AGENDA ITEM 10-E
ACTION ITEM
TO:
CHAIRMAN COVINGTON AND THE VRE OPERATIONS BOARD
FROM:
DALE ZEHNER
DATE:
APRIL 20, 2012
RE:
AUTHORIZATION TO APPROVE
POLICY AMENDMENTS
PRTC/VRE
PERSONNEL
RECOMMENDATION:
The VRE Operations Board is being asked to recommend that the Potomac and
Rappahannock Transportation Commission approve amendments to the
PRTC/VRE Personnel Policy.
BACKGROUND:
PRTC/VRE’s adopted personnel policy has stood the test of time in large
measure, but has also required periodic modifications based on first-hand
experience in applying the policy to current personnel situations. The last set of
policy amendments adopted by the VRE Operations Board and Potomac and
Rappahannock Transportation Commission (PRTC) occurred in February 2005.
A second set of amendments is now being recommended for the reasons cited
below.
Amendment 1 - (Policy IV Pay Plan and Employee Compensation, Section I.B)
PRTC reassesses this policy in the course of the periodic parity studies that the
personnel policy says are to be completed every three years. However, the last
such study was in FY 2007 and the one that was scheduled for FY 2010 was
deferred indeterminately for austerity reasons. As a result, the General Payscale
(Attachment 1), other than for cost of living adjustments, has not been updated to
account for changed market conditions since FY 2007. As a result, the
classifications now lag significantly behind counterparts such as Fairfax and
Prince William Counties (Attachment 2). This administrative amendment would
modify the PRTC/VRE General Payscale to create three higher classifications
comparable to those classifications present in Fairfax and Prince William
Counties. The proposed revised payscale appears here as Attachment 3.
PRTC’s Executive Director is supportive of this proposed change. In addition,
both PRTC’s legal counsel for VRE matters, and PRTC’s legal counsel for nonVRE matters have reviewed the proposal and approve the amendment. Making
this change has no budget consequence since the General Payscale is wholly
independent of how positions are classified.
Amendment 2 – (Policy XIX Awards and Special Recognition, Section II)
From time to time, PRTC and/or VRE employees perform extraordinary efforts for
the organization(s) that warrant special recognition in the form of a one-time,
monetary bonus. Presently, the PRTC Executive Director and the VRE Chief
Executive Officer have authority to award bonuses of $250 or less, with
Operations Board or Commission approval for bonuses over $250. These
thresholds have been operational since FY 2001.
A recommendation, shown in Attachment 4, is now being made to increase the
authority limit delegated to the chief executives to $500. The new limit restores
the diminished real-dollar value of the delegated authority and accounts for the
fact that the scope of complexity of both the VRE and PRTC operations has
grown appreciably since FY 2001.
PRTC’s Executive Director is supportive of this proposed change. In addition,
both PRTC’s legal counsel for VRE matters, and PRTC’s legal counsel for nonVRE matters have reviewed the proposal and approve the amendment.
Amendment 3 – (Policy XI Promotions, Demotions, Reclassifications, and
Transfers, Section III.C)
Under the current policy, an existing employee who applies for a competitively
advertised position within PRTC/VRE, and is then deemed the most qualified
candidate, is limited by the policy’s rules of promotion in establishing the level of
compensation. The only limitation applicable to the external candidate is that the
starting salary must be within the classification range. The practical result is that
there is less latitude to account for skills and experience in establishing the level
of compensation when an internal candidate is found to be the most qualified.
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To establish parity between internal and external candidates vying for a position,
it is recommended that language be added to Policy XI, Section III.C allowing this
exception to be made.
At the March 16, 2012 Operations Board meeting, a discussion occurred
regarding the appropriateness of seeking approval of the PRTC or VRE
Chairman in the event that this exception provision was utilized. A consensus
position is now being proposed, Attachment 5, such that the Chairman of PRTC
or VRE would be notified that the exception had been made, but not asked to
approve such exceptions.
PRTC’s Executive Director is supportive of this proposed change. In addition,
both PRTC’s legal counsel for VRE matters, and PRTC’s legal counsel for nonVRE matters have reviewed the proposal and approve the amendment.
Because these recommended amendments apply to employees working at both
PRTC and VRE, the VRE Operations Board is being asked to recommend these
changes to the PRTC for approval at its May 3, 2012 meeting. As this action is
specific to VRE and PRTC employees, NVTC will be notified of the changes but
no action is required.
FISCAL IMPACT:
While fiscal impacts may occur through the implementation of these
amendments, there is no budgetary impact associated with this action.
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TO:
FROM:
DATE:
RE:
CHAIRMAN COVINGTON AND THE VRE OPERATIONS BOARD
DALE ZEHNER
APRIL 20, 2012
AUTHORIZATION TO APPROVE PRTC/VRE PERSONNEL
POLICY AMENDMENTS
RESOLUTION
10E-04-2012
OF THE
VIRGINIA RAILWAY EXPRESS
OPERATIONS BOARD
WHEREAS, personnel matters involving PRTC and VRE staffs are governed by a
common, adopted personnel policy; and,
WHEREAS, occasionally there arises a need for policy amendments for statutory
and other reasons that the existing policy does not adequately address; and,
WHEREAS, the adopted personnel policy was last amended in February 2005,
and needs further amendments at this time; and,
WHEREAS, the amendments as proposed are the end result of discussions
involving PRTC and VRE management; and,
WHEREAS, the amendments as proposed have been reviewed and approved by
PRTC’s legal counsel for VRE matters and PRTC’s legal counsel for non-VRE
matters; and,
WHEREAS, the amendments as proposed are summarized in the background
section of the memo accompanying this resolution and in the attachments.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT, the VRE Operations Board
recommends that the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission
approve amendments to the PRTC/VRE Personnel Policy and that NVTC be
notified of the recommendation.
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