SHORT SUMMARY:
The next RTM meeting is on Tuesday, February 6th at 7:30 pm in Town Hall (110 Myrtle Avenue). You can watch the meeting on Cablevision channel 79, Frontier channel 99, or online here. You can see the official agenda by clicking here. Some of agenda items might seem familiar, and for good reason! The first two of the three agenda items were initially on the agenda for last month's RTM meeting but postponed to the meeting on Tuesday. Disclaimer: What's below is my interpretation of the agenda and not an official communication from the RTM.
In short, the RTM will discuss the following issues:
- A $40,000 appropriation to purchase NOVAtime time and attendance software/hardware for use by regular and seasonal town employees,
- Whether to sign the Greater Bridgeport Regional Recycling Interlocal Agreement, which relates to the method and costs of disposing our town's recyclables, and
- Whether to appoint Jeff Wieser as the alternative representative to the Western Connecticut Council of Governments.
DETAIL:
AGENDA ITEM #1: A $40,000 appropriation to purchase NOVAtime time and attendance software/hardware for use by regular and seasonal town employees:
The NOVAtime system would automate many payroll-related functions that town employees currently input manually. The system is web-based, which means an employee can “clock in” on computers or smart phones. The town would then have the ability to track the activity of the employee. Employees can also log in with "biometrics" like their handprint. The NOVAtime system would improve the recording accuracy of hours worked, streamline the payroll process for town employees, and significantly reduce the time required to respond to any Department of Labor audit.
Town employees in the Fire and Police Departments will continue to use their own systems.
Although the town and NOVAtime are still negotiating certain aspects of the contract - including a right to renegotiate if the Board of Education adopts NOVAtime - the current version includes a five-year term with one-time implementation fees of $15,740, a total 12-month system cost of $39,455, and a subsequent yearly cost of $19,135. The Director of Human Resources has requested an appropriation of $40,000 from the Special Appropriations Account to cover the total first-year cost. The Board of Finance and the RTM Finance Committee both recommended the appropriation.
AGENDA ITEM #2: Whether to sign the Greater Bridgeport Regional Recycling Interlocal Agreement, which relates to the method and costs of disposing our town’s recyclables.
The town already participates in the Recycling Interlocal Agreement and this contact would extend the term of our participation until 2036 or, at the town's request, the end of each year. Westport could also withdraw from the agreement with six months’ notice and the approval of the group's governing body. The other participating towns listed in the draft agreement are Bridgeport, East Haven, Easton, Fairfield, Milford, Monroe, Orange, Stratford, and Woodbridge. The cost of disposing of recyclables under the agreement is related to a municipality's total tonnage of municipal recyclables for the current or most recently completed fiscal year.
The RTM Environment Committee voted unanimously to recommend that the RTM approve the agreement. The Committee's report for the meeting packet explains that "[u]nder this agreement we receive $20.00 per ton of recyclables," and that, by switching from sorted recyclables to "single stream," the town has saved $367,500 due to increased recycled tons per year.
A copy of the draft contract is in the meeting packet.
AGENDA ITEM #3: Whether to appoint Jeff Wieser as the alternative representative to the Western Connecticut Council of Governments:
The Western Connecticut Council of Governments ("WESTcog") is a regional council that provides its local government members a forum to communicate and collaborate in addressing inter-municipal issues and needs. The other towns in WESTcog are Bethel, Bridgewater, Brookfield, Danbury, Darien, Greenwich, New Canaan, New Fairfield, New Milford, Newtown, Norwalk, Redding, Ridgefield, Sherman, Stamford, Weston, and Wilton.
As provided in the Westport Code of Ordinances, the First Selectman represents our town on WESTcog and the RTM appoints one of its members as an alternate representative for a term of two years. At the request of First Selectman Jim Marpe, the RTM will consider appointing Jeff Wieser as the alternative representative. Mr. Wieser is the RTM Deputy Moderator, and you can find out more about his background here.
Disclaimer: This post has been my interpretation of the agenda and not an official communication from the RTM. You can view the official meeting agenda here.
