Merced Personnel Board Meeting, April 13, 2026: New Chair Elected, Employment Lists Approved
Merced Personnel Board Meeting - April 13, 2026
The Merced Personnel Board met on Monday, April 13, 2026, at 4:00 PM in the City Council Chamber, Merced Civic Center. The meeting was called to order, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and roll call. Board members present: Dorothea "Lynn" White, Melissa Reyes, Pamela Toconis, Phyllis Vizcarra. Board member absent: Jessica Fernandez. No public comments were received. The meeting adjourned at 4:12 PM.
Consent Calendar
- The consent calendar was approved unanimously, with the exception of item E.1 (Employment Opportunities for March 2026), which was pulled for separate discussion at the request of a board member.
Discussion Items
- Item E.1 – Employment Opportunities for March 2026: A board member expressed concern about the job description wording for the Accounting Technician position, specifically the reporting line "assigned supervisory or management staff," given the financial responsibilities (bank deposits, vendor payments, account reconciliation). Human Resources Manager Suzanne Fierro explained that generalized language is used because the finance department has about 28 staff and multiple potential supervisors, and changing job descriptions requires a lengthy union and council approval process. Other board members supported the current wording for flexibility. The board member requested that the concern be shared with the finance director. The item was then approved unanimously.
- Item F.1 – Employment Eligibility List for Lead Instrumentation and Electrical Technician: Staff reported that the Public Works Department recruitment was open for two weeks and received only one qualified applicant, Anthony Gouveia. Per City Personnel Rules, the board must approve lists with fewer than three candidates. The eligibility list was approved unanimously.
- Item G.1 – Personnel Department Monthly Report for March 2026: Staff presented the report noting 8 recruitments in March (including Accounting Technician, Lead I&E Technician, Planner, Senior Planner, Street Sweeper Operator, etc.). There were 4 full-time hires (Maintenance Worker, Recreation Supervisor, Lead Facilities Maintenance Worker, Police Officer) and 5 temporary hires (all Temp Recreation Leaders). Separations totaled 7: 6 resignations (Community Services Officer, Street Sweeper Operator, Equipment Services Worker, two Maintenance Workers, Custodian) and 1 retirement (Police Officer). Resignation reasons cited were better opportunities and higher pay; no formal exit interviews were conducted by HR. Total employees: 589 (508 full-time, 81 temporary). The report was approved unanimously.
- Item H.1 – Selection of New Chair: The board nominated and elected Pamela Toconis as Chair for the coming year. A motion to elect Lynn White as Vice Chair was made, but she declined. The board accepted her declination and no Vice Chair was elected at this meeting.
Key Outcomes
- The consent calendar (with E.1 discussed separately) was approved.
- The Employment Eligibility List for Lead Instrumentation and Electrical Technician was approved.
- The Personnel Department Monthly Report for March 2026 was approved.
- Pamela Toconis was elected as the new Chair of the Personnel Board.
- The meeting adjourned at 4:12 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Okay. And we're gonna stand and do the pledge. Okay. Yeah. Excellent. Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible liberty and justice for all. Roll call. Lynn present. And Jessica Fernandez is not present today. So moving on to there's no public comment today. And we'll move on to consent calendar. All right. Are there um any items on there that anyone wants to pull or do you want to approve them as a slate? I have a question. Did you want to pro uh pull something for separate consideration? I I wanted to discuss the uh personal assistant. Is that one of the openings? Yes. Okay. So item E1, you want to pull? Yeah, as soon as I refresh my memory here real quick. This is new yes, uh, we go to So we can pull that and then uh approve the remainder of the consent calendar if is there any other items that we want to pull? That's the only I wanted to pull the accounting technician. Okay. Well uh if if you're ready to move forward, we can approve the remainder of the consent calendar and then discuss your item separately. Okay. Is there a motion to approve? Uh I motion to approve. I second the emotion. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Is it approved unanimously? So item E one. Yes, pull the thank you. And that was the account technician you were. That is correct. My question is um they report to assigned supervisory or management and or management staff. Now I see other job descriptions as reporting to a specific city manager or finance manager. This accounting technician position takes a lot of responsibility to bank deposits, to vendors, to checks, to a lot of financials and uh knowing the accounts and preparing reports and reviews, uh and with all of that. Well, there's uh various accounting technicians in the finance department, it's a pretty large department. I want to say there's about 28 people. Okay. So the accounting text typically report to the accountant. To the head accountant. So we don't list their name or we don't say head accountant. We just specifically say um supervisory and our management. Correct. Um is this just uh on entry, a first entry accounting technician?
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