STAFF COUNCIL MEETING
Thursday, December 11, 2003
2:00 p.m., Chappell 110
Present: Rose Murner (presiding), Neil Jones, Carol Brown, Ann Portwood, Kathy Hill, Susan Demmon, Cindy Potts, Mike Augustine, Paula Jefferson, Sheryl Snow, and Teri Hollar. Absent: Kim Ireland, Jennifer Brooker, and John Stone.
Call to Order. Rose Murner called the meeting to order at 2:02 p.m.
Approval of Minutes. A motion was made, seconded, and approved to accept the minutes of the September meeting as written.
Updates from:
Benefits Fair. The Benefits Fair was successful, and we have heard several positive comments about it. The turnout for staff to man the Staff Council table was not as good as it has been in the past, and we think the fact that registration was going on may have been the reason for that.
Brown Bag Lunch. There were eight in attendance for the safety presentation by Michelle Rowland at the recent brown bag lunch. The first date set for the physical component of the personal safety for women presentation didn't work out, so it will be rescheduled for later.
Sick Leave Program. Rose shared more information about implementing the staff sick leave program. The University of Georgia has shared its guidelines with us, and Bonnie Sims and Quintus Sibley are looking over the document. The sick leave program would allow an employee to donate his/her sick leave hours to another employee who has exhausted his/her own leave hours because of a catastrophic illness. The leave cannot be used for an employee out with a family member. It can only be used for the employee him/herself and must be used for a life or death situation. The purpose of the program will be to help employees bridge the gap between their sick leave and the time their insurance or long term disability picks up.
The wording in the UGA policy states that an employee would have to seek hours from other individuals him/herself. Bonnie would like to see that wording changed to allow another employee to solicit hours on behalf of the sick employee.
Another stipulation would allow supervisors to donate to their employees, but their employees cannot donate to them. There is also a limit on the number of hours an employee can request in a year, and the employee must have exhausted all of his/her available sick leave or be able to prove that the illness will exhaust the time they have. Employees may make up to three applications for leave within the calendar year and can request up to 160 hours at one time. The employee's regular sick leave accrues while he/she is out on leave.
Once Bonnie and Quintus have looked over the document and made their revisions, the document will come back before Staff Council for review. After our review and approval, it will go to University Senate for consideration at the monthly meeting.
Excellence Award Ceremony. Ann Portwood updated the group on the success of the fall ceremony and thanked everyone on the committee for their hard work and help in making the ceremony a successful one.
Plaque for Dr. Brown. Thanks to Neil Jones, Staff Council has a nice plaque for Interim President Dr. David Brown. We will present the plaque to him at his reception later on this afternoon. The plaque is a way for us to express our appreciation to him for all he has done for Staff Council and GCSU. Dr. Brown's last day on campus is December 31. The new president, Dr. Dorothy Leland, will assume her post on January 2, 2004.
Forum for B-Code Presentation. Bonnie will host a forum on December 17 at 2:00 in A&S 2-70 to give interested employees an update on the newly revised B Codes. There was some discussion about whether or not room 2-70 would be big enough for the forum and if the 2:00 start time would work. Ann will check on the availability of the A&S Auditorium and Rose will check with Bonnie to see if we need an earlier start time. Rose will make an announcement when the final forum details are worked out.
Feedback on Staff Surveys. Feedback forms are available for staff use. We do not receive many feedback forms in the suggestion boxes or anonymously. Staff are encouraged to provide feedback, and there are ample opportunities provided to do so. All feedback items are answered/addressed in the Q&A section on the Staff Council web site. It is the duty of delegates to relay information and provide feedback to the staff they represent.
Message from Mitch Clarke. Dr. Leland met with Staff Council officers when she was on campus earlier this month, and she encouraged us to keep in touch with her. Mitch told us again that Dr. Leland is accessible between now and January 2 when she officially assumes her new position. If we have any issues or concerns, all we need to do is let Mitch know, and he will get the information to her. Also, we are to feel free to schedule a meeting with her whenever we'd like.
Posting Staff Vacancies on Official Listserv. A concern was raised about a recent staff vacancy that couldn't be posted on the official lists. Even though the vacancy was posted on the Human Resources web site, the supervisor wanted to post the vacancy on e-mail to encourage on-campus applicants and was told that was not possible. Rose will check into this and get back to us.
New Business.
Rose expressed her thanks to Dr. Brown for keeping her informed on important issues. He is very good at sharing information with her that she can pass on to us.
One delegate brought forth concerns from her area that Staff Council has a reputation of not following through on issues that arise. She says some staff feel that, if an item is not included in the minutes, we didn't discuss it at our meeting. One particular item she mentioned was the pay plan study. She feels the pay plan study needs to be an agenda item at each Staff Council meeting. She wants staff to be aware that we are bringing it up, and we are talking about it.
The pay plan study was a request from Staff Council, but it actually came from the president. A committee was formed, charged, and given a beginning and ending date for their work. When the committee had successfully completed its work, it was disbanded. If there are concerns about the committee's work now, who would address these concerns? Staff Council addresses the issue at every possible chance, and further inquiries/concerns would have to be taken to the president.
