Venango County/SEIU Agree on New Five-Year Contract, Proclaim January 21-27 School Choice Week

| January 10, 2018

FRANKLIN, Pa. (EYT) – A new contract between the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and Venango County was ratified at the Tuesday, January 9, county commissioners meeting.

The commissioners thanked Human Resources director Jillian Stephens-Nick for her hard work in getting the new contract in place. The old contract expired on December 31, 2017, and the commissioners noted that most of the time a new contract isn’t in place when the old one expires.

The new five-year contract calls for raises for SEIU represented employees of 2 percent in both 2018 and 2019, no raise in 2020, and 2.5 percent raises in 2021 and 2022. The reason there is no raise in 2020 is that there is an extra pay period that year for county employees according to Stephens-Nick.

JANUARY 21 TO JANUARY 27 PROCLAIMED VENANGO COUNTY SCHOOL CHOICE WEEK

The Commissioners proclaimed January 21 to January 27 as Venango County School Choice Week.

The proclamation, which is almost identical to one they passed in 2017, says in part:

“All children in Venango County should have access to the highest quality education possible….Venango County recognizes the important role that an effective education plays in preparing all students in Venango County to be successful adults; and quality education is critically important to the economic vitality of Venango County; and Venango County is home to a multitude of excellent education options from which parents can choose for their children; and educational variety not only helps to diversify our economy but also enhances the vibrancy of our community; and Venango County has many high-quality teaching professions in traditional public schools, public charter schools, and non-public schools who are committed to educating our children; and School Choice Week is celebrated across the county by millions of students, parents, educators, schools, and organizations to raise awareness of the need for effective education choices; Now Therefore Be it Proclaimed that we, the Venango County Board of Commissioners, do hereby recognize January 21-27, 2018, as School Choice Week in Venango County, and we call this observance to the attention of all of our citizens.”

OTHER BUSINESS

In other business the commissioners:

  • Approved the tax rate for 2018 at 6 mills, which is the same as last year;
  • Approved a revision to the County Procurement Policy that raises the threshold for bids from $19,900.00 to $20,100.00, which is prescribed by law. There were also some minor language changes made;
  • Approved a Disposal of Media Policy to wipe clean media devices no longer being used by the county. This is the first written policy the county has had, although an unwritten policy has been followed previously to this;
  • Authorized revisions to the Overtime Policy in the county eliminating that use of “compensation” time so that overtime will be paid strictly in monetary terms from this point forward. This is in compliance with Federal standards;
  • Approved revisions to the administrative rules for hirers in Human Resources so that newly hired recent positions receive a $500.00 signing bonus and a $750.00 bonus after one year;
  • Reappointed Paul Calderone and Barbara Cisek McGarvey to the Venango County Land Bank Governing Body
  • Appointed Jeremy Tidd to the Safety Committee; and
  • Ratified a letter of intent between Venango County and Vintage Wings, Inc. for hangar rental at the airport for the World War II Flying Memorial.
  •  
    PERSONNEL TRANSACTIONS
     
    The following personnel transactions were made:
     
    New Hires

  • Eric Campbell as a Corrections Officer effective January 3.
  •  
    Promotions

  • Amanda Shaffer in Children & Youth Services (CYS) from Program Specialist to Service Coordination Supervisor effective January 28.
  • Ward Witmer in CYS from Service Coordinator II to Training Senior Program Specialist effective January 14.
  • Christinia Hall in PIC Unit from Service Coordinator III to Service Coordination Supervisor effective January 2.
  •  
    Lateral Transfer

  • Christian Druckemiller from Service Coordination Supervisor in CYT to Service Coordination Supervisor in PIC Unit effective January 2.
  •  
    Rate Adjustment

  • Jason Ruggiero, Director of Planning from $51,109.40 per year to $60.000.00 per year effective January 2. The Rate adjustment is due to increased responsibility as part of a Department restructure and includes a 2018 Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA).
  • Ashley Smith, Land Use Planner, Probationary from $15.40 per hour to $15.82 per hour effective January 2. Rate adjustment is due to increased responsibility and includes a 2018 COLA.
  •  
    Position Reallocation/Rate Adjustment

  • Melissa Confer in Older Adult Services from Aging Case Aide SEIU Pay Grade 8($10.4140 per hour) to Aging Case Aide SEIU Pay Grade 10 ($11.0262 per hour) effective January 1. The rate adjustment includes a 2018 COLA and fills a newly created position.
  • Theresa York in Older Adult Services from Aging Case Aide SEIU Pay Grade 8 ($10.6276 per hour) to Aging Case Aide SEIU Pay Grade 10 ($11.0262) per hour effective January 1. The rate adjustment includes a 2018 COLA and fills a newly created position.
  •  
    Out of Class Compensation

  • Richard Ruditis, Maintenance Worker III at the Airport from SEIU Pay Grade 10 ($12.5011 per hour) to SEIU Pay Grade 10 ($24.9933 per hour) effective February 4. The out of class assignment is covering the Airport Director responsibilities and is expected to last no longer than April 7, 2018.
  • Karen Hall, Department Clerk III in Veterans’ Affairs from SEIU Pay Grade 8 ($9.8640 per hour) to SEIU Pay Grade 8 ($13.96 per hour) effective December 18, 2017. The out of class assignment is covering Veterans’ Affairs Director responsibilities expected to last no longer than January 26, 2018.
  •  
    End of Probation

  • Gina Antill, Service Coordinator II in CYS effective December 19, 2017.
  • Nicole Garich, Service Coordinator I in CYT effective November 15, 2017.
  • Rebekah King, Service Coordinator II in MH/DS effective December 5, 2017.
  •  
    Separation of Employment

  • Emily Lewis, Deputy Director of Planning, effective December 29, 2017.
  • Kyle Bauer, Corrections Officer, effective December 24, 2017.
  • Linda Beatty, Corrections Monitor, effective December. 20, 2017.
  • Frederick Mosley, Corrections Officer, effective December 29, 2017.
  • Richard Mulholland, Veterans’ Affairs Director, effective December 15, 2017.
  • Sarah Schwab, Fiscal Operations Officer I, effective December 22, 2017.
  •  
    The next meeting will be held at 6:00 p.m. on February 13, 2018, in Room 100 of the Courthouse Annex.


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