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Home My WebLink About11-18-14`Minutes of the Town Council meeting held November 18, 2014, at 5:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Municipal Building at 42 First Street, NW, Pulaski, Virginia. Present were: Jeffrey S. Worrell, Mayor Council: Heather L. Steele, Gregory C. East, David L. Clark, H. M. Kidd, Lane R. Penn (arrived at 6:03 p.m.), James A. Radcliffe Staff: Shawn Utt, Town Manager David Warburton, Town Attorney Patricia Cruise, Clerk of Council David Quesenberry, Assistant to the Town Manager Bill Pedigo, Town Engineer Bill Webb, Fire Chief Gary Roche, Police Chief Andy Anderson, Lieutenant, Police Department Anthony Meredith, Lieutenant, Police Department Pam Witten, Finance Director Dana Bishop, Accounts Payable Clerk Suellen Palmer, Human Resources Dept. Angela Viers, Administrative Secretary, Police Department Jerry Hughes, Fire Department Others: Amy Lewis Joseph Goodman Gary Dillon Mike Williams, Press Melinda Williams, Press Mayor Worrell called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. Following roll call, the Mayor welcomed all of the visitors to the meeting. He advised that the first item for consideration was the Consent Agenda. Councilman Kidd moved to adopt the Consent Agenda consisting of the Council minutes of the October 21st, 2014 meeting as written. Councilman Clark seconded the motion and carried on voice vote. The next item on the agenda was Pulaski Police Accreditation presentation by the Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission (VLEPSC). Gary Dillon, the Program Manager for Virginia's Law Enforcement Accreditation program addressed Council. He extended greetings from the Secretary of Public Safety and their Director, Fran Ecker. He congratulated the Pulaski Police Department for achieving their third accreditation and presented the official accreditation certificate to Chief Roche. Mayor Worrell thanked Mr. Dillon for traveling to the Town to present the accreditation. He commented that it was very difficult to achieve accreditation and congratulated the Police Department on their work. The next item on the agenda was the Employee of the Month award. Mayor Worrell introduced Lieutenant Andy Anderson as the November Employee of the Month. He presented Lieutenant Anderson with a framed award and congratulated him. He read the Press Release aloud and advised that in addition to receiving the award, Lieutenant Anderson would receive an extra paid day off from work and be eligible for the Employee of the Year Award at the end of the year. Mayor Worrell moved on to Public Finance. The first item was water/sewer billing related to pools. November 18, 2014/Page 1 of 3 Mr. Utt advised that a resident had contacted him with concerns over the current policy of requiring the payment of sewer fees for water that is used to fill a private pool. He noted that in 2010, Council voted to eliminate that sewer charge exemption. He explained that prior to that time, citizens were not charged a sewer fee for water used to fill a private pool because the water did not enter the sewer system. The resident asked that this exemption be reinstituted. He advised that there were meters that could be acquired that could attach to the hose and register water going through the meter. That amount could then be subtracted from the sewer charges. He advised that staff could also go out and take a meter reading prior to a citizen filling their pool and then go back after the pool was filled and take another meter reading in order to determine what credit should be given. He asked for Council's input. Following discussion, staff was directed to research the special meters that registered water going through the hose and return to Council with that information. The next item on the agenda was Human Resources. Mr. Utt advised that the Town's Employee Personnel manual spells out the recognition awards for employees as they reach certain milestones in service at five year intervals. He added that several years ago, staff realized that some of the items on the list weren't keeping the same value comparisons. For instance, the fifteen year award of a pen and pencil set had become more expensive than the twenty year award. At that time, the Town Manager and staff decided to change the employee awards to make them more equitable. The expectation was that the change would be ratified by Council at their next meeting, but failed to include it for a variety of reasons. He asked that Council ratify the following Years of Service awards: 5 years of service - 10years of service - 15years of service - 20 years of service - 25 years of service - 30 years of service - 35 years of service - 40 years of service - Certificate of appreciation Plaque Plaque and $50 prepaid Visa/Mastercard Plaque and $100 prepaid Visa/Mastercard Acrylic award and $150 prepaid Visa/Mastercard Acrylic award and $175 prepaid Visa/Mastercard Acrylic award and $200 prepaid Visa/Mastercard Acrylic award and $250 prepaid Visa/Mastercard Councilman Clark moved to direct staff to prepare a Resolution updating the Employee Personnel manual regarding the Employee Awards program. Councilman East seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: Heather L. Steele -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye David L. Clark -Aye H. M. Kidd -Aye James A. Radcliffe -Aye Lane R. Penn -Aye Mayor Worrell moved on to annual leave and comp time accruals. Mr. Utt advised that the Town's employee leave accruals now show up on the financial audit as a long-term liability, which affects the Town's borrowing ability. He added that due to the Town's past practice as related to leave accruals, the accumulated hours were above the maximum hours allowed. He advised that he and staff had been working to formulate a plan that was fair to employees, but also get the accruals under control and back below the maximum levels. He recommended the following as a way to return the levels to what was stated in the Employee Personnel manual: First seven months - 25% reduction in excess levels 8-15 months - 50% reduction in excess levels 16-23 months - 75% reduction in excess levels By the end of 30 months - 100% reduction in excess levels November 18, 2014/Page 2 of 3 Additionally, Mr. Utt advised that another problem was the issue of the discrepancy between leave accruals depending on the "type of employee". He noted that currently a 40 hour a week employee accrued 96 hours annually, while a shift worker with the Fire Department earned 192 hours annually. He recommended revising the Town's leave accrual policy by making all employees leave accrual in all departments the same. These accruals would be the same for vacation and sick leave with no maximum accrual limits for sick leave: Town Employee Years of Service 0-5 years 6-10 years 11-15 years Over 15 years Hours Earned Per Month 8 10 12 14 Hours Earned Per Year 96 120 144 168 Max Hours Accumulated 192 240 288 336 He suggested that the starting date for implementation be as soon as possible, but no later than January 1St 2015. Following extensive discussion, Councilman East moved to direct staff to prepare a Resolution amending the Personnel policy regarding Annual Leave time accruals as suggested by the Town Manager. Councilman Penn seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: Heather L. Steele -Aye H. M. Kidd -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye James A. Radcliffe -Aye David L. Clark -Aye Lane R. Penn -Aye Mayor Worrell moved on to Round Table Discussion. There being no comments from Council, Mayor Worrell moved on to Closed Session. At 5:55 p.m., Councilman Clark moved to enter into Closed Session under Virginia Code 2.2-3711 (A-1 ), discussion for consideration of employment, assignment, appointment, promotion, performance, demotion, salaries, disciplining, or resignation of public officers, appointees or employees, regarding the Town Manager evaluation; and (A-3), discussion for consideration of the disposition or acquisition of publicly held property regarding Loving Field. Councilman Penn seconded the motion and carried on the following recorded vote: Heather L. Steele -Aye H. M. Kidd -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye James A. Radcliffe -Aye David L. Clark -Aye Lane R. Penn -Aye At 6:22 p.m., Council returned from Closed Session and adopted the Certification Resolution on motion by Councilman Clark, seconded by Councilman East and carried on the following recorded vote: Heather L. Steele -Aye Gregory C. East -Aye David L. Clark -Aye H. M. Kidd -Aye James A. Radcliffe -Aye Lane R. Penn -Aye At 6:23 p.m., there being no further business, Councilman East moved to adjourn, seconded by Councilman Clark and so carried. Approved: ~ ~ J rey S. Worrell, Mayor November 18, 2014/Page 3 of 3