Personnel Committee — Agenda packet

Posted On: 6/18/2026 PERSONNEL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA Tuesday, June 23, 2026, at 9:00 A.M. Sister Bay Liberty Grove Fire Station – 2258 Mill Road, Small Conference Room Deviations from the agenda order shown may occur For additional meeting information visit: www.sisterbaywi.gov, click ‘Agendas and Minutes’ AGENDA 1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Approve Agenda 4. Approve Minutes: a) May 26, 2026 5. Comments, Correspondence, and Concerns from the Public 6. Discussion/Action Items a) Location of Personnel Committee Meetings b) Employee Handbook Review; Fire Department Support 7. Executive Session a) Wisc. Stats. 19.85(1)(c) to consider employment, promotion, compensation or performance evaluation data of any public employee over which the governmental body has jurisdiction or exercises responsibility. i. Preliminary Consideration of Personnel Matters 8. Matters to be Placed on a Future Agenda or Referred to a Committee, Official, or Employee a) Employee Handbook Review; Comprehensive Review b) Job Description Review c) Budget: Compensation Schedule & COLA 9. Next Meeting Date 10. Adjourn Public Notice Questions regarding the nature of the Agenda items or more detail on the items listed can be directed to Benjamin Andrews, Village Administrator, at administrator@sisterbaywi.gov. It is possible that members of and possibly a quorum of members of other governmental bodies may attend the meeting to gather information; no action will be taken by any governmental body other than the body specifically referred to above. Upon reasonable notice, a good faith effort will be made to accommodate the needs of disabled individuals through sign language interpreters or other auxiliary aids or accommodations at no cost to the individual. Due to the difficulty in finding interpreters, requests should be made as far in advance as possible, preferably a minimum of 48 hours. For additional information or to request this service, contact the Sister Bay Village Administration Office at 854-4118, (FAX) 854-9637, or by writing to the Village Administration Building, 2383 Maple Drive, PO Box 769, Sister Bay, WI 54234. Copies of reports and other supporting documentation are available for review online. The Village of Sister Bay is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer 1 PERSONNEL COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES 1 Tuesday, May 26, 2026 2 10:00 AM 3 Unapproved 4 5 6 1. Call to Order7 Chair Howson called the Personnel Committee meeting to order at 10:01 AM on Tuesday, May 26,8 2026.9 10 2. Roll Call11 Present: Chair Louise Hownson, Brigid White, Patrice Champeau12 Staff Present: Administrator Benjamin Andrews, Village Clerk Julie Thyssen13 14 3. Approve Agenda15 Motion to approve the agenda was made by White and seconded by Champeau. Motion carried —16 all ayes.17 18 4. Approve Minutes: April 29, 202619 Motion to approve the minutes of the April 29, 2026 Personnel Committee meeting was made by20 Champeau and seconded by White. Motion carried — all ayes.21 22 5. Comments, Correspondence and Concerns from the Public23 No public comments, correspondence, or concerns were received.24 25 6. Discussion/Action Items26 a. Marina Training Certification; Pay Bump27 Administrator Andrews presented a proposal to provide Marina employees with pay incentives28 for obtaining Marina Operator and Marina Manager certifications. The Committee supported a29 6% wage increase upon completion of the Operator certification and an additional 6% upon30 completion of the Manager certification, for a total potential increase of 12%. The Operator31 certification increase for current employee Sam will be applied retroactively. Concerns were32 raised regarding Marina tip distribution practices, and Andrews agreed to investigate.33 34 Action Items: 35 • Investigate Marina tip pooling practices.36 • Prepare an amended wage schedule reflecting the certification increases.37 • Update Marina job descriptions to include certification pay language.38 39 Motion to refer the Marina Training Certification Pay Bump item to the Marina Committee, with 40 a recommendation for a stepped 6 percent pay increase upon Operator certification (applied 41 retroactively) and an additional 6 percent upon Manager certification, and to direct staff to 42 prepare an amended wage schedule and update the relevant job descriptions, was made by 43 White and seconded by Champeau. Motion carried — all ayes. 44 45 b. Employee Handbook Review46 Andrews reported that additional documentation related to a prior employee matter had been47 added to the personnel file for context. The Committee reviewed proposed handbook revisions48 clarifying employee on-call obligations during PTO, defining emergencies, and adding a49 standardized disciplinary documentation form. The Committee agreed to forward the revisions50 2 Minutes of the May 26, 2026 Meeting of the Personnel Committee - unapproved 2 to the Village Board for adoption and schedule a comprehensive handbook review in August 1 2026. 