[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town of Barnstable as Art. I of Ch. V of the General Ordinances; amended in its entirety 6-21-2018 by Order No. 2018-155. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
A. 
All Town departments and all positions in the Town service, excepting elected officials and excepting employees appointed by the School Committee, shall be subject to the provisions of this chapter, in pursuance of the provisions of §§ 108A and 108C of Chapter 41 of the General Laws. To the extent that any provision of an approved collective bargaining agreement conflicts with any provisions of this chapter, with respect to employees covered under such labor agreement, the provisions of the approved collective bargaining agreement shall prevail.
B. 
The general purpose of this chapter is to establish a system of public personnel management based on merit that meets the social, economic and program needs of Town government. It is the intent of this chapter to provide means to recruit, select and develop and maintain a responsive work force. All personnel actions in the Town service shall be made without regard to sex, race, religion, color, age, handicap, political affiliation or other non-job-related factors, and shall be based on merit and fitness.
As used in this chapter, the words and phrases listed below shall have the following meanings, unless a different construction is clearly required by the context or by the laws of the commonwealth:
CLASS
A position or group of positions sufficiently similar with respect to the duties and responsibilities, so that the same descriptive title may be used to designate each position allocated to the class, that the same qualification shall be required of the incumbents, that the same tests of fitness may be used to choose qualified employees and that the same scale of compensation can apply with equity.
CLASSIFICATION PLAN
A schematic list of classes supported by classification criteria and class specifications of job descriptions.
COMPENSATION PLAN
A salary or wage schedule keyed to classification grade levels, the rules for administration of salaries, provisions on travel and provisions on all forms of fringe benefits.
DEPARTMENT
Any department, board, committee, commission or other agency of the Town subject to this chapter.
EMPLOYEE
A person appointed to a positions in the Town service.
PERSONNEL CODE
A written document describing the personnel policies and regulations adopted by the Town Manager.
POSITION
A group of current duties and responsibilities assigned or delegated by appropriate authority to one person.
TOWN
The Town of Barnstable.
A. 
There shall be a Personnel Department headed by a Human Resources Director. The Human Resources Director shall be experienced in personnel management and public administration and shall be in sympathy with merit principles. The Director shall be appointed by the Town Manager to serve at the pleasure of the Manager in the same manner as other appointive department heads.
B. 
The Human Resources Director shall direct the administrative and technical activities of the Department and shall:
(1) 
Encourage and exercise leadership in the development of effective personnel management within the several departments in Town government, and make the services and facilities of the Department available to all Town departments.
(2) 
Advise the Town Manager in human resource planning and utilization.
(3) 
Administer the personnel management system of Town government under the Town Manager.
(4) 
Establish and maintain records of all employees in Town service.
(5) 
Apply and carry out the provisions of this chapter, the Personnel Code and perform any lawful acts which may be necessary or desirable to carry out the purposes and provisions of applicable laws and regulations.
(6) 
Provide advice and services to both the Personnel Board and Town Manager in all matters pertaining to personnel management, to the extent of available resources.
(7) 
Render an annual report of the Department's activities and operations to both the Personnel Board and Town Manager on or before January 1 of each calendar year.
A. 
The Town Manager, in consultation with the Human Resources Director, is empowered and authorized by this chapter to establish a Personnel Code, consisting of personnel policies and regulations for the maintenance of a public personnel management system, based on merit and consistent with these principles:
(1) 
Recruiting, selecting and advancing employees on the basis of their relative ability, knowledge and skills, including open consideration of qualified applicants for initial appointment;
(2) 
Providing equitable and adequate compensation;
(3) 
Training employees, as needed, to assure high quality performance;
(4) 
Retraining employees on the basis of the adequacy of their performance, correcting inadequate performance, and separating employees whose inadequate performance cannot be corrected;
(5) 
Assuring fair treatment of applicants and employees in all aspects of personnel management without regard to political affiliation, race, color, national origin, age, sex, handicap or religious creed and with proper regard for their privacy and constitutional rights as citizens; and
(6) 
Assuring that employees are protected against coercion for partisan political purposes and are prohibited from using their official authority for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election or a nomination for office.
B. 
The Personnel Code may be amended by the Town Manager from time to time. Such amendments shall be referred to the Personnel Board for its review and comment, if any, prior to its adoption. Relative to its approval of the code or any amendments thereto, pertaining specifically to any proposal or proposals entailing any increase in Town funding, such approval may be given by the Town Manager, contingent upon favorable action by the Town Council, which action shall be limited to the matter of funding. The substance of any proposed change may be discussed by the Town Council, provided that the vote is on the basis of funding, and not on the substance of the Personnel Code, or any change(s) thereto.
A. 
The Town Manager from time to time, with the assistance of the Human Resources Director, shall initiate reviews and evaluations of the operation of the personnel system for conformance with the provisions of this chapter. Such reviews shall be scheduled as often as the Town Manager finds necessary to improve and maintain the personnel system consistent with the provisions of this chapter. The Town Manager shall see to it that classification reviews are conducted as often as he finds necessary to reflect changes in the classification as established or to establish new classifications as warranted. The Town Manager shall likewise direct studies of compensation and fringe benefits in effect for comparable positions outside of the service of the Town at least annually.
B. 
The Town Manager, following consultation with the Human Resources Director, shall make recommendations to the Town Council for adjusting compensation and fringe benefits in conformance with such studies.
A. 
The Personnel Ordinance currently in effect and any parts of other ordinances which conflict with the provisions of this chapter are hereby repealed. The provisions of the Personnel Code in effect immediately prior to the effective date of this chapter shall remain in effect subject to modification, amendment or repeal as provided in § 242-4A.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Refers to former § 242-4A, which was repealed.
B. 
If any part of this chapter is for any reason held to be unconstitutional or otherwise invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the validity of the remaining parts.