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Record of Proceedings

Personnel Committee Meeting Summary: Fitchburg, June 10, 2026

Common Council & City Boards — Wednesday, June 10, 2026
BodyFitchburg, Wisconsin
SessionCommon Council & City Boards
DateWednesday, June 10, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 25:52

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

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:00

Hi, I'm Jeremy Crosby.

0:01

And I'm Nick Bouche.

0:02

We're your hosts for the program that's all about your city.

0:05

Talking Pittsburgh.

Speaker 2

0:06

Every weekday, we pulled together the news, events, and information you need to stay on top of what's happening in the city of Pittsburgh.

0:12

Find

Speaker 1

0:12

Talking Fitchburg on Cable TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple TV, and our live stream on the web.

0:18

Plus, you can find all our headlines and stories on Facebook, YouTube, and our video on demand service.

Speaker 2

0:23

This is your city.

0:24

Keep up with Talking Fitchburg and the issues affecting you and your neighbors.

Speaker 3

0:29

Get connected, Fitchburg.

0:31

Sign up for Fitchburg Connect, the city's monthly e-newsletter that keeps you informed about all the events, services, and updates that matter to you.

0:39

Get it in your inbox once a month.

0:42

Sign up today to get Fitchburg Connect.

Unassigned speaker

1:11

All

Speaker 4

1:11

right, you're on, Donald.

Speaker 5

1:14

Alrighty.

1:15

Uh good early evening, everyone.

1:18

We will I will call to order the personnel committee meeting on June 10th, 2026.

1:24

The first order of business would be approval of the April 8th, 2026 personnel committee meeting minutes.

Speaker 6

1:34

Move to approve.

Speaker 4

1:51

No.

Speaker 5

1:52

Nope.

1:52

Okay.

1:53

Sounds good.

1:54

Then we will go to agenda item A.

1:56

Update for the city's drug free policy.

1:58

Update to the city's drug-free workplace policy, adding random testing to the police staff with unrestricted access to the evidence and storage areas.

Speaker 4

2:09

Absolutely.

2:09

So I'm sharing my screen here so you can see what was in the packet.

2:13

So what we're looking to do is to update the random drug testing policy.

2:18

And it looks like my share isn't working, so just one moment.

2:21

Well, it's in the packet.

2:23

We're looking to authorize random drug test screening for just certain police employees who have unrestricted access to the evidence and storage areas.

2:33

This comes to about, I believe it's six employees.

2:36

Two of them are represented or union employees.

2:40

So we did work with the union to make sure that uh they were aware of that this uh policy that we're looking to um put forth.

2:49

And um they were on board.

2:51

Legal has also reviewed this and they're on board with this.

2:54

Um and it's not because there's any issue whatsoever, but as you know, the evidence and storage areas, there's the drugs, there's other um, you know, other uh items in there that uh Chief Lehay can share with you that we just want to make sure that we are um just ensuring everyone's safety and um adding just random drug testing for those certain police staff.

3:18

So uh Lehe has been invited here if you have any questions pertaining to the new policy update.

3:24

Um, in addition, we'll always have an acknowledgement form for employees.

3:27

So if an employee is going to be subjected to the random drug testing, um we want to make sure that they know that and they are okay with that before taking in like an evidence technician uh special assignment or being assigned to the evidence and storage areas.

3:45

Matt, did you want to add anything?

Speaker 7

3:53

Uh no, I think you pretty much covered it all.

3:55

I'm hoping uh everybody can hear me.

3:56

I haven't tested my uh speakers and my laptop here, but um yeah, I I think uh it's obviously a change now that we have our full-time uh evidence and property manager.

4:08

I think this is kind of a push to have that uh level of security.

4:14

It's probably long overdue from a um drug testing standpoint, a random drug testing standpoint, but I think everybody who's uh who's been assigned to the uh either an evidence technician uh or myself uh with access to the evidence room and high security.

4:33

Uh it's just one layer of protection that we

Unassigned speaker

4:36

can

Speaker 7

4:37

ensure that we're we're uh dealing with best practices from a police department standpoint.

Unassigned speaker

4:44

And

Speaker 4

4:44

this is something that's done at a number of uh near you know municipalities, uh police departments.

4:49

So this isn't uh abnormal.

4:51

This is pretty pretty much a best practice.

Speaker 5

4:57

Understood.

Unassigned speaker

4:57

Um donato, any other further questions?

