Rockford Sun

City of Carlyle Employee Concerns Committee met May 4.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

Call to Order/Roll Call

The meeting was called to order by Chairman Shannon Petrea at 5:30 p.m. at Case Halstead Library located at 550 6th Street. Committee members present included Shannon Petera, Scott Diekemper, and Bruce Hilmes. Others present included Amy St. John, Mike Drake, Kyra Drake, Brad Myers, Don Perez, Kayla Voss, Andy Wennerstrom, Brandon Pieron, Ricky Huge, Kevin Rolfingsmeyer, Mayor Judy Smith, and Rita Jurgensmeyer.

Approval of Minutes

Bruce Hilmes made a motion to approve the minutes from the February 28, 2022, meeting. The motion was seconded by Scott Diekemper and was unanimously approved by voice vote.

Purchase Orders

Mayor Judy Smith told the committee that John Hodapp brought up that he thought purchase orders should be used within departments. When John Hodapp was the electric foreman, he used purchase orders. Andy Wennerstrom currently uses purchase orders for larger priced items and chemical deliveries and anything that needs to be brought before the council. Mayor Smith said when John was in the Electric Department, they used them for everything. Mayor Smith said that the question to the committee is, how do they feel about the departments using purchase orders? Mayor Smith said that city hall has no need for purchase orders from the departments. Kayla Voss, city hall office supervisor, said that they do not need the purchase orders, that they pay from the invoice. Alderman Don Perez commented that the need for purchase orders came about because there was theft in some of the departments. He said that the purchase order would need to be signed by a supervisor and that way the supervisor would know of all the purchases. Alderman Shannon Petrea questioned if there was a dollar amount that would need a purchase order. She feels if there is a purchase order for everything that is purchased it leads to a lot of extra paperwork especially if it is for a minimum amount. Mayor Judy Smith asked permission to bring Bradley Meyers into the conversation. He told the committee that he wasn’t speaking in any official capacity. He then told the committee that purchase orders are vital to audit purposes. It is also good for cross tracking. He said that there should be a certain amount in which purchase orders are required. For small purchases it could be lumped together for a monthly purchase order from one vendor. More discussion was held concerning the advantages and the disadvantages of using purchase orders and it was decided to recommend sending it to the city council for approval. A motion was made by Scott Diekemper to send to city council that the committee is recommending purchase orders to be used going forward with the rules to be determined. The motion was seconded by Bruce Hilmes, and it was unanimously approved by voice vote.

Evaluations

A discussion was held concerning employee evaluations. Mayor Judy Smith commented that they are not performance driven. She feels it is a time-consuming task for the superintendents to complete for the employees. She also feels that they have the form to write an employee up if there is need for disciplinary action. Bruce Hilmes made a motion to eliminate employee evaluations. Scott Diekemper seconded the motion, and it was unanimously approved by voice vote. This will also be recommended to be sent to city council for approval.

Summer Hires

Discussion was held to determine the best time and date for summer hours. Mayor Judy Smith explained that previously the summer hours were from 6:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. When the employees in the electric and water department get off at 2:30 p.m. the employees in city hall are there until 4:30 p.m. so if they need something done after 2:30 p.m. the electric or water department employees would receive call out and overtime. It was suggested they go from 6:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. to cut down on the overtime expense. Kayla Voss said that she did track it last summer. The committee decided they would like to see the numbers from last summer and they will discuss it at the next employee concerns meeting.

City Administrator Salary

Shannon Petrea asked for a motion to table city administrator salary to a future meeting. Scott Diekemper made a motion to table this to a future meeting. Bruce Hilmes seconded it and it was unanimously approved by voice vote.

City Administrator Duties

Shannon Petrea asked for a motion to table city administrator’s duties to a future meeting. Scott Diekemper made the motion and Bruce Hilmes seconded the motion and it was unanimously approved by voice vote.

Separating City Administrator Duties

Shannon Petrea asked for a motion to table separating city administrator’s duties to a future meeting. Bruce Hilmes made the motion and Scott Diekemper seconded it and it was unanimously approved by voice vote.

Permission to Post for City Administrator

Shannon Petrea asked for a motion to table permission to post for a city administrator to a future meeting. Bruce Hilmes made the motion and Scott Diekemper seconded the motion and it was unanimously approved by voice vote.

Temporary City Administrator

Mayor Judy Smith told the committee that at the next council meeting she will bring Brad Myers’s name to the council to hire as a temporary city administrator for six months. At the end of six months, the mayor and council will look at where they are and proceed from there.

Executive Session

The Committee did not enter executive session.

Adjournment

At 5:58 p.m. a motion to adjourn was made by Bruce Hilmes. The motion was seconded by Scott Diekemper and was approved by voice vote.

https://go.boarddocs.com/il/carlyle/Board.nsf/Public