Minutes of Regular Meeting - April 28, 2014 - Approved

BOARD OF SELECTMEN
Personnel Sub-Committee – Regular Meeting
Monday, April 28, 2014
6:00 P.M. – Simsbury Town Offices – Conference Room 103

MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING

1.         Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 6:02 p.m.  Personnel Sub-Committee members Lisa Heavner (Chair), Sean Askham and Cheryl Cook were present.  Director of Administrative Services Tom Cooke, Director of Social Services Mickey Lecours-Beck, Tax Collector Colleen O’Connor and Assistant Town Clerk Anita Schwager were also in attendance.

2.         Pledge of Allegiance

3.         Public Audience

Joan Coe, 26 Whitcomb Drive, stated her opposition to any change in hours for Town Hall.  She stated that she believes there are more people using Town Hall services on Friday afternoons than on Monday evenings and stated that the Town should review the prior history of the decision to keep Town Hall open to 7:00 p.m. on Monday evenings.  She also stated that this was inconsistent with the required 40 hours per week of work for administrators and 35 hours of work per week for worker bees.

Ms. Coe stated that the Town should give somebody else a turn as Town Attorney.  She pointed out that the Town has hired a new Library Director, Lisa Karim, who has brought great new ideas to the library.  She stated that Town Counsel has done a good job but the time has come to hire somebody else to take a fresh look at what should be done.

4.         Approval of minutes of meeting on January 13, 2014

Mr. Askham made a motion to approve the draft minutes of the meeting of January 13, 2014.  Ms. Cook seconded the motion.  There were no revisions to the minutes and the motion passed unanimously.

5.     Discussion and possible action on proposal to change Town Hall and Eno Memorial Hall hours

Ms. Heavner noted that the proposal to change Town Hall and Eno Memorial Hall hours was raised for the first time last week in the posted agenda for the Personnel Sub-Committee.  She asked Mr. Cooke to summarize the proposal.  Mr. Cooke stated that the Town had been in discussions with union presidents Mickey Lecours-Beck, Michael Wallace and Anita Schwager about changing Town Hall hours.  Mr. Cooke, Ms. Lecours-Beck, Ms. O’Connor and Ms. Schwager explained that the proposal contemplates keeping the following Town services in Town Hall and Eno Memorial Hall fully staffed from 8:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Mondays:

Assessor
Tax Collector
First Selectman’s Office
Finance Department
Planning, Building and Engineering
Clerk
Social Services
Senior Center

These hours would not apply to the Police Department or the Board of Education in Town Hall.  They would also not apply to Culture, Parks & Recreation, the Water Pollution Control Authority, Public Works or the Library.

Offering a full level of services in the offices described above until 7:00 p.m. on Mondays would provide access to residents and businesses without access to Town Hall during the normal hours from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.  The additional two and a half (2.5) hours open on Monday evenings would be offset by closing at 1:00 p.m. on Fridays.  The union representatives present explained that their offices did not have much traffic on Friday afternoons and that the change would represent an overall improvement in the level of services available from the Town.  They also provided a study showing that approximately 60 towns in Connecticut have an hours arrangement similar to the one proposed.

The Sub-Committee members asked about the impact of the change on businesses and in particular the impact of shorter hours in the Clerk’s office on Fridays.  Ms. Schwager explained that much of their business is telephonic, that most users were already doing their business at the Clerk’s office on Friday mornings and that the impact would be minimal once the change was communicated.

The Sub-Committee expressed interest in and support for a trial run of the proposed hours, to begin on June 2 and to conclude in September.  They asked that the public be informed of the proposed change to provide the public with the opportunity to comment before a final vote was taken on whether or not to recommend the change.  Mr. Cooke stated that he would prepare a press release alerting the public to the proposed change in hours of operation stating that it was the Town’s intent to introduce the new hours if approved on June 2, 2014.

6.    Discussion and possible action on responses to Request for Proposals for Town Counsel and Employment Counsel

Mr. Cooke stated that the Town of Simsbury had issued a request for proposal for Town Counsel and Town Employment Counsel services at the direction of the Board of Selectmen and that responses to the RFPs had been received and reviewed.

Town Counsel

Mr. Cooke provided a memorandum showing that six (6) firms had responded to the Town Counsel RFP including incumbent counsel – Robert DeCrescenzo of Updike, Kelly & Spellacy (“UKS”).  Mr. Cooke noted that at his request, UKS had prepared a breakdown of their total hours worked over the past three calendar years.  That breakdown demonstrated that the one hundred thousand dollar ($100,000) per year retainer arrangement with UKS, which has covered virtually all of the services provided by the firm in the past three years, has resulted in significant savings and an adjusted hourly rate for each year of less than $150.  The Personnel Sub-Committee discussed the summary of financial offers prepared for the RFP respondents and noted that while alternative fee arrangements and retainers were mentioned, no specific retainers were proposed.  The Sub-Committee asked Mr. Cooke about the quality of the service provided by UKS and Mr. Cooke responded that the service provided was excellent, noting that Mr. DeCrescenzo had worked for the Town since 1998 and his historical knowledge was often valuable.  He also noted that transitioning to new Town Counsel would be challenging and that, in the absence of a significant financial or qualitative incentive to make the change, he recommended that the Town extend its relationship with UKS.  Upon further questioning, Mr. Cooke added that Mr. DeCrescenzo’s results in the handling of litigated matters were superior.  Mr. Askham also noted that a significant portion of the services provided were provided by Mr. DeCrescenzo himself and not by other attorneys.

The Personnel Sub-Committee discussed the cost-competitive nature of UKS’ proposal and the value of the services received under prior agreements with UKS.  Ms. Cook made a motion to re-appoint UKS as Town Counsel and Mr. Askham seconded the motion.  The motion was unanimously approved.

Employment Law Counsel

The Personnel Sub-Committee reviewed a memorandum from Mr. Cooke concerning RFP responses from eleven (11) firms seeking retention as employment law counsel.  Upon questioning by the Personnel Sub-Committee, Mr. Cooke stated that there was no retainer arrangement in place with Siegel, O’Connor, O’Donnell & Beck, P.C., the Town’s current Employment Law Counsel.  Mr. Cooke stated that Peter A. Janus was the primary attorney and that Mr. Janus had provided excellent service to the Town on a wide variety of employment law matters including general advice, collective bargaining and contract interpretation matters.  Currently Mr. Janus is serving as lead counsel in Police Retirement Plan interest arbitration.

The Personnel Sub-Committee reviewed the financial proposals of the other firms and noted that several of the rate proposals were competitive.  After further discussion, Mr. Askham made a motion that Mr. Cooke research the firms and identify a maximum of four (4) firms, including the incumbent firm, for interviews.  Ms. Cook seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

7.    Discussion and possible action on proposal to change Simsbury Public Library job description from Circulation Assistant to Children’s Services Assistant for position being vacated by retirement

Mr. Cooke stated that the Town was still in discussion with the CSEA secretarial, clerical and library union officials concerning the content of the revised job description and that a revised description accordingly was not being offered for the Sub-Committee’s consideration at this time.

8.         Adjourn

There being no further business, Mr. Askham made a motion to adjourn the meeting and Ms. Cook seconded the motion.  The motion passed unanimously and the meeting adjourned at 6:52 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Thomas F. Cooke