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Minutes_2019_10_10_Policy ReviewProtecting our community's health and the environment by providing solid waste and wastewater collection services. www.cmsdca.gov Costa Mesa Sanitary District ….an Independent Special District Policy Review Ad Hoc Committee 290 Paularino Avenue Costa Mesa, California 92626 MINUTES October 10, 2019 8:00 a.m. Committee members present: Director Art Perry, Director Michael Scheafer, Citizens Advisory Committee Member Monte Fields, General Manager Scott Carroll, Administrative Services Manager Dyana Bojarski, Office Specialist Angela Colunga Committee members absent: Citizens Advisory Committee Member Steven Takahashi Others present: There were no members of the public present. 1. Selection of which CMSD Policies to Review Director Perry suggested bypassing the Employee Handbook and reviewing the Administrative Policies. Director Scheafer agreed. 2. Discussion of CMSD’s Administrative Policy Director Scheafer and Director Perry commented that the Employee Handbook seems to be working. General Manager, Scott Carroll, noted that Administrative Services Manager, Dyana Bojarski, regularly updates the policy with new regulations and legal requirements according to recommendations from Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, a public employee law firm. Mr. Carroll asked for suggestions, revisions, and questions regarding the Administrative Policies. Director Perry inquired about the Customer Relations policy that reads, “never place a telephone caller on hold for an extended period of time.” Mrs. Bojarski and Mr. Carroll noted that all employees are responsible for answering the phone and customers are rarely put on hold for more than 2 to 3 minutes. Policy Review Ad Hoc Committee Minutes October 10, 2019 Page 2 of 5 Director Perry inquired about the Customer Relations policy that reads, “all correspondence and documents, whether to customers or others, must be neatly prepared and error-free.” Mr. Carroll shared that if he prepares a document, he will have another staff member review his work or have consultant, Peter Whittingham, review his correspondences. Director Scheafer inquired about the Customer Relations policy that reads, “when an employee encounters an uncomfortable situation that he or she does not feel capable of handling, the General Manager should be called immediately for assistance.” Director Scheafer asked how District staff would respond if a customer wished to complain about the General Manager. Mr. Carroll responded that he would have the customer address the Board regarding their concerns about the General Manager. Director Scheafer inquired about upper management hierarchy and suggested adding a statement to the policy regarding the General Manager’s designated representative in his absence. Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) Member Monte Fields suggested implementing a chain of command for answering phone calls. Director Perry suggested reformatting the Paperless Agenda policy due to a numbering error. Mrs. Bojarski recommended changing the term “iPads” to “electronic devices.” Director Perry discussed the Emergency Response for Hostile or Violent Workers policy. The committee discussed the recent incident involving a homeless individual lingering in the District headquarters restroom and lobby area. Mr. Carroll shared that the front office staff will be getting an alert system installed to indicated when someone has entered the lobby doors. Mrs. Bojarski added that there will be an additional camera installed to monitor the restroom entrance area. Director Scheafer and CAC Member Fields discussed including a guideline regarding safety and contacting 911 (or the appropriate authorities) at the beginning of the Emergency Response for Hostile or Violent Workers policy. The committee discussed the phrase “code blue” and whether it is used during emergency training. Director Perry recommended training staff on how and when to use the phrase. Director Scheafer suggested implementing an alert system with different sounds to indicate different types of emergency situations. Director Perry inquired about how often new employees are assigned Target Solutions trainings. Director Scheafer inquired about the wastewater crew and the training they are receiving with regard to emergency situations. Directors Perry and Scheafer both requested a meeting to review emergency responses and training. Director Scheafer discussed media relations and training regarding how to inform the media of emergencies. Policy Review Ad Hoc Committee Minutes October 10, 2019 Page 3 of 5 Mrs. Bojarski noted that District staff went through onsite safety training with Pinkerton. Director Scheafer recommended an onsite, all-hands training with the Costa Mesa Police Department or Code Enforcement. Director Perry suggested having two training sessions: one session for staff and another session for Board members only. CAC Member Fields requested a list of on-boarding and annual employee trainings. Director Perry recommended training staff on how to contact Costa Mesa Police Department and how to use the phone intercom system. CAC Member Fields asked if there is an employee hotline for emergencies. Mr. Carroll shared that employees can call the EOC phone lines. Director Perry recommended that in the case that Mr. Carroll is not available to respond to an emergency, the policy should have an appointed designee to fill his role as emergency response coordinator. Director Scheafer suggested including contact information in case of an airport or airplane incident. Additionally, he suggested