There was a general feeling from some staff on campus that Dr. DePaolo didn't share enough information on the ongoing study and that the new president might not know what was going on with it. At every forum Dr. DePaolo hosted where the question about the study was brought up, she always responded that the study was still on the front burner, that there were no funds available to implement it, and that the data was being aged by Bonnie so that, if and when money to implement the pay plan became available, the figures would be correct. The study found that it would take $5 million for staff salaries to be brought up to where they need to be.
Staff Council officers met with each presidential candidate during the interview process, and the pay plan study was brought forth at each meeting. The officers also met with Dr. Leland when she was on campus in early December, and the issue was brought up (again) with her. Dr. Leland was very interested in the study and listened very intently to what we had to say about it and our concerns with the lack of funding to implement it. She told the group that she would have to read the background information on the study in order to acquaint herself with it and that she understood we wanted to keep the issue alive. She also agrees that we need to address the study. There were no minutes of these meetings with the candidates or with Dr. Leland, but the meetings were advertised, so staff who were interested should have been aware that we did have the chance to have these meetings. Also, staff delegates solicited questions from staff who wanted certain questions asked or issues addressed with the candidates, and the officers asked the same questions of each candidate. The pay plan study was always brought up.
Staff Council has a meeting with the president at the beginning of each year. At this meeting, we talk about our goals and initiatives for the upcoming year, and the pay plan study is always discussed at this start-up meeting.
As a result of these discussions, a motion was made, seconded, and approved to keep the pay plan study as an agenda item at each Staff Council meeting. Also as a result of these discussions, a motion was made, seconded, and approved to not create a pay study committee.
Also, Staff Council meeting minutes are posted on the official minutes site. There are feedback forms available at different locations on campus, anonymous feedback is provided, delegates' contact information is available, and agenda items are solicited before each meeting. Information is readily available about Staff Council meetings, and it is each delegate's job to relay information to the areas they represent. All employees on campus have e-mail accounts and access to e-mail. Staff Council information is readily available for all who choose to access it.
There was another concern raised about our rewritten job descriptions. When the consultant was here conducting the pay plan study, each staff employee had to submit current job descriptions as part of the study. Some of these job descriptions are not the same across the board. For example, someone with the title of administrative assistant in one department may have completely different job responsibilities than someone with the same title in a different department. These job descriptions are generalized and can be adapted specifically. We may have to make other adjustments with the study, but we can't know until we see the entire completed product. Again, this will be available when funding becomes available to implement the study.
Another delegate raised the issue of quarterly meetings. She said staff in her area feel quarterly meetings are not enough, that we should meet more often. Our bylaws call for quarterly meetings and called meetings as needed. Staff Council is constantly working throughout the year, not just at quarterly meetings. After some discussion about meeting more often, a motion was made, seconded, and approved to keep the meetings as they are, on a quarterly basis, with called meetings as needed.
Some of our delegates have participated in the reading program for children at the local headstart. Carol Brown has the contact information for anyone who wishes to go read to these children. Books are provided, or you can bring your own. This is a great way to give back to our community and enjoy spending time with these appreciative children. The teachers at headstart prefer mornings, but other times are available for interested readers. Some in the community feel the university has distanced itself from them, and this is a great way to reach out to our community.
A delegate wondered why we don't have more committees on Staff Council. We are not divided into committees now. The only two we have are the Nominations Committee and the Staff Development and Communications Committee. We form committees as needed, but we don't keep them permanently. For example, a committee was formed to draft guidelines governing the use of staff development funds. When the guidelines were drafted, the committee was disbanded with the understanding that it could be reconvened as needed. Subcommittees can be formed at any time the delegates feel they are needed. Staff Council delegates cannot solicit non-delegates to serve on committees, because our bylaws stipulate there must be no fewer than three full voting members on a committee. A motion was made, seconded, and approved to table the committee discussion until the next meeting.
On a related note, we are the victims of our own success as far as our staff development funds are concerned. Last year, there was such a huge demand for funding that we had to form the committee to draft the guidelines (as mentioned above). However, this year there have not been as many requests for development funds, so we still have a good portion of funds left. We would like to encourage staff to apply for these funds. A motion was made, seconded, and approved to relax the rules regarding the guidelines until such a time as there is a need to put the restrictions back in place. If staff see a course for which they would like to apply for staff development funds, they are to send their paperwork to Kim Ireland at CBX 018. Rose will let Kim know about the relaxed guidelines concerning these funds. If there are any problems with these requests, a delegate or Kim will contact the employee and let them know what they need to do. Ann Portwood and Susan Demmon volunteered to do some research on available seminars (Fred Pryor, Career Track, and GCSU Continuing Education courses) in the surrounding areas and forward that information (via e-mail to announce) after the holiday break.
Dr. Brown wondered why new staff pictures are not posted on the main information page the way new faculty pictures are. Neil Jones will talk to Bonnie about this. New staff have an orientation the 3rd Wednesday of each month, so Tim Vacula may be available to take pictures for those new staff would like to have their pictures posted.
A motion was made, seconded, and approved to table a discussion about priority jobs for GCSU employees until the next meeting. Paula Jefferson will send the information to Rose for inclusion on the next agenda.
The meeting was adjourned at 3:40 p.m. Proposed meeting dates for the upcoming year are: March 18, May 20, and June 17. All meetings will be at 2:00 p.m. in Chappell 110 unless otherwise noted. Other meetings may be added as needed.