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Home My WebLink AboutBoard of Commissioners - Minutes - 04/17/2003I • MINUTES OF THE OTTER TAIL COUNTY LABOR/MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE Otter Tail County Courthouse Commissioners' Room, Floor 1-B Thursday, April 17, 2003 1:00 p.m. Call to Order Did not acquire a quorum of Labor members, but present committee members held meeting of information sharing. Attendance: Brian Armstrong, Tim Brand, Rick Denzel, John Dinsmore, Sue Ewy, David Hauser, Barb Jongeling, Chuck Kitzman, Cheryl Kottom, Larry Krohn, Mick McCormick, Dennis Mosher, Sydney Nelson, Wayne Roisum, Heather Severson, Jodi Wentland, and Sharon Wicklund. Excused Absence: Richard Akerman, Tonya Anderson, Dwight Serven, Carol Brause, Doug Cannell, Chuck Grotte, Don Larson, Barbara Molter, Anne Mueller, Kirsten Olson, Wayne Stein, and James Stewart. Unexcused Absence: None. Review of Minutes Committee members reviewed as presented, the minutes of March 20, 2003. • Review of Agenda Committee members reviewed as presented, the agenda of April 17, 2003. Discussion Items A. Miscellaneous: The following items were discussed: • Christmas Eve Half-Day Holiday-Christmas Eve is not a state mandated Holiday, this half-day is given to us by the Commissioners. • Employee Wage Freeze-If the legislature were to dictate a wage freeze for all county employees, that would include all union and non-union employees. • New Member Orientation in July-Sue Ewy and Larry Krohn will review the training for new members, which will be scheduled in July with Lori Morrell who is with the Bureau of Mediation. Public Health and Human Services Labor/Management Updates The Public Health Labor/Management Committee has been working on: • Continuing education-reviewing the Personnel Rules on this issue. • Still looking at Public Health budget cuts. The Human Services Labor/Management Committee has been working on: • Tom Jensen, Human Services Supervisor is retiring May 30, 2003. He has worked 13 years as an Otter Tail County employee and 45 total years of Human Services experience. • Cell Phone Stipend Funded Proposal • Car Mileage Data from 2001 and 2002 • Interest Based Problem Solving Approach • Continuing Education A Next Meeting ~he discussion items for the May agenda include: • Insurance Subcommittee Update • Changing the Labor/Management Committee Charter-Meeting Once Every Two Months? • New Member Orientation Subcommittee July Update • Parking Lot Issue Labor/Management Committee Minutes April 17, 2003 · Adjournment · Q At 2:00 p.m., Brian Armstrong declared the meeting of the Otter Tail County Labor/Management Committee adjourned until 1 :00 p.m. on Thursday, May 15, 2003 . ..; Attachment 0 0 I • • Otter Tail County Human Services LMC Workgroup Topic: Cell Phone Stipend Funded Proposal Current Cell Phone Services Prooosed Cell Phone Services How assigned Attached to vehicles or By Classification & Duties assigned to positions and Responsibilities: Intake-Specialty: 8 Child Services: 9 Adult Services: 13 CD Counselors: 3 Fraud Invest.: 1 Mgmt: 4. SUBTOTAL: 38 Number of "agency pool' cell 3 4 ohones (3 FF. 1 NYM) Number of "bag" phones in 2 0 assianed vehicles Number of car phones in 2 0 assianed vehicles Number of phones assigned 10 0 to cars Number of ·on-call' ohones 1 1 Number of assigned mobile 5 0 cell nhones Projected 12 Month Cost & $11,344.80 5 X $15.00: $75.00 Utilization 39,044 minutes 38 X $24.00 = $912.00 TOTAL x 12 = $11,844.00 TOT AL CELL PHONES 23 43 Questions and Answers Q. Why has this been a topic of concern? A. This proposal attempts to resolve two concerns: how can we better manage cell phone costs, and how can we make cell phone service more accessible to more people so as to better serve clients. The second column offers a proposal that addresses both concerns Q. How were the ·assigned' positions selected? A. You will note that the positions, for the most part, represent three classifications (in addition to management positions): social workers, chemical dependency counselors and fraud investigation. These classifications represent positions who conduct the • majority of their duties and responsibilities outside of the office, or "in the field.' Page 1 of 2 Q. How much is the "stipend"? A. Each of the 38 positions will be eligible for reimbursement for up to $24.00 per month. Employees would be required to submit a copy of their cell phone bill as an attachment to their monthly expense voucher. Currently. there are cell phone "packages• available for as little as $14.95 