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Home My WebLink Aboutweekly newsletter Date: December 16, 2011 To: Mayor & City Council From: Mark A. Rohloff, City Manager WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Subject: CLASSIFICATION & COMPENSATION STUDY FOLLOW-UP 1.: Following last Tuesday's Council Meeting at which the Classification & Compensation Study recommendations were discussed, I held an all-employee virtual meeting the next day, on Wednesday afternoon, with Consultant Charlie Carlson. Over 116 work stations were logged on for the virtual meeting, and when multiple employees are at single work stations, we had easily one-quarter of all employees participating in this meeting. Additionally, the virtual meeting was made available on the city's intranet, as well as DVD copies available for employees to check out from our Human Resources Department. As a courtesy to Council Members, I am providing you a DVD copy of Wednesday's virtual meeting so that you have an idea of the information that was communicated to employees. I think you will find this information useful as a supplement to Tuesday's Council discussion. As was discussed at Tuesday's meeting, I am collecting questions that Council Members have regarding the study and its recommendations. If there are any questions you would like to st include in Mr. Carlson's review, please forward them to me by Wednesday, December 21. I will also be taking any and all questions that we receive from employees and incorporate these questions into the list of questions we are compiling. Mr. Carlson and I agreed that we would provide all of these questions to Mr. Carlson, and he will take the Christmas holiday week to provide answers to each of these questions into a master Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). We will provide the answers to the FAQs after the first of the year, along with information that we will be providing about the appeal process. In addition to this information, I've asked Mr. Carlson to assemble background information regarding the evaluation process. We will be providing this to Council in next week's Council packet. I believe this information will give the Council a good idea of what evaluation tools were used to assemble Mr. Carlson's recommendations. Again, I ask Council Members to st provide me your questions by next Wednesday, December 21. If you have any other thoughts or ideas on the process, please do not hesitate to contact me or Assistant City Manager/Director of Human Resources John Fitzpatrick. OSHKOSH TRANSIT SYSTEM ANNOUNCES HOLIDAY HOURS 2.: As you can see from the enclosed press release, the Oshkosh Transit System will not be running on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, and New Year's Day. Any questions should be directed to Transportation Director Chris Strong. Weekly Newsletter December 16, 2011 Page 2 CITY NOT ALONE IN BUDGET CHALLENGES 3.: I am enclosing an article from the Door County Advocate newspaper, in which Door County avoided layoffs of county employees by receiving concessions to active union contracts. Because of the financial burdens placed upon Door County as a result of their active union contracts, they had intended to lay off eleven employees. When the local unions became aware of this, they agreed to concessions similar to the budget assumptions that we here in Oshkosh incorporated into our 2012 budget, specifically concessions regarding wages, pension, and health insurance. As you can see, it doesn't matter if a community is at the end of a union contract such as the City of Oshkosh, or a community is in the middle of any active union contracts, such as Door County, we are all in need of absorbing the hits that have been placed upon us by the state budget cuts. I hope this provides some perspective that we are not alone in addressing these budget issues. TRAFFIC SIGNAL AT OREGON STREET & WAUKAU AVENUE 4.: You may have received some calls about the traffic signal under construction at the intersection of Oregon Street and Waukau Avenue. The lights have been in flashing mode operation for a few days, which is required by the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) when a new signal is installed. The signal will start cycling normally when our crews receive and install some final equipment from the supplier. Once the equipment is installed, the signal will operate differently than others in the city in that it is designed to handle the peak-hour traffic during "shift change" for the employers located in that area. During the peak-hour time, cameras will be used to detect when vehicles are coming on Waukau Avenue. During non- peak times, the signal will operate in a flashing mode. This is necessary to preserve traffic flow on Oregon Street, which, at this location, is under county jurisdiction as County Highway I. If you have any questions concerning this signal, please contact