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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-02-26-minutes-hr-study-sessionCOMMISSIONERS’ MINUTES KITTITAS COUNTY, WASHINGTON ARMORY – MEETING ROOM A REGULAR MEETING HR STUDY SESSION TUESDAY 10:00 AM 2/26/2019 Board members present: Cory Wright, Brett Wachsmith, Laura Osiadacz Others: Mike Stafford, Lisa Young, Jeanne Killgore CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 10:00 AM. JCA TRANSITION PLAN – DISCUSSION/DECISION Juvenile Court Administrator Stafford presented the Board with a succession plan for his position due to his upcoming retirement. He explained that Judge Sparks will appoint Juvenile Probation Counselor Mankus to the position of Juvenile Court Administrator effective 4/1/2019. Director Young pointed out that the new Juvenile Court Administrator will start at the bottom of the wage scale, as will the Juvenile Probation Counselor who is hired to replace her. Administrator Stafford will continue to work through 4/30/2019 in order to train the new Juvenile Court Administrator. The overall staffing change will result in cost savings for the department. The Board approved the transition plan. WAGE SURVEY 2019 – DISCUSSION/DECISION HR Director Young updated the Board on feedback she received after sending out initial information regarding the 2019 wage survey to the Department Heads and Elected Officials. She received a request from an Elected Official to increase the number of Department Heads and Elected Officials on the wage survey committee from one of each to two of each. The Commissioners expressed concern about having too many chiefs in the room, and agreed that one Elected Official and one Department Head is all that is necessary on the committee. Director Young also reported on feedback which stated population based comparisons are not as relevant as cost of living. She suggested that the Board could look at possible alternative methods for selecting comparable agencies instead of similar population. Director Young will run more data on alternate methods and bring her findings back to the Board for review. HR PROJECT UPDATES Director Young provided a brief summary on the status of the HR Services survey that was sent to Department Heads and Elected Officials. She also expressed her interest in providing an abbreviated version of the survey to all County staff. Director Young advised that HR has been busy with department-specific assistance related to recruitment, leaves, and other personnel matters. COMMISSIONERS’ MINUTES KITTITAS COUNTY, WASHINGTON ARMORY – MEETING ROOM A REGULAR MEETING HR STUDY SESSION DISCUSS DAILY RECORD ADVERTISING Director Young provided a brief summary of the County’s recruitment policy and requested that the Board consider removing a clause which states that departments must advertise their open position in the local newspaper. Director Young reported that they have had difficulties with the Daily Record for years. Aside from ongoing billing issues, departments are starting to express concerns regarding the cost of advertising and have stated they do not want to advertise there. Director Young also shared their recent audit of advertising services and believes the services being promised as part of the high cost ads may not actually be occurring. The Board approved the request to remove the clause from the policy. Director Young will present a draft of the updated policy at the next study session with a Resolution to amend the Personnel Policies. OTHER BUSINESS Director Young inquired about the current Board’s philosophy on wages for new employees and adjustments for current employees; she wanted to initiate conversation to clarify when Department Heads/Elected Officials need to receive Board approval to make staffing and wage decisions. Commissioner Wachsmith advised that if a DH/EO needs to make a budget amendment, they need Board approval. Commissioner Osiadacz agreed, stating that as the body ultimately responsible for the budget, the Board needs to know if anytime the budget is affected. Commissioner Wright suggested that the Board put something in writing for the County management to refer to. Commissioner Wright and Director Young will further discuss the issue, create a draft communication piece, and bring it to the Board for review prior to distribution to the Management Team. ADJOURN The meeting was adjourned at 10:40 AM. KITTITAS COUNTY COMMISSIONERS KITTITAS COUNTY, WASHINGTON Lisa Young, HR Director Cory Wright, Chairman COMMISSIONERS’ MINUTES KITTITAS COUNTY, WASHINGTON ARMORY – MEETING ROOM A REGULAR MEETING HR STUDY SESSION