2024-06-25 Merit Appeals Board Minutes

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Merit Appeals Board June 25, 2024 MS. TOKIHIRO: This is brand new. MS. MATHEWS: Okay. MS. TOKIHIRO: And, actually, when we created this class of work, the State is very excited and seems that they're going to quickly follow developing a similar program. MR. KUNZ: I just had one other comment—that I understand, Gabe, especially safeguarding something that we invest in that remains with the County. In my tenure with the Department of Labor, just in the two local offices, I had counted that I worked with 277 people over 35 years. They didn't all stay. They moved on. They got other jobs. A handful of them went into the become teachers from professionals in our department which was kind of interesting. But it happens. It's a natural progression that people transition to something else. I think we want to safeguard it as much as possible. You want to be as selective as much as possible so that you can retain the individual. But it's still their choice at the end of the day to decide that I mean, and hopefully the individual with the department head does work out some sort of plan because they're not doing it, I'm sure, with the intention of, "I'm going to be working someplace else once I get this." I'm sure the County has a lot of benefits and offerings that they're working for the County in the first place. So, hopefully, they are individuals who make this decision with the understanding that they plan to stay with the County and move forward. Fortunately, it'sI think it's a great idea. I look at it like it's a pilot project—maybe it won't work. And then—but for any other circumstances, at least having the whereabouts to kind of create something new to, kind of, generate something in the pipeline is something worth—my opinion—worth kind of forging ahead and trying to execute it. MS. TOKIHIRO: And it is something where, I think, like in all programs that are initially implemented, we won't know all the bumps and bruises until we've gone through it and we tried it. So, we wanted to make sure that it was—Number 1, possible that the union would be agreeable, that we had buy -in from the departments. And we just want to try. It's really the intention is to provide an opportunity that would not otherwise have existed. So, we're excited about it from that perspective. And the next step would be, "Okay, are we able to come up with a program to bridge the gap, so that we can even help students from high school that don't pursue college"—be able to be part of the civil service. CHR. CABANAS : How could students from high school meet this Professional Development Training? MS. TOKIHIRO: No, that was just, like, looking at—okay, if we figured this out and if this program works— Page 20