OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

City of Manitowoc Personnel Committee Meeting – August 3, 2026

Common Council & Committees — Monday, August 3, 2026
BodyManitowoc, Wisconsin
SessionCommon Council & Committees
DateMonday, August 3, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 20:31

Transcript — Verbatim
0:36

Recording in progress, I don't think it's all I had no idea.

2:17

All right, it is five o'clock, so we'll call the City of Manitowak personnel committee to order.

2:23

Um all members are present with the exception of Alder Bill Schlei.

2:28

Okay.

2:31

Public comment.

2:33

Is there anyone here for public comment?

2:37

I do not see required.

2:39

It's pretty quiet.

2:40

Yeah.

2:40

Chief, you have public comment?

2:42

Okay.

2:43

Anybody online for comp public comment?

2:46

No.

2:46

Any previously received public comment?

2:49

Okay, so we will move on.

2:51

All right.

2:51

Next item is consent agenda.

2:54

Any items that we would like to remove from the consent agenda.

2:58

All right.

3:01

All right, it's been moved and seconded to approve the ascendant consent agenda.

3:05

All in favor, please say aye.

3:07

Aye.

3:08

Any opposed?

3:10

All right.

3:11

So moving into discussion and action items.

3:14

First item on the agenda a discussion on the twenty twenty-seven budget at the request of Mayor Nichols.

3:23

Thank you.

3:24

You're the first committee, so um I did send uh my budget memo that I sent to uh all department heads to the chairs of each standing committee.

3:34

So Alder's circuit's in our definitely should have um received that.

3:38

Um but really just wanted to have a conversation.

3:40

Uh anything personnel related, any requests that you have, any questions you have going into the twenty twenty-seven budget.

3:48

Uh budgets are due from each department by the uh end of this month here, and uh in September we'll start compiling it.

3:55

So if there's anything you want to know or anything you would like to see added in it, now would be a great time to share that information with me.

4:04

So I'm here to listen to you.

4:08

Or take questions.

4:10

If there are any.

4:12

Any questions for the mayor or any comments for the mayor?

4:14

You'll see me again several times on other committees, but figured it would be nice to just focus maybe on personnel, the employees, uh, health insurance, benefits, anything that uh does make up the vast majority of the budget.

4:29

So um I have nothing at this time.

4:36

I have none.

4:40

Nothing that I haven't said a whole year long.

4:44

Um I'm not sure we have anything at this point.

4:50

I mean, so we don't we know we're transitioning on the the health insurance plan.

4:55

Um obviously we won't know how that performance is until we start start that transition.

5:01

Do you have any anything else you'd like to share related to that with the with the committee?

5:08

Uh with the health plan, not really.

5:10

We just had a meeting with our brokers this past week, and our numbers are looking more favorable than they were at this time last year.

5:19

Uh so until we have July and August numbers, though, we're not gonna have a great idea of how the plan is going to end up this year.

5:28

Uh as far as how UMR is going to impact our our bottom line.

5:33

Again, we're not gonna know that until probably mid to end of next year.

5:37

Any ideas on what we believe the increase is gonna be ballpark, estimated ballpark?

5:43

Approximately 13% at this point.

5:45

Double digits.

5:46

Um, we started out a little higher.

5:52

I think it got down to about 14%.

5:54

Yeah, so right around that same is what we're looking at now.

5:57

Yeah, and as for non-rep employee wage uh increases or adjustments, we'll get those numbers usually in September from you know comps or um inflation or or whatever cost of living adjustments.

6:10

So um we'll put all that together too uh and come back to the committee for what you feel uh you also want to see there.

6:16

So yeah, real quick on the compensation side of it.

6:21

I guess when we take a look at the total compensation for employees, non-rups especially.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████48%
Public Safety████████████████17%
Budget Equity Analysis██████████████15%
Personnel Matters████████████13%
Public Engagement███████7%
Summary of Proceedings

City of Manitowoc Personnel Committee Meeting – August 3, 2026

The Personnel Committee of the City of Manitowoc met on Monday, August 3, 2026 at 5:00 PM in Council Chambers. The meeting was chaired by Alder Norell, with members Sitkiewitz, Beeman, and Benzinger present; Alder Schlei was absent but joined later during closed session. Mayor Nickels attended to discuss the 2027 budget. The committee approved consent items, discussed budget and policy updates, and convened in closed session for police contract bargaining.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of June 1, 2026 Personnel Committee minutes (Item 26-0659)
  • Review of legal fees billed through July 2026 (Item 26-0660)
  • Report on health plan (Item 26-0661)
  • Quarterly PTO award report (Item 26-0662)
  • Quarterly timecard batch report (Item 26-0663)
  • Report on Human Resources office initiatives (Item 26-0664)
  • Report on City Attorney's office initiatives (Item 26-0665)
  • All consent items were approved by a single motion (4-0, with Schlei excused).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were made in person or received electronically.

