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HomeMy WebLinkAbout990218 February 18, 1999 Hagerstown, Maryland WORKSHOP SESSION A workshop session of the Board of County Commissioners of Washington County, Maryland, was called to order at 4:30 p.m. by President Gregory I. Snook with the following members present: Vice President Paul L. Swartz, and Commissioners Bertrand L. Iseminger, Jr., John L. Schnebly, and William J. Wivell. CONVENE IN CLOSED SESSION Motion made by Commissioner Schnebly, seconded by Swartz, to convene in closed session at 4:32 p.m. to consult with counsel to obtain legal advice regarding a developer agreement, in accordance with Section 10-508 of the State Government Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland. Unanimously approved. RECONVENE IN OPEN SESSION Motion made by Commissioner Swartz, seconded by Wivell, to reconvene in open session at 4:56 p.m. Unanimously approved. In closed session, the Commissioners consulted with counsel to obtain legal advice on one (1) issue. Present during closed session were Commissioners Gregory I. Snook, Paul L. Swartz, Bertrand L. Iseminger, Jr., John L. Schnebly, and William J. Wivell. Also present were Rodney Shoop, County Administrator; Richard Douglas, County Attorney; Beth Evans, Assistant County Attorney; Joni Bittner, County Clerk; and Gary Rohrer, Director of Public Works. DEVELOPER AGREEMENT WITH PIETRIE, DIERMAN & KUGHN - CENTRE AT HAGERSTOWN Motion made by Commissioner Swartz, seconded by Schnebly, to approve the developer agreement with Pietrie, Dierman & Kughn for the Centre at Hagerstown development as submitted by the County Administrator. Unanimously approved. BUDGET WORKSHOP - PERSONNEL Alan Davis, Director of Human Resources, met with the Commissioners to present personnel recommendations for the Fiscal Year 2000 budget. He provided information on weekly and bi-weekly payroll costs. Mr. Davis stated that the comparison shows a potential savings of $1,599 by going to bi-weekly pay. He also informed the Commissioners that this could create a hardship for many employees in the lower pay grades. The Commissioners took this information under consideration. Mr. Davis briefly outlined examples of the information being collected on each appointed board and commission. He informed the Commissioners that a government class at Hagerstown Community College will be collecting the data received on the boards and commissions and will then make a comparison to the other Western Maryland counties. The Commissioners reviewed the compensation history provided by Mr. Davis for the past Boards of County Commissioners. Mr. Davis also provided a listing of the salaries of other county commissioners in Maryland. He recommended that a request be made to the Delegation to the General Assembly to increase the compensation for the Board of County Commissioners in the 2002-2006 term of office to $30,000 for the president and $29,000 for the other commissioners. Mr. Davis recommended various changes to the vacation and sick leave schedules. He recommended reducing the annual sick leave accumulations from 18 to 15 days. He also recommended changing the length of annual paid vacation to three weeks after five years of County employment and four weeks of vacation after 15 years of employment. Mr. Davis recommended changes to  the health insurance program to include an increase in the weekly employees contribution and an increase in the co-pay amount in the prescription drug plan. Mr. Davis recommended that the current pay scale be adjusted vertically by  eight percent. He stated that by adding a new grade 20 and eliminating  the old grade 1, it would have the effect of shifting all wages upward by eight percent. Mr. Davis explained that the pay increase could be funded by zero funding the employer portion of the pension plan for FY 1999 and 2000. He stated that this would have the effect of decreasing the current level of the plan from the over-funded status of 120% to approximately 112%. Mr.  Davis provided a comparison of the County deputies salaries with those of police officers in Allegany County, Frederick County, City of Hagerstown, and the Maryland State Police. He indicated that an 8% increase would make FEBRUARY 18, 1999 PAGE TWO  the deputies salaries more competitive with these jurisdictions. At this time, he reviewed the recommendations for new positions and reclassifications. Sheriff Mades appeared before the Commissioners to provide additional information on his requests for new positions. The Commissioners thanked Mr. Davis for his presentation and took the recommendations under consideration. Nuisance Bill - HB1016 Rodney Shoop, County Administrator, provided a copy of House Bill 1016 and asked the Commissioners if they are interested in sending a letter of support for the bill. The Commissioners asked to have legal counsel review the bill and they would review the bill at the regular meeting on February 23. The meeting was adjourned at 6:45 p.m. County Administrator County Attorney , Clerk