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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-HRC-2002-05-22 1 HUMAN RESOURCES COMMITTEE Regular Meeting May 22, 2002 Members Present: Alderperson Peterson, Alderperson Hershey, Alderperson Mack, Alderperson Cogan, Mayor Cohen, Alderperson Blumenthal (arrived at 8:30 p.m.) Members Excused:: Peter Mack Staff Present: Allen Green (Acting Youth Bureau Director), Thys VanCort (Planning Director), Steve Thayer (Deputy Controller), Schelley Michell-Nunn (HR Director), Leslie Moskowitz (Mgr of OD), Denise Malone (Administrative Secretary) Chairperson Peterson called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. A. Agenda Review, Approval of Minutes and Announcements The Committee reviewed the minutes from the March meeting. Alderperson Cogan made a motion to approve the minutes from the March 25, 2002 meeting. Seconded by Alderperson Hershey. Motion carried 4-0. B. Employee Comments & Common Council Response. None. C. Chairperson's Report. None. D. Sub-Committee Updates 1. City Administration The Sub-Committee reviewed the City Administrator job description created by Human Resource Director Michell-Nunn. Changes from the Sub-Committee were given to Ms. Michell-Nunn, who will revise the job description. The revised job description will be distributed to the Sub-Committee and Alderperson Peterson. • Human Resources Committee May 22, 2002 Page 2 The Committee discussed the timeline for the hiring of the City Administrator. Alderperson Hershey stated that there are several decisions that would have to be made about the nature of this position. The decisions would be made by either the Human Resources Committee or by Common Council. Mayor Cohen stated that based on what the Sub-Committee is currently working on a referendum would be required, which would have to go to the voters in November. Mr. Cohen stated that a search is not a possibility until approval has been received from the voters on the changes. This would cause a delay of at least four (4) months not to mention whether the City could financially fund such a position. 2. Department Head/Common Council Retreat Alderperson Peterson stated that department heads and Common Council will have a Retreat on Friday - May 31, 2002 from 1:00 p.m. - 6:00 .m. Judy Saul and Nicholas Wharton will facilitate the Retreat. An agenda and a format for the Retreat have been established. E. Personnel Items 1. Youth Bureau a. Request to Reduce Hours of Youth Program Coordinator The Youth Bureau requested to amend the Personnel Roster by reducing the hours of Youth Program Coordinator Eloise Barrett from 35 hours per week to 28 hours per week from June 30, 2002 to August 31, 2002. After discussion, Alderperson Hershey made a motion to approve the request. Seconded by Alderperson Cogan. Motion carried 4-0. 2. Planning Department a. Request to Increase Hours of Planner II The Planning Department requested to amend the Personnel Roster by increasing the hours of Planner II Jennifer Kusznir from 20 hours per week to 35 hours per week. After discussion, Alderperson Hershey made a motion Human Resources Committee May 22, 2002 Page 3 to approve the request. Seconded by Alderperson Cogan. Motion carried 4- 0. F. Directors' Report a. Employee Picnic HR Director Michell-Nunn mentioned that the Employee Picnic would be held in September 2002. The picnic is a half-day event. The afternoon starts with lunch after which employees are recognized for their years of service (i.e. 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, etc.) The recipient of the Annual Recognition Award would be announced. The afternoon winds down with employees participating in different activities (i.e. baseball, volleyball, rides on the fire truck ladder, etc.). The HR Department may have a Health Fair at this year's picnic. b. Departmental Demographics The Committee reviewed and discussed the departmental demographics. Chairperson Peterson asked how this compares to the County's population. Ms. Michell-Nunn stated that the demographics are available but they include the Cornell and Ithaca College population. Ms. Michell-Nunn stated that Cornell University is working to extract the student population from the data so that the departmental demographics could be compared with the City of Ithaca's demographics. Ms. Michell-Nunn will also provide previous years' statistics for comparison. The Committee discussed ways to diversify the workforce. Ms. Michell-Nunn stated there is a need to educate the community about positions within the City of Ithaca (i.e. Police Officer, Firefighter, etc.) at an earlier age and developing and working with youth to get their interest. Ms. Michell-Nunn stated that the civil service exam could pose a problem so, offering civil service exam prep test could help. c. Affirmative Action Advisory Committee The next meeting of the Affirmative Action Advisory Committee is Friday - June 14, 2002. Alderperson Blumenthal will be attending this meeting. Human Resources Committee May 22, 2002 Page 4 G. Mayor's Report a. Unacceptable Behaviors Mayor Cohen mentioned that the Administrative Support staff asked that the Unacceptable Behavior Statement have a heading. After discussion with City Clerk Julie Holcomb and City Chamberlain Debra Parsons, Mayor Cohen stated that a more positive heading was decided on "Respect for Others". b. Police Sergeant Exam Alderperson Cogan asked about the status of the Police Sergeant Exam. Mayor Cohen stated that he requested an open competitive Police Sergeant exam. The Civil Service Commission approved his request. The reason for his request was to get a more diverse pool of candidates and to have the option to call for a City list (which cannot be done with a promotional list.) Mayor Cohen stated that he has since withdrawn his request: the Civil Service Commission has agreed. The reason for his request to withdraw the open competitive Police Sergeant exam comes from a recently (within the past 12-14 months) passed state law, which was applicable to this situation. There is a section in the law that deals with Police Officer (or anyone below the rank of Deputy Chief). The law states that for open competitive exams there is an age maximum of 35 years old. There are Ithaca Police Officers who would be excluded from this exam had his original request stood. HR Director Michell-Nunn stated that the Civil Service Commission also knew that the existing Police Sergeant promotional list would stay in effect until it had expired. The open competitive list could not have been accessed until the expiration of the promotional list causing no harm to those employees on the promotional list. H. New Business. None. Human Resources Committee May 22, 2002 Page 5 I. Old Business 1. Position Review Chairperson Peterson stated that Mayor Cohen asked this Committee to consider whether Common Council members should be involved in a formal process for reviewing and filling vacancies. Mayor Cohen stated that the way the resolution is written there is Common Council involvement in the process but he wants to ensure Council members are comfortable with the process that the Human Resources Committee is to be consulted when vacancies are not to be filled. Mayor Cohen stated that he is unclear on the language of what the Human Resources Committee would review. Review just means look at or comment on. The Committee discussed the Mayor's concerns. Does Common Council want to participate on the Position Review Committee? If a vacancy is not to be filled, who would make the final decisions? Position Review Committee? Human Resources Committee? Common Council? After discussion, Alderperson Blumenthal suggested that alternate resolutions be brought to the next meeting for the different scenarios for further discussion. Alderperson Hershey will draft the options. One scenario is that the Position Review Committee would make the final decisions to not fill vacant positions and only make reports to the Human Resources Committee about their actions. The second scenario is that the Position Review Committee would make recommendations to not fill vacant positions to the Human Resources Committee and the Human Resources Committee would make the final decision to not fill vacant positions with reports to Common Council. The third scenario is that recommendations to not fill vacant positions would be made to Common Council and Common Council would make the final decision to not fill vacant positions. J. Human Resources Committee Meeting - June 2002 The Human Resources Committee meeting for June will be held on Monday - June 24, 2002 at 7:30 p.m. in the Common Council Chambers. Human Resources Committee May 22, 2002 Page 6 K. Adjournment On a motion by Alderperson Hershey, the meeting was adjourned at 9:08 p.m.