Employee of the Month: Mark C. Kennedy the Kent County Department Heads Have Selected MARK C

Pag e P April 2010

A Newsletter Published by Kent County Levy Court for its Employees April 2010 Employee of the Month: Mark C. Kennedy The Kent County department heads have selected MARK C. KENNEDY from the Department of Ad- ministration as the April 2010 Employee of the Month. Mark, the Media Systems Coordinator in the Information Technology Office, has worked for Kent County since March 2005. His primary duties include operation of the digital, audio and computer systems to facilitate web-casting of Levy Court and Regional Planning Commission meetings as well as design and coordination of the County’s media messaging system and website maintenance. As a highly skilled video production editor, Mark has produced and directed a number of public service videos for the County including such topics as swimming pool safety, the comprehensive INSIDE plan, and Kent County Public Library. Additionally he maintains and up- 20 - A’s to Those Q’s dates the video information boards in the County Administrative Complex 17 - Across the Hall and the County website meeting notices. 6 - Birthdays Mark is praised by department heads and the public for his ability 18 - EMS/9-1-1 Stats to troubleshoot issues related to the operation of the County’s audio and 9 - From The Stacks video systems located in the Levy Court chamber and conference rooms. 14 - Mark Your Calendar His commitment to detail allows all citizens to literally witness their gov- 4 - On The Move ernment in action from the comfort of their homes via the webcast he pro- 16 - Side Splitter D duces on a weekly basis. 10 - Traveling Man Congratulations Mark on a job well done! Levy Court reviews draft FY11 budget By Allan Kujala, Personnel Director Fear about what the State Legislature might do to County revenue sources kept the discussion som- ber this year as Levy Court Commissioners considered no new initiatives in the FY2011 budget as well as no employee pay raises, no new General Fund positions, and no changes to tax/fee rates. The second bare bones budget in a row assumes the State will continue to fund 30% of paramedic operations and not cost shift any programs to the County. In the current budget, the State mandated the County assume full responsibility for dog licensing and dog control. The State budget is estimated to be $254 million short and numerous ideas have been floated to erase that deficit—such as cost shifting full paramedic program funding to the counties, reducing the County’s share of the real estate transfer tax by a half percent, transferring the Recorder of Deeds and Register of Wills offices to State control, elimi- Kent Connections is published for the employees and retirees of Kent nating the County’s portion of the telephone tax, County Levy Court using Microsoft Publisher® & Microsoft Power- and many others. Point®. Comments, suggestions and story ideas should be addressed The proposed budget maintains vacant po- to: Kent County Personnel Office, 555 Bay Road, Dover, DE 19901, or given to Allan Kujala, Martha Lewis, Cathleen McLean, or Yvonne sitions from FY2010 and reduced line items prev- Messina. Or, call the Personnel Office at 744-2310. (Continued on Next Page) Pag e 2 P April 2010 site of the former County Administration Build- FY11 budget eyed ing, as well as miscellaneous computer storage (Continued from Page 1) capacity upgrades, paramedic cardiac monitors, iously forecast for office supplies, travel, train- and routine vehicle replacement (one each) for ing conferences, equipment replacement, vehi- the Division of Emergency Medical Services and cle use, and other non-essential expenses. It re- Sheriff’s Office. tains all cost containment measures imposed in The $14.1 Sewer Fund budget, which is November 2008 including centralized group financed by quarterly sewer fees (not property purchasing of supplies, eliminating take home taxes), includes one new staff member—an elec- vehicles, lowering thermostats, turning off trical position as well as roadway paving, a road lights, and reducing the number of part-time tractor, a loader, and a new roof on the treat- and temporary employees. ment plant administration building. The $21.3 million general fund budget is The $18.3 million Sewer Fund Capital slightly lower than the current year, but that is Budget includes $1.5 million to complete the ul- largely due to expected reduced grant funding traviolet disinfection project, $3.6 million for the and the lower pension contribution. Comparing southern conveyance bypass project, $900,000 the new budget with actual spending levels for central transmission system enhancements, from FY2008, the planned annual expenditures $6.9 million for the green energy (solar & bio- have been reduced by over $2.5 million. mass) project, $620,000 for a geothermal HVAC The Capital Budget (general fund) in- system upgrade, $250,000 for the Little Heaven cludes $195,100 in funding for Sheriff office transmission system relocation design and right- furnishings in anticipation of an April 2011 relo- of-way acquisition, $460,000 for planning & de- cation to the new Kent County Courthouse cur- sign of a parallel Murderkilll River pipe crossing, rently under construction by the State on the and several other projects—construction of which are all subject to requested federal and state grant funding. The $21.3 million General Fund budget COMPLEX ART along with the $14.1 million Sewer Fund budgets (plus another $18.5 million for the capital budgets) are expected to be introduced on April 13 with a public hearing scheduled for April 27, 2010.

