlined. Mrs. Henderson: or additions. Mrs. Rickelman: What is being changed, Nancy? Mrs. Blazi: In this, what is being crossed out and there are additions that have been made to it. However, the first page starts off - section '0 o - 17 - .---.. --- Merit Board verbatim minutes 7/28/82 Mr. Edgell: Who is requesting this be looked at? The City Manager? He should have been here. Mrs. Rickelman: How long is it? Mrs. Blazi: Five pages. Mrs. Ricke1man: He is just now submitting it? \ Mr. Edgell: We got this last month. When is this due to be adopted? Mrs. Blazi: It hasn't been presented to Council yet, it is' being presented to.you for your comments. Mr. Britain: This seems to be guiding the employees but we know nothing about it. Mrs. Blazi read the proposed ordinance in its entirety noting items being changed or added. (from 2a 4 to 2a 9) Mr. Britain: What are the major changes? Designating the City Manager the powers to do whatever without first going to Merit Board. It says he is allowed to approve raises and so forth. Mrs. Blazi: I would have to compare the old one with the new one. It starts out differently. Ordinance 81~0-16 is an ordinance setting up a merit system for the City of Edgewater, Florida, and providing a declaration of personnel policy, providing for coverage for city employees, providing for organization for personnel administration, providing for removal of members of the Merit Board, providing for a Personnel Officer, providing for adoption of rules' and regulations, providing for amendments of rules and regulations, providing for appointments, repealing all ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith and codifying same as Chapter 13, Code of Ordinances and providing an effective date. Mrs. Henderson: This has already been codified in Chapter 13 of the Code of Ordinances and this is just amending certain sections of Chapter 13. Mr. Bates: It mentions the fact that it 1S doing away with the Personnel Officer and designating the City Manager as the Personnel Officer. Mrs. Rickelman: The whole intent of the Merit Ordinance is to keep it out of the political spectrum. The City employees shouldn't have to worry about their jobs if a new council comes in' or if the City Manager has. got it in for you and that is whole purpose of this now if you want to give him the power to do that we might as well not even have a merit ordinance. Mr. Opal: Specifically on this amendment. There is no reason to amend the ordinance. There is nothing wrong with 81-0-16. The only reason we are amending this ordinance is to give the City Manager the power over the Merit Board because he will be the only ODe responsible to the Council in making reports. What do you need that ordinance for? What is the purpose of it? Just to make the City Manager in there the complete dictator or the master of the whole thing - that is the only reason - outside of that you have everything covered. You don't even need that. We had another ordinance here a short time ago and its in the same phase. They don't need it but it is to make him the complete dictator. In other words it won't mean anything. As far as the City Manager is concerned, I'd wipe him out completely from that ordinance, you 'don't need it as long 'as you've got a merit board and you're responsible to the Council. Otherwise it's going to be bypassed. The City Manager recommends this, he's going to send a memo here - forget"it - you have problems now eliminate them and don't compound" them with some more junk like passing a new ordinance and repealing the other one. Mrs. Henderson: I think you said the Manager 1S the Personnel Director? Mrs. Blazi: That was when Council appointed him Personnel Director, Finance Director, Purchasing Agent. Finance Officer, pardon me, you're Finance Director. o o 18 ~'- Merit Board verbatim minutes 7/28/82 Mr. Bates: We, on the Merit Board can't suggest this. We are not the Council. We are responsible to the Council. Mrs. Rickelman: If you don't recommend it,~ it can't go to the Council. Mr. Edgell: Are we considering this for comments to the City Manager? You said this was not going to the Council. Mrs. Blazi: It has not been presented to council, yet. Mrs. Henderson: One of the duties of the Merit Board under the ordinance that we have now which is Chapter 13 is to at least annually recommend rules and regulations and revisions and amendments to the personnel program. Mrs. Blazi: Somewhat like you did the othe~ night, corning in with a resolution on what is part of the rules and regulations. Mrs. Henderson: And you all did this last month at the Merit Board meeting? Mrs. Blazi: Yes. For everyone's