Minutes for August 2008

Thursday, August 21, 2008
Avaya Auditorium, ACES 2.302

Members Present: Denise Berry, Craig Blaha, Ben Bond, Steve Brahm, Patrick Buckner, Anthony Bumpass, Stephanie Cardenas, James Cooper, Jackie Dana, Lara Eakins, Danielle Fournier, John Goutier, Chrissi Guerrero, Martha Harrison, Janice Hejl, Bobby Hemby, Troy Johnson, Becky Kester, Dianne Kline, Vicki Kullberg, Janet Larsen, Sarah Lind, David Macha, Gary Martt, Jennifer McAndrew, Jennifer McClain, Rita Moreno, Louise Nelson, Linda Overton, Pamela Owen, Eric Patkowski, Tina Radke, Janet Reed, Ben Rodriguez, Janell Ross, Tracy Saenger, Chris Scherer, Candace Shye, Rachel Sidopulos, Mindy Thompson, Heather Vacek, Robert Walker, Brandy Whitten, Ashley Williams, Blake Willms, Luis Zamora, Sunni Zuniga

Members Absent with Notification: Joe Gregory, Lori Hamilton, Phillip Hebert, Charles King, Sarah Kitten, Martha Ramey, Jo Ann Richmond, Mark Smyth, Peter Telck, Brittany Wilson

Members Absent: Jose Barroso, Nellie Cano, Alma Craig, Melva Harbin, Keith Hill, Richard Lee, Shelton Lewis, Robert Meyer, Jimmy Moore, Cindy, Posey, Meredith Taylor, Evan Turner, Barbara Welch

Call to Order

With a quorum present, Vice Chair Ben Rodriguez called the meeting to order at 2:00pm.

Announcements

Chair Mark Smyth was unable to attend today's meeting due to prior work commitments, and so asked Mr. Rodriguez to chair today’s meeting in his absence.

Next month's meeting is scheduled on Wednesday, September 17, 2008 from 2:00-3:30pm in the Avaya Auditorium, ACES 2.302.

Officer Reports

Chair

In Chair Mark Smyth’s absence, Vice Chair Ben Rodriguez presented the Chair’s report:

The November Staff Council general assembly meeting is scheduled on Thursday, November 20, 2008 from 11:30am-1:00pm in GRE 3.102 when the Council will celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with a potluck lunch. A warm thank-you to Linda Overton for volunteering to make arrangements to meet in GRE. Still looking for volunteers to assist with providing a turkey or two for the potluck lunch. If you can help, please get in touch with any executive officer.

We welcome new representatives Rachel Sidopulos and Luis Zamora, who have been elected to represent districts 402 and 442, respectively. Thank you to Nominations & Elections Chair Joe Gregory and his committee for being proactive in filling district vacancies. All representatives are encouraged to talk with coworkers in the districts still with vacancies about running for Staff Council representative positions.

Our guest speaker for the September general assembly meeting will be Student Government President Keshav Rajagopalan, who will share information about an initiative to implement a new safety web site. Staff Council has enjoyed having a student representative on the Council, and fostering the connection between staff and students on campus. If anyone has suggestions for a guest speaker at a future meeting, please submit those to the executive committee.

Vice Chair

Ben Rodriguez announced that all Staff Council committees have reported that members have convened. He reminded all committee chairs to continue working on writing printed procedures to help with annual transitions of committees. This is a mandatory guideline for all committees.

Storage boxes will be available for all committee chairs and officers to utilize for preserving printed documents outlining procedures and responsibilities. This will help facilitate smooth transitions of leadership from year to year.

Mr. Rodriguez will send out via email a document template for committee chairs to review and use as a guide for writing their own committee’s responsibilities and procedures.

Recorder/Secretary

Approval of Minutes
Janice Hejl sent via email the July meeting minutes, prior to today's meeting. She asked for additional edits to the minutes. Ms. Erin Waneck asked for four edits to items she presented in her Annual Report at the July meeting. She sent an email to the Recorder Secretary, immediately prior to today’s meeting, and asked that those edits be made. Recorder/Secretary Janice Hejl acknowledged that she will confirm the edits in Ms. Waneck’s email and amend the July minutes as requested.

Motion 1: Danielle Fournier - that the July meeting minutes be approved with the requested corrections.
Second: Phillip Hebert
There are no objections; the motion passes.

Ms. Hejl announced that the Executive Committee confirmed representatives Steve Brahm and Phillip Hebert as Assistants to the Recorder/Secretary. Mr. Brahm will assist with attendance and quorum verifications at monthly meetings. Mr. Hebert will provide support as Historian and work with the Bylaws Committee to ensure archive records are maintained and available for review. Both assistants will provide back-up to the Recorder/Secretary with note-taking at the monthly meetings as needed.

Committee Reports

Bylaws & Procedures

Committee Chair Eric Patkowski reported that the committee is working on converting the printed bylaws on-line from HTML format to .pdf format. This should make updates to the bylaws easier in the future.