HOW TO BE EXCEPTIONAL ADAPTABILITY/FLEXIBILITY—b. Encourage and instruct others about the benefits of change; c. Welcome change and look for the new opportunities it provides; ... G.A.U.G.E.—Kent Co’s performance assessment tool

High Praise n Shout out to WILSON BRANHAM and MIKE ROB- The Friends of Old Camden recently presented Levy Court BINS in the Wastewater Facilities Division for a Con- with a painting of the Brecknock Park Manor House painted by artist Ann Burke. The Manor House was the stituent Comment Card praising them both for their residence of the Elizabeth Goggin family who later willed “attitude and willingness to get the job done”. We do the land to the county with the hope it would remain as indeed have great employees! active open space. The painting is on display in the re- ception area of the County Administrator’s office. Pag e 3 P April 2010 New Employee Council members seated By Allan Kujala, Personnel Director was elected Treasurer. The group also re-elected MICHELE LAPINSKI, Account Specialist II in the s the January nominations deadline passed A Department of Community Services, as Secre- without a single candidate for the tary. The remaining members of Employee three vacancies, it seemed at first Council are PAT ORONA from the that no one wanted to serve on Deeds Office, LORI SHORT from Employee Council, but eventually the Department of Planning Ser- three people did “volunteer” and vices, and AUDREY STANFORD the 7-member body is now com- from the Assessment Office. plete. The new Council got right With no provision in the down to work by reviewing a by- group’s bylaws to fill vacancies by Dexter Kollie laws change to address vacancies, President appointment, the Employee Coun- Yvonne Messina and discussing upcoming em- Treasurer cil had to conduct a special elec- ployee events, including the Em- tion in March and this time the three volunteers ployee Appreciation Picnic in June. were nominated for the three vacant posts, so In addition to selecting the Employee of no balloting was necessary. the Year, organizing and hosting the annual Em- Joining the group for ployee Picnic, Holiday Dinner/Dance, and the two-year terms are DEXTER Holiday Luncheon, the Employee KOLLIE, GIS Technician I in Council regularly provides input the Department of Planning to the County Administrator and Services, who was subse- Personnel Director on employee quently elected Council Presi- issues. dent; TRUDENA HORSEY, Ac- “Employee Council is plan- countant I from the Depart- Trudena Horsey ning many fun-filled events this Vice-President ment of Finance, who was year,” commented President Kol- elected Vice-President; and lie. “We’re excited and we would Michele YVONNE MESSINA, Personnel Technician I welcome any new ideas employ- Lapinski Secretary from the Department of Administration, who ees may have.” Health insurance RFP yields 10+/-% rate increase By Allan Kujala, Personnel Director program, but the FY2011 RFP responses were more of the same—higher premiums. ealthcare reform may be the law of the land, H The apparent low bidder was the but it is difficult to determine if it had any im- (Continued on Next Page) pact on the County’s health insurance RFP Kent County Health Insurance Premium Trend—PPO responses received last month—perhaps it will next year after the official effective date. Kent County annually bids out health insurance cov- erage in hopes of securing a lower cost Pag e 4 P April 2010 Health insurance RFP yields 10+/-% rate increase (Continued from Page 3) est cost vendor, the Levy Court will have to con- County’s current insurer—Blue Cross Blue sider what insurance broker to use for the pro- Shield of Delaware with a monthly premium gram. The current broker is L&W Insurance, but increase of 10+/-% to continue the existing pro- Lyons Insurance representing the Delaware