The Signal Mountain Town Council has adopted a new comprehensive personnel policy that is intended to provide residents "with high quality services through the efficient use of resources. It aims to encourage sustainable growth while preserving a small-town character."
The personnel policy includes, among many other things, a pay scale plan, updated job descriptions and compensation plan along with the town’s policy related to drug and alcohol testing.
The new personnel policy was developed by City Manager Elaine Brunelle and the department heads with the assistance of the Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS), an agency that provides advice to municipalities in Tennessee. After doing a wide-ranging review, the new human resources policy was developed that will promote understanding by providing uniform policies to all employees.
Some highlights of the new policy were discussed at the council meeting. In addition to the general description of a position, the job descriptions will now also include minimum qualifications required to perform the jobs. And drug and alcohol testing can be performed for certain jobs. The new pay plan gives equal compensation to positions that are grouped together in approximately the same level of job difficulty and responsibility. And the compensation plan is planned to be market competitive with pay ranges for each position which will be approved by the council while the budget is being developed each year.
The new pay rates are seen as being comparable to the private sector and other public municipalities in the area. And it appears to already be working, said Council member Clay Crumbliss. There have been over 30 applications for a currently-advertised police officer position. The compensation policy will also provide a path to career opportunities.
A revised organizational chart for the administrative department was approved along with a job description for the new positions, including a Communication Program Generalist. And to increase efficiency , effective July 1, three departments, the former Parks and Recreation department, the Parks Administration and Facilities Maintenance departments will be combined to form a new Public Works Facility Management department, under the Public Works Department. It will be responsible for taking care of all the town-owned facilities and will make more efficient use of materials and supplies. The new positions of Facilities Maintenance Supervisor and Facilities Maintenance Crew Leader will be created.
In other restructuring, Building and Codes positions were updated with the addition of a Building Official and a Building Inspector. It is recognized that the fee structure in this department needs to be reviewed. And it has been recommended to make use of software and technology in codes enforcement and issuing permits. Building Codes will now be under the town manager instead of the fire chief.
Council member Crumbliss said that these really big policy changes have been in the works for many months. Speaking for the council he said they all appreciated the collaborative work it took to create the document, by City Manager Brunelle, the department heads and staff who put it together. It paves the way for a stronger future for Signal Mountain, he said.
An ordinance passed on the first reading that will increase stormwater rates throughout the town. The new rates will be used for the cost of stormwater management and operations of the department. The minimum amount will be $51.48 per year for impervious areas of 3,960 square feet or less. There is an additional fee per square foot for larger areas. Undeveloped, vegetated land is not charged this fee.
Approval was given for the city manager’s proposed allocations of American Rescue Plan funds received by Signal Mountain. They must be designated by December 31, 2023. From the total $2,049,567 that was received, $502,026 has already been spent on infrastructure and to relieve economic impact. Of the remaining amount, the Stormwater/Streets Department will receive 45.1 percent. The Water Department will get 34.6 percent, Town Hall/Cyber Security will get 14.9 percent and 2.9 percent is planned to go to the Fire Department and 2.5 percent for the Police Department.
A yearly review for City Manager Brunelle will be held on Thursday, July 15, at 5 p.m. at town hall. Council member Andrew Gardner said it is expected to be very positive but, because of the personal nature of the meeting, this special called meeting as well as other personnel reviews will not be streamed or recorded.