Approved Minutes For Meeting on February 17, 2010

Date: February 17, 2010

Program:

1. The meeting was called to order by the Chair, Jake Baggott. Visitors and guests were welcomed and introduced.

2. Roll Call

Members Present: Tuesday Ashner, Jake Baggott, Natalie Branca, Steve Buhman, Carla Coppi, Janet Douglas, JP Dunn, Dana McKenzie, Layla Murphy, Mike Reiman, Rod Sievers, Allison Sutphin, Sue Tin, Sharon Walters, Gloria Yuncker.

Members Absent: Pat Eckert, Vern Goode, Barbara Lokaitis.

Proxies: Jake Baggott for Amy Rose, JP Dunn for Jon Geiger, Allison Sutphin for Barbara Nowack.

Visitors and Guests: Tracy Bennett, Michelle Garrett, Pat Latch.

3. Minutes

The minutes of the meeting on January 20, 2010, were approved as presented.

4. Adoption of Meeting Agenda: It was noted that item 5.4c Signage report, will be rescheduled. R. Sievers moved to adopt the agenda; seconded by M. Reiman. Motion carried.

5. Reports

5.1 Chair 
J. Baggott reported the constituency heads met on February 3 and discussed: i) spring enrollment, as well as the Chinese student program and the creation of a Confucius Institute; ii) the possibility that U of I may increase tuition by 9-18%, while SIU is looking at no tuition increase. Fee increases, however, will be brought to the Board of Trustees in April and voted on in May; iii) the U of I's buyout of employees for retirement purposes. This is not something that is being considered here; iv) the NCA Self-Study Report is now available online (https://ncaaccreditation.siuc.edu/). J. Baggott also reported that he has been in discussions with Vice Chancellor Kevin Bame about the proposed changes to the Conversion of Term to Continuing Administrative/Professional Appointment policy. K. Bame is waiting for some feedback from the Chancellor's Executive Committee; barring that, J. Baggott expects that the Chancellor will soon have an opportunity to approve the changes.

5.2 Board of Trustees 
J. Baggott reviewed the agenda items acted on by the Board on February 11. He reported that officers of the Board were elected. Also, President Poshard discussed some of the challenges the University is facing, noting that 28% of the revenues for FY10 have been received. He is continuing to work on the legislation that will allow the University to borrow funds to meet operating costs. The hope was that an agreement could be reached as early as this week. The President emphatically stated that the University will not close. In other business, the Chancellor discussed enrollment and reported that grants and awards are higher than last year by 28% (at $52 million for this period).

5.3 Human Resources (HR) 
T. Bennett reported that SURS counselors will be on campus April 6-8 for individual retirement counseling sessions. Letters have gone out to those that HR shows as being within four years of retirement eligibility. Scheduling will continue until March 5 or until appointments are filled.

5.4 Representatives to University Committees

5.4a Traffic and Parking - Tuesday Ashner 
T. Ashner reported that she is serving on a subcommittee that is charged with helping the Parking Division find ways to generate money. In the past, raising parking prices was used as a way to generate income; however, this should not be the main focus because at some point in time, parking rates will be as high as they can go for the kind of parking that is available on this campus. T. Ashner beleives parking has been unable to get its income-generating proposals approved by the administration because parking is not a high priority. She indicated that the subcommittee looked into parking at other universities and came up with a proposal that is now being sent to the different constituency groups for feedback. She reviewed the proposed recommendations (included as appendix 1 to the minutes), noting revenues from the increase in parking prices will be used to maintain/repair campus roadways, as well as pay for new signage as a result of the Americans with Disabilities [Act]. She pointed out that Parking will also have to come up with funding for all the parking-related items that are included (but were not budgeted in) as a part of Saluki Way. T. Ashner asked that anyone with feedback should e-mail her (tlashner@siu.edu).

5.4b Student Center Board - Michelle Garrett 

M. Garrett reviewed her report (included as appendix 2 to the minutes).

5.4c Signage - To be rescheduled.

5.4d Emeritus and Annuitant Association - JP Dunn 

JP Dunn reported the EAA meets about six times a year. Membership dues are $31 a year, and although the state organization raised its rates, the local group did not. The EAA works tirelessly to keep retiree benefits intact and to keep all annuitants advised on what is happening with their benefits. Currently, they are fighting to regain the dental insurance for retirees, who now have to pay their premiums. Retirees still have medical, but as easily as the state took the dental, it can take the medical and vision; these are not guaranteed benefits in the state constitution. J. Baggott added that whatever entitlements a person earns when s/he becomes an employee, or are added in terms of annuity benefits, are protected. New employees, for example, cannot use the money purchase formula. J. Baggott agreed that the EAA is very active in support of benefits. JP Dunn indicated that the EAA takes the bus to Springfield for lobby days and also publishes a nice newsletter that comes out about twice a year and is also on their website. The local chair of the EAA currently is Carolyn Donow.

5.5 Standing Committees

5.5a Executive Committee 
JP Dunn reported the committee met and made changes to the tentative agenda for February, as well as the minutes from January. It was discussed that the U of I is planning a potential layoff of about 1500 employees. Most of their groups are unionized, but those employees can still be laid off if it is not specific in their contracts. Also, R. Sievers reported that he spoke with the Daily Egyptian and invited them to attend Council meetings, so it is possible a reporter will be in attendance at future meetings. JP Dunn noted that N. Branca will need to call a meeting of the Judicial Review Board (JRB) so that training can be done. He believes there may be a grievance in the works, and he wants to make sure everyone is up to speed before that comes through. He will oversee the training. Election of officers will also need to take place (he is currently acting chair). T. Ashner asked what kind of grievances the JRB hears. JP Dunn responded that the issues are typically personnel-related, i.e., if someone was placed on a term contract without any cause given; if it is a hostile work environment; if the staff member feels harassed or threatened. JP Dunn believes one issue the JRB should review at some point is the 40 working day time limit from the grievable action. He noted that in most cases, it is not just one action that causes a grievance, but a series of events that build over time. Additionally, the 10 working day time lines are not sufficient.

