Minutes for January 2009

Thursday, January 22, 2009
Avaya Auditorium, ACES 2.302

Members present:  Denise Berry, Ben Bond, Steve Brahm, Patrick Buckner Tony Bumpass, Mary Campbell, Stephanie Cardenas, James Cooper, Jackie Dana, Lara Eakins, Suzanne Ewing, Joe Gregory, Chrissi Guerrero, Lori Hamilton, Martha Harrison, Phillip Hebert, Janice Hejl, Bobby Hemby, Keith Hill, Eric Johnson, Troy Johnson, Charles King, Dianne Kline, Vicki Kullberg, Janet Larsen, Sarah Lind, Gary Martt, Jennifer McAndrew, Jennifer McClain, Robert Meyer, Jimmy Moore, Rita Moreno, Louise Nelson, Linda Overton, Pamela Owen, Eric Patkowski, Cynthia Podolnick, Cindy Posey, Tina Radke, Martha Ramey, Janet Reed, Jo Ann Richmond, Ben Rodriguez, Janell Ross, Tracy Saenger, Chris, Scherer, Madison Searle, Mark Smyth, Robert Walker, Bobby Wawak, Brandy Whitten, Ashley Williams, Blake Willms, Luis Zamora, Sunni Zuniga

Members Absent with Notification:  Danielle Fournier, John Goutier, Sarah Kitten, David Macha, Candace Shye, Rachel Sidopulos, Meredith Taylor, Peter Telck, Mindy Thompson, Heather Vacek, Barbara Welch, Brittany Wilson,

Members Absent:  Jose Barroso, Lewis Bowen, Nellie Cano, Robert Meyer, Jimmy Moore, Amy Olson

CALL TO ORDER

With a quorum present, Chair Ben Bond called the business meeting to order at 2:00pm. in the Avaya Auditorium, ACES. 2.302.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Next month's meeting is scheduled on Thursday, February 19, 2009 from 2-3:30pm in the Avaya Auditorium, ACES 2.302.

Connie Deutsch, Director of Work Life Services, in Human Resource Services, will address the Council at the February 19, 2009 general assembly meeting.

OFFICER REPORTS

CHAIR

Ben Bond asked committee chairs to schedule committee meetings before February 12 in order that updates could be prepared and presented at the February 19, 2009 meeting.

Mr. Bond reported update on Issue 2006-12, which addressed making computer terminals available to all staff.  A test computer went out to Custodial Services on January 21.  Feedback will be collected and system modifications will be made.  Deadline for rolling out 25 computers is April 30, 2009. 

Mr. Bond reported that a SharePoint site has been created to store documents electronically in a central location.  This will ensure that documents are not lost in transitions from one Council to the next.  Configuration of the SharePoint site will take place in the coming months.  An announcement with instructions will come once the configuration is complete.

VICE CHAIR

Steve Brahm reported there were no updates at this time.

RECORDER/SECRETARY

Approval of Minutes
Recorder/Secretary Janice Hejl sent out the November and December meeting minutes via email, prior to today's meeting.  With a quorum present, Ms. Hejl requested a motion to approve the November minutes:

Motion 1:        Joe Gregory – that the November minutes be approved.

Second:           Cindy Posey

There were no objections; the motion passes.

Upon requesting a motion to approve the December minutes, Council members advised that they had not received the December minutes.  Ms. Hejl stated she would make another attempt to distribute them for review, and approval would take place at the February 19, 2009, along with the January 22, 2009 minutes.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Ad Hoc Committee on Ombudsman

Committee Chair Erin Waneck reported that Faculty Ombudsman Mary Steinhardt attended the committee’s last meeting.  Dr. Steinhardt expressed interest in assisting the Staff Council in their efforts to implement a staff ombudsman position at UT Austin.  She provided useful information and expressed that staff need an ombudsman position.  Dr. Steinhardt invited Ms. Waneck to speak with Faculty Council to increase support of this initiative.  More updates at a future date.

