1989-09-06 adjSeptember 6, 1989 (Afternoon Adjourned Meeting)
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24
An adjourned meeting of the Board of Supervisors of Albemarle County,
Virginia, was held jointly with the School Board on September 6, 1989, at
3:30 P.M., Meeting Room #5/6, County Office Building, 401MnIntire Road,
Charlottesville, Virginia.
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Mr. Edward H. Bain, Jr., Mr. F. R. Bowie,
Mr. C. Timothy Lindstrom (arrived 3:35 P.M.) Mr. Walter F. Perkins and Mr.
Peter T. Way (arrived 3:41 P.M.).
BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: Mrs. Patricia H. Cooke.
OFFICERS PRESENT: Mr. Guy B. Agnor, Jr., County Executive.
SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Messrs. William W. Finley, Clifford W.
Haury, Charles S. Martin, Charles R. Tolbert, and Roger R. Ward.
Also present were Mr. N. Andrew Overstreet, Division Superintendent, and
Mr. David Papenfuse, Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance.
Agenda Item No. 1. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order at
3:42 P.M. by the Chairman, Mr. Way.
Agenda Item No. 2a. Recommendations on Personnel Policy Commonality
Issues.
Dr. Carole Hastings, Assistant Superintendent and Director for Personnel
and Human Resources, reported that a joint cOmmittee of local government and
school division representatives had completed their review of commonality
issues in personnel policies. She summarized eight of those issues for the
Boards as follows and indicated that a complete package of proposed personnel
policies would be presented to each Board separately for review and adoption
at a later time.
Sick Leave Accumulation.
RECOMMENDATION: Increase accumulation factor to 1 1/4 days per month in both
divisions (currently one day per month in local government).
RATIONALE: The 1 1/4 day factor is a long-standing one in the school divi-
sion. In view of the fact that the County has no disability plan, it is to
employees' benefit to allow as much accumulation of sick leave as possible.
Mr. Bain said although he has reservatiOns about an increase in sick
leave accumulation, he supports the change i~ conjunction with the recommenda-
tion concerning sick leave payment on retirement.
Sick Leave Payment Upon Termination/Retir~t.
RECOMMENDATION: Delete payment upon resignation or retirement in both divi-
sions, but replace with a retirement bonus ~at is paid at $200 per year for
each year of service to the County up to a mhximum of 25 years.
RATIONALE: Sick Leave should be viewed as ah insurance policy to be used when
and if it is needed. Paying for unused sick:~ileave reinforces the view that it
is an earned benefit. It has also not been 'successful in reducing absenteeism
and rewards those who leave the County versus those who stay. Recognition for
retirement should be a benefit that is not contingent upon whether or not an
individual has needed their sick leave. NOT~: Since the current practice in
local government is to pay $25 for each day ~f unused sick leave upon resigna-
tion, we recommend that this practice be continued for anyone hired prior to
the date this policy changes. ~,..
Mr. Bowie said if this policy is enacted, he would support allowing
employees to receive payment for days already accumulated only until the
adoption of the policy.
Mr. Lindstrom asked how many days of sick leave are used each year.
Hastings said an average of eight days per y~ar is used per employee.
L
.Mr s.
September 6, 1989 (Afternoon AdjournedMeeting)
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250
Bon~s Payment at End of Probationary Period
RECOMMENDATION: Delete this practice in local government but remove the
restriction on having to wait two years for vested increases.
RATIONALE: The only reason that local government paid a bonus upon completion
of the probationary period was because new employees could not vest salary
increases. By eliminating this practice the probationary payment is no longer
needed.
Mr. Lindstrom asked for an estimate of the costs for all proposed policy
changes.
Payments Upon Promotion
RECOMMENDATION: Increase school division to 10 percent payment upon promo-
tion.
RATIONALE: The school division's 5 percent payment for promotions is not a
sufficient initiative to attract employees to apply for promotions. With our
salaries lacking competitiveness for outside candidates, we need to make
internal promotions as attractive as possible.
Tuition Reimbursement
RECOMMENDATION: Allow both local government and school division classified/
administrative staff to seek course reimbursement up to a maximum of $100 per
year (equal to the teacher voucher).
RATIONALE: Allowing employees to be reimbursed for job-related courses is an
incentive toward professional growth. This will be funded through the Person-
nel training budget; approximately 50 employees will be able to take advantage
of this benefit.
Advanced Degree Stipends
RECOMMENDATION: Allow local government employees who are in positions requir-
ing at least a bachelor degree to be paid for job-related advanced degrees at
the rate of $1000 for the masters, masters+30 or doctorate.
RATIONALE: Advanced degrees in job-related areas would be an asset to the
County. Such stipends are traditional in school divisions and, to achieve
commonality, should be available to local government employees as well.
Mr. Way said he believes this is an area where there may be a rationale
for having different policies for the school division and local government
employees. Mrs. Hastings said local governments she surveyed did not pay a
stipend for advanced degrees.
Mr. Perkins said he agrees with Mr. Way that commonality should not apply
in this instance. He said local government employees are paid based on
performance. Teachers who have advanced degrees are likely to perform better
and should receive a stipend.
Mr. Agnor said in recent years efforts have been made to raise the
educational requirements for local government ieimployees. A stipend would
encourage the improvement of the professional level.
Evaluation Procedures
While the procedures are not very differem~t, the method of payment is
dissimilar. The school division representatives will study the local govern-
ment pay for performance plan and have a recommendation on this by December,
1989 for July, 1990 distribution of wages. :
Reclassification Payment :
While there is currently no policy on thi~ issue in either division,
there was strong feeling that a policy should ~e implemented.
