[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.Â
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.Â
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:
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.
A schematic list of classes supported by classification criteria
and class specifications of job descriptions.
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.
Any department, board, committee, commission or other agency
of the Town subject to this chapter.
A person appointed to a positions in the Town service.
A written document describing the personnel policies and
regulations adopted by the Town Manager.
A group of current duties and responsibilities assigned or
delegated by appropriate authority to one person.
The Town of Barnstable.
A.Â
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.Â
The Human Resources Director shall direct the administrative
and technical activities of the Department and shall:
(1)Â
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)Â
Advise the Town Manager in human resource planning
and utilization.
(3)Â
Administer the personnel management system of Town
government under the Town Manager.
(4)Â
Establish and maintain records of all employees in
Town service.
(5)Â
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)Â
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)Â
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.Â
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)Â
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)Â
Providing equitable and adequate compensation;
(3)Â
Training employees, as needed, to assure high quality
performance;
(4)Â
Retraining employees on the basis of the adequacy
of their performance, correcting inadequate performance, and separating
employees whose inadequate performance cannot be corrected;
(5)Â
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)Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.Â
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.
