Agenda - 12-01-2008 - 4a - Laserfiche WebLink

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6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 Commissioner Gordon said that the Board promised to do the projects on the pink sheet which had a list of the 2001 bond projects for parks, recreation, and open space. She asked what was included in the $5.5 million. Gary Humphreys said that for the aquatics center, most of the bond money has been spent. Commissioner Gordon said that she thought that some of these projects had been done already. Laura Blackmon said that the money is not there and more bonds would have to be issued to finish the projects. Commissioner Gordon said it has been seven years since these projects were approved. Chair Jacobs said that the Board is not satisfied with this item and it is getting late. He suggested talking about this again on November 13th. The Commissioners can send questions to the staff in the interim. Commissioner Gordon said that at some point, she would like to know which projects on the pink sheet are implicated before the Board gets into the CIP discussion. Gary Humphreys said that he would work on this before the end of the meeting. This issue will be addressed on November 13th 6. Third Party Representation in the Employee Disciplinary Process . Commissioner Foushee suggested that the Board just ask questions and not have a presentation. Commissioner Carey said that he read the Attorney's memo on this and understands the constitutionality of the issue, but this was not why he raised the question. The government has the constitutional right to do a lot of things, but Orange County does not necessarily do them. He said that he raised this because he did not realize that Orange County did not allow third-party representation in the employee disciplinary process, especially for people that may not have the skills to talk to authority figures. He said that, during the disciplinary conference, that both parties should have the right to have third-party representation. He said that he realizes that the County has the constitutional right to maintain the ordinance, but he cannot support going in that direction. He would like to change the ordinance. Commissioner Foushee agreed with Commissioner Carey, but her concerns also include the confidence of speech of an employee. She agrees with having a person to witness the meeting to ensure the process is done fairly. She does not know at which point she would suggest that an employee should have representation. She is also troubled that documentation of allegations or charges is not where it should be. Commissioner Nelson said that when this first came to the Board he thought that he would agree with Commissioner Carey, but he has talked with some human resources experts since about this and he is sympathetic to the notion that having attorneys can often complicate things, but he is also sympathetic to having a third party. He is sure that the staff is neutral, but if he were an employee, he would not view the HR staff as neutral because they work for the County. Chair Jacobs said that coaching and counseling before coming to the disciplinary stage is very important. He does not think that it is fair to not let the employee have a third party to at least listen in the meeting, especially when the employee's job is at stake and the staff members have professional degrees, etc. The third party would not have to be an attorney. Commissioner Carey agreed. Chair Jacobs suggested talking to the State Employees' Association.