University of Georgia Staff Council

UGA Staff Council Meeting Minutes

December 7, 2005

Vice President Shannon Scott called the meeting to order at 2:20, filling in for President Bob Ratajczak. Roll was called by SC Coordinator Brenda Keen, and there were 35 voting members present.

Proposed Changes to Bylaws

Ballots were passed out to SC members for the first vote on the three proposed changes in the bylaws. Margot Peter collected the ballots to tally after all the votes came in. All three changes passed in the first vote stage. The second vote on these bylaw changes will be made in the February meeting.

The proposed changes are:

(1) Section 4-D:

Current wording:

Drafts of minutes will be sent to representatives via e-mail ten (10) days prior to the next meeting.

Proposed change:

Draft minutes will be sent to representatives via email within four working (4) days of the meeting.

(2) Section 6-C:

Current wording:

The Staff Council agenda will also be published in a forum widely available to the University, such as Columns

Suggested change:

The Staff Council agenda will also be published in a forum widely available to the University, such as the Staff Council web page www.uga.edu/ugasc .

(3) Section 7-VI: (This accounting, if approved, will take effect starting on the approved date. It will not be retroactive for this fiscal year).

Current wording:

It is up to the SRG to decide appropriate action when notified by the Secretary of the Staff Council that their representative has missed three (3) consecutive Staff Council meetings.

Suggested change:

It is up to the SRG to decide appropriate action when notified by the Secretary of the Staff Council that their representative has missed two (2) Staff Council meetings within the fiscal year (note: having an alternate attend is NOT considered a missed meeting)

Old Business

Minutes of the November 2, 2005 meeting were approved with no changes.

New Business

Vice President Scott said that she was going to move the committee reports until the end of the meeting if there's time so that we could take care of some of the more pressing issues at hand.

Rules and Guidelines of Listservs

The chain of command on access and monitoring of the Listservs was discussed. The executive committee suggested in their meeting that the chair of the communications committee, the President and the coordinator of SC should be in charge of the listservs. Brenda mentioned that a subcommittee needed to be formed to handle the actual monitoring and decisions on violations of the rules.

A voice vote for the approval of the new listserv guidelines was called by V.P. Scott. At this point, alternate representative Brice Nelson asked for discussion. After discussion, V.P. Scott motioned for approval of these guidelines. They were approved with one opposed.

Committee to Increase Staff Representatives on University Council

V.P. Scott announced that we are trying to get UC representation. She said Bob is drafting a letter to ask for 12 representatives on UC, and wanted to bring the matter before SC for discussion. The executive committee had contact with the chairperson for UC, and she seemed taken aback that SC would ask for such a large number of people. She said that the executive committee discussed that one of the best ways reach the goal of gaining more representation on UC would be to ask for the 7 people that already sit on UC to become voting members. At this point, V.P. Scott asked for questions, concerns or ideas.

Andrea Atkins suggested that SC ask for 9 members, using those two extra people in the ask as a bargaining method to try to get the 7 voting members that SC wants.

Brenda Keen pointed out that the reason why we are trying to gain more voting members is so that we can network with people on UC and lobby from within to get more members later on down the road. She also pointed out that in the proposal letter sent to President Adams gave the ratio that for every one SC person (with 12 SC members) that sat on the UC, there would be 500 staff members represented. If there were 7 voting members, Brenda estimated that the ratio would be more like one for every 1,000 staff members.

Many people were confused about what UC was and why it was important for SC to gain more representation, and a discussed ensued to try to answer people's questions and concerns.

Morgan Nolan asked if it was appropriate to solicit letters to UC members to try to lobby for the effort of gaining more SC voting members.

Heath Hardison pointed out that it would be in the University's best interest and would make the University look good if SC and UC could work together in a joint effort, rather than to work separately.

Brenda Keen gave a quick history on the feud of Staff Council vs. University Council so that everyone could have a perspective of where the friction is coming from.

V.P. Scott said that what SC should do is work in February write them a letter to UC to get on their agenda. SC agreed that getting on the UC's agenda was important to present the proposal. She said she will take everyone's suggestions to Bob and that the executive committee would work on the proposal to submit to UC, and then post a draft on the SC reps list serv. V.P. Scott said that when everyone reads the proposal to submit any questions/concerns/suggestions about it. The proposal will then be brought before SC in the February meeting to be approved.

President's Report

Vice President Scott announced that Lanora Pierce accepted the position of Parliamentarian, beginning January, 2006. She thanked Margot Peter for her time served in that position. She then said that Brenda Keen will be the new representative for the USGSC, with Shannon Scott as the alternate representative. Scott again thanked Margot for her time served in that position.

V.P. Scott announced that a new representative for the Shared Leave Committee would be needed beginning in January, 2006, and asked for nominations or volunteers. Laura Alfonso volunteered to be the new representative of that committee.

V.P. Scott announced that the Executive Committee will meet with the new Associate Vice President of Human Resources on January 12, 2006 at 9:00 a.m. She called for any questions or ideas to ask in that meeting and none were given at that time.

Larry Peter reminded V.P. Scott that a new representative for the Parking and Transportation task force on University Council will be needed after February, 2006. Scott said that we will wait until the February meeting to ask for nominations.

V.P. Scott brought an update on Bryan Rice. Bryan will undergo surgery at some point this week, and that his mother could not be present at the SC meeting because Wednesdays are the only days she is able to visit him. Scott said there was a fund at Athens First already called the Bryan Rice Fund. The Rices will need to build a couple of rooms off the side of their house to accommodate Bryan when he is ready to come home. He is very close to being accepted into the Shepard Center. Once he is accepted, one of the requirements is that he have a place to go home to that will be accommodating to him and his health needs. Scott asked SC if there was anyone who knew how or knew someone who would be able to lend a hand with the building of those additions to the Rice's house. No one replied, but Morgan Nolan suggested putting a piece about him and asking for help in an article in The Voice. Scott said that we would need to ask Mrs. Rice's permission to do that, and Donna LeBlond volunteered to talk to Mrs. Rice herself about it since she was a personal friend.

Brenda Keen announced that the UGA Living Wage Movement brought cards to the meeting that people were free to pick up and that Ray McNair will be coming to speak to SC in February about the movement.

She also announced that the next SC meeting will be February 1, 2006 at 2:00 p.m. in the SLC room 0150.

The Staff Council Meeting was officially adjourned at 3:16 p.m.

_______________________________________________

Respectfully submitted by:

UGA Staff Council Roll

2005-2006

Meeting Date: December 7, 2005

Also in attendance: