Dudley: Fall Town Meeting 2024

Top 10 Reasons to Restore Personnel Board in Dudley

The Town of Dudley functioned successfully and had stability for decades when a Personnel Board was in place.

1. Establishes Fair and Consistent Policies

• The board helps develop, implement, and maintain uniform personnel policies for all town employees.
• Ensures that hiring, promotions, evaluations, and disciplinary actions follow standardized procedures, minimizing bias or favoritism.

2. Compliance with State and Federal Laws

• A personnel board ensures the town complies with relevant labor laws (such as the Fair Labor Standards Act, anti-discrimination laws).
• This helps the town avoid legal risks and potential lawsuits related to employment disputes.

3. Promotes Transparency and Accountability

• By establishing clear personnel rules and policies, the board fosters transparency in employment decisions.
• It holds departments accountable for their actions regarding hiring, promotions, and grievances, ensuring alignment with town-wide policies.

4. Serves as a Neutral Body for Grievances

• Provides employees with a fair process to address grievances, disputes, or disciplinary issues.
• A neutral board can offer an impartial review of personnel issues, giving employees confidence that their concerns will be addressed fairly.

5. Supports Recruitment and Retention

• Well-designed personnel policies, including clear job descriptions, competitive pay scales, and benefits, help attract and retain talented staff.
• The board can evaluate compensation packages and make recommendations to ensure the town remains competitive with other municipalities.

6. Does not affect Unions or Collective Bargaining or Volunteers

• The Personnel Board does not involve itself nor has any authority in Collective Bargaining or Union Agreements.
• The Personnel Board does not involve itself in the appointment of volunteers.

7. Advises on Personnel Budgeting and Planning

• Provides input on staffing levels, salaries, and benefits, helping town officials make informed financial decisions.
• By monitoring personnel costs, the board ensures the town’s budget is managed efficiently without compromising employee morale or services.

8. Ensures Equal Treatment of Employees

• The board works to ensure that all employees are treated equally and fairly, preventing discrimination or unfair practices.
• This helps foster a positive work environment and strengthens employee morale and trust.

9. Provides Expertise and Oversight

• Personnel boards are often composed of individuals with experience in human resources, law, or municipal governance, providing valuable expertise to the town.
• This professional oversight ensures personnel practices are modern and effective, even in small towns with limited HR resources and cash strapped budgets.
• Work closely with the Human Resources Manager as a Team.

10. Reduces Political Interference

• A personnel board ensures that employment decisions are based on merit and policy, rather than political influence or personal connections.
• This separation strengthens trust in local government and promotes a culture of professionalism.

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Update: 10/16/2024 Last week, I reached out to the Town Administrator and requested a meeting for residents to express concerns on how Personnel Board exists today, why people left it and to determine if the possibility exists to deescalate the situation by implementing procedural changes to the current way of doing business, rather than forcing those changes in with a Bylaw change. The TA rightfully so, said he was absolutely open to a community meeting and had to make sure it was ok with the Board of Selectmen. He was extremely responsive.

BOS Chair Steve Sullivan responded “I am not opposed to a larger, public meeting, however the BOS will not place the Town Administrator in a position where he must commit to “hammering out an understanding” that would likely result in commitments that may put him at odds with the Board of Selectmen policy or existing Personnel bylaw or Town Administrator bylaw. We can’t get the entire board together and meet the posting requirements on the dates that you suggested. I don’t want to miss an opportunity for you to bring any concerns and questions to us in advance of Town Meeting. I think this may be an opportunity for you and another petitioner or two to meet in the office with me and another member of the BOS… ”

In my opinion, this was nonsense. Reminded me of the saying, “Fool me once shame on you… Fool me Twice… Shame on me.” I went down that path with the Budget and the Audit Committee… not falling for the double talk again. For the record, it only takes 48 hours posting notice to hold a meeting. They could have set up a Thurs or Friday Meeting. In addition, I rejected this small meeting proposal because we wanted a community meeting open to all who had concerns or who served on the Personnel Board previously. We wanted transparency, no backroom deals. He never responded back.

So, we are proceeding with bringing the petition to a vote on Monday Oct 21, 2024.

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Based on Feedback from other boards… This section will be amended on the Floor… “C. In the event that the Personnel Board does not have enough permanent volunteer members to maintain a quorum, the Board of Selectman Chairman, The FAA Board Chairman, the Town Moderator, in that order, will serve as temporary members of the Personnel Board until such time as a volunteer can be appointed as a permanent member of the Personnel Board. ” Strike that above paragraph and simply amend it by saying “A Quorum will exist when a majority of the appointed members are present” This is same as FAA Language.

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I created this page to help you develop an informed, educated decision on the two Citizen Petitions that will be on the October 21, 2024, Fall Town Meeting Warrant in Dudley.

In collaboration with former senior town officials, board volunteers, and residents, we initiated these petitions to restore stability to our town. Since the Personnel Board was gutted at the end of 2018, Dudley has faced significant challenges, including high employee turnover, low morale among town staff, and difficulties with hiring and applicant screening. These issues culminated in the unilateral shutdown of our Fire Department in 2023, putting residents’ safety and lives at risk.

Instead of simply rescinding the previous town meeting votes from 2018 and 2019, we chose to modernize them to align with the vision Dudley residents have for our town’s future. Our goal is to put Dudley back on a path of stability and progress for the decades ahead.

GUIDE To reading a Warrant Article:

• What you see in normal black ink is current law and remains unchanged.
• What you see in RED Text is new language.
• What You see in Red Text with a “Strike Through” is being deleted or changed from current wording in bylaw

This is what each Bylaw would look like when adopted… final

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Collins Report: Issued 9/2022 – Almost four years after Personnel Board powers were stripped and board volunteers resigned or stepped down. Was a Vacant board for about 3 years. The New Personnel Bylaw incorporates a number of their recommendations, and this document is an asset to the newly restored personnel board.

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Town Bylaws from 2016: I wanted to share the town bylaws from 2016 so that residents can see for themselves what powers the Personnel Board had, and that Town Administrator Bylaw simply did not exist in our bylaws at that time.

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Fall Town Meeting Warrant from 10/29/2018: The Town meeting Warrant that was passed at a sparsely attended town meeting that revised the role and powers of the Personnel Board (Article 22) and created the Town Administrator as the “Personnel Director” of the town.

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Fall Town Meeting Warrant from 10/28/2019: The Town meeting Warrant that was passed at a sparsely attended town meeting that created the “Town Administrator” Section of our Bylaw. (Article 29) and Article 30 was the final nail in the coffin for Personnel Board. A simple change of wording made all the difference… changed to “assist”… and struck out “establish”