OPERATING STAFF COUNCIL MEETING
MINUTES
1/13/05
8:30AM –
Present: Elizabeth Buck, Gay Campbell, Michele
Crase, Marcia Dick, Linda Jennings, Theresa Kinniry, Joe
Koch, Jay Monteiro, Nancy Schuneman, Andy Small,
Donna Smith, LaRonda Thuestad and Rachel Turner.
Absent: Sara Clayton, Margie Foshe, Glenda Jones
Guests: Jodi Tyrrell
The regular meeting of the Operating Staff Council
was called to order at 8:40 a.m. on Thursday, January 13, 2005, by President
Donna Smith.
A motion was made to accept the agenda as
presented. The motion was seconded and
passed.
III. Approval
of Minutes of December 9, 2004, Meeting
A motion was made to accept the minutes. The motion was seconded and passed.
IV. Treasurer’s Report
The treasurer’s report was presented for discussion.
A motion was made to accept the Treasurer’s report. The motion was seconded and
passed.
Linda Jennings pointed out
that the Operating Staff Dependent Award applications are due January
14, 2005. Smith pointed out that she had received an
e-mail from Deb Haliczer regarding the January
University Benefits
Meeting. She also passed around the ISU
newsletter.
A.
Personnel/Staff Developments/Benefits.
1. Gay Campbell reported that the committee discussed pap
smears for women. A time frame of one
year and one day must have passed in order for an exam to be paid for. The committee also discussed the new prescription
drug plan and which local pharmacies are participating. The CMS website has a list of participants in
the area. The committee is also
monitoring the Illinois teacher’s retirement plan, just to keep abreast of how
their benefits are being handled.
Jennings said that her pharmacist indicated that prescriptions must now
have a diagnosis code, but she wasn’t sure if that was true. The committee will look into this.
B. Elections
and Appointments.
1. Rachel Turner read an interest form from Kay Shelton from Founder’s Library for
the Presidential Commission on the Status of Minorities. After some discussion of Shelton’s form, the
Council voted to recommend that she be appointed to the commission.
C. Public
Relations.
1.
Jennings reported that the deadline for the Operating Staff Dependent
Award is January 14. An article appeared
in the newsletter. Jay Monteiro said
three applications have been received.
2.
Work is also continuing on the Council Member Handbook. Theresa Kinniry reminded Council members to
send any comments or suggestions to her so a new draft can be prepared. The committee is targeting May or June for a
completion date of the handbook.
3.
Nancy Schuneman reported that the call for nominations for the
Outstanding Service Award have been sent out.
The deadline for nominations is February 28.
D. Visiting Committees/Guests. –
None.
E. EAC – No report.
F. UAC - Smith reported that the Board of Trustees
met December 9, 2004. At the meeting,
the former Rice Hotel building downtown has been renamed the William R. Monat
building in honor of the former president.
It is only the second time in NIU history that a building has been named
for someone who is still alive. Kathy
Buettner reported that there are still budget concerns with the FY06 state
budget. Legislators are at odds as to
how best to address the problems. Smith
also said that President Peters announced that with the additional 1% salary
increase in January, NIU now has the highest increment adjustment in the state.
G. University Council – Has not
met.
H.
Special Events
– No report.
VII. Old Business
A.
The Secretary Advisory Council asked the
Council for their input on a proposal to Campus
Parking
to consider establishing permit fees on a sliding scale based on individual
salaries.
The
Council had several concerns including privacy issues, potential complaints
from
employees
about varying price structures, and logistical issues regarding the ability of
the
Parking
office to accurately and expeditiously process permit applications. Smith will send a
letter to the SAC president expressing the
Council’s concerns.
B.
Kinniry had mentioned at the December meeting
that there is currently a retired person
serving
on the Outstanding Service Award Selection Committee and she wondered if
the
bylaws
should be updated to indicate that it was OK for a retiree to serve on the
committee to
avoid any problems
should anyone question it. After some
discussion and a review of
the current bylaws,
it was decided that retirees should not serve on committees except
as required by
pre-determined guidelines (e.g., If someone retires but also receives the
Outstanding Service
Award, they can serve on the committee the following year as indicated in
the current
bylaws). It was decided that committee
members should be current employees and
every effort should be made to include members
from every division on campus.
C.
As is
done every four years as dictated by the university bylaws, University Council
is currently
reviewing the Office of the Ombudsman to
determine if it is needed. The Council
unanimously
agrees the Office of the Ombudsman is needed
on campus and a letter to that effect will be
sent to the review committee.
VIII. New Business
A. Since the Staffest date was changed from
August 4 to August 11following a request from the
Conference Office,
Smith suggested the regular meeting be held August 4 instead of the
regularly scheduled
time of August 11. The motion was made
and seconded to move the
August meeting to
August 4, location TBA.
IX. Adjournment – The meeting adjourned at 9:40 a.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Theresa Kinniry
OSC Secretary