including guidelines regarding power outages. The committee discussed the upcoming scheduled power outages in Orange County. In discussing the Rewarding Ideas Program policy, Mr. Carroll suggested revising “Management Analyst II” to read “Administrative Services Manager.” CAC Member Fields inquired about the types of awards available within the Rewarding Ideas Program. Mr. Carroll explained how the program operates and how employees are rewarded based on tangible and intangible savings. The committee discussed changing the intangible award to no less than $100 dollars. Mrs. Bojarski recommended updating the Safety Award for Excellence policy and procedures. CAC Member Fields asked if the District keeps a record detailing the safety awards and winners. Mr. Carroll noted that the Administrative Policy is missing a few, newer policies. Director Scheafer discussed the Contract Administration policy and inquired about section C under “Procedures.” Director Scheafer discussed the Real Property Acquisition policy and asked for clarification regarding Acquisition by Condemnation Lawsuit. Mr. Carroll suggested asking District Attorney, Alan Burns, about this section. Director Perry inquired about the balance of petty cash. Mr. Carroll noted that he does not know the exact amount held in the petty cash box and that he will find out. The committee discussed the verbiage in the Petty Cash policy. CAC Member Fields Policy Review Ad Hoc Committee Minutes October 10, 2019 Page 4 of 5 asked if there is a maximum amount that can be held in the petty cash box. He recommended that petty cash be reviewed more than “twice a year,” as stated in the policy. Mrs. Bojarski shared that petty cash is reviewed each time it is replenished. CAC Member Fields suggested that if the petty cash is accessed more than three times a month, then it should be reviewed more often. Additionally, he noted that there should be more than one custodian overseeing the review to avoid collusion. He stressed the importance of having a finite amount in petty cash and rotating custodian reviews. Mr. Carroll noted that he will forward CAC Member Fields’ suggestions to the Finance Department and follow up with him. CAC Member Fields asked how gift cards are processed and handled. He suggested that gift cards be kept with petty cash and be reviewed similarly to petty cash. He recommended keeping a record of all rewards and gift cards that are awarded. CAC Member Fields and Director Scheafer asked if any other monetary awards are given to employees or the public. Mrs. Bojarski and Mr. Carroll confirmed that there are no additional monetary awards given out. Director Scheafer asked when the District last had a liability claim. Mrs. Bojarski noted that the District had a claim filed last month regarding a pump station. CAC Member Fields inquired about the Operations Code. Mr. Carroll shared that the Operations Code, the Employee Handbook, and the Administrative Policies can be accessed on the District’s website. Mr. Carroll recommended that the Board have their own handbook that outlines certain procedures and policies that pertain to Board Members. He noted that he will draft a copy to share with the committee at their next meeting. Mr. Carroll shared that a policy regarding capital assets will be included in the Operations Code. Specifically, he explained that the policy will note that any capital purchases greater than $5,000 dollars will be capitalized and depreciated. CAC Member Fields asked if there are any exceptions for items that may be over $5,000, but will not last for more than a year. He shared that the general rule is that if an item will not last more than 18 months, then it should only be expensed and does not need to be capitalized. Mr. Carroll shared a new policy regarding incentive pay. He explained that the policy did not require Board approval, since it is in the Employee Handbook, and it only requires the General Manager’s approval. Mr. Carroll shared that if the Board would like to review the policy, he will provide it to them. He explained that the policy specifies that the wastewater crew will receive a 7% pay increase when cleaning after-hours. Director Scheafer inquired about the rationale behind the policy. Mr. Policy Review Ad Hoc Committee Minutes October 10, 2019 Page 5 of 5 Carroll noted that the policy only applies to wastewater employees when they are performing hazardous work. Director Perry asked if the committee needs to review the Employee Handbook. Mrs. Bojarski noted that the committee should review it, since there are new additions. She added that she will provide the committee with a marked-up copy of the Employee Handbook that highlights the recent changes. Mr. Carroll suggested that policies regarding compensation or those with a financial impact be shared with the Board and the Policy Review Ad Hoc Committee, while tracked changes can be reviewed internally. The committee agreed to review the Operations Code at the next meeting. Mr. Carroll noted that he will also provide the committee with a policy regarding Board procedures. The committee discussed scheduling a second meeting in about one month. No date and time were selected. Mr. Carroll noted that he will update the Administrative Policies with the changes discussed in today’s meeting and share the final version with the Board. There was no further discussion. 3. Public Comments - None 4. Schedule Next Meeting The committee did not schedule an additional meeting at this time, but they determined that an additional meeting will be scheduled in approximately one month to discuss the Operations Code. 5. Adjournment - 9:20 a.m.