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Record of Proceedings

Fitchburg Personnel Committee Meeting - August 5, 2026

Common Council & City Boards — Wednesday, August 5, 2026
BodyFitchburg, Wisconsin
SessionCommon Council & City Boards
DateWednesday, August 5, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 8:34

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

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:00

Get connected, Fitchburg.

0:01

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.

0:10

Get it in your inbox once a month.

0:12

Sign up today to get Fitchburg Connect.

Unassigned speaker

0:29

Hi,

Speaker 1

0:30

I'm Jeremy Frogby.

0:31

And I'm Mick Boucher.

0:32

We're your host for the program that's all about your city, Talking Pittsburgh.

Speaker 2

0:36

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

Speaker 1

0:42

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

0:48

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

Speaker 2

0:53

This is your city.

0:54

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

Unassigned speaker

1:00

Sarah, go ahead and tell John.

Speaker 3

1:06

All righty.

1:07

It's still showing the personnel committee.

Unassigned speaker

1:08

Am I you sure I'm good?

Speaker 3

1:09

Oh, there we go.

1:10

Okay.

1:11

Thank you.

1:12

Um we will now call this meeting to order of the personnel committee on August 5th, 2026 at 545 p.m.

1:21

The first order of business is the approval of the minutes for the June 10th, 2026 personnel committee.

1:28

If other modernado, if I could have a motion to approve those minutes,

Speaker 4

1:32

move to approve, Chair.

Speaker 3

1:35

Alrighty, given it's just the two of us, that motion serves as approval.

1:41

Um we will jump to the next agenda item, which is our public appearances for non-agenda items.

1:47

And from what I can see from the screen, it doesn't look like anyone is in chambers.

1:51

Is that correct?

Speaker 5

1:52

You're

Unassigned speaker

1:52

right.

Speaker 3

1:53

Okay.

1:54

Okay, sounds good.

1:55

Then we will jump to agenda item number four A, which is updates to the city overtime policy, update to the policy to include calculation of overtime pay for paid on call fire employees.

2:07

Sarah, I'll turn it over to you.

Speaker 5

2:09

Yeah, so um on my screen, you should be seeing uh paid on call firefighter overtime proposal.

2:16

So under section 7K of the fair labor standards, uh public employers may use a different overtime threshold.

2:23

Um

Speaker 2

2:24

I'm just seeing

Speaker 5

2:25

Oh, you're not seeing them.

2:27

Okay.

2:27

Hang tight.

2:28

We're gonna share my screen here.

Speaker 4

2:30

It's a very colorful bird.

Speaker 5

2:35

Yeah, I have the word document up on my screen so I can see it.

2:38

Um I wonder if it's on another monitor.

2:40

Oh, do you want me to just throw it over here?

2:42

Can you see it?

Speaker 4

2:45

Yes, can you zoom in a little bit?

2:46

Yeah, I can see

Speaker 3

2:47

it now.

Speaker 5

2:47

Absolutely make it bigger.

2:51

All righty.

2:52

Thank you.

2:53

Sorry about that.

2:54

Um so um we've worked with our employment attorney to confirm that our paid-on-call firefighters qualify for what's called the 7K um Fair Labor Standards Act exemption.

3:04

So, what what that means is that um different employees have different uh overtime thresholds, and if you work in the fire service, um they're overtime, we look at overtime in a 28-day period.

3:17

Um, what we're looking to do is currently our paid on call firefighters get overtime for any hours worked past 40 in a week.

3:24

We want to change that to 48 hours.

3:27

Um, unlike other fire employees, our full-time fire staff um earn overtime for any hours when they're not regularly scheduled.

3:36

So paid on call firefires are a little different in the sense that um they're not on a regular schedule.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Personnel Matters█████████████████████████████████████████████72%
Procedural██████████████████28%
Summary of Proceedings

Fitchburg Personnel Committee Meeting - August 5, 2026

The Personnel Committee of Fitchburg met on August 5, 2026, at 5:45 PM to discuss updates to the city's overtime policy for paid-on-call firefighters and a classification title change for an office assistant. The meeting was called to order by Chair Frogby, with Alder Maldonado also present, and concluded at 5:52 PM.

Consent Calendar

  • The minutes for the June 10, 2026 Personnel Committee meeting were approved by motion and second, with Chair Frogby noting that given only two members were present, the motion served as approval.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No members of the public appeared or provided comments.

Discussion Items

  • Updates to City Overtime Policy (Agenda Item 4A): Sarah presented a proposal to change the overtime threshold for paid-on-call firefighters from 40 hours per week to 48 hours in a 28-day period, utilizing the 7(k) exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). She explained that the FLSA would require overtime only after 53 hours in a week or 212 hours in a 28-day period, so the proposed 48-hour threshold is more generous than federal minimums. The change aims to reduce overtime costs in the fire department. Alder Maldonado asked whether there was pushback from the union; Sarah stated that paid-on-call firefighters are not union-represented but the union was consulted and raised no concerns beyond curiosity about potential hour reductions. Chief Starver also discussed the change with his department and raised no issues. A motion to approve the policy update was made and seconded, and the motion carried.
  • Classification Title Change (Agenda Item 4B): Sarah requested a title change for Susie Jones, an office assistant at the senior center, to “administrative specialist” to better reflect her actual duties, which include managing reports, collecting and reconciling program payments, scheduling, and overall administrative support. No pay change is associated with the reclassification. A motion to approve the title change was made and seconded, and the motion carried.

Announcements

  • The next Personnel Committee meeting is scheduled for October 14, 2026.
  • Alder Maldonado noted that Youth and Government Week is scheduled for the last week of August, which HR is excited about.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved the minutes of the June 10, 2026 Personnel Committee meeting.
  • Approved the update to the city overtime policy, changing the overtime threshold for paid-on-call firefighters from 40 hours per week to 48 hours per 28-day work period.
  • Approved the reclassification of the office assistant position to administrative specialist for Susie Jones, with no change in pay.
  • Meeting adjourned at 5:52 PM.

Meeting Transcript

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. Hi, I'm Jeremy Frogby. And I'm Mick Boucher. We're your host for the program that's all about your city, Talking Pittsburgh. Every weekday, we pull 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. Sarah, go ahead and tell John. All righty. It's still showing the personnel committee. Am I you sure I'm good? Oh, there we go. Okay. Thank you. Um we will now call this meeting to order of the personnel committee on August 5th, 2026 at 545 p.m. The first order of business is the approval of the minutes for the June 10th, 2026 personnel committee. If other modernado, if I could have a motion to approve those minutes, move to approve, Chair. Alrighty, given it's just the two of us, that motion serves as approval. Um we will jump to the next agenda item, which is our public appearances for non-agenda items. And from what I can see from the screen, it doesn't look like anyone is in chambers. Is that correct? You're right. Okay. Okay, sounds good. Then we will jump to agenda item number four A, which is updates to the city overtime policy, update to the policy to include calculation of overtime pay for paid on call fire employees. Sarah, I'll turn it over to you. Yeah, so um on my screen, you should be seeing uh paid on call firefighter overtime proposal. So under section 7K of the fair labor standards, uh public employers may use a different overtime threshold. Um I'm just seeing Oh, you're not seeing them. Okay. Hang tight. We're gonna share my screen here. It's a very colorful bird. Yeah, I have the word document up on my screen so I can see it. Um I wonder if it's on another monitor. Oh, do you want me to just throw it over here? Can you see it? Yes, can you zoom in a little bit? Yeah, I can see it now.

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