CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOYEES COUNCIL
February 5, 2009
Capitol Rooms – University Union
Minutes
I.
Roll Call
Present- Suzanne Boussaard, Jim Buffalo, Laura Caldwell, Hilary Churchill, Amber Dodds, Carla Farniok, Ed Lavin,
Dan Rathjen, Lois Retherford, Kim Sedgwick, Jamie Shuda, Cerese Wright, Bill Rupert, Pam Bowman, Sheila Kirby,
Jackie Thompson
Excused-Richard Hamilton, Greg Phelps, Martha Youngmeyer
II.
Minutes (Carla Farniok)
III.
Treasurer’s Report (Jamie Shuda)
Scholarship fund has $9,550.05 with scholarships paid. The council is working on getting the scholarship fund up so
money can get moved to the endowment fund. The general fund has $5,182.65 and the luncheon made $1,823.00.
Jim made a motion to leave the accounts as is so the council has funds for upcoming events. Bill seconded and the
motion carried.
IV.
President’s Report (Ed Lavin)
The budget was discussed in the monthly meeting with Dr. Goldfarb. The new Governor would like a capital bill by
April 1st so they are getting a wish list together for this. The Performing Arts Center and the QC campus are at the
top of the list.
Employee of the Month and Employee of the Year stipends must go through payroll. Ed, Pam, and Barb Thompson
met with the University tax attorney and this is considered taxable income. Chamber of Commerce gift certificates
cannot be purchased by the council. The gift certificates can only be donated because these are considered a cash
equivalence. Hang tags are fine to give and the large raffle prize cannot be larger than $1,600.00. The Chairman of
the Social Committee and the Employee of the Month need to contact the Business Office before any changes are
made.
V.
Civil Service Employee of the Month (Laura Caldwell)
Mark Shepard from Building Services is the recipient of the February Employee of the Month award. His presentation
will be on February 10th at 1:00 in the Physical Plant Training Room. I hope to see you all there!
VI.
Vice President for Administrative Services Report (Jackie Thompson)
With the impeachment of the Governor, we do not know what kind of impact this is going to have on the University.
The new Governor would like to have a Capital Bill by April 1st but there have not been any methods mentioned on
how this is going to work. The state is so far behind in making payments that some medical physicians are asking
employees to pay up front. The state is $14,000,000 in arrears to the University as of February 1 st. The University
receives their general revenue appropriations via reimbursement from the State of Illinois. It seems that the
legislature is positive and there is communication going on between the legislature and the Governor.
The stimulus package is not a done deal.
There was discussion about Health Alliance. It seems that there is a $50.00 deductible per family for prescriptions
and this will be going to $75.00 per family July 1st because these are plan year deductibles. Insurance costs
continue to rise.
There was discussion brought up about rumors about a hiring freeze. There is no hiring freeze. Everyone is being very
cautious on filling vacant positions. There are also rumors about layoffs for Building Service Workers. There has been
no conversation talking about layoffs. Layoffs are taken very seriously and would be handled carefully with notice to
the employee. This is not a time for rumors because people are worried enough with the economy. There was a
question wondering if Dr. Goldfarb could put out an encouraging letter stating that jobs are as secure as we can
possibly make them.
VII. Director of Human Resources (Pam Bowman)
Pay For Exceptional Performance – To date, we have completed six of the 20 scheduled training sessions on the Pay
for Exceptional Performance plan. There have been between 30-40 people in attendance at each session. Due to the
consistency in questions raised at each meeting, a Frequently Asked Questions document will be distributed within the
next few weeks.
There was a question and discussion about how the Pay for Exceptional Performance plan will work after the first year.
The plan states that 1% of the appropriated personnel services base will be used to cover the cost of the plan. PFEP
plan funds are separate from across-the-board increase funds. Grant funded accounts will need to cover PFEP
increases for employees covered under a grant funded account. Dr. Goldfarb and the VPs are committed to the plan.
VIII. Employee Advisory Committee Representative (Sheila Kirby)
Western is one of the best with keeping in line with extra help and total exemptions which are deans and the
President. There will be a Council on Council meeting in Edwardsville in October. Please keep in mind that
someone from the council needs to attend so we know what we need to do when we need to host one.
IX.
WIU Quad Cities Campus Report (Lois Retherford)
As usual things are hopping and very busy here at the Quad Cities Campus. We are still making a few minor
changes for spring classes, have loaded fall classes, and are almost finished loading summer classes.
It is a very full building here this semester with classes and meetings. Enrollment is up 6% and parking has become
a bigger issue than ever before. The shuttle service is being heavily utilized but it only runs 12 - 9:30 PM Monday Thursday. On street and frontage road parking is full up also. Many faculty, staff and students no longer leave
campus because of not getting a parking place when they return.
WIU-QC will sponsor the Women's Connection Luncheon in Bettendorf the end of February. It is a great opportunity
to get WIU out in front of a large networking group from a wide variety of backgrounds and businesses in the area.
X.
Representative Reports to Council
1. Affirmative Action Internship (Amber Dodds) – No Report
2. Accreditation Committee (Martha Youngmeyer) – No Report
3. Women’s Center (Martha Youngmeyer) – February is American Heart Month and Women’s Healthy Heart
Month. There will be resource tables with handouts and free red dress pins on Friday, February 6 th from
11:00am-2:00pm at the north entrance of the Union for Wear Red Day in observance of women’s heart health.
