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Commissioner Tom Balya Mayors' Forum
Minutes
Saturday, October 11, 2008, 9:00 a.m.
Lora V's Restaurant, Greensburg, PA
Attending Mayors:
Betty Cain, New Alexandria
Bob Campagna, Export
Karl Eisaman, Greensburg
Ed Lyons, North Belle Vernon
Jim Roman, South Greensburg
Everett Saxton, Bolivar
Joyce Somers, Murrysville
David Sturgess, Manor
Guest Speaker:
Chuck Dominick, Westmoreland County Director of Human Resources
Welcome:
Commissioner Balya called the forum to order at 9:15 a.m.
and welcomed the mayors to Greensburg for the only forum of
2008. Tom thanked the mayors for attending and spoke of the
shared responsibilities and shared challenges of both the mayors
and the county. The goal of all is to best serve constituents in
an often-tough environment of tight budgets and increasing
demands. He offered county government as a resource for local
governments and pledged to continue to work with all of the
county's communities. Commissioner Balya then introduced the
host mayor, Karl Eisaman.
Host Mayor Remarks:
Mayor Eisaman welcomed the group to his city and informed them
of the many exciting projects and events underway, and
distributed brochures for the Palace Theater performance season.
Mayor Eisaman talked about the $22 million Seton Hill Center for
the Performing Arts project being constructed on Otterman
Street, near the train station, noting that it is scheduled to
be complete in May 2009. He then addressed the possibility of a
new hotel opening up in the city. Developers have shown interest
in a site at the corner of Otterman Street and College Avenue,
near the Performing Arts Center.
Mayor Eisaman also talked about the city's $1.3
million Hometown Streets project underway on Otterman Street
near the County Courthouse to College Avenue that is set to get
underway in spring 2009. He then informed the group of a new
retail center being developed near Gander Mountain and the
Hampton Inn off Route 30.
Finally, Mayor Eiasman was proud to boast that
Greensburg is home to the 6-0 Seton Hill Griffins football team.
(Editor’s note: later that day, Seton Hill defeated West
Virginia State 35-28 to continue its undefeated season and move
up to No. 18 in the D2Football.com Top 25 Media Poll.)
Guest Speaker:
Commissioner Balya introduced Chuck Dominick, director of Human
Resources for Westmoreland County.
Mr. Dominick began his remarks by offering
county government as a resource for local governments,
particularly in the area of human resources policy development.
With roughly 2,000 employees, including 11 separate collective
bargaining agreements, Westmoreland County HR staff deals with a
wide variety of issues.
The first topic presented by Mr. Dominick was
proposed amendments to the federal Family Medical Leave Act
(FMLA) targeting veterans. The changes would allow up to 26
weeks off per year for injured veterans. Also, provisions of the
Act would cover "closet blood relative" or "next of kin" in
place of immediate family. FMLA is dependant upon the size of an
organizations workforce, so it likely would not be applicable to
many of the county’s smaller municipalities. It is the
responsibility of the employer to inform workers of their
rights.
Next, the topic switched to the growing
popularity of a four-day workweek. Mr. Dominick presented the
group with the advantages and disadvantages of such
arrangements. Before switching to a four-day workweek all
organizations, including cities and boroughs, need to assess the
impacts, including productivity, potential overtime, union
issues, vacation and leave accrual and supervision. The county
is finalizing plans to do a four-day workweek pilot project in
the Recorder of Deeds office that should begin by year's end.
Mayor Somers of Murrysville informed the group
that her municipality has a four-day workweek for its public
works crew. It is a seasonal schedule, with crew members working
four 10-hour shifts, and this is the second summer that
Murrysville has used it. While the crew works Monday through
Thursday during the summer, a foreman is always available on
Fridays. Due to increased needs for road maintenance, the crew
resumes a standard five-day workweek throughout the rest of the
year.
The next topic of discussion was healthcare. Mr.
Dominick explained that by the end of the year, all county
employees would be contributing some portion toward the cost of
their coverage. With 11 different bargaining units, in addition
to the non-union personnel, there are varying levels, and types,
of contributions. All pay some type of co-pays for doctor visits
and prescription drugs. Some workers pay a flat fee toward the
premium; others are based on their wages. And some are paying a
percentage of the increase in annual premiums, which is also
cumulative. In addition to saving tax dollars, another benefit
of employees paying toward the cost of their healthcare is that
they begin to realize ownership of the plans and an appreciation
for the cost of coverage.
Another means by which the county is trying to
save money is through increasing the use of generic, versus
brand name, prescriptions. The county is structuring its
co-payments to make it more attractive to use a generic drug.
The cost-savings between generic and brand name can be
significant. Mail order drugs can offer even more savings. In
addition, Mr. Dominick explained that the county recently
instituted a workplace wellness program as another
cost-containment method.
The final area discussed by Mr. Dominick was
arbitration. The county recently has more success with
arbitration panels by utilizing a firm of labor attorneys. A
consortium of often has influence statewide, like the union
negotiators have enjoyed for years. This levels the playing
field some before arbitrators and increases the opportunity for
a fair decision. The additional cost for representation can be
offset by arbitration rulings that better respect tight
municipal budgets.
A question-and-answer session followed Mr.
Dominick’s presentation and included concepts such as sharing
with employees the total cost of their annual benefit package
(i.e., healthcare and other fringe benefits) to help employees
know their complete compensation.
Those interested in additional information on
any of the above-mentioned topics can contact Chuck Dominick at
724.830.3778 or via e-mail at
cdominic@co.westmoreland.pa.us.
With no further business the meeting was
adjourned at 10:15 a.m.
News of the next Mayor’s Forum will be sent when
a date and location are determined. |
