2006-03-02 Cost of Government Commission Minutes

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4. APPROVAL OF ADDENDUM AND /OR SUPPLEMENTAL AGENDA Ms. Garson suggested moving past this item, since there was no addendum, and the Commission did not have enough people to vote on one if there was something to add. 5. PRESENTATION ON SUNSHINE LAW, PROTOCOL Ms. Garson suggested moving this item to later and proceeding to Items 6 and 7 on the agenda, as two County employees were present to discuss Items 6 and 7 and could then leave. She suggested someone move to hear item No. 5 later. Ms. Stremski so moved and Ms. Cushnie seconded. The meeting moved to agenda item No. 6 6. PRESENTATION REGARDING COUNTY REGULATIONS AND POLICIES, GENERAL OVERVIEW OF CIVIL SERVICE LAWS AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING Ms. Garson introduced Michael Udovic, an attorney with the Office of the Corporation Counsel. Mr. Udovic stated the following: His primary responsibility is with dealing with labor issues as they arise in the County. He works with the Civil Service Department on labor issues that arise, such as grievances, wage and hour issues, equal employment opportunity matters, and ADA issues. The director of the Civil Service Department is Michael Ben, who is very knowledgeable in labor relations and civil service and merit laws. The deputy director is Ronald Takahashi, who was recently appointed when Rodney Kaido retired. The Department has several divisions: Employee Relations deals with internal employee issues such as coordinating benefit plans, retirement and health benefits, and deferred compensation. Benefits are important because all governmental agencies are finding it difficult to recruit new employees and that many positions are unfilled. Another area deals with classification of pay and determining what job responsibilities are for various employees in relation to pay structures and the workforce and whether jobs should be downgraded or upgraded to ensure fairness. The Health and Safety Division deals with safety issues such as driver safety, on which they made a recent educational video. That Division also deals with equipment issues and the training of operators, as well as with Workers' Compensation benefits and payments. There is also a Labor Relations Division, which deals with union and labor negotiations. It handles grievances as well. The Personnel and Organization Development Division deals with training issues for County employees and making sure people are capable of doing the tasks to which they are assigned. There is a Recruitment and Examination Division, which is in charge of soliciting new employees, setting up examinations and making sure the merit principles of civil servants are complied with. There is also an Anti - Discrimination and Harassment Policy, as well as an ADA coordinator. The anti - discrimination and harassment laws deal with areas of great concern. There are state and federal laws that make it difficult to do things that are in contravention to the law. People can make 5