gram. However, as requested, the insurer did League of Local Governments insurance pool provide alternative plans with lower premiums, group (DFIT) submitted a proposal using a flat but with higher Rx copays ($15/$30/$60) or rate commission as opposed to a percentage for- network limitations (EPO). mat and offered to provide additional services Last year Blue Cross submitted a 14.6% such as COBRA administration. premium increase, but after negotiating a reduc- The Levy Court has not yet formally se- tion in benefits by increasing prescription co- lected a health insurance provider for employ- payments from $10 for generic, $15 for brand ees/retirees effective July 1, 2010. The final se- name, and $35 for non-formulary to a $10/$25/ lection of the County’s health insurance plan will $50 copay format and a higher Rx mail order be determined by Levy Court this month as part rate, the final increase was cut to 9.3%. of the final budget adoption process. Open en- While Blue Cross appears to be the low- rollment is scheduled for the month of May. |kent county staff on the Move... New Hire DAVID HENDERSON GILBERTO (Gil) RUIZ 10 years Computer Support Technician I Chief Deputy Sheriff Grade 8 Office of the Department of Administration Kent County Sheriff Information Technology Office 03/06/2000 03/15/2010

Resignation ALAN TYSON TONY TIPAROD 10 years Paramedic II GIS Technician II Grade 11 Department of Planning Services Department of Public Safety Division of Planning Emergency Medical Services Division 03/06/2000 03/22/2010 MARK KENNEDY Milestones 5 years I. NYLE CALLAWAY Media Systems Coordinator 20 years Department of Administration Heavy Equipment Operator Information Technology Office Department of Public Works 03/18/2005 Wastewater Facilities Division 03/06/1990 CHARLOTTE LINDQUIST 5 years DEBORAH PALMER Secretary 20 years Office of the Property Specialist II Kent County Sheriff Assessment Office 03/21/2005 Kent County Board of Assessment 03/13/1990 Pag e 5 P April 2010 Dispatch Center recognized for excellence By Bret Scott, Public Information Officer Communications Center is compliant with all international practice standards for Emergency ent County’s Emergency Communications K Medical Dispatch. Center was recently awarded Re-Accreditation The accreditation is valid for a three year as an Emergency Medical Dispatch Center of period. During the review process, staff mem- Excellence by the International Academies of bers SCOTT BUNDEK and DAN McLAUGHLIN Emergency Dispatch. had to listen to a certain percentage of emer- Kent County’s Division of Emergency gency calls taken by the dispatchers and make Communications was awarded this distinction sure their response scores stayed above 95%. for its comprehensive implementation and com- In addition, all dispatchers had to com- pliance with the Medical Priority Dispatch Sys- plete 24 hours of continuing education to remain tem and associated “20 Points of Excellence.” certified as Emergency Medical Dispatchers. “Our emergency dispatchers and support The Center will be officially recognized at staff continue to raise the bar of excellence the annual Navigators Conference for Priority when it comes to answering 911 calls,” said Dispatch in Orlando, Florida in April. Dispatcher Commissioner HAROLD BRODE. “This re- II BOB BLOODSWORTH has registered for the accreditation leaves no doubt that they are conference at his own expense and will accept among the best at what they do.” the award on behalf of the County. Earning this re-accreditation award is All of the dispatchers (County and State) voluntary and involves completing a detailed deserve all of the credit for becoming reaccredi- self-study and analysis. This accomplishment ted and providing prompt and efficient service to demonstrates that Kent County’s Emergency the residents and visitors of Kent County.

