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Record of Proceedings

Altoona Personnel Committee Meeting - December 18, 2025

Meeting Portal — Thursday, December 18, 2025
BodyAltoona, Wisconsin
SessionMeeting Portal
DateThursday, December 18, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 27:45

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:00

Oh yeah,

Speaker 2

0:01

definitely been that before I've come through like a quick trip car wash remember.

0:05

Yeah.

Speaker 3

0:06

The cat would go to

Speaker 2

0:07

Mars.

Speaker 3

0:11

Never see

Speaker 4

0:11

the cat again.

0:14

Right.

0:17

Are we ready?

0:22

Okay, any time please.

0:23

We won't charge.

Speaker 5

0:24

All right, let's go ahead and call the personnel committee meeting of Thursday, December 18th, uh 2025 to order.

0:31

We have roll call.

Speaker 6

0:37

Mayor Brendan Pratt.

Speaker 5

0:38

Here.

Speaker 6

0:39

Um Member Bruce Thielen.

0:41

Yep.

0:42

Matthew Beeron.

0:43

Here.

0:43

Susie Zilmer.

0:44

Here.

0:45

Uh Dion Sansala Sensala.

0:47

Sorry, I was getting Terry Mickelson.

0:50

And we have uh assistant city administrator Rory Atkinson, Finance Director Tina Nelson.

0:56

Betsy Bowley, Director of Administrative Services, Laurie Prudlich, Utility Account Manager.

1:02

And Cindy Bauer, City Clerk.

1:04

We have a quorum.

1:04

At this time we are absent, is Timothy Lynn.

Speaker 5

1:07

Okay.

1:08

All right.

1:08

Discuss consider approval of this December 5th, 2024 personnel committee.

Speaker 6

1:24

So let the record reflect that he was not present at last year's meeting.

Speaker 2

1:28

Did he arrive during the meeting?

Unassigned speaker

1:30

No, and I double checked the meeting because the video because that's why I didn't have to be.

Speaker 6

1:36

So then I thought, well, I didn't put it down, so I thought he would, and he never did.

1:40

So take him off the list because he wasn't there at all.

Speaker 2

1:43

Okay.

Speaker 6

1:43

I'll go ahead

Speaker 2

1:44

and make the motion with that amendment.

Speaker 6

1:46

Thank

Unassigned speaker

1:47

you.

Unassigned speaker

1:52

I

Speaker 5

1:52

have a motion.

1:53

Do we have a second?

Unassigned speaker

1:54

I'll

Speaker 2

1:54

check it

Speaker 5

1:55

back.

1:55

Okay.

1:55

We have a motion and then a second.

1:57

All in favor say aye.

Speaker 2

1:59

Aye.

Speaker 5

1:59

I'm gonna

Speaker 4

2:00

abstain.

2:00

I wasn't here.

2:01

Okay.

Speaker 5

2:03

All right.

2:04

New business.

2:04

Number one, discuss consent of recommendation of the council regarding the reclassification of the utility account manager position to exempt grade one from non-exempt grade H.

2:15

We'll be discussed at the December 18th, 2025 council meeting.

Speaker 3

2:21

Mayor Pratt, members of council, uh or the personnel committee.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Personnel Matters█████████████████████████████████████████████74%
Technology and Innovation████████████20%
Procedural██4%
Budget Equity Analysis█2%
Summary of Proceedings

Altoona Personnel Committee Meeting - December 18, 2025

The Personnel Committee met on December 18, 2025 at 11:00 UTC to discuss routine approvals, a position reclassification, and updates to the Employee Handbook. The committee approved previous minutes, recommended reclassification of the Utility Account Manager to exempt Grade I, and recommended handbook changes including a modified vacation accrual schedule and a new AI policy.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of the December 5, 2024 Personnel Committee meeting minutes. Motion carried with one abstention from a member who was absent from that prior meeting.

Discussion Item: Reclassification of Utility Account Manager

  • Finance Director Tina Nelson presented a recommendation to reclassify the Utility Account Manager position from non-exempt Grade H to exempt Grade I. The reclassification was prompted by the employee’s new supervisory duties and expanded responsibilities, including department management and AMI metering software oversight. The salary increase is approximately $3 per hour. The committee voted unanimously to recommend the reclassification to the Common Council.

Discussion Item: Employee Handbook Updates

  • The Assistant City Administrator presented three amendments bundled for council recommendation:
    1. Section 10.1 Vacancy Review: Remove outdated language requiring the Personnel Committee to conduct vacancy reviews, as this is now an administrative function.
    2. Vacation Accrual: Change the years of service required to reach 160 hours of vacation from 15 years to 7 years. Discussion included comparisons with neighboring communities (e.g., Eau Claire, River Falls) and concerns about fairness for current employees who have already served beyond 7 years. No adjustment was made for existing staff, but the topic was flagged for further consideration. The committee voted to recommend the change.
    3. New Section 33: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy: Establishes governance for AI systems in city operations, including permissible and non-permissible uses, a use-case review process, data security safeguards, and human review requirements. The policy was adapted from a GovAI Coalition template and aligns with existing police department protocols. The committee approved its inclusion in the handbook update.
  • The committee voted unanimously to recommend the complete set of handbook updates to the council.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved minutes of the December 5, 2024 Personnel Committee meeting.
  • Recommended to the Common Council the reclassification of the Utility Account Manager to exempt Grade I.
  • Recommended to the Common Council the adoption of Employee Handbook updates, including the removal of outdated vacancy review language, a revised vacation accrual schedule (160 hours at 7 years), and a new AI policy.
  • The committee noted that additional per diem and reimbursement policy changes will be addressed in a future meeting in early 2026.

Meeting Transcript

Oh yeah, definitely been that before I've come through like a quick trip car wash remember. Yeah. The cat would go to Mars. Never see the cat again. Right. Are we ready? Okay, any time please. We won't charge. All right, let's go ahead and call the personnel committee meeting of Thursday, December 18th, uh 2025 to order. We have roll call. Mayor Brendan Pratt. Here. Um Member Bruce Thielen. Yep. Matthew Beeron. Here. Susie Zilmer. Here. Uh Dion Sansala Sensala. Sorry, I was getting Terry Mickelson. And we have uh assistant city administrator Rory Atkinson, Finance Director Tina Nelson. Betsy Bowley, Director of Administrative Services, Laurie Prudlich, Utility Account Manager. And Cindy Bauer, City Clerk. We have a quorum. At this time we are absent, is Timothy Lynn. Okay. All right. Discuss consider approval of this December 5th, 2024 personnel committee. So let the record reflect that he was not present at last year's meeting. Did he arrive during the meeting? No, and I double checked the meeting because the video because that's why I didn't have to be. So then I thought, well, I didn't put it down, so I thought he would, and he never did. So take him off the list because he wasn't there at all. Okay. I'll go ahead and make the motion with that amendment. Thank you. I have a motion. Do we have a second? I'll check it back. Okay. We have a motion and then a second. All in favor say aye.

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