SFBC Minutes - August 6, 2009
Members Present: Gary D'Agostino, Sonja Aikens, Jeff Donahue, Jennifer McNeil, David Sprunger and Karen Webb
Members Absent: Jason Arp and Marilyn Ponti
Invited Guest: Cindy Matern, Ad-Hoc Member
The meeting was called to order at 1:20 p.m. in the Physical Plant Conference Room.
The minutes from the July meeting were approved with one correction. Jeff wanted a link to the Staff home page, not the Staff Fringe Benefits home page. Jennifer stated she would get the link changed.
Jeff introduced our new committee member, Karen Webb. She will replace Ginni and represent Student Services. We all introduced ourselves as well and stated our area of representation. There was a question if every area of the campus is being represented. Cindy went over the departments and it was confirmed that all areas are covered as follows:
- Admission/Financial Aid - Marilyn
- Alumni/Development - Jason
- Dean of Faculty - Jennifer
- Student Services - Sonia and Karen
- Treasurer/Physical Plant - Jeff and Dag
- WCTS - David
Jeff questioned if any old business needed to be discussed. Cindy provided information on the Shared Leave plan. As of December 2007, 6 people have used the plan and 22 people made donations. Karen questioned where the donation form could be found. The form can be found on the Human Resources (HR) website and Cindy will bring a copy to the next meeting. Employees must contact HR to utilize the Shared Leave plan.
One of our constituents provided feedback to the Committee regarding the transition to retirement and how confusing it is to everyone. It was suggested that we have a general meeting for those about to retire and/or generate a list/cheat sheet that encompasses the necessary steps and things to think about relating to retirement. The committee all agreed this was a great idea and will look into hosting a meeting for all to attend. Sonja felt it would be ideal to spend a meeting getting it prepared and then create the list/cheat sheet to distribute.
It was agreed at the last meeting that we will offer "lunch bag meetings". The purpose of these meetings will be to provide additional details on certain benefits with the hopes to educate the staff on what is available to them. Each committee member present chose a topic and will research it to present at a future meeting. The following are the topics selected thus far:
- Aflac - Karen
- Credit Union - Dag
- Education Opportunities - Sonja
- Flex Spending - Jennifer
- Tiaa-Cref/Roth - David
- YMCA - Jeff
No formal dates have been set except that we will start in September and leave November and December open for health insurance renewal. David questioned if HR had a comprehensive website to start our research. Cindy declared that the site contains just basic information but offered her assistance to everyone. After some discussion, it was agreed that the committee will help HR build their website with the information we compile on the presented benefits.
A brief discussion was held on how much exposure we want to give our committee and how often Communications will allow us to post in the community newsletter, The Fountain. Sonja will have a discussion with them and report back to the committee.
We will be constructing a survey to determine what we can do for the staff. The focus will be on what our fellow staff members what instead of problems/issues/concerns they have. Of course, they are always welcome to provide that to use via email or the feedback form on our website. Everyone is asked to come up with questions and email them to Jeff and/or bring them to the next meeting.
It was agreed that the committee should be introduced at the Staff Breakfast, if one is held before the semester begins. It will grant us some exposure and allow new staff members to see who comprises the committee.
The meeting was adjourned at 2:10 p.m.
Next SFBC meeting: Thursday, September 3, 2009 at 1:15 p.m., location to be announced by Sonja.