Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout12.a. Committee Minutes-Administration 03-16-21 Page 1 of 8 Item 12.a. CENTRALSAN jdf A- hom CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA SANITARY DISTRICT April 1, 2021 TO: HONORABLE BOARD OF DIRECTORS FROM: KATIE YOUNG, SECRETARYOF THE DISTRICT SUBJECT: MARCH 16, 2021 -ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE - CHAIR WILLIAMSAND PRESIDENT PILECKI Attached are minutes of the above Committee meeting. ATTACHMENTS: 1. Minutes of 03-16-21 meeting April 1, 2021 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 122 of 153 Page 2 of 8 ol&)i Cwil ENTRAL SAN CONTRACENTRAL • IMHOFF PLACE, MARTINEZ, CA 9AS53-A392 BOARD OF DIRECTORS: SPECIAL MEETING OF THE TAD PresiddentPILECKI ent CENTRAL CONTRA COSTA DAVID R. WILLIAMS SANITARY DISTRICT President Pro Tem ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE BARBARA°URITZEN MICHAEL R.MCGILL MINUTES PHONE: (925)228-9500 FAX: (925)372-0192 Tuesday, March 16, 2021 www.centralsan.org 9:00 a.m. (All attendees participated via videoconference) Committee: Chair David Williams Member Tad Pilecki Staff. Roger S. Bailey, General Manager (joined during Item 4.a.) Kent Alm, District Counsel (joined during Item 4.a.) Katie Young, Secretary of the DistrictPhilip Leiber, Director of Finance and Administration Steve McDonald, Director of Operations Jean-Marc Petit, Director of Engineering and Technical Services Danea Gemmell, Planning and Development Services Division Manager (left after Item 4.a.) Teji O'Malley, Human Resources and Organizational Development Manager Kevin Mizuno, Finance Manager (joined during Item 4.a.) Tim Potter, Environmental Compliance Superintendent (left after Item 4.a.) Christina Gee, Management Analyst (joined during Item 4.a.) Terrina Manor, Human Resources Analyst (left after Item 4.a.) Chris Carpenter, Community Affairs Representative Donna Anderson, Assistant to the Secretary of the District Amelia Berumen, Senior Administrative Technician 1. Public Notice Regarding COVID-19 This meeting was held in accordance with the Brown Act as in effect under the State Emergency Services Act, the Governor's Emergency Declaration related to COVID-19, and the Governor's Executive Order N-29-20 issued on March 17, 2020 that allowed Board Members, District staff, and the public to participate in and conduct the meeting by teleconference, videoconference, or both. The agenda included instructions for options in which the public could participate in the meeting. April 1, 2021 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 123 of 153 Page 3 of 8 Administration Committee Minutes March 16, 2021 Page 2 2. Call Meeting to Order Chair Williams called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. 3. Public Comments — None. 4. Items for Committee Recommendation to Board a. Receive update on Classification Study Recommendations - Management Support/Confidential Group (MS/CG) Ms. O'Malley reviewed the rationale for the staff-recommended changes to certain MS/CG classifications, as more fully explained in the memorandum included with the agenda material. With regard to the proposed reclassification of the Pump Station Supervisor(S75) to Chief, Pumping Stations Operations (S81), Chair Williams noted that, if approved, the salary differential would be about 27% between that position and those it supervises. Ms. O'Malley explained that salary compaction is taken into consideration when the differential is less than 10-15%. However, there are instances where the differential is justifiably higher. For that particular position, Ms. O'Malley said her group reviewed the extent of competitiveness, the expanded scope of duties, the position's impact on the organization, as well as industry comparables. At the time of that review, the position was about 25% below market. Mr. Bailey added that both internal and external factors were taken into consideration, after which it was deemed appropriate to move the position to a place of industry competitiveness. Member Pilecki said he had been involved with other classification studies and job rewrites during the course of his career, and it can be a thankless task because management, unions, and individual employees all have their own perspectives. He thanked Ms. O'Malley for her and her team's efforts in bringing forth this issue. However, he expressed some concerns and offered suggestions as follows: 1) Complexity of the Current Employee Classifications. Over the years, Central San's classifications have become very complex. Employees are in multiple tiers with different rules applying to each one, and it has become difficult to manage. Member Pilecki opined that the Board bears some of the responsibility for that, as do past management teams, and the bargaining units. He said he bears some of the responsibility as well, having been president of MS/CG in the past. He hoped this could be an opportunity to reduce some of the current complexities. April 1, 2021 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 124 of 153 Page 4 of 8 Administration Committee Minutes March 16, 2021 Page 3 2) Primary Goal of the Classification Study. Member Pilecki said one of the goals the Board sought as part of the classification study was to reduce the number of classifications. When the classification recommendations for Employees'Association, Public Employees Union, Local One (Local 1) were reviewed in January, he believed that goal was met. The number of classifications was reduced from 62 to 55, primarily by very effectively combining the Engineering Technician and the Engineering Assistant classifications into a single group. 