[Call Board of Commissioners Meeting to Order - 11:00 a.m. ]
[00:00:06]
LET'S CALL THE MEETING TOGETHER AND RAISED WITH THE PLEDGE.
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
FIRST ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS SILENCE CELL PHONES. WHERE DID THE AGENDA GO? I DON'T HAVE THE AGENDA. ALRIGHT, NEXT ITEM IS
[3. Approval of Agenda]
APPROVAL OF AGENDA. THE AGENDA WAS PROVIDED IN ADVANCE. ANY CORRECTION OR ADJUSTMENT IN THE AGENDA? THANK YOU. LETS HAVE THE APPROVAL. MOTION TO APPROVE.NEXT ITEM IS PUBLIC APPEARANCES.
ANYBODY HERE WANT TO ADDRESS THE COMMISSION ON ANYTHING OTHER THAN OUR TOPIC OF INTEREST FOR THIS AFTERNOON, THIS MORNING? IF NOT, WE'LL MOVE ON AND WE'LL MOVE ON
[5. Human Resources]
TO HUMAN RESOURCES, CONSIDERATION OF COMPENSATION AND CLASSIFICATION STUDY.WE'RE HERE, FINALLY. WITH THE CLASS AND CAMP PRESENTATION.
SMILE. IT'S ALL GOOD. HERE'S SOME BACKGROUND, ON OCTOBER 22, 2024, NICOLLET BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS APPROVED THE CONTRACT WITH DAVID BROWN ASSOCIATES TO CONDUCT THE TOTAL COMPENSATION ASSESSMENT PROJECT. THERE ARE 3 PURPOSES FOR THE PROJECT. ONE, REVIEW AND UPDATE THE COUNTY'S TOTAL COMPENSATION, PHILOSOPHY AND STRATEGY. TWO, UPDATE ALL JOBS DESCRIPTIONS TO ENSURE ACCURACY AND PROPER PLACEMENT IN THE PHASE SYSTEM. AND NUMBER 03, REVIEW AND RECALIBRATE THE PAY GRADE AMOUNT AND STRUCTURE.
THE PURPOSE OF TODAY'S PRESENTATION IS FOR DR. TESSIA MELVIN FROM DDA DEPARTMENT HEAD TO PRESENT AN EXPLANATION OF STUDY, RECOMMENDED A NEW PHASE STRUCTURE, CREATE DESIGNATION OF JOBS IN APPEAL PROCESS.
FOLLOWING THE PRESENTATION THE BOARD WILL BE ASKED THE FOLLOWING, ACCEPT THE COMPENSATION AND CLASSIFICATION STUDY, ADOPT THE NEW PAY STRUCTURE FOR NON UNION EMPLOYEES EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1 OF 2026. I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE TO YOU DR.
THANK YOU, BOARD AND BOARD CHAIR. I'M HERE LIKE BRIGETTE SAID TO PRESENT KIND OF THE FINDINGS AND LITTLE BIT OF A BACKGROUND. PLEASE ASK QUESTION AS WE GO. LIKE BRIGETTE SAID, IN 2025 DISCUSSION ON NEW JOB DESCRIPTION, CLASSIFICATION AND PROPOSE GRID. SINCE THEN JOB DESCRIPTIONS WERE REWRITTEN, REGRADED, AND RECALIBRATED THE GRID TO REDUCE COMPRESSION BETWEEN POSITIONS. AND WHAT COMPRESSION MEANS IS IF WE HAVE DIRECT REPORT AND THEN THE SUPERVISOR YOU DON'T WANT COMPRESSION BETWEEN THE TWO OF THEM TO ALLOW SPREAD. AND THEN, ALSO ALLOWS US JUST TO MAKE SURE WE ARE MARKET COMPETITIVE. THIS WERE THE BENCHMARK THAT WERE SELECTED IN THE COUNTY THAT WE USE.
