HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-22-2013 Regular MeetingSTATE OF ALABAMA
COUNTY OF BALDWIN
Personnel Board met at 9:00 AM
City Hall , Conference Room ,
161 North Section Street, Fairhope, Alabama 36532 , on
Friday , 22 November, 2013 .
Present were:
Diane Thomas, Chairman
Members: Diane Thomas , Chairman; Beeman Bond ; Judy Hale; Clark Stankoski; Wayne
Griffin; Pandora Heathcoe , City Human Resources Director; and Kevin Boone, City
Council Liaison. Also attending , Jack Burrell , City Council President.
The meeting was called to order at 9:00 AN M .
Minutes of the September 20 , 2013 and October 25 , 2013 meetings were approved .
Chairman Thomas reported on the progress of the updated Personnel Rules , Policies , and
Procedures Handbook. A committee consisting of the Mayor, Ms . Heathcoe , Ms. Hanks ,
Mr. Myrick, City attorney for personnel matters , Jack Burrell, and Ms. Thomas will meet
on December 2, 2013 to present comments and concerns about the draft Handbook.
Following that meeting , all members of the Personnel Board will receive through email a
copy of the draft report which they should review as quickly as possible. The Board will
meet in early January to present their comments and concerns which the Chairman and
Mr. Boone will relay back to the Mayor and the City Council.
Chairman Thomas then asked the Board members for their opinion on the composition of
the panel to hear employee post disciplinary appeals. Specifically, did the Board favor
the current designation of the Personnel Board as the hearing board or some other
individual or group of individuals appointed by the mayor to be the hearing board. There
was an incident in the past in which remarks made by an employee who was appealing
his discipline were reported in the newspaper, and the City was sued by a homeowner
who had been adversely affected by the employee 's job performance. The City paid a
judgment to settle the case . There has been concern on the part of the Mayor and his
administrative staff that having all appeals conducted in open hearings opens the City to
the risk of additional suits . Following lengthy discussion, it was the consensus of the
Board that the benefits of having the Board hear appeals and conducting the hearings in
an open setting outweigh the possibility of additional legal action against the City. In
fact, the Board felt that opening hearings would discourage employees from requesting
frivolous appeals and would help insure that all parties followed the correct steps in the
progressive discipline process. The Board also firmly stated the opinion that current
Board members would best be able to conduct fair and impartial hearings since they have
no relationship with City employees, are familiar with the rules and policies governing
employee job performance and job behavior, and have developed procedures for
conducting hearings .
The Board then considered changing the time of Board meetings to accommodate those
members whose jobs make it difficult for them to meet mid-morning. It was decided to
change the meeting time to 7 AM on the third Friday of each month.
Finally, Chairman Thomas recognized Beeman Bond for his many years of faithful
service on the Personnel Board. Mr. Bond 's term ends in December. The City Council
will present an award to him at the Council meeting on November 25 and all members
are encouraged to attend.
The December meeting is cancelled , and members should check their emails the copies of
the draft Personnel Handbook and for notification of the early January Board meeting in
which the Handbook will be reviewed by the Board.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10 :3 0 AM .