3) Suggestions to Consolidate Supervisor and Superintendent Classifications. Following the Local 1 example, Member Pilecki suggested combining all S75 supervisors into a single classification with no descriptor before the title "Supervisor." (Within the job description, there could be further breakdown by job duties in various divisions throughout the District.) He said those at the S75 level are not at that grade for their technical abilities, but for their supervisory responsibilities. He suggested the same for S81 superintendents, including making the proposed Chief, Pumping Station Operations position a superintendent as well. The result of implementing these suggestions would reduce the number of MS/CG classifications by seven. Ms. O'Malley said the District's naming conventions, which were developed as part of this class study, define superintendents as those positions that supervise a function through subordinate supervisors. She said she was comfortable having titles that deviate from the naming conventions if the industry standard supports that deviation. Also, she stated she is trying not to tie salary grades to titles. Salaries should be paid for the duties tied to the position. Obviously, there is a desire to standardize and be consistent wherever possible and the action must make organizational sense. On the other hand, she said it is important to recognize that Central San is unique and must balance the changes within the existing structure. Member Pilecki reiterated that the current classification structure is very complex and this was an opportunity to begin making improvements; otherwise, the structure will become even more complex. He recognized how much additional staff work will be involved but said the current proposal, which would result in $115,000 additional compensation, was not reflective of the intended goal. For that reason, he said he would be voting no on the current proposal. He was, however, prepared to support the new classification for the Senior Community Affairs Representative if brought forward separately. April 1, 2021 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 125 of 153 Page 5 of 8 Administration Committee Minutes March 16, 2021 Page 4 Chair Williams said that from a policy perspective, the Board bought into the classification study with the primary goal to consolidate classes. Thus, he tended to agree with Member Pilecki's comments, despite the additional burden it would put on staff. He also noted that there are typically salary adjustments upward and downward as part of a classification study. He was curious as to whether any of the latter arose from this process. He asked Tim Potter(the current president of MS/CG) to comment. Mr. Potter said he wanted to address some comments made earlier in the meeting. He said MS/CG participated in the naming conventions, and a lot of the concerns raised during this meeting were also raised by MS/CG. Some incumbents did not have a desire to change from superintendent, but the naming convention drove that decision. He pointed out that the Maintenance Supervisor classification is a consolidation of several titles into one, and the same could be done for superintendents. MS/CG advocated for a title other than Chief, Pumping Stations Operations because it was opposed to having a supervisor paid 15% higher than most of the other supervisors. He wanted to go on record that MS/CG was not advocating for a lot of new classifications. Mr. Bailey asked if Mr. Potter was saying MS/CG would be comfortable making the proposed Chief, Pumping Station Operations a superintendent. Ms. O'Malley instead responded that the suggestion was driven by Human Resources; however, if the industry trend is that other organizations call the position a superintendent, she was comfortable doing so. Member Pilecki said he would be comfortable with that as well because all superintendents basically use the same skill set and the term is well known within the industry. Ms. O'Malley asked Member Pilecki if he was suggesting that all S75 supervisors be in the same classification. He said yes, except for supervisors within the Information Technology division, who are at a higher-grade level and should have their own classification. In that case he would use the descriptor "Information Technology" before the word "Supervisor." At the very least, there may be two other supervisor classifications, one for operations and another for all the rest. Chair Williams said that from a policy perspective, the Committee would like to see consolidation of classifications as much as possible, despite the recognition that it would involve more staff effort. Mr. Bailey said he would work with staff to make changes to gain the Committee's support for proposed improvements to the current MS/CG classification structure. April 1, 2021 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 126 of 153 Page 6 of 8 Administration Committee Minutes March 16, 2021 Page 5 COMMITTEE ACTION: Requested that staff review the proposed recommendations with a view toward further consolidation of certain classes for review by the Committee at a future meeting. 