Committee on Committees

Committee Chair Blake Willms reported that the committee is soliciting volunteers to fill two staff positions available to serve on the Faculty Council. Both positions are one-year terms, however, Staff Council is in conversation with the Faculty Council to determine the possibility of serving one-year terms since returning Staff Council representatives usually have only one year remaining to serve on any affiliated committees/councils. Mr. Willms suggests that new representatives may be allowed to serve with such groups so as to expand the Staff Council’s representation on campus. He further stated that he would talk with Faculty Council to inquire about staggering the terms for Staff Council representative positions or implementing two-year terms to foster continuity of staff representation on that council. Mr. Willms will report back to Staff Council with additional information at a later date.

Dee Dee Berry (District 999.3): The time commitment is not overwhelming; the meetings are usually once a month and representatives are asked to report to Staff Council with any pertinent information as needed. The Faculty Council does not meet during the summer.

Troy Johnson (District 491): My experience serving on Faculty Council was a good one; you get to meet faculty and President Powers. Also have an opportunity to work with Faculty Council on similar issues and make a bigger impact campus-wide. Staff Council positions are non-voting members, but you still have an opportunity to stand and speak before the Faculty Council.

Danielle Fournier (District 210.1): I would suggest that Staff Council reps who serve on the Faculty Council be exempt from required committee work within our organization.

Eric Patkowski (District 291): These positions are open to all staff, not just Staff Council representatives.

Dee Dee Berry: I will volunteer to serve in one position on Faculty Council.

Jennifer McAndrew: I will volunteer to serve in the other position on Faculty Council.

Jackie Dana (District 262): We may also want to look into cultivating a connection with the Academic Advisors Council; perhaps solicit volunteers to attend those meetings and report to Staff Council as needed.

Communications Committee

Committee Chair Ashley Williams reported that Spanish translation for one half of the Staff Council brochure is complete. She thanked committee member Sarah Kitten for volunteering to take on this project for the Council.

The committee continues to work on identifying suggestions for updates to the Staff Council web site.

Benefits Committee

Committee Chair Danielle Fournier reported that the committee did not meet this month. At their July meeting, the committee began working on compiling similar issues on which to focus. The committee plans to meet in September.

Nominations & Elections Committee

Committee Chair Joe Gregory reported that the committee elected Rachel Sidopulos as Vice Chair.

The Staff Council web site has been updated to include Mr. Gregory’s contact information. All information on current representatives has been updated on the web site. Mr. Gregory has submitted a request for permission to gain access to communicate directly with all districts across campus.

Infrastructure & Parking Committee

Committee Chair David Macha reported that the committee elected officers at its meeting this month.

The committee currently has no reported issues outstanding.

Ben Bond (District 160.1): I am aware of one outstanding issue for this committee; relates to a request for an awning between the North Office Annex building and the adjacent parking garage.

Issues Committee

Committee Chair Ben Bond reported that the committee did not meet this month. The committee continues work on reviewing all outstanding issues that have been submitted.

Mr. Bond reported that the link to the Issues Chair, listed on the Issues Proposal Form, seems to not be working. Ms. Erin Waneck suggested that Mr. Bond contact Debra Madden or Sharon Bernard to ask for assistance in correcting the web link.

Ben Rodriguez (District 130.2): The email addresses are stored on a server in the School of Social Work. We are working to get them moved over to Human Resources so that Ethan Diehl can have direct access to them, or get him access to the server at School of Social Work.

Stephanie Cardenas (District 322): Do submitters automatically get a “received” notification when they submit an issue?

Ben Bond (District 160.1): I don’t believe so, but we are working on improving the submission process.

Resources Committee

Committee Chair Gary Martt reported that the committee is working to create a template to document committee procedures.

The committee is working to create email lists for each committee, with the committee chairs programmed as “co-owners” so they can utilize the lists as needed.

The bylaws have been published in .pdf format in the Staff Council ‘virtual’ handbook on-line.

Hard copies of the Issues Proposal Form are always available at each Staff Council meeting, for those who prefer to submit issues via that method.

Chris Scherer (District 511): I’d like to see the Issues Proposal form updated to be more ‘user-friendly’ so we can email the form directly to the Issues Committee Chair.

Workplace Environment Committee

Committee Chair Lara Eakins reported that the committee met for the first time last week. All previous documentation from issues of the previous year have been received.

The committee is focusing on research and review of the Workplace Satisfaction survey. There are some compensation and classification issues that are still outstanding.

Ms. Waneck added that the Workplace Satisfaction survey is an initiative being used to survey staff about communications via email between the University and employees. Rhonda Weldon’s office is working on the survey and plans to distribute it sometimes in Spring 2009.

Tracy Saenger (District 672): Is it possible to formulate an on-line Issues Proposal form that could be directly routed to the Issues Chair? I volunteer to write that program code, if that would help.

Ben Rodriguez (District 130.2): We are addressing that with Human Resources to improve this form. Staff Council only has 200 hours of work time allotted for HR staff to work on Staff Council related requests/items, and creating this form and creating that code may take some time. HR definitely has done and continues to do everything we ask of them.

Eric Patkowski (District 291): One way to get around having to go through HR Services for minor requests is to have each committee chair set up his/her own web space, attached to individual EID. It may not be a feasible option for the long-term, but it could address the immediate need for minor requests.

