Advertisement

Ellis said the employees had discussed amongst themselves cost saving mechanisms, but were waiting to see what the leaders were going to do, in part to alleviate the situation when they appointed Ellis to the manager's role and retained John Rogers.

Kalkaska County Road Commission chairman George Nice said the meeting was called to try to allow the employees to get some concerns off their chest and allow the commissioners to rebuild their relationships, which he alleged have deteriorated during the past few years.

"Everything is up in arms now," Ellis said. "We need to see a leadership direction from you as far as communications and know that any money we save is not going to be wasted. How about the manager's position for instance?"

Road commission employee Rick Short said there are five commissioners now, following the appointment of two new commissioners earlier this month by the county board.

"I also don't understand why the office has to work five days a week and the rest of us work the same four days during the summer," he said. "In the past we have worked the same hours. Effficiency should start at the top and then trickle on down."

Nice said the commission would not take any action against them for speaking at the forum.

"We are not going to hold anything against anybody," he said. "We are here to hear the management and the employees."

Ellis said with the television camera and the newspaper present the employees would not feel comfortable speaking freely with the commission. However, under the state's Open Meetings Act, the road commissioners cannot assemble as a quorum and speak with the employees with breaking the law, which could create fines and additional problems.

Another employee asked why the commission had added two commissioners commenting on the fact that that would be two more to pay.

"I can't answer that," Nice said. "That was a decision of the county Board of Commissioners and that is what they wanted to do."

Springfield Township clerk Joyce Ingersoll said a three member board was not a good thing to have, as they would constantly have problems with the state's Open Meetings Act.

KCRC employee Everett Homan said the employees needed a plan.

"What's the plan," he said.

"The first time thing we have seen is a 30-day plan and Scott presented that," Nice said. "That is the only thing I can tell you that I know. I think we should adhere to that plan."

Nice said the employees have in the past have not adhered to adopted policies and said he wished he had all of the answers to fix the financial mess the KCRC was in.

Foreman Tim Dorman said in the past employees have not been held accountable, alluding to the fact there was some violence in the workplace which he said was swept under the rug.

"We all need to be held accountable, including this board," Nice said. "It is not easy to keep the relations going, especially when you only meet one or two times a month."

Nice also said no one likes change and added if the commissioners did not make some changes, the agency would be in some serious financial trouble by the end of the year.

Payroll clerk Brenda Smith said she had a problem with one of policies the commission institued, but Nice's response was that the policy was taken right out of the state road commission accounting manual.

"You are supposed to let me know and tell me where to find it," Smith said. "A lot of the road commissions do not charge out the individual trucks and I did not know that was in the manual."

Dorman alleged that Ellis, while hired at his current salary as a truck driver, is eligible for overtime payment and did receive such compensation for working oncall one weekend. That cost netted Ellis $600.

"I would like to see what you are referring to," road commissioner Margaret Custer said. "I am wondering how far we need to go back to review this."

Ellis clarified the issue by saying when appointed he asked if he would receive his current salary and said he had discussed the issue with Dorman. He added every time he is placed on call he will receive extra pay.

"The board was asked what the intentions of what was being said and it was at the same rate of pay as was currently being paid. That was a question and that was addressed by the board."

Another employee alleged the reason Ellis was named was he was actively involved in the recall of the previous road commissioners. Nice disagreed with him, but said every person is entitled to their own opinion.

Another employee said Rogers has a good relationship with township officials while Ellis seems to do well with organizational skills and dealing with the men.

"I just wonder how long we are going to have two managers," he said. "There are a lot of things coming up. We have health care costs, inflation, you name it, contract negotiations and now with two unions. I just wonder if you have no idea or any clue of what is happening right now."

Nice said these are not easy decisions to make and added, as he has before at previous meetings, the KCRC is on the verge of being bankrupt and the commissioners are trying to make the right decisions. Smith said punching the time cards was a problem as it would be costing the road commission more to pay here what she was owed by punching the time clock then by just coming in and doing her job.

She said sometimes she came in early and worked late, at times without a lunch, in order to get the job done. She also said she disliked some of the language in the workplace and said she had voiced concerns about it previously, but to no avail.

"The time clock makes all of us accountable," Nice said.

Rogers said he had two concerns, one being the time clock issue and the second being the fact that a policy was instituted without staff input. Rogers said when he was hired he was told one of the most important things he needed to do was work with the townships and build up the relationships with them.

He said he was doing that, as evidenced by the number of township officials attending the meetings.

Rogers said he was not 100 percent responsible for the financial changes at the KCRC but said the agency ended the year with $82,000 and they had some money in the bank.

Commissioners also asked if previous disciplinary reports, which were allegedly untrue, were removed from employee files, which Ellis confirmed had happened, he also said the violence in the workplace had been curbed and windows which were allegedly broken earlier repaired.

None of these issues had come out publicly until this meeting. The broken windows were paid for by an employee.

"I think the violence in the workplace is a legal issue and the law should have been involved," Stuart Rogers said. "I also think the discipline actions have been swept under the rug all the way up."