Minutes of the February 6, 2002 Staff Council Meeting

Law School Room "J"

The following representatives were present:

The following representatives were not present:

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences: Patricia Smith, David Jennings
Environmental Design: Marsha Grizzle
External Affairs: Bonnie Norwood
Finance and Administration: William Childs, Tommy McCommons, Frank Patman
Graduate School: Katie Dirr
Journalism and Mass Communication: Terri Bear
Public Service and Outreach: Paul Farr
Immediate Past President: Sarah Fraker

Guest speakers: Bob McGee and Melanie Kirk.

Bob McGee spoke to the Staff Council about changes in the way payroll is processed. He said that electronic payroll vouchers are currently being tested at selected locations around campus and should be available to all divisions by late Spring 2002. Travel expenses and petty cash will be next things on their list to digitalize. Bob also said that direct deposit for employees will greatly improve the workflow and save a good deal of money. Just changing the procedure for handling W-2s has already saved the University $7,000 in postage. As of January 31, only 65 W2s had been returned; compared with 680 this time last year.

Melanie Kirk also spoke to the Council. She told the group that Human Resources is working toward having the University go to an electronic leave (E-Leave) system and should be ready to go online with it in late Spring or early Summer.

Brenda Keen thanked Bob McGee and Melanie Kirk for coming to speak to the Council.

Staff Council President Brenda Keen called the meeting to order at 2:45 p.m.

A quorum was in attendance so Melanie Andrews called the roll.

The minutes for December 5, 2001 were approved.

*Classification and Pay Committee: Members of the committee attended a meeting where Duane Ritter and Hank Huckaby presented a good deal of information about the current staff classification and pay study being conducted on campus.

*Communication Committee: The committee is in the process of adding a new feature, a list of new or revised policies on campus, to the website. In addition, Maureen Hetrick is adding a new section to the newsletter, which lets everyone know what is going on with the Staff Council. People who have suggestions or know of new or revised University policies may e-mail Maureen at Maureen@arches.uga.edu

Health and Safety Committee:

Allison Wright reported that they have formed a new subcommittee to deal with identity crime (America's number one nonviolent crime). The committee is also keeping an eye on the effects the closing of D.W. Brooks Drive is having on staff and is drafting a letter to be sent to student representatives about staff Campus bus concerns.

*Needs and Concerns Committee: Bob Ratajczak reported that he sat in on the interviews for the vacant Parking Services manager position. The committee is keeping Parking Services advised as to staff interest in participating in the carpooling initiative and Sandra McPeake is checking into what the UGA Campus Mail Department's policy is toward delivering mail believed to be personal and not job related.

Legislative Committee: Joe Johnson is looking into scheduling a meeting with legislators.

*Child Care Committee:LaBau Bryan reported that data from the childcare survey has been evaluated and will be made public after the group meets next month with Administration.

UGARA: Kathy Hines reported that premiums for retirees' Term Life Insurance have recently increased substantially and that it has been recommended that they reevaluate whether they really need this type of insurance.

Library Committee: Carol Bishop reported that the Library Committee met on January 30^th. They were shown examples of chairs, which have been ordered for the Student Learning Center, and there was a discussion about how reductions in the Library's budget might effect the ordering of new books, journals and electronic databases.

*Executive Committee: Robyn Ansley has resigned from the Executive Committee but is still a member of the Council. The next meeting, to be held on March 1^st, will be an afternoon long worksession designed to get everything in order.

* "Ad Hoc" Committee: The group recommended that letters commending supportive administrators be submitted to the Communication Committee for publication in their newsletter.

Old Business: Brenda read President Adam's letter written in response to the council's letter addressing the staff holiday preference survey results. Both letters are posted at http://www.uga.edu/ugasc. Brenda has sent the University Council a letter asking for staff representation on the Strategic Planning Committee

New Business: . Tony Hughey attended the both the University Council and its Executive Committee meetings in Brenda's absence. Kathy Hines will fill the vacant position on the Staff Council's Executive Committee. The Council voted to continue to meet in room "J" of the Law School. Tony Hughey and Margot Peter will attend Statewide on February 22. Brenda noted that there is a good deal of reorganization taking place around campus and asked all SRG's to get in touch with someone in their Vice-President's or Dean's office in order to get the number of staff who work in each division. We will need these figures in order to determine how many representatives are allotted for each division of the University. Brenda also asked for a list of the representatives on each individual SRG. Allison Wright informed the Council that she has bumper stickers available for people who want to commit to not using cell phones while driving.

The meeting was adjourned at 3:45p.m.

Respectively submitted by Carol Bishop, Recording Secretary, March 6, 2002.