Town of Westwood, MA Chapter 90 Personnel

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Meeting of the Town of Westwood as Art. 12 of the General Bylaws; amended in its entirety 5-6-2013 ATM by Art. 18. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]

§ 90-1 Purpose and authorization.

The purpose of the Personnel Bylaw is to establish fair and equitable personnel policies and to establish a system of personnel administration based on merit principles that ensures a uniform, fair and efficient application of personnel policies. This bylaw is adopted pursuant to the authority granted by Article LXXXIX of the Constitution of the Commonwealth and MGL c. 41, §§ 108A and 108C.

§ 90-2 Application.

All Town departments and positions shall be subject to the provisions of this bylaw except elected officers, employees with personal contracts, and employees of the School Department. To the extent that any Town employee is subject to a collective bargaining agreement, in the event of a conflict and/or an inconsistency between said agreement and this bylaw, then said agreement shall govern the terms and conditions of that employee's work.

§ 90-3 Town Administrator.

Pursuant to Section 6-2-1(k) of the Town Charter, the Town Administrator is responsible for administering personnel policies, practices, rules and regulations, compensation and classification plan and related matters, in consultation with the Personnel Board, for all municipal employees and administering all collective bargaining agreements entered into by the Town.

Additionally, pursuant to Section 6-2-1(a)(i) of the Town Charter, the Town Administrator is authorized to appoint, discipline, suspend or remove Town officers, department heads or principal deputies or agents of elected and appointed boards or officers, and other employees, including employees in civil service positions, for whom no other method of selection is provided by the charter or general or special laws, consistent with the Town's personnel policies and subject to the terms of any applicable collective bargaining agreements; provided, however, that the Town Administrator shall keep the chairman of the Board of Selectmen, or the chairman's designee, informed as to status of all personnel decisions made or to be made hereunder and shall consult with the appropriate department head or principal deputy or agent prior to hiring an employee for that department.

§ 90-4 Human Resources functions.

The Town Administrator may organize human resources and personnel functions in a Human Resources Department. Subject to appropriation, the Town Administrator may, consistent with the provisions of Section 6-2-1(a)(i) and (ii) of the Charter, appoint a Human Resources Director to act by and for the Administrator to impartially and equitably oversee all personnel activities and responsibilities of the Town, other than employees of the School Department; provided, however, that the Town Administrator shall retain responsibility for all such delegated acts.

§ 90-5 Personnel Board.

A. Composition; mode of selection; term of office; qualifications. The Moderator shall appoint a Personnel Board consisting of five persons for three-year overlapping terms as provided in Section 7-4-1 of the Town Charter. Each term of office shall commence 30 days following the adjournment of the business session of the Annual Town Meeting, and every member shall serve until a successor is qualified. Any registered voter of the Town may be appointed to the Board; provided, however, that no elected official of the Town or Town employee shall be appointed to the Board. The Board shall annually elect a Chairperson and a Vice Chairperson from its membership at the first meeting following the appointment of new members, and may reorganize as necessary or appropriate. Any three members of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The affirmative vote of three members shall be necessary for any official act of the Board to be effective.

B. Powers and duties. The Board shall be responsible for formulating recommendations on and reviewing the classification and compensation plans, which plans shall be subject to such approval as required by law. The Personnel Board shall also evaluate classification of positions generally, including requests for reclassification, and cause a review of all positions in the classification plan at appropriate intervals in accordance with proper personnel practices. The Personnel Board shall also, in consultation with the Town Administrator, monitor the implementation and practices of the Town's personnel policies. Finally, the Personnel Board shall provide advice and assistance, to the extent requested, to the Town Administrator and Human Resources Director on any aspect of personnel policies and practices.

§ 90-6 Personnel system.

A personnel system shall be established by promulgation of policies pursuant to § 90-7. The personnel system shall make use of current concepts of personnel management and may include but not be limited to the following elements:

A. Method of administration. A system of administration which assigns specific responsibility for all elements of the personnel system, including: maintaining personnel records, implementing effective recruitment and selection processes, maintaining the classification and compensation plans, monitoring the application of personnel policies and periodic reviews, and evaluating the personnel system.

B. Classification plan. A position classification plan for all employees subject to this bylaw shall be established, based on similarity of duties performed and the responsibilities assumed so that the same qualifications may be reasonably required for, and the same schedule of pay may be equitably applied to, all positions in the same class. Nothing in the classification plan shall infringe upon or supersede an appointing authority's ability to hire an employee into a newly created position, provided that the Town Administrator and Personnel Board are first consulted regarding an appropriate starting salary. As part of its regular review, the Personnel Board shall seek to update the classification and compensation plans to include any new positions added during the prior year.

C. A compensation plan. A compensation plan for all positions subject to this bylaw shall consist of:

(1) A schedule of pay grades, including minimum, maximum and intermediate rates for each grade; and

(2) An official list indicating the assignment of each position to specific pay grades.

D. A recruitment and selection policy. A recruitment, employment, promotion and transfer policy which ensures that reasonable effort is made to attract qualified persons and that selection criteria are job related.

E. Personnel records. A centralized recordkeeping system which maintains essential personnel records.

F. Personnel policies. A series of personnel policies which establishes the rights, the benefits to which certain personnel employed by the Town are entitled, and the obligations of said employees to the Town.

G. Other elements. Other elements of a personnel system as deemed appropriate or required by law.

§ 90-7 Adoption and amendment of personnel policies.

The Board of Selectmen shall promulgate personnel policies defining the rights, benefits and obligations of certain employees subject to this bylaw. Policies shall be adopted or amended as follows:

A. Preparation of policies. Any member of the Board of Selectmen, Personnel Board, the Town Administrator, or any three employees may suggest policies for consideration. The Town Administrator shall refer such policies to the Personnel Board, which Board need not consider any proposal already considered in the preceding 12 months. Any person proposing a new or amended policy shall provide the substance and the reason for the proposed policy in writing. The Personnel Board shall hold a public hearing on any proposed policies or amendments. Any proposed policies or amendments shall be posted at least five days prior to the public hearing in prominent work locations, copies of all proposals shall be provided to representatives of each employee collective bargaining unit, and a copy shall be submitted to the Board of Selectmen.

B. Public hearing. The entity responsible for suggestion of the proposed policy or amendment shall present the purpose of the proposal and the implication of any proposed change at the public hearing. Any person may attend the hearing, speak and present information. The Town Administrator and the Personnel Board shall, within 20 days after such public hearing, consider the proposed policies and recommend that the Board of Selectmen adopt the policies (with or without modifications), reject the policies, or indicate that further study is necessary.

C. Recommended policies. The Town Administrator, or the Personnel Board at the administrator's request, shall transmit recommendations in writing to the Board of Selectmen within 20 days of any recommendation on proposed personnel policies or amendments. The recommendations shall contain the text of the proposed policy or amended policy, an explanation of the policy and the implications of the policy. The Board of Selectmen shall consider recommendations of the Town Administrator and Personnel Board and may adopt, reject or return recommendations for further action. The Board of Selectmen need only act on proposed policies recommended for adoption. Policies shall become effective upon approval of the Board of Selectmen, unless some other date is specified.

D. Computation of time. In computing time (days) under this bylaw, only days when the Town Hall is open for business shall be counted.

§ 90-8 Severability.

The provisions of this bylaw and any regulations adopted pursuant to this bylaw are severable. If any bylaw provision or regulation is held invalid, the remaining provisions of the bylaw or regulations shall not be affected thereby.