Commissioners to amend personnel policy

The Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) have amended their personnel and benefits manual, updating it from the 2016 version. The proposed amendments cover several issues and the BOCCC will be taking public comment until October 20.

Cathy MacPherson, who worked with Carbon County Clerk Gwynn Bartlett and Carbon County Attorney Ashley Mayfield-Davis on the changes, appeared before the commissioners on August 25 to discuss some of the updates.

“The notice of intended amendment described the, essentially, four areas that amendments were made. There were some areas where we had new provisions either because they were recommended or suggested by the elected officials or department heads,” said MacPherson. “There were some substantial ones that were amended to update existing provisions to include new or statutory requirements.”

MacPherson added that a third category for the amendments to the Carbon County Personnel and Benefits Manual included what she called “clarifying language.”

“That clarifying language usually comes about because we have smart employees and there’ll be a rule and they’ll try to figure out how that rule doesn’t quite apply or it’s a little different. So, those areas were addressed,” MacPherson said.

According to MacPherson, following the amendments to the personnel policy, she was involved in a two hour phone call with both Bartlett and Mayfield-Davis. Following that, the proposed changes were sent to other department heads and elected officials within the county. Suggestions from Bartlett, Mayfield-Davis and other department heads were included in the proposed changes.

“So, now it comes to you for your review and your suggestions,” said MacPherson.

Commissioner Byron Barkhurst commented on his amazement at the amount of work that would go into attempting to predict possible outcomes when it came to changes for the personnel policy. MacPherson replied “we haven’t covered them all.”

“That’s why we have the catch-all language at the end, that we’re trying to anticipate but there’ll be something else that comes up and you, as commissioners, are the final determiners,” MacPherson added.

The current personnel policy, which can be found at http://carbonwy.com/970/County-Policies, was last amended May 2016 and is 72 pages long. According to MacPherson, this isn’t the longest personnel policy she’s seen, as she said there were some elsewhere in Wyoming that were over 100 pages in length.

“My rule of thumb, and I can never quite get there, is that you should never have more than one page but life’s not that simple,” said MacPherson.

The proposed changes, listed under a Notice of Intended Amendment of Carbon County Personnel and Benefits Manual, can be found on page 13 of the September 2 Saratoga Sun. A copy of the proposed amendments are also available for inspection at the Carbon County Clerk’s Office.

Prior to the October 20 meeting, in which the BOCCC will formally adopt the amending language, interested parties can submit comments or objections in writing. Those comments or objections can be sent to:

Carbon County Clerk’s Office

Attention: Gwynn Bartlett

P.O. Box 6

Rawlins, Wyoming 82301.

They can also be hand delivered to the Carbon County Clerk’s Office at 415 W. Pine Street in Rawlins.

The Board of Carbon County Commissioners will have met at 9 a.m. on September 1 at the Carbon County Courthouse in Rawlins. The next meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners will be at 2 p.m. on September 15 at the Baggs Higher Education Center in Baggs.