information the Council did approve that change to jury duty. Mr. Britain: Nancy, may I ask you a question. Under the provisions of ordinance you're operating under now, the Merit Board tonight granted Karen a 5% raise retroactive January 1 unless appealed to Council. Appealed to Council by whom? . Mrs. Blazi: If she didn't like what they had said, she could appeal to Council. Mr. Britain: Could the City Manager at this particular point bring it to Council and say she should be denied this. Under the new ordinance he is proposing could he in fact bring it to Council to try to take this power from the board? Mrs. Henderson: Under the new ordinance that he is proposing a change, I don't think, to the section that talks about a grievance to the Merit Board. But it say that a decision - this is the ordinance we're working under now - or recommendation of the Merit Board shall be final unless appealed to the Council which may reverse such decisions or recommendations only by a 4/5th vote of the Council. This doesn't say who _ because it doesn't limit who can appeal - I am presuming, I could be wrong in this, but I am presuming that the Manager has the right to appeal this decision to the City Council since he is the Personnel Director just as much as if the Merit Board had voted against the raise, the employee could appeal to the Council with it. The amendment doesn't change this. Mr. Crossland: Nancy, one last question regarding this token pay raise I got. I would like to contest this. Who would I go to to contest that raise? Mrs. Blazi: Send a letter to the Merit Board requesting a review. Mr. Edgell: There is no set procedure? go through the supervisor? The grievance procedure has to Mrs. Blazi: I'm sorry, you're right. You follow it back through the chain of command. Go to your superviso~ the supervisor would go to the Ci ty Manager and I believe it is, in here for a conference with... Mrs. Rickelman: You have the right, with the supervisor, to talk with the City Manager. Now he denied me my right. He would not talk to me. He said it did not concern me and he didn't need to talk to me about it. Mr. Crossland: The City Manager did not see fit to talk to me at that time. Rather, he talked to Terry Wadsworth, Mike Avery and I think Bill Feeney. I've gone the whole gambit already. There is no sense in me talking to him. So I'll submit ~y letter to the Merit Board. Is that it? o o - 19 - Merit Board verbatim minutes 7/28/82 ~'- Mr. Edgell: If you have already gone that procedure that is the last step. Mr. Crossland: Inasmuch as she's gotten her raise and his secretary got hers, I didn't get very much and I think I should. Mr. Avery: Well, did you accept it? Mr. Crossland: Yes I did, under the stipulation that he told Terry that I would get a bigger raise come October. They did not have the money to pay me any more money at this time. Mr. Kropp: Is that in writing? Mr. Crossland; No it's not. Mr. Opal: Put it in writing and present it to the Merit Board just like Karen did. Mr. Crossland: Okay, good. Mr. Opal: That's the procedure. Mr. Kropp: On this new ordinance, what is the board's pleasure.' Would you like to table this until you have time to study it more and discuss it at one of our workshops or at our next meeting? Mr. Edgell: Well, I got some comments on it I made while I was going through it. Anyplace where it is crossed out for the consideration of the City Council to install and maintain such a plan - there is two of these for consideration. One of them has to do with approve, monitor and evaluate a position classification plan for'all merit system employees. To me~ the City Council should do th~t. That is a major policy right there. The other one is to prepare and recommend for review by the merit board a position classification plan for all merit system employees _ that's almost the same thing but it's in a different section. He's got for consideration of the City Council crossed out for the same reason. Personnel Director and the City Manager - my understanding of the personnel director is somebody who runs a personnel department, comes up with procedures for hiring employees, usually does the negotiating with the union, comes up with plans, does not have any approval over who gets a raise, how much they get or anything like that. It is more of a department head who comes up with personnel procedures and I think the two ought to be separated. The City Manager ought not to be the personnel director. Mrs. Rickelman: As Terry said, the City Manager as personnel director should negotiate the union contracts. As far as I know, Nancy is negotiating all the union contracts