Minutes - July 20, 2006

University of Texas Staff Council Meeting July 20, 2006 at 2 P.M.

MAI 212

Members Present: Linda Breining, Gregory Browning, Vickie Drake, Lara Eakins, Nelson Fahlund, Danielle Fournier (Vice-Chair), Claudia Gerardo, Philip Guerrero, David Haney, Tom Horn, James Janknegt, Dreya Johannsen, Richard Lee, Shelton Lewis, Gary Martt, Michael McFarlin, Kimberly Montroy, Terry Moore, Rita Moreno, Joyce Moyer, Linda Overton, Pamela Owen, Eric Patkowski, Monica Pena-Mercado, Martha Ramey, Ben Rodriguez, Carol Roell, Felix Sanchez, Chris Scherer, Sandra Sleeper, Olen Smith, Allison Supancic, Barbara Thompson, Salwa Uzri, Kim Wallace, Erin Waneck (Chair), Shley Williams, Kimberly Williams, Blake Willms

Members Absent With Notification: Timothy Barber, Sharon Bernard, Jennifer Betancourt, Layne Brewster-Smith, Lisa Camero, Vanessa Cobb, James Cogburn, Johnnie Conley, Patrice Fox, Mark Gonzalez, Bretna M Hackert, Mari Johnson, Amy Jones, Debra Madden, Cynthia May, Alan McKendree, Heather Pafk, Billie Pierce, Debbie Warden,

Members Absent: Melba Catchings, Tommy Downey, Christine Gauger, Maria Hernandez, Victor Herrera, Sara Jackson Watson, Troy Johnson, Candace Legge, Keke Kelly Liao, Collin Logan, Robert Micks, Elaine Rafferty, Nadine Schulte, James Watson

Meeting Commenced at 2:03 PM without quorum.

CHAIR:

• Erin asked if everyone got the minutes sent out the day before. Erin explained there was a server malfunction, and if anyone did not receive the minutes, to report it to her or Mark.
   
• Discussion ensued of an HR issue about time-keeping discrepancies of state service time. She explained that it might affect employees who had a break in service with UT to work at another state agency/institution. HR will send an email to those affected to account for employment history and HR will contact other state employers to verify the time and make sure the employee is awarded for their fair time served. Email should be forthcoming in August or September.

VICE-CHAIR:

• Danielle discussed committee assignments, which she emailed to the Council. There was also a paper list provided at the meeting. Planned time at the end of the meeting in order for committees to meet and plan first meeting and possibly elect chairs of committees.
   
• Danielle stated that some members were placed in 2 committees and that if that was going to overwhelm the member, to let her know. As well, if there was a member assigned to a single committee who would like to serve on a second committee, please let her know. If anyone had any committee assignment questions or comments, please let Danielle know.
   
• Danielle asked that anyone who is not continuing serving on their committee from the previous year, to please consider assisting with the old committee during the transition process, if asked by that committee.
   
• There are several committee members who are not English speakers, so Danielle asks if anyone who is bilingual or ASL knowledgeable to please volunteer to be included in a "database" to be utilized to assist with these members as necessary.
   
• Tom Horn asked about those who know some ASL, but not certified, could they be of use? Danielle responded that if the member can assist with conveying issues and be understood, then that member would be important.

CHAIR:

• Erin mentioned the need for regular Council attendance to the general meetings. She explained that the Council required a quorum to do business, and that the Council cannot vote on any issue without a quorum. She did elaborate that summers can be a problem, due to many people taking vacations, but that every effort needs to be made to attend the meetings.
   
• Erin presented the issue regarding the Staff Educational Benefit and the $50 reapplication fee for Amy Jones, as Amy could not attend. Erin read the issue through, but without a quorum at this time, the Council did not vote on the issue.
   
• Blake Willms added some information about the admissions process and the reapplication fee. He corrected the amount of the fee, as it has increased to $60. He also explained any time a student sits out a long semester their name is dropped from the roles to help plan course loads. He did not know how much impact it would be to keep staff members on the roles to cover a semester's absence. He also mentioned that the Staff Ed. Benefit was not intended to be for every employee, as each has to apply and be admitted against stiff competition. He mentioned that he would like to see the benefit expand to cover evening and correspondence courses (which Erin confirmed was an issue UTSC has been working on). He also added that if an employee applied to UT, but did not get admitted, their fee is refunded.
   
• Linda Breining mentioned that there should be a time-period where an employee is dropped from the roles (for example, after sitting out 3 long semesters), but that an employee should not have to pay each time they have to reapply. Maybe this should be waived.

INSURANCE COMMITTEE REPORT:

• Claudia Gerardo read the Insurance Committee's Findings and Recommendation for Issue 2005-18 (University Salary Supplement Increases). The final recommendation is that no further action should be taken.

CHAIR:

• Erin mentioned a suggestion by Gary Martt for members to introduce themselves, talk a little about where they work and how they got interested in UTSC.
   
• It was noted that a quorum was reached with the arrival of Sandra Sleeper.
   
• Tom Horn brings up the issues regarding the by-laws and the motion from the last meeting to make the Mentoring Committee a standing committee. To do this would require a change to the by-laws, thus the Mentoring Committee is still technically an ad-hoc. He also mentioned that the Mentoring Committee's responsibilities and purview could expand to include gathering and organizing info. about UTSC. There are two ways to make the Mentoring ad-hoc committee a standing committee: change the by-laws or vote to make it a working committee and later a standing committee.
   
• Since so many members were absent, Erin noted that committees should wait until all the members could meet to elect a chair. It was decided that committees should set a meeting time before the next general meeting and elect a chair before then. Once a chair is decided upon, the committee needs to let Danielle know.
   
• Tom Horn asked how the new members found out about UTSC. Most members heard about it from prior members in their districts or word of mouth.
   
• Ben Rodriguez mentioned he had discovered UTSC from a meeting of the Classified Staff Affairs Committee in the Libraries.
   
• Phillip Guerrero mentioned that it would be great if the mentoring committee could expand its orientation role beyond the UTSC, and offer volunteer mentors to new University employees during staff orientation.
   
• Erin mentioned that she has approached HR about making a brochure about UTSC to give to new employees.
   
• Joyce Moyer mentioned that she heard about UTSC from occasional emails about minutes, but really got involved when she was asked to serve the rest of a member's term who had resigned from UTSC. She made a comment about how it would be nice to get the minutes and agenda earlier so these can be distributed to constituents before the meeting. She also mentioned that she has been in contact with a Custodial Services employee and may have a candidate for representation for that district.
   
• Erin mentioned that there was a lot of confusion about UTSC representation for Custodial Services and that Danielle and she are working to remedy this situation.
   
• Now that quorum was reached, Terry Moore asked if minutes could be approved, however since they were not sent with enough time to review, this could not be completed.
   
• Erin did re-read the issue about the staff educational benefit (with a correction by Ben Rodriguez that the fee is $60 instead of $50), and the motion was approved to send it to Miscellaneous Benefits.
   
• Tom Horn made motion for the Mentoring Committee to become a working committee, with the ultimate goal of making it a standing committee.
   
• Motion was approved.

MEETING ADJOURNED AT 2:46 PM.

Prepared by Vickie Drake
UTSC