Unassigned speaker

5:00

uh with access to the evidence room and high security uh it's just one layer of protection that we can ensure that we're we're uh dealing with best practices from a police department standpoint and this is something that's done at a number of uh near you know municipalities uh police departments so this isn't uh abnormal this is pretty pretty much a best practice understood um all the modernado any other further questions no i was looking through the policy i'm i'm assuming the the red is what's being added and the black is kind of what's stand what's been there previously yep exactly okay um i don't have any issue or question it seems pretty straightforward just uh out of curiosity is like um are certain professions regularly drug tested and which ones i mean police obviously is the one we're here to talk about but is that kind of standard in other areas across the city where there's like physical labor or yeah that's a great question the only other positions that we have uh random drug testing and pre-employment drug testing on is our public works so they're mandated by the DOT to have um because they're driving heavy equipment uh they're in uh safety sensitive position therefore they are required by federal law to have random drug test screening so again that's just our public works maintenance workers and anyone that holds a commercial driver's license with the city but beyond police and fire and uh public works employees those are the only three groups of employees that are subjected to drug testing um of course if we had a reasonable suspicion there's there's that so any employee if they if we thought maybe they were under the influence um because of our drug free workplace policy we could send them in but as far as pre-employment and random drug testing those three groups are the only ones that are subjected to that okay great um just more of a philosophical I see the issue of like going further up around like cannabinoid project products yeah with marijuana being starting to become legal in different states obviously they're not fully legal here what does that mean for the landscape of um kind of employment HR um obviously like alcohol is legal and people drink but they don't drink on the job but cannabis stays in your system a lot longer than alcohol is that like somebody's using recreationally on their own time stays in their system for a month could somebody get disciplinary action if there's like a minimal trace amount that's found yeah with federal uh rules and regulations absolutely they can't have any trace of it so even if they went and traveled to a state where it was legal or they um were using it outside of work hours um they can't have any trace of of THC um when they get their drug test if they if they get subjected to a random so that's why we put the CBD products a policy part in I think back in 2018 um just because it was beginning to be pretty popular people were taking you know um different types of CBD or other types of um you know things that they could buy it at local stores and we just want to make sure that people knew that you know if it presents a positive test result it it may have implication to their job and again that's federal guidelines now when it comes to police and fire I think it might be similar um but we only randomly drug test public works employees pre-employment is for police and fire um so if we did a pre-employment on a potential police officer and that person tested positive uh with THC um that would likely present an issue of them being able to be hired Matt correct me if I'm wrong um understood uh more of a curiosity question thank you for engaging yeah absolutely great questions we know we're kind of watching the horizon on this too you know if it ever were to become legal um it's still gonna be federally uh they still can't be able to drive a safety sensitive vehicle and um test positive but yeah it'll be interesting you know as as things as years go by and things change you know how our policies will change on this cool thank you um hearing that um I will entertain a motion to update the city's drug work face workplace policy did you say some move yes so okay sorry I can hear you perfect um what I motion will carry um item number item uh agenda item B is the update to the meal and break period policy yeah my apologies we actually brought this to you at the last meeting and when we brought it to you it actually talked about public works operations staff having some different parameters and um we found that actually they follow the same uh meal and break policy as the city so this is really just a clarification it's not a change to practice so um part-time employees that work at least four hours in a day um who are here for four hours in a day they get a 15 minute break so essentially they're working 3.75 hours to get that 15 minute break so we just want to clarify that but no changes um to our past practice or how we currently do the meal and break periods just trying to clarify sounds good thank you for that uh I undertain a motion for approval of this policy

Speaker 4

10:03

So essentially they're working 3.75 hours to get that 15-minute break.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Personnel Matters█████████████████████████████████████████████56%
Youth Programs██████████████18%
Procedural████████10%
Cannabis Regulation████████10%
Technology and Innovation█████6%
Summary of Proceedings

Personnel Committee Meeting Summary: Fitchburg, June 10, 2026

The Personnel Committee of Fitchburg met on June 10, 2026, to discuss and approve several policy updates and HR initiatives. Donald chaired the meeting, which covered updates to the drug-free workplace policy, meal and break periods, and employee termination procedures, alongside creating a new career ladder for IT specialists and receiving a departmental report from HR Director Sarah.

Consent Calendar

  • Meeting Minutes: The committee unanimously approved the minutes from the April 8, 2026, Personnel Committee meeting.