5.5b Ad Hoc Elections Committee 
A. Sutphin reported the committee met by e-mail to determine sector numbers and vacancies. The Call for Nominations should be mailed by February 18.

5.5c Committee on Committees - None.

5.5d Constituency Relations 
J. Baggott reported for A. Rose that the Excellence Through Commitment Awards Selection Committee received two nominations for the outstanding A/P award and none for the teaching support award. Only one nomination was considered because the second nomination came in past the deadline.

5.5e Operating Paper 
R. Sievers presented for a first reading two proposed changes for the Operating Paper. The first proposed change addresses School of Medicine representation. He reported that there are only 24 School of Medicine A/P staff members on the Carbondale campus. In addition, the Springfield campus has its own A/P group, as well as its own rules and system. Consequently, the Operating Paper Committee believes that School of Medicine membership on the Council should be limited to those who are located on the Carbondale campus. Should this change occur, the Council may in the future want to address the current wording in the Operating Paper that gives any sector, no matter how large or small, a minimum of three representatives. What it would mean in this case is that there would be 3 members representing 24 employees. He is unsure if that can be done. The Council, therefore, may want to consider, either now or in the future, absorbing the School of Medicine sector into the academic area. He pointed out that there is no School of Journalism sector and no School of Music sector; so, why a School of Medicine sector–though, he acknowledged there may be good reasons for such a separation.J. Baggott reported that in preparation for this meeting, he had a conference call with some of the Council's Springfield representatives to review what the thinking was leading up to this discussion. One of the issues raised was that existing members would serve out their terms on the Council, unless they left for another reason, since any changes would not take effect until the next election cycle. He noted there may be some merit to allowing more time for discussion on sector configuration, given that the School of Medicine can still be significantly represented [in the academic sector]. R. Sievers indicated that, unless there is further discussion, the proposed change will be further discussed and voted on next month. The second issue for consideration is whether to eliminate the ban on consecutive terms. J. Baggott explained that the change would basically allow anyone currently serving on the Council to be re-elected, if they chose to again be a candidate. The tendency is that there have been many long-term members on the Council because of the difficulty in getting people from the different sectors to participate. There is also some value in having that historical knowledge. T. Ashner asked if the wording could be changed to limit Council members to, for example, three [consecutive] terms. R. Sievers responded that the committee could consider term limits for the future, but for now he suggested the Council wait and see how well the proposed change goes. The committee is on track to move through the legal steps as outlined in the Operating Paper, i.e., after Council approval, the proposed changes will be sent to the constituency for approval and then to the Chancellor for final approval.J. Baggott asked the representatives in Springfield if they had any comments on the proposed changes. [G. Yuncker] responded that she agreed [with the changes], noting that little of the information shared at Council meetings applies to them. Her hope is that, if the changes are approved, their council in Springfield will step up so that they can have more representation from that standpoint. She added that she has talked with several people, and they also have no objections to the changes. J. Baggott expressed appreciation to the Springfield members for their patience with the whole process and reiterated that the proposed changes will be brought back to the next meeting for further discussion and a vote.

5.5f Staff Benefits - None.

5.5g Staff Welfare 
C. Coppi reported the flyer is ready to be mailed to the A/P constituency via the listserv. She applauded J. Douglas for her help with the design. C. Coppi indicated the flyer includes bulleted items that focus on those issues of immediate concern to A/P staff. The bottom of the flyer includes a "Coming Soon: A/P Staff Council online newsletter." She is still uncertain as to who will be creating the newsletter. The plan was to have J. Baggott write something, but the committee also discussed having the different [Council standing] committees submit information as well. The introductory edition could be no more than a [brief explanation about what the Council plans to do with the newsletter]. The committee could ask for a two or three paragraph column from anyone who would like to submit [an article] and/or there could be a question and answer section. J. Baggott explained that this is all part of the Council's effort to communicate and educate people about the Council. C. Coppi agreed, noting this is the first contact.

6. Old Business

7. New Business

The Proposed A/P Staff Council Budget for FY11 was presented for approval. J. Baggott indicated the budget largely represents a starting point and makes some assumptions that the base amount will be the same, though obviously it is subject to change. There was brief discussion about expenditures such as the increased Student Center costs and travel for meetings of the Board of Trustees. J. Baggott noted that adjustments can be made in the line items as the year progresses. JP Dunn moved to approve the budget; seconded by S. Buhman. Motion carried.

8. Announcements

JP Dunn reported he sent to the listserv the "2010 Illinois Piglet Book," written by the Illinois Policy Institute (https://illinoispolicy.org/). It is an organization similar to the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute and is based in Springfield and Chicago. The organization bashes such things as the wine industry in Illinois and PBS. There are many items in the book, however, that point out waste by the state; for example, the state provides funds to organizations that not only have millions in assets but already receive federal grant money and do not need the funds the state gives them each year. J. Baggot expressed appreciation to JP Dunn for keeping staff informed about this and other issues.

9. Adjournment