Bylaws Committee

Committee Chair Eric Patkowski presented a proposal to change the Infrastructure & Parking and the Workplace Environment Committees from ad hoc to standing committees.

Ben Rodriguez (District 130.2);  Why are we defining these two committees within the bylaws and not the other committees?
Ben Bond (District 160.1):  The other committees have already been defined as such in the bylaws.

Chris Scherer (District 511):  There are concerns about  the description of the Workplace Environment Committee as it is very vague yet seems to overlap the purview of other committees, which can create an overload of work for a few number of committees.

Erin Waneck (ex-officio):  Ad hoc committees have assumed some of the broader areas of issues, like the Ombudsman and Evaluations committees.

After much discussion, following motion was made:

Motion 2:        Phillip Hebert – to table this issue and get further clarification of the changes being proposed.

Second:           Tina Radke

Jennifer McClain (District 660.1):  The discussion is about only changing these two committees from ad hoc to standing committees; we are not discussing changing the definition today.

Mr. Hebert withdraws his motion to table this issue.

Joe Gregory (District 470.1):  We spend an awful lot of assembly time talking about wording on various things when we should let the respective committees work on those items and present them to the Council for approval.

Motion 3:        Jennifer McClain – to accept proposal to change Infrastructure & Parking and Workplace Environment Committees from ad hoc to standing committees, and update the bylaws accordingly.

Second:           Joe Gregory

There were no objections; the motion passes.

Benefits Committee

Committee Chair Danielle Fournier was unable to attend today’s meeting.

Committee on Committees

Committee Chair Blake Willms reported that he is gathering additional volunteers to serve on the Ad Hoc Committee on Evaluations.  Please contact Blake if you are interested in serving.

Jackie Dana (District 262):  Can you explain what this committee is working on currently?
Erin Waneck (ex-officio):  The committee has four issues they’re currently working on, including 360 evaluations and revamping the evaluations process.  Merit increases are dependent on evaluations, so this committee is very important.  Perhaps we can re-populate that committee by soliciting staff via email to the 997 district.

Ben Bond:  Human Resource Services is working to redesign the evaluation form template to include a ‘rebuttal’ section, in which employees can directly include a response to any evaluation they receive.

Erin Waneck: Since the ad hoc committee is currently working on the evaluations issue, perhaps committee members should meet with HR Services to provide input and feedback from staff on how to improve the evaluations?

Communications Committee

Committee Chair Ashley Williams reported that the Communications Committee is continuing to work on the web site re-design.

Infrastructure & Parking Committee

Committee Chair David Macha reported that the committee is continuing to work on a couple of outstanding issues.

Issues Committee

Committee Chair Cindy Posey reported no new updates at this time.

Nominations & Elections Committee

Committee Chair Joe Gregory reported that the committee was beginning work to prepare for the upcoming elections in spring.

Resources Committee

Committee Chair Gary Martt reported no new updates at this time.

Workplace Environment Committee

Committee Chair Lara Eakins presents four issues:

Issue 2003-9: Sick Leave Pool – Proposal from Julien Carter to have a UTSC member meet with Debra Kress (Director of EMS) on a regular basis to collect information on approvals and denials of Sick Leave Pool applicants.

Ben Rodriguez (District 130.2):  Has there been consideration given to the Sick Leave Pool with regard to allowing legal guardians to visit family who are hospitalized?

Ben Bond (District 160.1):  That is a separate issue; please submit an issue if you wish to pursue that further.

Brandy Whitten (District 712):  When there are multiple similar requests submitted for Sick Leave Pool, and one is approved and another is denied; what can we do to look at past patterns or will we start from this point and move forward?

Ben Bond (District 160.1):  This proposal starts a dialogue that we can then re-evaluate in 6 or 12 months if desired.

Sunni Zuniga (District 550.2):  One component of the request process that is strongly reviewed is the doctor’s letter.  There is no appeals process currently in place, so we could look at how those applications are re-submitted.

Denise Berry (District 999.3):  After the data is collected, where does it go?

Ben Bond (District 160.1):  The data would be presented to the Council as needed.  

