01-27-2020 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, January 13, 2020 6:00 o'clock p.m. Crosby added that the Highway 12 area has been horrible for a long time. He told the young people in the audience to stay off of Highway 12, drive carefully, and drive sober. He mentioned NDSU won its eighth national title. The Vikings blew it, but he is still a loyal fan. Walsh wished everyone a Happy New Year and a Happy New Decade. The Council had a great 2019. He thanked Staff for their work. CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT 19. REQUEST FOR PERMISSION TO COMPREHENSIVELY REVIEW CITY OF ORONO PERSONNEL POLICY FOR UPDATES Rief said the current employee handbook was adopted in February 2009. When it was completed it was not sectioned nor done as well as he'd like. He would like to look at changes in the employee policies that might need to be made from a legal standpoint and also look at the union contracts, make sure there's nothing that conflicts, and put the handbook in a better format and more readable for the employees. After the revision, when the City adopts something, he will not have to re -adopt the whole book. Instead, he can just refer to the policy number and revise it. Walsh asked if Rief would be reviewing it with Mattick or by himself. Rief stated it would be reviewed by the leadership team and Mattick. It would be broken down into sections, and if there are any changes in a section, those would be brought forward. Currently there are barely page numbers in it; there are different sections, but they are not labeled. For instance, he cannot refer to a specific Code; he has to say, "page 35, line number 14," making it difficult to provide information to an employee if they are talking on the phone. The new document would have sections such as "Benefits" or "How to Deal With a Grievance." Johnson said it is difficult to know from Rief s request the scope of the project. He feels part of his job is to align the Council and the Mayor's priorities and Staff. It's hard to know from his vantage point what the City's priorities are and which ones the resources are getting put to. This is an example of something that needs to be done, but he knows there are other priorities such as employee reviews. He asked if this request would push that priority back. Rief stated it would not. As far as performance reviews, the new system is in place, everybody is conducting the employee reviews with that system, and he will be able to provide the City Council with a report the first part of February. Outside of completing the first set of reviews, that project is pretty much complete. Seals noted she agrees the request probably needs to be done but it is not like the wheels are falling off the bus. Until she can get an update on the performance reviews, she does not want to distract Rief because she thinks part of the Council's job is to help keep Rief focused. Walsh, Seals, and Crosby suggested approving the request with the caveat that it take place after the performance reviews are done. Johnson indicated that is what he was bringing up. Page 6of7