Dateline: November 8, 2001

City considers revised employee policies   

Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

The Clarendon Board of Aldermen met in called session Friday morning at City Hall to consider new personnel policies.

Board consultant Colby Waters presented a draft of the new guidelines to the aldermen and addressed their importance to the city.

“These procedures are important to the city to have an equitable employment area,” Waters said. “It gives both the city and the employees guidelines and limitations.”

The new policy manual would outline the responsibilities of each city employee and provide them with a job description. It also places limitations on employees as far as what is acceptable in the workplace.

“If people are being asked to do things that aren’t in the guidelines, it gives them protection,” Waters said.

The manual also addresses uses of city property, employee safety, discipline, employee compensation and advancement, as well as firing of employees among other things.

Most of Friday’s meeting was devoted to issues of sick leave and holidays. The aldermen discussed how much of each an employee will be allowed to accumulate over his career and how to be fair to employees who have already devoted many years of service to the city.

No action was taken Friday, and the board will take up the matter again at a future meeting as they continue to seek a solution that is equitable to employees and protects the interests of the city and its taxpayers.

Waters urged the board not to do anything to unnecessarily “rock the boat.”

Mayor Tex Selvidge said he was against making any changes in the city’s polices just for the sake of change.

“If it’s going to make things better though, it’s worth it,” Selvidge said.

As an internal city policy, the board of aldermen can adopt and revise the employee guidelines at any time.

Waters is an employee of the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission. Clarendon aldermen contracted with the PRPC in August to revise the city’s personnel and procedures manual. Under another PRPC contract, Waters provides support services and advice to the board.

Waters is also working under a third contract which calls for the codification of city ordinances. That job would review and organize city laws dating back to 1901 – some of which are outdated, nullified, or inapplicable today.