BUCKS COUNTY CONSORTIUM Thursday, October 7, 2004 Meeting Minutes A meeting of the Bucks County Consortium was held at Warwick Township on October 7, 2004. The following individuals were present: Chuck Barrett, Commerce BankVivian Bell, Warrington Township Wayne Bergman, Falls Township John Boyle, Newtown Township John Cornelius, New Britain Township Dana Cozza, Buckingham Township John Davis, Doylestown Borough Frank Farry, Middletown Township Joseph Golden, Upper Southampton Township Peter Gray, Falls Township Tom Harwood, Newtown Township William McCauley, Bensalem Township Glen McKay, Warrington Township Sue McKeon, Lower Southampton Township Bob Pellegrino, Newtown Township Joseph C. Rudolf, Reed Smith Richard Sabol, Upper Southampton Township Elizabeth Sundae, Plumstead Township Gail Weniger, Warwick Township Linda Wieand, Tinicum Township Preliminary Remarks Frank Farry called the meeting to order, announced the morning's agenda, and thanked Warwick Township for hosting the September meeting of the Bucks County Consortium. Approval of Minutes A motion was made by Bob Pellegrino, and seconded by John Cornelius, to approve the Minutes of September 9, 2004. Motion carried. Treasurer’s Report The Treasurer’s Report for September was presented. A motion was made by Bob Pellegrino, and seconded by John Davis, to approve the Treasurer’s Report for September. Motion carried. Presentation: “Manager’s Roundtable Discussion – Common Misconeceptions and Mistakes in Collective Bargaining” Joseph Rudolf presented. Mr. Rudolf practices exclusively in the field of labor and employment law. Since 1985 he has devoted a significant portion of his time to the public sector, and has represented more than 200 Pennsylvania public employers. Mr. Rudolf has served as arbitrator and presenter for numerous Act III Interest Arbitrations, represented employers in Grievance Arbitrations as well as Police Tenure Act Hearings, Civil Service Hearings, and Heart and Lung Act Hearings. On a regular basis, Mr. Rudolf advises municipal clients on a wide range of issues involving Act 600, the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Act, Act III, Act 195 as well as the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, Title VII, the FMLA, the ADA and ADEA. He can be reached at 215.241.7952. Mr. Rudolf discussed preparing for a collective bargaining agreement. The discussion included reviewing your current contract, determining what you can afford, educating your employees, costing collective bargaining agreement items, determining applicable law, determining your counterpart, and knowing who is going to be on your team. In addition he discussed several misconceptions related to collective bargaining: “money talks or the union walks”, “no agreement today, then we walk tomorrow”, “why we can’t be friends”, and “agreeing to arbitrate only certain issues”. The membership then discussed several issues related to Mr. Rudolf’s presentation. Issues covered included area arbitration awards, impact of 9-1-1, regionalization, and collecting and maintaining all member contracts for comparative purposes. New & Old Business Warwick Township announced that it is accepting applications for the position of Public Works Director. A request to contribute funding for an ICMA University Workshop held on Thursday, 30 September 2004, was tabled. Adjourn Frank Farry thanked Mr. Rudolf, and announced that the next meeting will be held at Luigi’s in Warrington. Next month’s topic will be “Emerging Trends in Volunteer Fire Services.” The meeting was adjourned without motion. Respectfully submitted, ___________________ |