per month. Staff will select cell phone services based on their anticipated cell phone useage. Q. Shouldn't this benefit be made available to all staff? A. First of all. this is not considered a job-related benefit. Rather, the agency views cell phones as a "tool" that can enhance the performance of one's essential job duties and responsiblities in a manner that improves services to clients. Q. What has been our cell phone useage in the past? A. During the first 10 months of 2002, the agency maintained 24 "cell" phones. Our agency's average monthly use totaled 3,254 minutes. Average minutes per phone per month was 135.58. Across these 24 phones. monthly useage ranged from O minutes per month to 432 minutes per month. Of the nine "highest use· cell phones, average utilization was 244 minutes per month per cell phone. · Q. If my job is represented by one of the above mentioned classifications. am I' required to purchase a cell phone? A. No. These positions. however, have been determined to perform client related duties and responsibilities that could be enhanced by greater access to cell phone services. If a co-worker decides that using an agency "pool" phone would adequately meet their cell phone needs on a monthly basis, we encourage that option. If use of a pool phone is frequent, however, the agency will encourage an employee to consider a stipend funded cell phone. Q. Does this mean we will no longer have access to installed car phones? A. Currently, we have 10 vehicles that comprise our agency's car pool. Each has an installed car phone. Under the stipend funded proposal. service to these phones will be discontinued; however, they will still be able to be used for •911 • emergency telephone calls. Q. Are there specific guidelines for how or when one is to use a cell telephone? A. We expect that the county's "land based" or office based telephone system. will continue to be our primary telephone system. Cell phones are intended to be used when staff are providing out-of-office services and/or emergency contacts. Currently, the county's Local Access Network policy has not been updated to address cell phone, PDA's (i.e .. palm pilots) or telecommuting activities. Page 2 of 2 0 0 0 • • Otter Tail County Human Services Worksite Labor Management Committee Dimension Measured □ Total County Car Work-Related Mileage □ Total Personal/Commuting Miles Using County Car □ Personal Car Mileage for Work Related Use D County Reimbursement for Personal Car -Work Related Use D Number of Staff Averaging 1,000 miles per month or more Comparative Statistics 2001 & 2002 Car Mileage Data CY 2001 248,725 22,665 68,535 $23,645.00 6 _.,:.-.. • CY 2002 270,787 19,889 54,768 $19,991.00 6 Issue: Otter Tail County Human Services Worksite Labor Management Committee Interest Based Problem Solving Approach Continuing Education Interest: These were brain stormed by the members<randomly listing 10 items of interest. Each member prioritized the list as to their personal importance with #1 being the highest and #1 0 being the lowest. Each member's list was compounded together to make one list. The outcome is as follows: 1. Mandated (33) 6. Continued Educational Hours 2. Client Service (37) (60) 3. Non~Mandated (56) 7. Cost (66) . 4. Criteria (57) 8. Eh.u::lgel (e7) 5. Staff Time (58) 9. Jeb Descriplien (73) 10. Staffing Coverage (80) It was agreed that "Budget" and "Job Description" would not be considered an interest. These were placed under the standards. · Standards: 1. Legal 5. Practical 2. Budget 6. Job Description 3. *Common Practice 7. Internal Practice 4. Acceptability by Everyone Consensus by the Agency LMC Members that the standards are as listed above. *Common Practice □ Blue Earth -Mankato, MN □ Itasca -Grand Rapids, MN □ Clay -Moorhead, MN □ Winona -Winona, MN □ Sherburne -Elk River, MN □ Rice -Faribault, MN □ Kandiyohi -Willmar, MN . □ Carver -Chaska, MN □ Crow Wing -Brainerd, MN □ Goodhue -Red Wing, MN . ' . r 0 0 0 LABOR/MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE ATTENDANCE/SIGN IN CHECK SHEET MEETING DATE: APRIL 17, 2003 • Richard Akerman Tonya Anderson Brian Armstrong Dwight Serven Tim Brand Carol Brause Doug Cannell Rick Denzel John Dinsmore .Sue Ewy Chuck Grotte David Hauser Barb Jongeling Chuck Kitzman Cheryl Kottom • Excused Larry Krohn Don Larson Mick McCormick Excused Barbara Molter BJ Dennis Mosher .....__ Excused Anne Mueller Sydney Nelson Kirsten Olson Wayne Roisum Heather Severson Wayne Stein James Stewart Excused Jodi Wentland Sharon Wicklund Joanne Derby Cheryl Jones Merle King Lori Morrell