Motion 4:        Cindy Posey – that the Council accepts Issue 2003-9.

Second:           Ben Bond

There were no objections; the motion passes.

Issue 2004-2: Letter in file for Staff Excellence Awards - Those receiving Staff Excellence Awards will have that noted in their personnel file.  This will begin with the current nominating process, and will continue for the future.

Vice Chair Steve Brahm reiterated that nominations for the Staff Excellence Award will be verified before placing a notation in an employee’s personnel file.

Motion 5:        Chris Scherer – that Council accepts Issue 2004-2.

Second:           Brandy Whitten

There were no objections; the motion passes.

Issue 2005-19 : Travel Policies - The original issue was a request for direct billing for work travel to keep travelers from having to request cash advances or to pay out-of-pocket and then be reimbursed. The Travel Management Services website at UT now gives full details on how to arrange for direct billing of car rentals and hotels, as well as information on getting a traveler's credit card. This seems to achieve the goals of the issue and it should be voted closed.

Motion 6:        Cindy Posey – that Council closes this issue.

Second:           Joe Gregory

There were no objections; the motion passes.

Issue 2006-6 : Compliance training more specific to job duties - The modules are broadly applied because you may encounter situations covered in the modules even if they are not specifically related to your job. Recommend we close the issue.

Motion 7:        Lara Eakins – that Council closes this issue

Second:           Joe Gregory

There were no objections; the motion passes.

OLD BUSINESS

There were no Old Business items to discuss at this time.

NEW BUSINESS

Chair Ben Bond introduced guest speaker President Bill Powers, and yielded the floor for his presentation on the state legislature, University budget, and domestic partner benefits.  Time permitting, the President will take audience questions in these areas.

President Powers began his address by thanking the staff for its commitment to University Staff Council and the University.  The state legislature, which meets every 2 years, began another session last Monday.

Joe Strauss has been named the new House Speaker.  He understands issues regarding health care and education, including higher education.

Though the economy is currently experiencing tough time, higher education institutions are very fiscally responsible.  Recurring budgets are sustainable over time, so UT Austin will be able to weather the ‘down’ times though economy is very volatile nationwide, and situation could change in the future.

State Comptroller Susan Combs will review the state budget and certify in April or May.  The University’s “base” budget is expected to be up slightly from the expectations 2-3 years ago, and not cuts in the year-over-year budget.

President Powers opened the floor to questions regarding the budget:

Cindy Posey (District 522):  Is there anything creative anticipated within the University budget regarding voluntary cuts in pay in order to avoid layoffs?

President Powers:  At this time, we don’t anticipate any layoffs or cuts.  If we experience a funding shortfall, we would look at attrition first.  College deans and directors have been asked to slow down the hiring of positions in order to help balance the budget.  We would probably look at reductions in services and adequately reward those who are assigned those additional responsibilities.

Brandy Whitten (District 712:  With increased cost of healthcare, the responsibility of paying more for healthcare will fall to the employees.  Do you support fostering health and wellness programs to increase wellness, and what can be done to implement “checks” on healthcare costs?

President Powers:  Health and wellness programs would be a high priority for the budget when we find out what the budget will be.  State funding of healthcare is a high priority for the state legislature.  Wellness is a good for faculty and staff, and we are committed to continuing  promotion of wellness System-wide.

Karen Landolt (Co-chair for P.E.F.S.A):  State representative Elliott Naishtat is filing a bill related to the issue of domestic partnership benefits, and the Gender Equity Task Force has just released its report recently.  Are there any changes in the University’s position on this issue?

President Powers:  The University does not have a position on the bill that Representative Naishtat is filing.  I will commit to talking with the new Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa about this issue.  It is my understanding that current law prevents the University from extending domestic partner benefits, but we will talk to UT System and see how we can move forward on this.

Phillip Hebert (District 342):  Would you support a program that promotes a more definitive initiative for departments to hire employees from within before going to external resources to fill vacancies?

President Powers:  The CareerSmart program that Human Resource Services has launched is very important tool in offering training classes to employees.  It is important to guard against hiring people who are not right for a particular position; we want to hire people that are right for the positions that they’re applying for.  Most positions are set up on “experience-based” criteria rather than knowledge and skills, which can be an impediment to many individuals; “competency and talent based” criteria is needed, and departments are encouraged to look at the talent available on campus they move ahead.  We want to be fair and equitable, and the highest criteria for consideration should be an individual’s talent to perform the job requirements.  I would be hesitant to go so far as to mandate departments in that manner.

Chris Scherer (District 511):  Are there spousal benefits for common-law marriages?  Will domestic partnership benefits affect policy costs?

President Powers:  For common-law marriages, or marriages recognized through another legal means, spouses are eligible for benefits.  The University does not currently provide benefits to individuals who are not legally bound, from the perspective of the state law.  Policy benefits costs are not the obstacle.

Cindy Posey (District 522):  Can you address the issue of equitable salary increases among all employee groups?

President Powers:  Increases will be fair.  The University always reserves some monies in the “center” before distributing out to the colleges.  In 2006-2007, the overall ratio of staff to faculty increases was 3.55% and 3.58%; in 2007-2008, the ratio was 3.6% to 3.9%.  When comparing staff salaries with faculty salaries to other competitive markets, staff salaries are better than faculty salaries, overall.

Louise Nelson (District 540.2):  Will there be any impact to UT Austin and UT System from the challenges currently faced by UT Medical Branch in Galveston, following Hurricane Ike?

President Powers:  There will be a substantial impact over time.  Currently, we do not know what other resources will be requested in order to help bear the burden post-Ike.  Insurance premiums may change over time, but not overnight. 

Following his presentation, Mr. Bond thanked President Powers for taking time to speak to the Council today.

Chair Ben Bond opened the floor for any other New Business for discussion:

Nominations and Elections Chair Joe Gregory introduced new Staff Council member Eric Johnson, who serves District 550.3.

Erin Waneck reported that the Communications Report is forthcoming, and Rhonda Weldon will present the report in April.

QUESTIONS FOR THE COUNCIL

Denise Berry (District 999.3):  Were the topics that the President presented today pre-arranged before his address?

Ben Bond (District 160.1):  Yes.  As his office requested time on our agenda today, I was advised that the topics of the budget, upcoming legislative session and domestic partnership benefits were the areas on which the President wanted to speak today.

Sunni Zuniga (District 550.2);  Has anyone approached the President’s Office about asking the President to make these types of addresses a regular event?

Ben Bond (District 160.1):  This is a great idea; I’ll make a note of that.

Erin Waneck (ex-officio):  President Powers meets with Faculty Council on a regular basis and he has expressed an interest in also speaking with Staff Council regularly.

Brandy Whitten: Perhaps we could request that the President come and speak with Staff Council on a regular basis, for example, once per semester, per year or per quarter.  I would like to make a motion on this:

Motion 8:        Brandy Whitten – to request that President Powers address Staff Council regularly as noted above.

Second:           Joe Gregory

There are no objections; the motion passes.

Janell Ross (District 999.1):  The President mentioned attrition as a means for helping to balance the budget; however, attrition and a reduction in “what we use” translates to a reduction in work force, and can relate to and affect retirements.  Can we ask that the President define this when he returns to address us again?

Julien Carter (AVP, HR Services):  Attrition means that when vacancies occur, the University uses the resources it currently has to cover that vacancy.  A reduction in services rather than a reduction in staff salaries => relates to reducing services altogether or assigning more responsibilities to one person.

Martha Harrison (District 391):  LBJ School went through an attrition period, and through restructuring, has changed our jobs.  The number of employees has been cut and I, for one, have been assigned more job responsibilities, so that burden still falls on the employees’ backs.

ADJOURNMENT

Motion 9:        Chris Scherer – that the meeting be adjourned.

Second:           Unanimous

There were no objections; the motion passes.

The Staff Council general assembly meeting adjourned at approximately 3:25pm.