2 3 Action Items: 4 • Place handbook revisions on the June Village Board agenda. 5 • Schedule a full handbook review for August 2026. 6 • Research HR resources to assist with the review. 7 • Distribute the updated PTO/on-call policy to managers and attach it to the relevant 8 personnel file once adopted. 9 10 Motion to recommend the proposed Employee Handbook revisions — including updated on-11 call/PTO language and the standardized disciplinary documentation form — to the Village Board 12 for adoption was made by Champeau and seconded by White. Motion carried — all ayes. 13 14 7. Executive Session 15 a. Wisc. Stats. 19.85(1)(c) To Consider Employment, Promotion, Compensation Or 16 Performance Evaluation Data Of Any Public Employee Over Which The Governmental Body 17 Has Jurisdiction Or Exercises Responsibility. 18 b. Preliminary Consideration Of Personnel Matters 19 Roll call was taken. All members confirmed present. The Committee moved into Executive 20 Session pursuant to Wis. Stats. 19.85(1)(c) for the preliminary consideration of personnel 21 matters. 22 23 Motion to convene in Executive Session was made by Champeau and seconded by White. Motion 24 carried — all ayes. 25 26 Motion to return to open session was made by White and seconded by Champeau. Motion 27 carried — all ayes. 28 29 8. Matters To Be Placed On A Future Agenda Or Referred To A Committee, Official, Or 30 Employee 31 The following items were identified for placement on future agendas: 32 Job Descriptions — To be scheduled for a future Personnel Committee meeting. 33 Employee Handbook Update — Referred to the August Personnel Committee meeting. 34 Marina Referral — Item referred to the Marina. 35 Fire Department Support for Village Employees — Andrews noted there was conflicting 36 language requiring additional research before the item could be properly presented. This item 37 remains pending and will be brought forward once research is complete. 38 39 9. Next Meeting Date 40 The next Personnel Committee meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, June 23, 2026, at 9:00 AM. 41 42 10. Adjourn 43 Motion to adjourn at 12:34 was made White and seconded by Champeau. Motion carried — all 44 ayes. 45 46 47 Respectfully submitted by Julie Thyssen, Village Clerk 48 3 Page 1 STAFF REPORT Date: June 23, 2026 To: Personnel Committee Re: Employee Handbook Review; Fire Department Support Author(s): Benjamin Andrews, Village Administrator Action(s) Requested: ☐ Ordinance ☐ Resolution ☐ Motion ☒ Receive/File BACKGROUND INFORMATION Included for Personnel Committee consideration is proposed new policy language for the Village of Sister Bay Employee Handbook defining employee participation in the Sister Bay–Liberty Grove Volunteer Fire Department. The purpose of the proposed policy is to formally outline expectations, eligibility, and procedures for Village employees who wish to serve as volunteer firefighters, while ensuring continuity of essential Village operations. A draft of the proposed policy is attached for review and was distributed the draft to Village Department Managers and the Fire Chief and requested comments, questions, and suggested revisions. All comments received are included as attachments to this report. FEEDBACK • Expressed concern that requiring employees to use PTO to respond to emergency calls during working hours may discourage participation. Noted historical practices that allowed “double dipping” for the entirety of a call, or at minimum provided one hour of paid time per call. Recommended restoring a similar incentive to support recruitment and retention of volunteer responders. • Suggesting a stronger, more supportive opening statement recognizing the essential nature of Fire Department services. • Recommending that employees only be required to notify—rather than obtain approval—of their Fire Department participation to avoid restricting off‑duty volunteer choices. • Proposing more flexible emergency‑response language allowing employees to leave without prior approval when notified of an incident, with restrictions only in cases of immediate threat to essential Village services. • Suggesting that the policy allow calls under one hour to occur without requiring PTO or leave, consistent with practices of some private employers. 