Please wear red and join Beu Health Center, the Women’s Center and other co-sponsors for a picture at
12:15pm at the flagpole in the Union Plaza north of the Union. There was a resource table in the Union
Concourse on Wednesday, February 4th in observance of National Girls and Women on Sports Day. A
resource table and meet and greet with Westerwinds athletes and coaches will be held at 3:30pm prior to the
Saturday, February 7 Westerwinds game at 4:30pm. We have had and will have resource tables in the Union
Concourse for V-Day to sell merchandise and tickets for “The Vagina Monologues” performances to be held
February 12th-14th at 7:30pm in the Horrabin Hall Theatre. Tickets are $12.00 for non-students and $10.00 for
students and are available in the Women’s Center. There has been a call sent out for submissions for our
“Women’s Voices Journal”, which will be published in April. Deadline for the entries in February 16. We have
also sent out a call for submissions for our Women’s Art Exhibit, to be held in the basement level of the
University Library during the month of March, and the deadline for submissions in February 20 th. Women’s
History Month Calendar of Events will be distributed around campus and in the community the end of Feb ruary.
We have several activities/events scheduled for the month of March including: displays in the Union showcase,
Union Bookstore, University Library, Music Library, Macomb City Hall and the WIU-QC campus. Information is
available on our web site at www.wc.wiu.edu. There will be an International Women’s Day program on
Thursday, March 5th, and a “Women’s Roles Around the World” booth at the International Bazaar March 6th-7th.
The Multicultural Center construction schedule is a couple of weeks behind but are still hoping to be able to
move in before the end of March. The Women’s Center newletter will be out this week, so look for information
about these and other programs and activities.
4. Web Page (Jim Buffalo) – System will auto update the voting groups and job classifications. The Employee of
the Month news release will auto update. Scott is updating as soon as the picture is taken and link is added
when the press release comes out. The Scholarship section is going to have information about who is eligible,
how to get the scholarship, and who has received the scholarship. The scholarships are $1,000.00 and the
book awards are $100.00. Recognizing groups can possibly go on the right hand of the page with a picture of
the group or person working with a caption near the picture. It might be in May or June that we will be able to
update the CSEC website on our own. Human Resources purchases an 8x10 picture to be posted outside of
Human Resources from VPC. Would it be possible for the council to take the member pictures? There will be
areas built for the different committees to report and for upcoming events.
5. Provost Advisory Council (Greg Phelps)- No Report
6. Training and Development (Carla Farniok) – No Report
XI.
Committee Reports
1. Appeals (Greg Phelps) –No Report
2. Award Fund (Amber Dodds) – The flower fundraiser has been scrapped. The carnations went from $.55 to
$.75. The scratch cards are in progress. Monday is the deadline for the businesses to sign up. We have 8 of
the 10 businesses signed up. This does not cost the business anything to participate. The cards will be purple
and will be have Civil Service Employees Council on them. There are 50 marks to scratch off with each spot
being worth anywhere between $.50-$3.00. Each person needs to scratch off 2 spots because a sheet of
coupons are handed out for every 2 spots that are scratched off. The council should make $2,000.00 off of this
fundraiser. The total cost is $430.00 but we get 4 free cards if everything is turned in by Friday which makes
the total cost for the fundraiser $30.00. The fundraiser is planned to start on March 1 st. The businesses that
are participating are Fudge and Floral, Blades, Larry A’s, Grand Escape Day Spa, Depoys, and Guadalajara..
3. Award Selection (Dan Rathjen) – There is now a Scholarship Committee. There will be a dress code for the
interviews. The deadline for the application will be April 17th and the interviews will begin April 27th. The
application from will change and Becky will update it on the website. Becky Ebey has been a great help with all
of this.
4. Constitution / Election (Jim Buffalo) – Committee descriptions need to be updated. There are no updates as of
now. Election – The election is coming up in April. There will be a statement of candidacy on the web page
and it will be mentioned in the Campus Connection. If there are more than 1 interested than a paper ballot will
be sent out 2 weeks prior to the election. Bill Rupert is filling a vacancy for Group 1 but should be in Group 3.
This position has to be put out for vote at the next election. There was discussion about if Bill could just
change groups. If an officer leaves after 6 months, it is considered a full term. Jamie made a motion to send a
letter, tele-stars, and emails about letting people know that the election is coming up and let each person know
which group they are in. Laura seconded and the motion carried. Paper copies and tele-stars will be sent to
each specific group. A council year runs from May-April. The Quad Cities will come to campus for the May
meeting so no CODEC connection will be needed.
5. Education (Hilary Churchill) – No Report
6. Mentoring (Kim Sedgwick)
Clemmens, Keel,
Library Assistant, Library
1/26/09
Malpass Library
Klingler, Samantha J.,
Medical Technologist I
1/20/09
Beu Health Center
7. Salary (Suzanne Boussaard) – No Report
8. Social Events & Development (Jamie Shuda) – There is now a Social Committee which consists of Laura
Caldwell, Cerese Wright, Natalie Adcock, and Sheila Downing.
9. Committee on Committees (Richard Hamilton) – No Report
XII. New Business:
Dave Herbst has been diagnosed with Cancer and they are wanting donations for a benefit. The council decided
that it could be advertised on the Bulletin Boards. Laura made a motion to give $100.00 to the benefit for Dave
Herbst. Jamie seconded and the motion carried.
Physical Plant employees are still having trouble getting computer access. Tanner and Henninger Halls do not have
computers.
XIII. Old Business:
1.
Group Concerns:
2.
Announcements: Next meeting: March 5, 2009 in Room 180 in the Malpass Library.
Jamie made a motion to end the meeting and Suzanne seconded. The motion carried.