Erin Waneck (ex-officio): We may consider asking President Powers to fund a part-time programmer so Staff Council can move forward with these updates to the Issues Proposal form.

Jackie Dana (District 262): I think there are concerns that all requests for the Staff Council web site have to be routed through Human Resources, including minor changes. Maybe consider a student intern to assist with these sorts of tasks next fiscal year?

Sunni Zuniga (District 550.2): The idea for a part-time programmer is a good idea but there are concerns of security that come with that idea.

Heather Vacek (District 560.2): Maybe the programmer can work with HR Services on a monthly basis and submit a compiled list of issues for review?

Ben Rodriguez (District 130.2): Issues have to be vetted through the Issues Committee, and then it is routed to the appropriate committee for research/review.

Dee Dee Berry (District 999.3): Perhaps we could think about doing a campus-wide campaign to encourage staff to submit issues?

Ben Rodriguez (District 130.2): That would be a good way to get other staff involved and to become aware of other issues out there.

New Business

Danielle Fournier gave an update on the UT System Employee Advisory Council, which met on July 31 and August 1, 2008:

• UT Chancellor search continues.
• UT System Tuition Assistance Program - awaiting selection and confirmation of permanent Chancellor to resume consideration of issues.
• No healthcare changes for FY2008-2009
• Wellness issues => cost of colonoscopies will be covered 100%.
• GASB 45 on the horizon => retirement benefits report as liabilities.
• State legislature is looking into issues regarding RX plans, i.e. how mail-order RX impact local economies.
• Blue Cross Blue Shield will continue to provide information on hospital and healthcare providers during annual enrollment.
• Implemented a ban on junk food at health fairs
• Diabetes, cholesterol, back injuries, and hypertension are top issues related to healthcare cost increases.
• Individuals are encouraged to take responsibility for their own wellness.
• Paid smoking cessation programs are available at all UT component institutions.

The Council meets three times each year, and is comprised of members who are appointed by their component institution’s president and serve a three-year term. Next meeting is 9/25/2008.

Ms. Fournier presented an update of work being done by the Communications Committee of the Employee Advisory Council:

• ITunesU – all higher education institutions are starting to implement this program, which offers access to podcasts.
• Discussed various options for communicating with employees who do not have computer access.
• Ms. Fournier elected EAC Communications Committee Vice Chair; her term begins 10/08.
• Working to compile a ‘best practices’ document from all UT system components.
• UT Dallas has a faculty/staff Ombudsman.

Questions For The Council

Ms. Waneck stated that the July meeting minutes appear not to have been distributed to the 997 district, and reiterated the importance of sharing this information with all staff on campus, as was the original intent when the 997 district was established. To deviate from this process due to a few staff responses that they do not wish to receive this information would be a disservice to staff campus-wide. She asked the Council for a motion to support this effort:

Motion 2: Eric Patkowski – that Staff Council continue sending to the 997 district all information, announcements and meeting minutes pertaining to the organization.

Second: Dee Dee Berry
There are no objections; the motion passes.

Ms. Waneck stated that it may be a good idea to implement an “opt-out” function on the list-serve for 997 district, so those who do not want to receive the agendas, meeting minutes and other Council related information can choose not to receive that information.

Linda Overton (District 190.2): When an issue is submitted, where does it go?

Ben Bond (District 160.1): It goes to the Issues Committee for review and processing.

Linda Overton: Does the submitter’s name go to Human Resources if he/she includes that information on the Issues Proposal form?

Ben Rodriguez (District 130.2): The submitter has the option to not include his/her name on the form. We do like to have submitters’ names so we can follow up with them on the status and/or disposition of an issue they submitted.

District 511 representative Chris Scherer reported that he has been selected to participate in a focus group for Employee and Campus Services in which he will share opinions about how these services impact employees and the effectiveness of communications to employees. He encouraged all representatives to send all feedback to him so he can share with that group. Next meeting of this focus group is September 25, 2008.

Jackie Dana (District 262): Can we get a copy of the UT System Employee Advisory Council information presented today?

Danielle Fournier (District 210.1): Absolutely.

Jackie Dana (District 262): The issue regarding jaywalking on campus – is that just Austin Police or is the University Police also involved in that initiative?

Danielle Fournier (District 210.1): The initiative came from APD to UT System but we’re not sure if it’s just APD or both entities. But, they’re going to be targeting just the periphery of campus, not areas within.

District 999.3 representative Dee Dee Berry inquired about the protocol for requesting that a guest speaker be added to a meeting agenda. Chair Mark Smyth explained that guest speaker requests should be submitted to the Executive Committee for review and consideration. If confirmed, the Chair notifies the guest speaker to schedule him/her to speak at the next scheduled Staff Council general assembly meeting.

Vice Chair Ben Rodriguez stated that the request should include the speaker’s name, their University affiliation and the intent of their presentation.

Adjournment

Motion 3: Ben Rodriguez – that the Council adjourn its meeting.

Second: Danielle Fournier
There are no objections; the motion passes.

The Staff Council general assembly meeting adjourned at approximately 3:20pm.

Watch the web recording of this meeting.

(You must have this plug-in installed.)