AGAIN, BENCHMARK ARE USUALLY DETERMINED BY WHO SURROUNDS YOU BUT WE USE INDICATORS LIKE TAX CAPACITY, TAX RATES TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE CUSTOMIZE TO THE COUNTY. THE PAY PHILOSOPHY REALLY IS THE BOARD DECISIONS IS WHERE TO WANT TO BE IN RELATIONSHIP WITH THE MARKET. THE MARKET ANALYSIS SAYS WHERE YOU ARE CURRENTLY TO THE MARKET. AND YOU'LL ALSO HEAR INTERNAL MARKET AND PAY EQUITY. PAY EQUITY ONLY CARES ABOUT INTERNAL MARKET WITHIN THE COUNTY. YOU HAVE TO DO PAY EQUITY REPORT EVERY 3 YEARS. AND IT SAYS THESE ARE THE JOBS IN THE COUNTY, AND HERE'S HOW MANY MALES AND FEMALES AND HERE'S HOW WE PAY THEM. YOUR GRID OR WAGES REALLY SHOULD BE CALIBRATED WITH 3 THINGS. AND THOSE 3 THINGS ARE UPDATED JOB DESCRIPTION, INTERNAL EQUITY SO WITHIN THE ORGANIZATIONS HOW ITS STRUCTURED AND THEN THE LAST ONE IS MARKET COMPETITIVENESS.
THAT'S WHERE THE BOARD GOT TO DECIDE WHERE DO THEY WANT TO BE, HOW DO THEY WANT TO BE PAY FAIRLY, HOW DO THEY WANT THEIR STRUCTURE TO BE DESIGN. AND LOOKING AT FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ALL OF THAT OF HOW YOU WANT TO MOVE PEOPLE THROUGH. IT ALSO AS ON THE BOTTOM LEGAL COMPLIANCE SO IT HAS TO ABIDE TO PAY EQUITY. SO WE RUN A TEST TO MAKE SURE WHAT WE ARE PROPOSING WILL ALSO PASS PAY EQUITY. THE NEW MARKET DATA
[00:05:02]
COLLECTED BASICALLY PUTS THE COUNTY JUST SLIGHTLY ABOVE MARKET AVERAGE. THAT IS CONSIDERED HIGHLY ALIGNED WITH THE MARKET, IT ALLOWS YOU TO RETAIN AND RECRUIT TALENTED EMPLOYEES AND IT ALSO ALLOWS YOU TO FLUCTUATE AS THE MARKET FLUCTUATES. SO, THIS NEW PROPOSED GRID WILL BE SLIGHTLY ABOVE MARKET AVERAGE.SO AGAIN, OF ALL YOUR BENCHMARK, YOU'RE A LITTLE BIT ABOVE RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE. A LOT OF TIMES WE'RE ASKED, LIKE THE JOB EVALUATION, SO HOW ARE THE JOBS CLASSIFIED FIRST? THEIR JOB DESCRIPTIONS ARE WRITTEN, AND THEN WE USE A METHODOLOGY CALLED JET. THAT WILL DETERMINE THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE POINTS, YOU'LL ALSO HEAR THAT REFERRED TO COMFORT. THAT IS WHAT PAY EQUITY LOOKS AT. IT BASICALLY ALLOWS US TO DETERMINE WHERE IT FITS INTO THE GRID, HOW IT FITS IN INTERNALLY, AND FOR PAY EQUITY HOW IT COMES UP POINTS.
THE SYSTEM ITSELF USES THE FOLLOWING INDICATORS.
QUALIFICATIONS, EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, LICENSURE, CERTIFICATION, WHAT IS NEEDED FOR THE POSITION? I WILL SAY THINK OF IT AS, IF EVERYONE WINS THE LOTTERY, WHAT DO WE NEED FOR THAT POSITION? IT IS NOT ABOUT INDIVIDUALS, IT IS REALLY ABOUT WHAT IS NEEDED FOR THE POSITION.
