Home > About the Library > Board of Trustees Minutes > October 2008 Work Session Two
Monday, October 27, 2008
Tom Bunger, Paula Singer and Laura Francisco (The Singer Group), and Paul Biltimier (R.E. Sutton & Associates).
Treasurer Penny Austin called the meeting to order at 5:50 p.m.
Sara Laughlin introduced Paula Singer of The Singer Group, who gave the board a big picture view of the classification/ compensation/ performance management study. Ms. Singer explained that there are three parts to the study: classification, compensation, and performance management. Compensation should be linked to classification and the goal is to insure that specific jobs are in an appropriate grade. A very comprehensive web-based survey of similar jobs in the marketplace will be conducted. The study will include updating the current salary schedule as well as developing good compensation practices. The Singer Group will meet with employee focus groups, a staff Advisory Committee, managers, the Board, and Sara Laughlin. Sara has notified staff that she will be communicating with them throughout the study. The Singer Group has established an email hotline. A web-based survey dealing with pay, longevity, and performance will be distributed to all employees. A compensation philosophy will be developed. External benchmarks will be used in reviewing current classifications. Possible benchmarks would be other libraries, governmental units, nonprofit organizations. The Singer Group hopes to provide a final report in time for the 2010 budgeting process. The report may provide phasing recommendations showing which jobs are the most behind or the lowest paid. Along with the performance appraisal process, an appeals process will be designed.
Randy Paul noted that the staff has been under a lot of stress in the past 12 months with the appointment of a new director and union negotiations. He asked whether any jobs would be lost or pay reduced and how to reduce the stress. Paula Singer stated that no jobs would be lost and no current pay would be reduced. She noted that open communication with staff is essential in reducing stress. Dave Ferguson asked how it could be a fair study if no salaries were lowered. Fred Risinger assumed that individual employees would not lose pay or jobs but position classifications could be downgraded (effecting future hires), or, in cases where a salary seemed more than deemed appropriate, the salary could be “red-lined” limiting future raises.
Randy Paul queried whether any lessons were learned from the previous compensation study. Paula Singer noted that 1) the model used for evaluating positions did not fit libraries; 2) some recommendations were not completely implemented; and 3) Some employees felt that people on the committee had received special treatment. Randy Paul asked if “correction” is part of this process. Paula Singer replied that current and future equity is a goal. She felt that it would be impossible to address all the issues involved in the last study. Sara Laughlin added that although some employees are stressed by the prospect of the study, many others are looking forward to it.
Dave Ferguson queried what is needed from the Board. Paula Singer noted that the Board should understand the process in order to answer questions from the staff and others.
Paula Singer asked how the Board sees itself in terms of paying high, moderate, or low salaries. Fred Risinger felt that “whatever fits the budget” works. Dave Ferguson felt that Bloomington itself is the incentive and not necessarily the pay. Randy Paul felt that MCPL does not exist in a vacuum and needs to be competitive. Both Fred Risinger and Randy Paul felt that the pay should not be based on how nice it is to live in Monroe County and that the library should treat its employees fairly. Randy Paul asked why only one union representative from the staff is included on the Advisory Committee. Sara Laughlin said that all groups were represented.
Paula Singer asked whether the Board wished to pay for longevity, productivity, education, or other factors. Additional discussion ensued regarding rewards for longevity and performance and the pros and cons of merit-based systems. Fred Risinger felt that individual likes and dislikes and personalities might come into play and people could end up being angry, but noted that he has worked in systems where it was successful. He felt that quantitatively stating goals works well. Paul Singer agreed and noted that goals could be linked to library goals. Penny Austin felt that performance should be considered as well as responsibility.
Steve Backs updated the board on the Healthcare Task Force findings. Eight Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for health insurance were sent out. Anthem was the only bidder. They offered to allow Library employees to choose from among three options: The “basic plan” would be a PPO plan with a slightly higher deductible and out-of-pocket maximum, with a 21.1% cost increase. Employees could “buy up” and retain the current PPO plan (25.5% increase), paying the difference in cost to keep the Library within its budget. A third offering from Anthem is a high-deductible plan at a cost of 16.9% less than current plan, plus an opportunity to establish and contribute to a Health Savings Account (HSA). Under this proposal, the Library would be able to contribute an initial amount to the HSAs of individual employees.
R.E. Sutton and Associates, the Library’s insurance broker, recommended offering all three options to staff if a reasonable number of employees enroll in each plan (approximately 10 for each plan). The Health Care Task Force concurred with this recommendation and suggested using the 21.1% increase plan as the basic plan.
As an example, Steve Backs presented figures on how an HAS, funded as recommended, would affect costs for his family insurance coverage. In his case, considering his premiums and out-of-pocket expenses, an annual savings of about $1,200 would be realized.
Paul Biltimier, R.E. Sutton & Associates, presented cost comparisons for high insurance utilizers, medium utilizers, and lower utilizers. He explained that HSAs are based on Internal Revenue Code regulations. The Library would select a bank to house HSA accounts; deposits would be made similar to premium payments; and individual employees would be responsible for keeping their own records of expenditures for possible IRS audit. The HSA would build over time, like a savings account, with the first year being the riskiest to the employee.
In general, the Board felt that offering three options to employees was a good idea. They stressed the importance of educating employees about the three options. Kyle Wickemeyer-Hardy stated that education was one of the top priorities. General meetings will be held with employees and more in-depth meetings will be held with those who express interest in an HSA.
Regarding dental insurance, R.E. Sutton & Associates and the Health Care Task Force are recommending a change to Health Resources, Inc. (HRI) at a slight premium decrease.
Life insurance and disability insurance bids were favorable, with UNUM being the frontrunner.
Mr. Biltimier stated that he did not recommend rebidding health insurance next year but rather waiting at least two years since the library has experienced high claim years recently.
None
The meeting adjourned at 7:30 p.m.
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November 26, 2008
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