Discussion Items

  • Drug-Free Workplace Policy Update (Agenda Item A): The committee discussed an update to authorize random drug test screening for approximately six police employees with unrestricted access to evidence and storage areas. Sarah (HR Director) and Matt (Police representative) presented the policy, noting it was a best practice implemented in many municipalities. The police union and city legal counsel reviewed and expressed support for the change. An acknowledgement form will be required for affected employees.
  • Meal and Break Period Policy Update (Agenda Item B): Sarah presented a clarification to the existing meal and break policy. The update specifies that part-time employees working at least four hours in a day receive a 15-minute break representing 3.75 hours of work time. Sarah noted no changes to past practice were being made.
  • Termination of Employment Policy Update (Agenda Item C): The committee approved an update clarifying procedures for employee belongings left after termination. The city will contact former employees and hold items for seven days. After that, unclaimed items will be discarded, or shipped at the former employee's expense.
  • IT Specialist Career Ladder (Agenda Items D & E): The committee approved the creation of a new 'IT Specialist 2' classification (Pay Grade H) to establish a career ladder in the IT department. A motion was also passed to reclassify an existing IT Specialist 1, who had been in the role for several years and meets the experience requirements, to the new IT Specialist 2 level, resulting in a five percent pay increase. The newly hired IT Specialist 1 will be eligible for reclassification in the future as they gain the required experience.

Reports & Updates

  • HR Department Report (Sarah): Sarah provided an update on three key HR projects:
    • Culture and Engagement Survey: A new survey will launch on July 6, 2026, to measure progress against the first survey implemented in January 2025. The survey is administered confidentially by Quantum Workplace. Sarah reported a strong initial response rate, approximately 100 out of roughly 190 full-time employees.
    • New HRIS (UKG): The city is transitioning to a new Human Resources Information System (UKG). The payroll module is targeted for a July 1st implementation, with HR components (evaluations, onboarding, forms) to follow.
    • Youth Government Days: The free program for middle school-age youth is scheduled for August 24 through 27, 2026, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. There are 15 open slots. Registration is open, and committee members were encouraged to promote the program.

Key Outcomes

  • Policy Approvals: The committee approved updates to the Drug-Free Workplace Policy (adding random testing for specific police staff), the Meal and Break Period Policy, and the Termination of Employment Policy.
  • Career Ladder Approval: The committee approved the creation of the IT Specialist 2 classification and the immediate reclassification of one employee to that level.
  • Next Meeting: The next Personnel Committee meeting is scheduled for August 12, 2026.
  • Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned following a motion.

Meeting Transcript

Hi, I'm Jeremy Crosby. And I'm Nick Bouche. We're your hosts for the program that's all about your city. Talking Pittsburgh. Every weekday, we pulled together the news, events, and information you need to stay on top of what's happening in the city of Pittsburgh. Find Talking Fitchburg on Cable TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple TV, and our live stream on the web. Plus, you can find all our headlines and stories on Facebook, YouTube, and our video on demand service. This is your city. Keep up with Talking Fitchburg and the issues affecting you and your neighbors. Get connected, Fitchburg. Sign up for Fitchburg Connect, the city's monthly e-newsletter that keeps you informed about all the events, services, and updates that matter to you. Get it in your inbox once a month. Sign up today to get Fitchburg Connect. All right, you're on, Donald. Alrighty. Uh good early evening, everyone. We will I will call to order the personnel committee meeting on June 10th, 2026. The first order of business would be approval of the April 8th, 2026 personnel committee meeting minutes. Move to approve. No. Nope. Okay. Sounds good. Then we will go to agenda item A. Update for the city's drug free policy. Update to the city's drug-free workplace policy, adding random testing to the police staff with unrestricted access to the evidence and storage areas. Absolutely. So I'm sharing my screen here so you can see what was in the packet. So what we're looking to do is to update the random drug testing policy. And it looks like my share isn't working, so just one moment. Well, it's in the packet. We're looking to authorize random drug test screening for just certain police employees who have unrestricted access to the evidence and storage areas. This comes to about, I believe it's six employees. Two of them are represented or union employees. So we did work with the union to make sure that uh they were aware of that this uh policy that we're looking to um put forth. And um they were on board. Legal has also reviewed this and they're on board with this. Um and it's not because there's any issue whatsoever, but as you know, the evidence and storage areas, there's the drugs, there's other um, you know, other uh items in there that uh Chief Lehay can share with you that we just want to make sure that we are um just ensuring everyone's safety and um adding just random drug testing for those certain police staff. So uh Lehe has been invited here if you have any questions pertaining to the new policy update. Um, in addition, we'll always have an acknowledgement form for employees. So if an employee is going to be subjected to the random drug testing, um we want to make sure that they know that and they are okay with that before taking in like an evidence technician uh special assignment or being assigned to the evidence and storage areas. Matt, did you want to add anything? Uh no, I think you pretty much covered it all. I'm hoping uh everybody can hear me. I haven't tested my uh speakers and my laptop here, but um yeah, I I think uh it's obviously a change now that we have our full-time uh evidence and property manager. I think this is kind of a push to have that uh level of security. It's probably long overdue from a um drug testing standpoint, a random drug testing standpoint, but I think everybody who's uh who's been assigned to the uh either an evidence technician uh or myself uh with access to the evidence room and high security. Uh it's just one layer of protection that we

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