Mayor's Employee Council
May 23, 2007
Meeting Summary
 

Members Attending:  Ron Benson, Carol Boyd, Taft Bradley, Tarrus Crews, Beverly Crockett, Samuel Murrell (substituting for Errol Edingburgh), Gary Fama, Donna Henderson-Braden, Erma Holmes, Debra Louis,  Bill Robillo, Della Sheffield, Michelle Stuart, Stacey Taylor, Tonia Wilks

Members Absent:  Deborah Davis-Williamson, Anthony Smith, David Thorpe

Staff Attending:   Mayor A C Wharton, Jr., Marcia Boyd, CAO's Staff, Gwen McClain, Communications
 

Review of previous Issues:
The concern that all suspensions in one Division were always 2 weeks had been investigated.  This appeared to be an unfounded perception.  From January through May there had been two employees receiving oral reprimands, one employee receiving a written reprimand, two employees receiving 5-day suspensions and one employee receiving a 10 day suspension in the Division.

The concern that in the past a group of employees had been given comp time, and this year that was changed to holidays and the employees lost the accumulated comp time and wanted to get it back had been taken to the Division.  It was determined that there may have been some instances when this had happened because of a change in the employees' reporting status.  A team is being assembled of management and non-management to investigate and solve the issue by July 1. 

The question of how far the non-smoking area should be from a building entrance appears to be generally 25 feet.  This can, however vary and non-smoking area may even include the entire property of a workplace.

Parking continues to be evaluated for County employees.  The additional parking at the Convention Center was used to move employees from four other lots.
 

New Issues/Suggestions:
The Mayor's letter regarding changes to benefits and the meeting scheduled for June 4 was discussed by the group.  The Mayor explained that to maintain benefits as they are currently would require a 22 cent increase in taxes.  There will be attempts to bring the County benefits into line with other organizations to prevent any layoffs. No changes and no tax increase would result in loss of approximately 300 jobs.  He suggested that the employees read the possible changes available on the intranet before the meeting and be prepared with any questions.  Council members were encouraged to attend the meeting and they were informed that their supervisors would be contacted to allow them the time off work to attend. The Mayor suggested that all Division Directors have hard copies of the proposals posted on bulletin boards for those employees without email capabilities. 

An employee had questions related to two resolutions adopted in January 2002: (1) eliminating retiree healthcare benefits for all employees hired after January 1, 2002, and (2) eliminating deferred retiree healthcare benefits for all current and future employees who have fewer than 20 years of service and leave County employment voluntarily or are terminated.  Was Finance aware of the employee exclusions? How were theses percentages factored into the calculations of OBEP liability and what are the percentages?  Response: The questions will need to be referred to Finance for clarification. 

Marcia gave the Council members a recap of what the I-Team is investigating and recommending since many of the ideas had originated from the Council.

• Alternative Work Schedules - The team has benchmarked other government agencies and will be making recommendations based on 4-day work weeks and flex time.
• Telecommunicating - The team has looked at alternatives.  This would require an infrastructure that does not currently exist, but there are a number of areas in which employees basically enter data and this could be done off-site.
• Wellness - There are a number of incentives the team is evaluating related to a full-fledged wellness program for employees.  This includes facilities, rebates, sabbaticals, etc.
• Transportation - The team is looking at transportation and parking needs.
• Family-oriented Activities - The team will be making recommendations related to "family day on the job", providing more family oriented events, participation in sporting events, elder care information and scholarships for employees' children.  They had investigated sick child care and found that it is not available in the city.  They are also evaluating discounts etc. for child care.
• Training - The new manager over training is on the team and is providing a long-term training plan for management and non-management.
• Giving Programs - The team is looking at employees being able to give away annual leave days to help a fellow employee, and contribution funds to help employees in need after a disaster such as a fire, sudden death, etc.
• Other Incentives - The team is looking at how to get more employee discounts from commercial venders, considering reviving the Diversity Council and program, and providing incentives for community service performed by employees.  The team had looked at the possibility of employees being able to advertise services they provide as a side job, but this was dropped after an investigation and ruling by the County Attorney's Office.

The next meeting will be July 24 at 3:00 PM.