Buckfield cuts sick time in half

BUCKFIELD — Sick-time allotment for town employees will be cut in half, according to an updated personnel policy approved by the board of selectmen February 5.

Board Chair Robin Buswell and Selectwoman Martha Catevenis voted to approve the 50-plus page document as written.

The policy, as well as new health care options for town employees, set off a discussion on employee compensation and treatment.

According to Town Manager Dana Lee, in an interview last Thursday, the updated policy reduces the amount of sick-time employees receive from eight to four hours per month.

He said the changes were part of an effort to trim costs for the town. The budget committee has requested a zero-increase budget for this year.

During the February 5 meeting, Lee asked board members to reconsider the changes, reflecting the impact it had on employee morale.

He noted that, despite the work done to the document, it still had language that was unclear and inconsistent. He suggested using the language as a basis for another review of the policy this year.

Lee further suggested the board postpone voting on the document to give new board member Warren Wright time to review it.

During the meeting, Selectwoman Martha Catevenis expressed her frustration with the document, saying she would go through it with "the finest toothed comb" if it remained on the board's agenda.

The document's issues should have been identified earlier, Catevenis said. If the board kept perusing the document, the review "would never come to an end," she suggested.

Buswell said the board was trying to find problems with the policy and should complete the review.

Slashing sick-time is hard on employee morale, Lee told the board, particularly as the town office contemplates different health care policies that might increase employee costs.

The town had employees that consistently looked at improving its bottom line and saving money, Lee told the board members.

Buswell agreed town employees were under a lot of pressure and their efforts, lamentably, often went unrecognized.

"These are our neighbors, our friends, our relatives; and we keep on taking from them and telling them they aren't doing enough," Buswell said.

Even though the budget currently didn't include one, Buswell said he would be in favor of giving employees raises this year.

"We've taken a lot from them. We need to give something back to keep them here," Buswell said.

Last year, town employees were granted a 3-percent raise – the first in three years.

Catevenis agreed there was only so much the town could ask of its employees, but pointed out that not one employee attended a workshop on the policy to voice their concerns with the sick leave change.

Without that input, board members could only base their decisions with the budget numbers presented to them, Catevenis said.

She pointed out that the health care change analysis provided by Lee didn't include cost to employees –  if that was substantial, changing offers probably didn't make sense, Catevenis said.