Minutes

Bryan-Bennett Library Board of Trustees Workshop

July 1, 2021, in the Large Meeting Room

Call to Order

The Bryan-Bennett Library Board held a workshop to review the Library’s Personnel Policy on July 1, 2021, in the large meeting room of the Library. Bryan-Bennett Library President Jane Gaston called the session to order at 1:14 p.m.

Roll Call of Trustees

Present were: Board President Jane Gaston and board members Tom Champion, Jack McGuire, Joyce Raver and Ann Wilzbach. Also present was Library Director Kim Keller.

Public Comment

There were no public comments.

 Review Personnel Policy

The Board read each section of the policy, stopping at the appendix section.

Changes and updates discussed included:

A statement regarding at-will employment will be added to the document.

In, 1.2 C, the wording was changed to: These rules may be amended by a resolution adopted at any scheduled meeting.

Section 2 – Definitions was updated to reflect that full-time employees worked 30 hours or more a week and part time employees would work less than 30 hours. A correction in the Section’s numbering was made.

Also in Section 2, statements regarding resignation in good standing and seniority were considered unnecessary, as they stated the obvious, and were deleted.

In Section 3, the Board added that at the Board’s April meeting, the Director would present a report of his/or her vacation and sick leave used and unused.

In Section 4, it was noted that a prospective employee should submit an application and a resume.

Section 5 – Probationary Period was revised to state:

5.1 Nature, Duration, and Purpose: The probationary period is regarded as an integral part of the examination process and is used for closely observing an employee’s work, for securing the most effective adjustment of the new employee to the position, and for rejecting any employee whose performance was not meet the required standards.

5.2 Evaluation/Benefits: During the probationary period, the employee shall be evaluated at one month, three months, and at the end of the probationary period (6 months). The evaluation shall be aligned with the criteria listed in the job description. The evaluation shall be written and orally communicated to the employee. The employee shall be given a copy of the evaluation and it shall be placed in the probationary employee personnel file.

A probationary employee may be discharged at anytime during the probationary period without cause.

A probationary employee does not have a right of appeal.

During the probationary period no employee shall be granted a leave of absence without authorization by the Library Board of Trustees. The leave, if granted, will not count toward the employee’s probationary period. Persons entering military service while still on probation shall be granted leave in accordance; however, upon return to employment shall complete the probationary period.

            Section 6 – Employee Conduct, was revised to state:

6.1 Unauthorized Absences: An employee shall notify the Librarian within 30 minutes of the start of the employee’s work day if he/she is going to be absent. Unauthorized absences will be grounds for disciplinary action. Emergency absence shall not be considered an unauthorized absence.

6.2 Hours of Work: The work day shall be determined by the Librarian and approved by the Library Board of Trustees. Work schedules for the employees shall be established by the Librarian.

6.3 Break Periods: Employees are allowed 15 minutes for each continuous 3.75 hours period worked. No compensatory time shall be given when work breaks are missed, unless it is required by the Librarian.

[A residency clause was deleted from the existing policy.]

6.4. Evaluations: All non-probationary employees shall be evaluated yearly by the Librarian. The Librarian shall develop an evaluation tool that shall reflect the criteria of the job description for each position. The evaluation tool shall be approved by the Library Board of Trustees.

Whenever performance falls below satisfactory level, the Librarian shall in writing define the areas of to be corrected. The librarian shall create a remedial plan for the employee that will correct the areas of concern. The evaluation and remedial plan shall be orally presented to the employee.

Two months following the receipt of the remedial plan, the employee will be reevaluated.

The Library Director shall be evaluated yearly by the Board of Trustees. The evaluation tool shall reflect the criteria of the job description and shall be approved by the Board of Trustees.

The Personnel Committee will be responsible for the implementation of the evaluation process for the Director.

The Board of Trustees shall approve the evaluation. The evaluation shall be in writing and shall be presented to the Librarian. The Board of Trustees shall authorize the presentation. The evaluation shall include a timeline for the Library Director to complete goals and improvements.

A Section 6.9 Personnel File was added. This section would read: The Director is responsible for establishing a personnel file for each library employee. The personnel file shall follow all state statutes and laws governing personnel files.

An employee shall be notified by the Director of all information that is placed in the employee’s personnel file. Employees may submit a rebuttal concerning any information placed in the file to the director. The director shall place the rebuttal in the employee’s personnel file.

An employee may request to see his/her personnel file. The employee may copy any item in the personnel file.

The Director may document the date/time when the employee reviewed his/her personnel file.

The Personnel File is to be current and available to the employee upon request.

The file must be examined in the presence of the Library Director.

No changes were made to 6.5 Change of Address.

In 6.6, a statement was added stating that no personal calls were allowed when waiting on a patron.

In 6.7, a statement was added: Attire shall not promote any political views or ideology or contain any vulgar words or images.

No changes were made to 6.8 Hygiene.

No changes were made to Section 7 Employee Associations and Affiliations.

Section 8.1 regarding separation during the probationary period was deleted, as the Board addressed this in the revised Section 5.

No Changes were made to Section 9 – Disciplinary Actions.

In Section 10, there was considerable discussion about the concept of allowing an appeal after employment had been terminated. There was, however, no stated change to the policy during the workshop.

Under Section 11 – Holidays, the words “All full-time employees are” were changed to “The Library Director is.” The same change was also made in wording in Section 12 – Vacations.

Section 12.3 Utilization, regarding the use of vacation leave was deleted.

In Section 13 – Sick Leave. The designation of paid sick leave eligibility was changed from 40 to 30 hours in clause A.

The existing clauses F – H were deleted. The numbering of the clauses was corrected.

The wording of Section 14.4 B was changed to: Benefits will be paid according to the insurance contract.

Under Section 14.5 Funeral leave, the words “full-time employee” were changed to “Library Director.”

The wording of 15.1 Workers’ Compensation was updated to reflect the correct state code: 820 ILC 305.

15.3 A was changed to: The Library Director will be offered an option to enroll in the City’s health, welfare and life insurance plan.

It was noted that the benefits, which the current Assistant Director has, will be addressed in an attachment to the revised Personnel Policy.

 Adjournment

President Gaston adjourned the meeting at 4:08 p.m.

 Respectfully submitted by,

 Kim Keller, Library Director