4 Page 2 • Requesting clarification on whether Village vehicles must be returned before responding to a call. • Recommending adding a Non‑Retaliation and Support of Volunteer Service section to protect employees from adverse employment action due to lawful volunteer participation. REQUESTED ACTION(S) Village Staff requests that the Personnel Committee review the attached draft policy and supporting comments, discuss potential revisions, and provide direction on next steps, including whether the draft should be revised prior to submission to the Village Board for consideration. ATTACHMENT(S) 1. Employee Handbook Policy Language – “Participation - Volunteer Fire Department” 5 Village of Sister Bay Employee Handbook Proposed Participation-Volunteer Fire Department Policy Participation - Volunteer Fire Department The Village of Sister Bay recognizes the significant community value provided by employees who serve as members of the Sister Bay -Liberty Grove Fire Department. The Village supports these volunteer efforts and seeks to provide as much flexibility and accom modation as possible while maintaining the safe, efficient, and continuous delivery of essential Village services. Eligibility. Village employees are encouraged participate in the volunteer Fire Department, provided such service does not interfere with the employee’s ability to safely and effectively perform the essential functions of their Village position. Employees interested i n participating must obtain approval from the employee’s immediate supervisor and the Village Administrator so appropriate scheduling and safety considerations may be reviewed and addressed. Response. The Village acknowledges that emergency incidents cannot be predicted and may occur during an employee’s scheduled workday. • Emergency Response. Employees may leave work to respond to emergency fire calls. Supervisors are encouraged to be as accommodating as possible while ensuring that essential Village operations are not compromised. Approval will generally be granted unless the employee’s absence would create an immediate safety concern, threaten critical infrastructure operations, or cause a failure of essential village service. • Use of Leave . Employees may either use upaid leave or paid time off (PTO) for response to fire calls occurring during work hours. Nothing in this section guarantees paid administrative leave for volunteer response. • Return to Work . Employees must notify their supervisor as soon as reasonably possible when responding to a call during work hours and provide an estimated time of return. Training, Meetings, and Non -Emergency Activities . Employees may attend fire -department-related training, drills, meetings, or community education activities outside their regular work hours without restrictions. Training during work hours requires advance supervisor approval. Supervisors are encouraged to reasonably accommodate these requests where workloads permit. Safety and Fatigue Management . Because fire response activities may occur overnight or may be physically demanding, the following applies to ensure safety in Village operations: • If an employee has responded to an overnight call or incident resulting in significant fatigue, they must notify their supervisor before beginning their shift. • Supervisors may require the employee to use PTO or, if warranted for safety, allow unpaid time off. • Employees must not report for duty if their ability to safely perform their job duties may be impaired. Workers’ Compensation and Liability. Under Wisconsin law, volunteer firefighters are covered by workers’ compensation while performing fire department duties ; coverage is provided from the Fire Department, not the Village. This coverage applies only during official fire department activities and does not substitute for the Village’s expectations regarding attendance, communication, and safe work practices during the employee’s Village duties. Use of Village Resources. Employees may not use Village vehicles, facilities, equipment, or paid work time for volunteer fire department activities unless specifically authorized by their supervisor or the Village 6 Village of Sister Bay Employee Handbook Proposed Participation-Volunteer Fire Department Policy Administrator. Any such authorization must ensure that Village operations and assets are protected and that no conflict of interest exists. Compensation and Dual -Role Considerations . The Village does not supplement or offset stipends, honorariums, or other compensation provided by the Fire Department. Time spent performing fire department duties is not considered Village work time and is not eligible for Village overtime, compensatory time, or benefits. Conduct, Ethics, and Conflicts of Interest. Employees serving as volunteer firefighters remain subject to all Village policies, including the Code of Ethics, Conduct Standards, Confidentiality, and Drug and Alcohol-Free Workplace provisions of this handbook. Employees must avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest, including using Village employment to influence fire department decision-making or vice versa. Review and Administration . Any questions regarding this section should be directed to the employee’s immediate supervisor, who may consult the Village Administrator for clarification. The Village Board retains authority to modify this policy in writing in accordance with procedures outlined in this handbook. 7