Members Attending: Carol Boyd, Taft Bradley. Tarrus Crew, Beverly Crockett, Deborah Davis-Williamson, Errol Edingburgh, Gary Fama, Donna Henderson-Braden, Erma Holmes, Debra Louis, Bill Robilio, Della Sheffield, Anthony Smith, Stacy Taylor, David Thorpe, Tonia Wright
 
Members Absent: Ron Benson, Michelle Stuart
 
Staff & Guests Attending: Mayor AC Wharton, Jr., John Fowlkes, CAO, Marcia Boyd, CAO's Staff, Gwen McCain, Communications, Mike Swift, Finance

Members decided that minutes should reflect a summary of the discussions and not include names of individuals.  Minutes should also be posted on the intranet.  At some point the system could be set-up so that other employees could comment on the discussions through forums

Members reviewed the handout listing the issues/suggestions made at the last meeting and their status.  Information included:

• The Mayor had attended four receptions honoring the top performers for 2004-05 and will be visiting more work sites during the next few months.
• Human Resources is forming a committee to investigate the feasibility of a four-day work week in specific areas.
• Revitalization of the Suggestion Program or some other means of getting employee input via the intranet will be further investigated.
• Flu shots were available to employees at Health Loop clinics this year and additional investigation is needed to determine how employee can use the clinics on a routine basis.
• Catherine Green, Health Policy, is heading a team of employees throughout the county working on possible wellness programs that will include use of fitness facilities.
• Complimentary tickets to local events were included as door prizes at the Mayor’s Holiday Celebration.  Additional investigation is needed to determine how there could be a fair distribution of tickets for employee incentives.
• The Mayor's Holiday Celebration was held December 4 at the Agricenter for Mayor's Administration employees and their families.  There are plans to have a spring event, i.e. picnic, that will include all Shelby County employees and their families within the Mayor's administration and Elected Officials offices

Mike Swift was invited to explain the new regulation by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board that will require Shelby County to record liability for retirees' life and health insurance.  Currently we fund these benefits as they are earned, but beginning in fiscal year 2008, the County will begin funding the benefits similar to the way we accumulate money in the pension fund.  This means money will be diverted to the fund that could be used for other programs, salaries, etc.  This brought on additional discussion on the pension fund and how it works.  Currently there is $856 million in the fund (meaning it is 114% funded).  There is a separate Retirement Board that does not report to the County Commissioners or any Elected Officials.  This keeps your money safely in a trust fund that cannot be tapped into to pay for other programs and activities.

Since "pay-out" of 75 days of sick leave at retirement (for employees at grade 23 or lower) was an issue, one of the members had researched how other agencies handle the problem.  In North Carolina employees don’t get cash payments for sick leave, but rather the days are added to their retirement.  It was suggested that Shelby County look into how other government agencies handle sick leave accumulation at retirement.  It was pointed out that the Federal government does not allow any pay-out or carryover of sick days.

There was discussion on companies that "buy-out" employees to encourage early retirement.  Obviously Shelby County does not have the funding available to implement this type of program, but it brought on discussion of what will happen with the new Retirement C plan in the next five years.  There was a general belief that several employees will leave after five years of vesting in the program.  Because we could lose experienced and knowledgeable employees, Administration is requesting that departments begin succession planning now.  This would prepare employees to step into key roles as others retire, thus preventing any decrease in services.

There was a lengthy discussion about the future of Head Start.  There were concerns by employees that current schools will be closed or administered by delegate agencies.  The Mayor explained that a request for proposals (RFP) had been issued to local agencies such as the University of Memphis, YMCA, and Primary Prep to open schools.  Programs would be required to maintain and increase salaries and improve outcomes related to early childhood development.  The Federal government continues to cut funding to Head Start and one way that we can ensure that Shelby County children get the advantages of early childhood development is to provide services from additional agencies.  Another advantage is that other local agencies can obtain funds from local foundations.  These are funds that would not be available to Shelby County government.  No contracts have been signed or schools identified, but there will likely be changes.  The Mayor assured the employee that the Head Start Shelby County employees will not be forgotten in any negotiations.  Attempts will be made to improve communications with the Head Start employees as plans progress.

There was also discussion on the roles of the various employees at Head Start and how the schools work in the community.  For example, the family services advocates not only recruit the children, they assess the entire family and address any needs that stand in the way of children learning.  Other ways we are improving the quality of child care is though the "Ready Set Grow" program. Thirty-five Head Start teachers are being funded to work on their masters in childhood development.  Another initiative of the Mayor's is Imagination Library.  This is a program, funded by private donors, that puts books into the hands of children every month.

Members spent time discussing the needs for training in basic Spanish.  This appears to be a problem throughout County government from the Health Department, Pretrial, Correction Center and other areas.  One suggestion was to use the intranet with tutorials online.  Although training classes were provided at the Correction Center, much of the Spanish spoken by the gang members is "broken Spanish" and isn’t always included in the basic classes.  The issue of Spanish training will be investigated to determine the best method of providing employee training that would be the most efficient and effective. 

There was a suggestion that child care be provided for employees and fees could be deducted from pay checks.  There was a general consensus that most supervisors are sensitive to employees needs when it comes to taking care of a sick child, etc.  The Mayor talked about wanting Shelby County government to be a "family-friendly" place to work.  One suggestion was to benchmark with local companies that have received national awards for their family-friendly operations, i.e. First Tennessee and FedEx.  Everyone agreed that it is hard to write policies on what is often just using common sense by the supervisor on how to treat employees. 

It was suggested that more training opportunities be offered to employees.  This could be through the County Training Center, or by sending employee to outside training or bringing some outside training in for the employees.  One suggestion was to use SCORE, an organization of retired executives to mentor managers.

A specific suggestion related to Air Pollution working with EPA on investigating and fining local companies.  This would allow the County to receive half of the fines collected.  Currently that money is being lost, because Shelby County can't sign a confidentiality agreement with EPA.  This will take some additional investigation because of the legal ramifications.

Recognition of top performers was discussed.  Currently in the Mayor's Administration, the employees scoring in the top 10% on their performance appraisals are recognized as Top Performers.  One member felt that this can be a de-motivator to other employees not recognized.  Others believe this is a way to make those employees not recognized want to do better and can serve as a motivator.  It was pointed out there needs to be better consistency in the way supervisors evaluate.  For example, some supervisors grade too easily and set goals and SQIs that are too easy to obtain while others grade realistically and set challenging goals and SQIs. 

The Mayor ended the session by thanking the employees for the work they do on a daily basis.  When we see what happened to cities like New Orleans, we realize how important it is to maintain a surplus of funds.  It is through the hard work of the employees that Shelby County has been able to increase the "rainy day fund."

The next meeting will be scheduled in late February or early March.