FOR EXAMPLE, I HAVE A DOCTORATE WHEN I WAS IN COUNTY IN CITY GOVERNMENT I'M NOT GOING TO BE PAID FOR THAT BECAUSE IT'S NOT A REQUIREMENT.
SO WE DON'T PUT THAT IN THE JOB DESCRIPTION. IT IS ONLY WHAT IS NEEDED FOR IT. I'M ALSO A THERE AND I FOR PUBLIC WORKS. WE DON'T PUT THAT IN THE JOB DESCRIPTION BECAUSE IT WILL BE PRETTY HARD TO FIND A COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR THAT CAN WELL AND ADMINISTERED.
WE ALL BRING THINGS TO THE ORGANIZATION.
BUT REALLY WHEN WE LOOK AT THIS THE JOB DESCRIPTION WHAT IS NEEDED TO PROVIDE THE SERVICES AT THE SERVICE LEVEL THE COUNTY NEEDS. DECISION MAKING IS REALLY HOW DOES THE DECISION IMPACT YOUR WORK DIRECTLY? DOES IT IMPACT THE DIVISION, THE DEPARTMENT OR THE COUNTY AS A WHOLE? PROBLEM-SOLVING ARE, ARE YOU TAKING INFORMATION FROM ORDINANCES, LAWS AND POLICIES. ARE YOU CREATING YOUR OWN SOLUTIONS? IT ALSO INCLUDES, ARE YOU SUPERVISING OR PROVIDING WORK DIRECTION TO OTHER PEOPLE? RELATIONSHIPS, THINK ABOUT WHAT ARE YOU COMMUNICATING OR WHO ARE YOU COMMUNICATING TO? SO, IS IT CLIENT? IS IT RESIDENT? IS IT OTHER JURISDICTION? EFFORT BOTH MENTAL AND PHYSICAL. SO, THE MENTAL IS MORE ACCURACY AND DEADLINES NEEDED FOR THAT POSITION. AND PHYSICAL IS KIND OF WALKING, STOOPING, WHAT CAN YOU LIFT? HAZARDS OF THE JOB IN ENVIRONMENT. THIS SYSTEMS IS CREATED FOR THE PUBLIC SECTOR. SO, IT LOOKS AT THE STRESS OF WORKING IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR ENVIRONMENT, WE HAVE PEOPLE COMING IN THAT ARE HAPPY AND ANGRY AT TIMES. SO, IT DOES LOOK AT ALL OF THOSE. AGAIN, IT IS ONLY THE WORK THAT IS CONSIDERED AND OTHER FACTORS SUCH AS PERFORMANCE.
PERFORMANCE IS HOW LONG THE EMPLOYEE HAS BEEN THERE IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE JOB EVALUATION. THAT IS SEPARATE, THAT IS PERFORMANCE I WOULD SAY IS HOW THE PERFORMANCE OF EMPLOYEE BUT I DON'T LOOK AT IT AGAIN, I'M ONLY LOOKING AT THE POSITION. THESE ARE THE PROPOSE CLASSIFICATION AND I'M GOING TO GO THROUGH THEM, NOT READ THEM ALL OFF. THEY WILL BE SENT OUT LATER, YOU WILL HAVE THAT INFORMATION.
DEPARTMENT HEAD HAVE SEEN THIS, IT WILL BE SENT OUT TO EMPLOYEES AFTER THE MEETING BUT BASICALLY YOU WILL SEE THE NEW GRADE, JOB TITLE AND THEN DEPARTMENT. I WILL GO THROUGH THOSE. AND IF THERE IS ANY QUESTION PLEASE LET ME KNOW. AND I KNOW IT IS HARD TO READ BUT THIS WILL BE PROVIDED LATER. AND AS FAR AS NOW WE HAVE THE GRADE, WHAT IS THE STRUCTURE LOOK LIKE? YOU WILL SEE, IT IS SIMILAR TO WHAT YOU CURRENTLY HAVE.