September 6, 1989 (Afternoon Adjourned Meeting)
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251
RECOMMENDATION: Provide a 5 percent increase (two step movement) or movement
to the "A" step, whichever is greater, for employees who are reclassified into
a range which is higher than their current one.
RATIONALE: The current practice of employees being shifted downward toward
the beginning of a new range is detrimental for two reasons. First, employees
feel that they earn movement up the scale through performance and seniority.
Shifting them to the range beginning through reclassification without any
recognition of length of service places them in the same place as a new
employee entering the system. The second negative factor relates to recruit-
ment. When all current employees have shifted to the range beginning, the
County cannot pay new employees a higher rate without causing morale problems.
There was no further discussion of these policies.
Agenda Item No. 2b. Presentation of Employee Health Insurance Rate
Increases.
Mr. Bob Brandenburger, Benefits and Safety Coordinator, summarized the
insurance rate increases. He explained that both Blue Cross/Blue Shield and
Delta Dental contracts are up for renewal on October 1, 1989.
He said that Delta Dental is recommending a 20.1 percent increase in
premiums. The monthly premium under the initial two-year contract has been
$6.75, with the County contributing $5.00 per month. Delta Dental is project-
ing an increase in claims requiring a monthly premium of $8.11. The Board's
contribution will remain the same, and the employee cost will increase from
$21.00 to $37.32 per year.
Mr. Brandenburger said the Boards had approved in May the recommendation
to retain the KeyCare program with the addition of a drug prescription card.
He explained that the County's health insurance plan is a self-insured one,
which means that premiums are determined in proportion to claims incurred. He
said the claims for the 1988-89 fiscal year resulted in a deficit of $62,893.
Blue Cross/Blue Shield projects an increase !m the cost of health care in
addition to the deficit experienced last yeari As a result a 25.5 percent
increase in the group premium is required. The County's contribution of $900
per year per insured employee will remain the~same. He referred the Board to
some written materials which showed the breakdown of total monthly premiums
for employees.
Motion was offered Mr. Lindstrom and seconded by Mr. Perkins to approve
the insurance rates outlined in Mr. Brandenbu~ger's memo dated August 31,
1989, and set out below.
Roll was called and the motion carried bT the following recorded vote:
AYES: Messrs. Bain, Bowie, Lindstrom, Perkins and Way.
NAYS: None.
ABSENT: Mrs. Cooke.
Dental Employee Cost f~r FY89-90
(Employee on 12 pay periods)
Membership Type Current New Increase
Employee $1.75 $3.11 ~i.36
% Increase
77.7%
(Employee on 10 pay periods)
Employee $2.10
$3.73 $!1.63
77.6%
September 6, 1989 (Afternoon Adjourned Meeting)
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Blue Cross/Blue Shield Premium for FY89-90
Total Monthly Premium
Membership Type Current New Increase % Increase
Employee $ 83.37 $104.66 $21.29 25.5%
Employee & Minor 116.83 146.67 29.84 25.5%
Employee & Family 235.27 295.31 60.04 25.5%
Employee Cost for FY 89-90 (12 pay periods)
Employee $ 13.55 $ 29.66 $16.11
Employee & Minor 47.01 71.67 24.66
Employee & Family 165.45 220.31 54.86
Employee Cost for FY 89-90 (10 pay periods)
Employee $ 19.15 $ 35.59 $16.44
Employee & Minor 61.61 86.00 24.39
Employee & Family 211.94 264.37 52.43
118.9%
52.5%
33.2%
85.8%
39.6%
24.7%
252
Agenda Item No. 2c. Briefing on School's Redistricting Plan.
Mr. Overstreet asked Mr. Papenfuse to brief the Boards on the proposed
plans of the Long Range Planning Committee regarding changes in district lines
and on the school openings.
Mr. Papenfuse handed materials to the Board members and explained that a
letter would be distributed to each family affected by the changes in district
lines on Friday. By September 25, he said each family would have the neces-
sary information explaining the effects of redistricting. He said the admin-
istration does not want lack of information to be a problem for parents.
Agenda Item No. 2d. Report on the Opening of the 1989-90 School Year.
Regarding the opening of schools, Mr. papenfuse briefed the Boards on the
status of schools having asbestos removal projects. He said Murray School is
now asbestos free with all affected areas replaced; Yancey School has to have
ceiling tile replaced in the hallways; Stony i~oint School has a temporary
carpet which will be replaced next year; and Crozet and Cale Schools are under
construction, although they are 21 days behind schedule due to rains.
Mr. Papenfuse said that ten trailers had~jbeen installed at various
schools, one of which is for special educatio~ classes. Ten bus routes have
also been added. Mr. Papenfuse said there have been problems getting bus
routes on schedule. He warned that Board mem~ers might receive phone calls
from parents in that regard.
Mr. Lindstrom asked that copies of the t~nth day enrollment figures be
made available to the Boards. ~
Mr. Overstreet noted that he expects distiribution of students within
grade levels will require adjustments as is usually the case.
Agenda Item No. 3. Other Matters Not Listed on the Agenda.
The consensus of the Boards was to meet on an alternating Monday morning
and Wednesday afternoon schedules. The next jOint meeting was set for
October 2, 1989, at 8:00 A.M. in Meeting Room .5/6.
Agenda Item No. 4. Adjourn. There being no further business to come
before the Boards, at 5:01 P.M. the meeting was adjourned.
Chairman