Meeting Minutes - October 2008

The representative meeting began October 14 at 10 am with 24 representatives and alternates in attendance.


City Manager Address and Questions

On budget reductions:
To stay within a sustainable bandwidth of future revenue/expense three areas are being evaluated in the near term. Organization. Pay and Benefits. Finance.
466 employee ideas were submitted. One work group alone submitted 75 ideas.
We must provide services in the most effective way. There is good reason why we are successful currently are but some things have changed. Organizational changes will be done in a way that will minimize lay offs (if at all). Temporary personnel rules may be implemented that allow greater fluidity. We can't ask departments to cut budgets by a certain percentage. There will not be one time cuts. The premise is that economic recovery will allow full restoration of budget cuts. There is no hard deadline. Changes will take form over time, possibly 18 months. Public safety is always a priority and is the most difficult areas to cut back. We need to improve the way we measure relative to other cities in our resource allocations. There may be areas where we are over or under spending. Pay and Benefit issues that are most and least important to employees will be factored. OPEB is going to be rolled into the Finance Committee. CIP program operational needs (positions) will need greater scrutiny. The goal for council presentation is November 6th.


Open House - October 21 - 2pm

Tours will be given of the new Transportation Facility (Tom Wilhite).
A representative from Michael Napier's attorney’s office will attend. A Logo and Tag Line contest will take place with prizes for the winners. A sample work area bulletin board will be on display.
Participants will be asked to rate their interest in the following areas:
TSA representation at work related counseling (disciplinary actions).
Improving relations with employees in other represented groups.
Tuition Reimbursement
Retirement Benefits
Additional Work Hours Compensation
Other Issues


Silent Witness

Should TSA pursue an advocacy role in disciplinary actions? The MOU refers to a "silent witness". SEIU has been acting as an advocate. It was suggested that TSA has the same opportunity. Special training needed for volunteers. Witnesses should have clearly defined roles and be consistent. Question on what to do if two supervisors are involved. Ron Smith will follow up on request made by Julie Hietter and Kerby Rapp to HR on further training in this area.


Executive Board Stipends and Representative Dues Waiver

The board has determined that based on the level of commitment so far, a monthly stipend is not necessary. Due to our small size, the dues waiver for representatives should also be suspended.
Sylvia Cardenas motioned to suspend the monthly stipend to board members and dues waiver for representatives. A second was made by Tom Wilhite. The motion carried.


Committee Reports:

Community Service - Lucy Morales
The toy drive begins November 1st with weekly pick ups for new, unwrapped gifts. Cash donations are accepted. Contact Lucy for more details.

Sustainability - Wendy Springborn-Pitman
First meeting October 27.

Deferred Compensation - Tom Hartman
Process to create RFP for a plan provider continues. Selection target is end of January with implementation by April 1.

The meeting ended at 11:25 am.