5. Other Items a. Review material in advance of April 15, 2021 public hearing for annual review of Board Member compensation and benefits Ms. Young introduced the item, noting that the public hearing would be scheduled in mid-April for the Board to hold its annual review. Member Pilecki thanked staff for the comprehensive report included with the agenda material, stating that it contained everything he needed from a policy perspective to be able to provide his input at the public hearing. Chair Williams said he would support keeping the stipend at its current level in view of the benefits package offered to Board Members. COMMITTEE ACTION: Reviewed the information and recommended holding the public hearing. b. Discuss potential development of a new Board policy for appointing the President and President Pro Tem Ms. Young introduced the item, which was an outgrowth of a discussion at the Board Workshop held on January 14, 2021 where the Board provided input to staff toward formulating written guidelines and a potential policy for selecting Board leadership roles. She briefly recapped the information contained in the memorandum included with the agenda material. Member Pilecki noted that the full transition to area-based elections will not be complete until the beginning of calendar year 2025, at which time it would be appropriate to implement a rotation-by-division process, beginning with Division 2. Until then, he suggested a draft policy be developed with the following "rotation"through 2024. His suggested rotation commencing with the next calendar year is set forth below: Year President Pro Tem 2022 Member Williams Member Hockett or Lauritzen 2023 Member Hockett or Lauritzen Member Hockett or Lauritzen 2024 Member Hockett or Lauritzen Member, Division 2 2025 Member, Division 2 Member, Division 3 2026 Member, Division 3 Member, Division 4 2027 Member, Division 4 Member, Division 5 2028 Member, Division 5 Member, Division 1 2029 Member, Division 1 Member, Division 2 April 1, 2021 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 127 of 153 Page 7 of 8 Administration Committee Minutes March 16, 2021 Page 6 Year President Pro Tem 2030 and Rotation by division Rotation by division beyond continuing the above continuing the above sequence sequence Chair Williams said he was comfortable with that suggestion in that it was simple and logical. He has always believed the Board President position was somewhat ceremonial and anyone appointed to the position, even if newly elected, could get up to speed very quickly. Member Pilecki said he understood Chair Williams'last comment, but the rotation he suggested should allow at least two years'experience on the Board before becoming President. Member Pilecki recalled that when this item was discussed at the January workshop, the topic of developing a policy for Board Committee assignments and Board Liaison/Representative assignments was mentioned. Ms. Young said staff will be bringing a proposed Board Compensation Policy to one of the next meetings, which is related to some of those issues. Chair Williams asked how many current Board policies existed. Ms. Young said less than 50. Chair Williams suggested it might be a good idea, as a future project, to consider whether any policies could be consolidated for simplification purposes and ease of administration. Ms. Young said she could provide a list of current Board policies for discussion. Member Pilecki said he would appreciate staff's insights as to the merits of consolidating Board policies and any other recommendations staff may have to help simplify administration of the Board policy process. COMMITTEE ACTION: Requested that staff develop a proposed new Board policy for appointing the Board President and President Pro Tem, and requested staff provide input and recommendations with respect to the possibility of consolidating various Board policies, where appropriate, for ease of administration. 6. Announcements — None. 7. Suggestions for Future Agenda Items a. Receive list of upcoming agenda items and provide suggestions for any other future agenda items 1) See Committee Action for Items 4.a. and 5.b. above. COMMITTEE ACTION: Received the list and provided input to staff. April 1, 2021 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 128 of 153 Page 8 of 8 Administration Committee Minutes March 16, 2021 Page 7 8. Future Scheduled Meetings Tuesday, April 6, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. Tuesday, May 4, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. Tuesday, June 8, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. 9. Adjournment— at 10:09 a.m. April 1, 2021 Regular Board Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 129 of 153