for the City and she is only the assistant personnel director. Mrs. Blazi: I was named by Mr. Mitchell as negotiator. Mrs. Rickelman: He 'wants to set up all the policies and call the shots but he won't even attend the meetings. Mr. Edgell: I don't know if anybody else has any comments but I think we ought to table this thing now and maybe have a workshop and go through this thing line by line because the one that we are operating under we found a big gap in it tonight and this one just makes changes knocking out the City Council and making the City Manager Personnel Director which I don't agree with. Mr. Kropp: Will you make that in the form of a motion. Mr. Britain: Since you people are dealing with us, the City employees, that's what the merit board is for, what are these recommendations? Can we be let know what's going on by you people before it even goes to Council so we can have some input and be able to speak instead of having meetings like this here.. Mrs. Rickelman: We didn't even know about this. o o - 20 - Merit Board verbatim minutes 7/28/82 ~'-- Mr. Britain: We know nothing about what is going on in the City that involves us. I've brought this up many times at past meetings, Nancy's been there, oh the City Manager said yeah we'll take care of it, you'll be notified when things are going on. Mrs. Rickelman: We weren't told that there was going to be a change in the merit ordinance. Mr. Britain: I'm waiting. Mr. Edgell:,Let's do this first. new business. I want to address that issue too under Mrs. Blazi: Excuse me, you wanted to make a motion to table this? Mr. Edgell: I want to table this and have workshops to go through it. Mr. Kropp: Do I have a second on that? Mr. Bates: I'll second it. Upon roll call motion CARRIED 5-0. Mrs. Blazi: May I ask that after checking our calendar, if I could get together with Mr. Kropp and pick a couple of days and contact the board members to see if they would be available for a workshop? Is that agreeable to everybody? Mr. Edgell: Now, I've got some new business. Agendas for the meeting. I think we ought to get these at least two days before we have a meeting. Mrs. Blazi: I agree with you. I have to apologize.. Mr. Edgell: I would prefer a week. I know it's not your fault, but to come in here and look at this stack of papers and try to absorb all the information in a very short time, you just can't do it. \ , Mrs. Blazi: We can set a one week date. May I ask if something comes in after that, do you still want to have it put on at the last minute or like some boards if an item comes in too late it goes on the next meeting. Mr. Edgell: What I was thinking along those lines, if we had new items to go on the agenda that the Chairman could bring them up and let us vote on it if we want the new items in. It could be just a small item we could take care of. Take care of those up front even before old business and get those out of the way. Major items like this, there is just no way... Mr. Kropp: Yes, speaking of new business since it seems 99% of the boards in Edgewater meet at 7:00 P.M. in the evening rather than 7:30 would the board members have any objection to this board convening at 7:00 P.M. rather than 7:30? Do we need a roll call on that? Mrs. Blazi: Well, if you want a motion. not be absolutely necessary. If everyone agrees it may Mr. Kropp: We all agree, so be it. Mrs. Blazi: If we have the agenda - and I agree with you it's an excellent idea and I apologize for this tonight for various and sundry reasons, I will see that the agenda is posted in all departments a week in advance. If any of the employees have any questions about what is, going to appear - the agenda merely lists certain things _ if they have any question about something on the agenda they should feel free to contact me and I will be happy to try and explain what is going to the board. Mr. Britain: Possibly a copy of the minutes. Are the minutes typed? Mrs. Blazi: We send copies to the departments and they are supposed to be posted after the meeting. o o - 21 - ~._- Merit Board verbatim minutes 7/28/82 Mr. Britain: I think I've only seen one. Mrs. Blazi: Copies are run and put in supervisor's boxes. Mr. Bates: Just one question on changing the time. Do we have to amend our by-laws? Mrs. Blazi: I was going to ask you that. I have a copy and it says 7:30. Can we just change to 7:00 in the by-laws or do we have to go through some... Mr. Bates: We could make an amendment tonight. Mrs. Blazi: It's not in the charter they meet at 7:30. Mrs. Henderson: What is the procedure for amending by-laws. Mrs. B1azi: It goes to Council to approve amended by-laws. Mrs. Henderson: May be amended from time to time as deemed necessary by the Merit Board and the City Council. Mrs. Blazi: We have to go to Council to request the meeting at 7:00 o'clock? Mrs. Henderson: If you want to be technical about it. Mr. Edgell: We may have to amend the agenda too - it says here an agenda shall be prepared 24 hours prior to the meeting. Mrs. Henderson: That would be a minimum time. At least 24 hours prior to the meeting. Seven days ahead of the meeting is certainly 24 hours ahead of the meeting. So as long as the agenda is available and prepared at a minimum of 24 hours prior to the meeting you are still under your by-law requirements. Mrs. Blazi: That's sort of not less than. Mr. Edgell: Yes, I know it's not less than. , Mrs. Blazi: But you could do it three weeks ahead of time. Mrs. Henderson: Why don't you bring this up Monday night under communication~ Just a question to the Council to approve the change since it is in the by-laws from 7:30 to 7:00. Mr. Edgell: Do we have to take a formal vote on that now? Mrs. Henderson: Well, why don't we. Mr. Edgell: Why don't we make it legal. Mrs. Blazi: Does someone want to make a motion? Mr. Kropp: Make a motion from 7:30 P.M. to 7:00 to change our meeting time. Mr. Bates: I will make a motion to change our meetings from 7:30 to 7:00 P.M. Mr. Avery: I'll second that. Upon roll call motion CARRIED 5-0. Mrs. Blazi: One thing nice we have had unanimous decisions all night long that is very pleasant - we don't get that too often Mr. Kropp: Any other business or comments. Mr. Avery: Jack, in our work shops we are going to discuss when you get pay raises and what determines it so we don't go through this all... o o - 22 - Merit Board verbatim minutes 7/28/82 ,..-.. - , Mr. Edgell: I think it should be in the ordinance. I think there should be something about merit increases in writing because there is nothing now. Mr. Kropp: Possibly by our workshop we may have some word too on the union contract... (not clear) Mr. Edgell: Can I ask you a question? If they sign the contract with the union are we still going to be in existence? Mr. Kropp: We have to be right now because.. Mrs. Blazi: You have some employees not covered by the union. Mr. Edgell: I have a question for you.. If this new ordinance goes. 2b through it lists .. (tape change) ..this is approved there would have to be a new Merit Board. Mrs. Blazi: I don't think so. Mrs. Henderson: What did they do about the Code Enforcement Board? Mrs. Blazi: The new ordinance called for an additional member so they have to vote that in but it does not change... Mrs. Henderson: The present members of the board are remaining on the Code Enforcement Board. Mr. Edgell: Some ordinances do that, they abolish the old one and bring in a new one. Mrs. Henderson: No. This wouldn't do that. Mrs. Blazi: This just reiterates what is already said about the five members, terms of office, etc. Mr. Edgell: I have one comment. What I was talking about before about the City not being represented at this meeting tonight. This makes it hard sometimes to make a decision. I don't know how you' would want to do this but I think it ought to be noted that he was not here and it ought to be transmitted to the Council. If you don't want to sign it, I'll sign it. Mr. Kropp: I'll sign it. Mr. Opal: You've got to make a motion. Adopt it and send a letter. Mr. Edgell: Ok. I'll make a motion that we send a formal letter to the City Council saying that at this Merit Board meeting tonight, the City Manager was not present, not just for the hearing for her raise but also for this, this new ordinance. We could have asked him questions tonight. Mr. Avery: I'll second it Upon roll call motion CARRIED 5-0. Mrs. Rickelman: Does anyone have any idea how soon I'll get my raise and my retroactive pay. Is this going to drag out another three weeks? Mrs. Blazi: I'll type up the letter tomorrow morning that should go via the City Manager to the City Council for Monday night. Mrs. Rickelman: Why does this go to the Council. Mrs. Blazi: No, I guess not - only on an appeal. I will send a letter to the City Manager, I'm sorry. We talked about the Council and an appeal. We'll send the letter to the City Manager and Mr. Kropp will sign it. Mr. Edgell: You can always get it for Christmas shopping. .. o o - 23 - ,.-... -- Mrs. Blazi: I'll expect to see you sometime in City Hall late tomorrow morning. Everyone talking, tape not clear. Mr. Kropp: Any other business or comments? adjourn? Is there a motion to Mr. Edgell: I'll make a motion we adjourn. Mr. Avery: I second it. Meeting was adjourned: 9:15P.M. Minutes transcribed by Nancy Blazi