THERE IS A GRADE AND THERE IS A MINIMUM MAX. AGAIN THE GRADE, IT IS DETERMINED BY THAT JOB DESCRIPTION AND INTERNAL EQUITY. AND THE STRUCTURE HERE IS HOW THAT POSITION WILL BE PAID. IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT SALARY RANGES THAT YOU ARE SEEING FOR BARGAINING UNIT POSITION IS SUBJECT TO NEGOTIATIONS AND NOTHING HAS BEEN FINALIZE THERE. THIS IS ONLY FOR NONUNION AS OF TODAY. ACTION ITEMS, IMPLEMENTATION FOR THIS NONUNION POSITIONS.
CONTINUE WORKING WITH THE UNION APPEAL PROCESS.
THERE WAS ALREADY A JOB DESCRIPTION APPEAL PROCESS WHERE EMPLOYEE IN A NEW
[00:10:01]
POSITION AND THEY COULD CHANGE IT. THERE IS CLASSIFICATION APPEAL THAT WILL GO OUT FOR NONUNION TO SAY LOOKING AT MY JOB DESCRIPTION IN A GRADE, IF IT IS GOOD NOTHING, YOU DON'T HAVE TO ANYTHING. IF SOMETHING IS MISSING FROM THE JOB DESCRIPTION OR WARNS ANOTHER REVIEW, THAT WILL BE AN APPEAL. YOU CAN'T JUST ASKED FOR MORE MONEY BUT IT HAS TO BE RELATED TO THE JOB DESCRIPTION. FLASA STATUS IS INCLUDED IN THOSE JOB DESCRIPTION. THAT IS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR APPEAL BECAUSE IT IS BASED ON FLASA AUDIT. NEXT STEP, AFTER TODAY, HR WILL SEND EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION WERE TO FIND THEIR JOB DESCRIPTION.THE EMAIL WILL INCLUDE APPEAL INSTRUCTIONS AND THAT APPEAL FORM. DEPARTMENT HEAD'S HAVE BEEN ASKED TO SENT OUT, WHEN THEY GET THEM, SENT IT BACK TO HR. AND THEN, I WILL WORK WITH HR, PRESENT THAT FINDINGS AT THAT POINT. AGAIN, THE CLASSIFICATION APPEAL, THE SUPERVISOR AND EMPLOYEE MUST COMPLETE BY JUNE 2. AGAIN, IT CAN'T JUST BE COMPLETED BY ONE OR THE OTHER. WE WANT IT TO BE COMPLETED BY BOTH AND SENT TO THAT DEPARTMENT HEAD. YOU CAN'T APPEAL PAY. YOU CAN'T SAY I WANT TO MAKE MORE MONEY OR I SHOULD MAKE WHAT SO AND SO MAKES. AGAIN, IT IS ABOUT JOB DESCRIPTION. IF THERE IS ACTUAL DUTIES THAT AREN'T ACCURATE THAT SHOULD BE ADDRESSED. QUESTIONS? I KNOW IT WAS A LOT OF INFORMATION GIVEN TO QUICKLY. I KNOW YOU BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS FOR A LONG TIME AND I JUST WANT TO KIND OF RECAP THE OLD, PRESENT THE NEW AND HOPEFULLY THERE IS QUESTIONS.
SPECIFIC QUESTION? THANK YOU FOR THE UPDATE.
FIRSTLY, CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT APPEALING THE JOB DUTIES.
SO, ONCE AN APPEAL COMES IN, WHO IS THE MEMBER OF THE DECISION-MAKING GROUP? I'M JUST GOING TO GO ALL THE WAY BACK TO MAKE SURE HOPEFULLY I CAN ANSWER THIS QUESTION. IF I'M AN EMPLOYEE AND I THINK MY JOB DESCRIPTION ISN'T ACCURATE OR I'M APPEALING THAT CLASSIFICATION, I WILL FILL IT OUT WITH SUPERVISOR AND IT WILL GO TO THE DEPARTMENT HEAD AND IT WILL COME TO HR, AND MYSELF AND WE WILL MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS ON THOSE CLASSIFICATIONS IF THERE IS A NEED FOR IT. ALL OF THIS HAD BEEN SENT TO THE DEPARTMENT HEAD BEFORE WE CAME TO YOU ALL TODAY, SO THEY CAN LOOK AT INTERNAL STRUCTURE, ADDRESS COMPRESSION ISSUES AND THAT.
DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? YES.
ANY QUESTION? WE HAVE BEEN SPEAKING ABOUT THIS FOR QUITE A WHILE. I HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING THIS PROCESS EMERGE. SO, AT THIS POINT THEN, AND I GUESS NEXT ITEM WOULD BE IS TO ACCEPT THE COMPENSATION AND CLASSIFICATION STUDY.
DO WE HAVE A MOTION? SO MOVED, MR. CHAIR.
MOTION AND SECOND. THIS DOESN'T REQUIRE ROLL CALL. SO, ALL IN FAVOR? AYE.
AND THEN THE NEXT ITEM WOULD BE NONUNION PHASE STRUCTURE WILL BE EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2026.
SO THAT IS RETROACTIVE FOR THE 1ST YEAR. DO WE HAVE A MOTION? SO MOVE.
ALL IN FAVOR? JUST A DISCUSSION POINT, MR. CHAIR. I DIDN'T GET THE CHANCE TO ASK ON THE FIRST ONE. THERE IS NO COMMITTEE THAT HAS BEEN ACTIVE ON THIS ROLE FOR THIS TIME. I WANT TO THANK THEM FOR THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE, MARIE AND KURT. AND ALSO MANDY AND HR DEPARTMENT. SO, AS YOU SIT HERE IS THIS SOMETHING THAT YOU FOLKS ARE SATISFIED WITH FOR THE LONG-TERM AS YOU MOVE FORWARD? I GUESS I CAN START. IT COMES A LONG WAY FOR 6 MONTHS.
WHITNEY, BRIDGETTE, MANDY AND DR. MELVIN DESERVE A LOT OF CREDITS FOR THE WORK IN THE LAST 6 MONTHS. THEY PUT COUNTLESS HOURS INTO IT. THEY HAVE SPENT TIME TO DEPARTMENT HEAD REVIEWING JOB DESCRIPTIONS AND POSITION DESCRIPTIONS VERY THOROUGHLY. SO THEY GET MOST OF THE CREDIT. THEY WORK VERY HARD FOR THIS. IT HAS COME A LONG WAY AND IT IS A LOT BETTER THAN THAT WHEN WE STARTED.
I WILL JUST ECHO WITH MARIE SAID, VERY LITTLE CREDIT BELONGS TO ME. THE HIT BELONGS TO THEM. THEY HAVE DONE A LOT OF WORK AND THEY HAVE DONE BACK AND FORTH. STUDY THIS VERY HARD WITH DDA AND DEPARTMENT HEAD
[00:15:03]
TO TRY TO GET THIS RIGHT. WE HOPE THAT THIS IS RIGHT. PART OF THE DELAY OF THIS IS TRYING TO MAKE THIS RIGHT NOT JUST TRYING TO RUSH A PRODUCT. IT WAS TRYING TO GET IT RIGHT.MR. CHAIR, I ALWAYS ASK THAT QUESTION. THE FIRST DOCUMENT AND I APPRECIATE THE RESPONSE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THE STAFF WORK THAT THEY BROUGHT ON TODAY. THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME THE OPPORTUNITY, MARIE AND KURT FOR BEING IN THAT COMMITTEE. I HAVE BEEN THERE, IT IS NOT EASY. I APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE.
WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND.
ALL IN FAVOR? AYE ALRIGHT, MOTION CARRIES.
[6. Adjourn Board of Commissioners Meeting]
WITH THAT I WILL ASK FOR A MOTION TO ADJOURN.ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. THANK YOU ALL. MEETING IS ADJOURN.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.