Discussion Items

2027 Budget Discussion (Item 26-0667)

  • Mayor Nickels presented budget planning, noting a hiring freeze for all non-union positions (except police and fire) for the remainder of 2026. He emphasized that position eliminations are not anticipated, but a thorough review for efficiencies is underway.
  • Alder Sitkiewitz requested a comparison of the percentage of health insurance premiums paid by the city versus peer municipalities, noting that employees currently contribute 12.5%. The mayor agreed to provide that data.
  • Regarding health insurance, the committee was informed that the estimated premium increase is approximately 13%, with final numbers pending July and August claims data. The transition to a new plan (UMR) is expected to affect costs in 2027.
  • Non-represented employee wage adjustments will be discussed in September based on comps and inflation. No action was taken; the item was placed on file.

Updated Drug and Alcohol Policies (Item 26-0666)

  • Human Resources Director Jesse Lillibridge presented revised policies for both DOT-regulated employees (transit division) and all other city employees. Revisions were prompted by a DOT audit recommendation and consultations with CivMIC.
  • Committee members asked about the self-reporting provision and a typographical error (“city” not capitalized). The HR director clarified that the self-reporting provision allows the city to waive it if an employee self-admits after being selected for testing. The typo will be corrected.
  • The committee approved the policies unanimously (4-0) to be forwarded to the full Council for approval.

Police Contract Bargaining (Item 26-0670)

  • The committee discussed the matter in closed session from 5:12 PM to 5:29 PM (Alder Schlei joined at 5:19 PM). No action was taken upon reconvening in open session.

September 2026 Meeting Date (Item 26-0682)

  • The committee agreed to move the September meeting from Monday, September 7 (Labor Day) to Tuesday, September 8, 2026 at 5:00 PM, pending coordination with the Finance Committee which also meets that day. No formal vote was taken.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent agenda approved unanimously (4-0).
  • Updated Drug and Alcohol Policies approved for submission to the City Council (4-0).
  • No action taken on police contract bargaining or budget discussion; budget discussion placed on file.
  • September meeting date rescheduled to September 8, 2026 at 5:00 PM (informal decision).
  • Meeting adjourned at 5:31 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Recording in progress, I don't think it's all I had no idea. All right, it is five o'clock, so we'll call the City of Manitowak personnel committee to order. Um all members are present with the exception of Alder Bill Schlei. Okay. Public comment. Is there anyone here for public comment? I do not see required. It's pretty quiet. Yeah. Chief, you have public comment? Okay. Anybody online for comp public comment? No. Any previously received public comment? Okay, so we will move on. All right. Next item is consent agenda. Any items that we would like to remove from the consent agenda. All right. All right, it's been moved and seconded to approve the ascendant consent agenda. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? All right. So moving into discussion and action items. First item on the agenda a discussion on the twenty twenty-seven budget at the request of Mayor Nichols. Thank you. You're the first committee, so um I did send uh my budget memo that I sent to uh all department heads to the chairs of each standing committee. So Alder's circuit's in our definitely should have um received that. Um but really just wanted to have a conversation. Uh anything personnel related, any requests that you have, any questions you have going into the twenty twenty-seven budget. Uh budgets are due from each department by the uh end of this month here, and uh in September we'll start compiling it. So if there's anything you want to know or anything you would like to see added in it, now would be a great time to share that information with me. So I'm here to listen to you. Or take questions. If there are any. Any questions for the mayor or any comments for the mayor? You'll see me again several times on other committees, but figured it would be nice to just focus maybe on personnel, the employees, uh, health insurance, benefits, anything that uh does make up the vast majority of the budget. So um I have nothing at this time. I have none. Nothing that I haven't said a whole year long. Um I'm not sure we have anything at this point. I mean, so we don't we know we're transitioning on the the health insurance plan. Um obviously we won't know how that performance is until we start start that transition. Do you have any anything else you'd like to share related to that with the with the committee? Uh with the health plan, not really. We just had a meeting with our brokers this past week, and our numbers are looking more favorable than they were at this time last year. Uh so until we have July and August numbers, though, we're not gonna have a great idea of how the plan is going to end up this year. Uh as far as how UMR is going to impact our our bottom line. Again, we're not gonna know that until probably mid to end of next year.

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