Transportation Director Chris Strong. POLICE DEPARTMENT RECEIVES DONATION FOR TRAUMA KITS 5.: The Oshkosh Police Department has received a $2,000 donation from the Oshkosh Safety Council to purchase trauma kits. The trauma kits contain items such as quick clot bandages and tourniquets that enable officers to apply immediate first aid and lifesaving measures to officers or citizens that are severely injured in an incident. The funds will enable our Police Department to issue the trauma kits to officers of the Crisis Reaction Team (CRT), the Tactical Team, and for deployment in each marked patrol squad for readiness in a critical incident or during daily operations. The Oshkosh Safety Council awards grants or give donations to enhance workplace safety. The Oshkosh Police Department would like to recognize the Oshkosh Safety Council for their support and concern for officer and citizen safety in our community. LOCAL WOMAN LEAVES $1.1 MILLION TO THE OSHKOSH PUBLIC LIBRARY 6.: Please find enclosed a press release from the Oshkosh Public Library regarding a $1.1 million bequest they recently received. The Library Board voted to establish a memorial trust fund with this bequest from the estate of Majorie M. Drexler. As you can see from the press release, this generous donation will be used to better meet the needs of the community with a wide variety of collection, services and creative initiatives at the Library. Mrs. Drexler has left a legacy that will touch many lives for years to come. The Library Board will decide at a later date how to use the earnings from the Drexler Fund. If you have any questions concerning this bequest, please contact Library Director Jeff Gilderson-Duwe. Weekly Newsletter December 16, 2011 Page 3 WISCONSIN DOT WANTS TO MEET WITH COUNCIL ON 2012 PLANS 7.: The Wisconsin Department of Transportation has requested a brief meeting with the City Council on their 2012 USH 41 construction season. Last year, Brett Wallace and Tom Buchholz from the DOT came to a Council Meeting and gave an update on the 2011 construction season, which was very informative and useful. They again want to make a presentation concerning 2012 plans. Plans include the USH 41/21 interchange closure starting in March, 2012, and the detoured Highway 21 traffic, which will present challenges to the local system. The Oshkosh West Side Association has been working with Community Development Director Allen Davis and the DOT on temporary business signing, which will help with the upcoming work. The DOT also has highlights of murals on the retaining wall near USH 41/21, and the trail across Lake Butte des Morts. The DOT has many things that they would like to highlight, preview and review. Because we have many Workshops scheduled at the beginning of the year, I thought the DOT might make a brief presentation at the beginning of a future Council Meeting. Please let me know what would work best for you and I will schedule the DOT accordingly. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS & UPDATES 8.: Other items I'm enclosing with today's Newsletter include Museum Director Brad Larson's last letter of the year to the Museum Board, bringing the Board up-to-date on the Museum's news and activities over the last week. Insofar as minutes are concerned, I'm enclosing the following: The minutes of the December ththth 6 Plan Commission meeting; the minutes of the November 15 and December 9 Downtown BID Board meetings; and the meeting notice, agenda and background material for the st December 21 Transit Advisory Board meeting. The last two items I'm enclosing are publications from the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance. The first item is the FOCUS newsletter, which features an article on school taxes. The second item is The Wisconsin Taxpayer, which features an article on Wisconsin's demography. th UPCOMING MEETINGS 9.: Meetings I have scheduled for the week of December 19 including the following: On Monday, at 3:00 p.m., I will be meeting with OAEDC Director Rob Kleman to discuss ideas regarding the state's role in economic development as a result of the restructuring of the Department of Commerce. On Tuesday, at 10:00 a.m., I will be meeting with Public Works Director Patek and Streets & Sanitation Superintendent Kevin th Uhen to discuss the automated refuse Workshop for January 10. On Wednesday, December st 21, I will be attending the OAEDC Executive Committee meeting. If you have any questions regarding my attendance at any of these meetings, please contact me. Also, please note that rd with City Hall being closed next Friday, December 23, and the relatively quiet work week, I ndth will not be producing a formal Newsletter on either December 23 or December 30. If there are any items that require the Council's attention (i.e., information from Mr. Carlson regarding the Class & Comp Study), I will provide that to you under separate cover. MAR/jdc Enclosures