PICKERINGTON CITY COUNCIL

CITY HALL, 100 LOCKVILLE ROAD

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2007

 

COUNCIL WORK SESSION

 

6:30 P.M.

 

1.         CALL TO ORDER:  Mr. Smith opened the Council Work Session at 6:30 P.M., with the following council members present:  Mrs. Riggs, Mr. Fix, Mr. Smith, Mr. Hackworth, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Sabatino, and Mr. Wisniewski.  Others present were:  Judy Gilleland, Lynda Yartin, Linda Fersch, Tanya Nardone, and others. 

 

2.         SCHEDULED MATTERS:

 

            A.        Review and Discussion regarding proposed Personnel Policy and Procedures Manual.  Mrs. Fersch introduced Tanya Nardone of Clemans-Nelson & Associates.  Mrs. Fersch stated we have been working with Clemans-Nelson to get our Employee Manual updated and Ms Nardone will brief on the revisions.  Mrs. Fersch stated the draft has been provided to both unions, AFSCME and FOP, and AFSCME has provided some input that will be handled separately during negotiations.

 

Ms Nardone stated she would go through the summary and then answer any questions anyone might have.  The summary of changes is attached to these minutes as Attachment 1. 

 

Ms Nardone stated in Section 1, the definitions for the old manual have been retained, and some new definitions have been added.  She stated throughout the manual revisions have been made as the result of changes in State and Federal law. 

 

Ms Nardone stated in Section 3.06, the change automatically extends the probationary period for three months if the supervisor has not completed the performance evaluation.  Ms Gilleland stated this did not mean the employee would be automatically appointed to as a permanent employee.  Mr. Sabatino ascertained the final appointment of police officers language in 3.06 was taken out of the manual because it is covered by the contract, and Mrs. Fersch stated this is not a policy change, we have always required an individual to have their certification from the Ohio Peace Officers Training Council. 

 

Ms Nardone stated most of the revisions in Section 4 are as a result of changes in the Fair Labor Standards Act. 

 

Ms Nardone stated in Section 5, Mrs. Fersch was requesting a revision to allow a larger carry over for vacation time.  Mrs. Fersch stated the City currently has eight part-time employees and the recommendation has been to allow part-time employees holiday pay since at times their scheduled work falls on a holiday and they do not get paid for that day.  She stated she was recommending a bank of 40 holiday hours so if a part-time employee is scheduled to work on a holiday when we are closed, they would be paid for that day.  She clarified that this time could not be used at a time other than the holiday. 

 

Ms Nardone stated the authority for the City Manager to grant four hours paid time off for Christmas Eve and New Years Eve has been included as well. 

 

Mr. Hackworth stated he thought the wording in the language about calling in sick was a little confusing because it read as if the City Manager would send a nurse to the employee’s home and he did not think that was what we were going to do.  Ms Nardone stated she thought this meant that a doctor’s note should be provided, or the City Manager could determine that something more was needed.  Ms Gilleland stated she would like to see language in Section A. regarding the procedure to be followed when an employee calls in sick clarified a little and Ms Nardone stated she would take care of that.  

 

Mr. Smith stated his only question dealt the disclaimer at the front of the manual that states the manual is for informational purposes, and he felt it was directive in nature.   Mr. Smith stated he understood the manual could change, but he felt that could be stated without saying it was for informational purposes.  Ms Nardone stated she would change that paragraph. 

 

Ms Gilleland ascertained there were no further questions from Council at this time.  She stated if after Council has reviewed the manual further, if they would forward any comments, suggestions, etc., to her, Mrs. Fersch, or Finance Committee it would be discussed at the next Finance Committee meeting. 

 

3.         ADJOURNMENT.  There being nothing further, the Council Work Session closed at 7:25 P.M., September 18, 2007. 

 

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

 

 

 

______________________________

Lynda D. Yartin, Municipal Clerk

 

ATTEST:

 

 

 

____________________________________

Keith Smith, Council President Pro Tempore