Levy Court Commissioners recently recognized the staff at the Kent County Emergency Communications Center for re- ceiving re-accreditation. Pictured with the accreditation certificate are (l. to r.): Chief Colin Faulkner, David Grygo, Jack Loftin, Tom Williams, Scott Bundek, Commissioner Eric Buckson, Commissioner Allan Angel, President P. Brooks Banta, Commissioner Harold Brode, Dan McLaughlin, Assistant Director Kevin Sipple, Justin Pippin, Katie Ridgeway, Commissioner Brad Eaby, and Commissioner George “Jody” Sweeney. Pag e 6 P April 2010 Defer income to save now and for later for retirement or increase the amount being de- In light of current economic reality, retirement ferred tax-free for retirement savings in your ICMA-RC 457 account. ICMA-RC representative Rosemary Knapp is scheduled to visit the Kent County Complex on Tuesday, April 20 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and she would be happy to assist you in making a decision about what investment funds offered through ICMA-Retirement Corporation best suit your financial situation and future goals. By Cathleen “Cat” McLean, Payroll Administrator To set up an appointment to learn more may seem like a figment of the imagination for about deferred compensation and how a 457 can many of us. But before you know it, 20 years save taxes now and provide income later, please will have passed and retirement will be shining call the Personnel Office at 744-2310. For addi- brightly on the horizon. tional information, check out www.ICMARC.org With the stock market on the upswing, or request an information packet at the Person- this just might be the best time to begin saving nel Office. **6959** **6468** Snack time gets boost from new vendor By Yvonne Messina, Personnel Technician I The vending machines at the Kent County Emergency Services Building are serviced by nack selection at the Administrative Complex S American Vending, because area fire companies offered few choices and high prices until last have used them and were extremely satisfied month when a new vending machine company with the prices and service. assumed the account. The Delaware Business Enterprise Pro- Nothing beats gram working with the State of Delaware Divi- the drudgery of work sion for the Visually Impaired provides economic better than a chocolate opportunities for visually impaired residents of bar or bag of chips, but Delaware by creating snack bars, cafeterias, and as the former vendor vending route facilities on Federal, State, and (Canteen) increased Municipal properties. prices, sales plummeted Working as independent, self-employed and so did the selec- managers, these legally blind individuals are re- tion. sponsible for providing quality service in their After numerous assigned locations. complaints, Delaware Business Enterprise Delaware Business Enterprise pays Kent brought in Hapbron, a small family run com- County a monthly commission of $200 for the pany, that offered to provide a bigger variety of right to have their vending machines in the Com- snacks at lower prices. plex and that figure is turned over to the Em- The snack variety available in the ma- ployee Council. The commission is not based on chines has increased exponentially and the cost usage. The $2,400 per year is used by Council to has dropped by a third for chips and 20 percent cover costs associated with the Holiday Lunch- for candy. Several types of snack cakes costing eon and Holiday Social held each December for $1.25 are also available. Soda prices remain the employees. **2546** **9019** same. Pag e 7 P April 2010 In-house control system overhaul saves $ By Hans Medlarz, Public Works Director weekend’s historic “rain event” when the full ca- pabilities of the station were sorely needed. ast month a major overhaul of the control sys- L Electrician III BILL WOODALL and Elec- tem and pump drives at the largest pump sta- trician I MARVIN PARKER performed most of the tion in the Kent County wastewater collection work, including fabricating the new drive cabi- system was completed. nets. Fellow electricians JOHN DeBLOOIS and The overhaul process was complicated WAYNE RICHARDS provided assistance when by the fact that the station located near Rising needed in addition to fabricating the new con- Sun had to be kept “up & running” at all times. troller cabi- Over a two net and week pe- keeping up riod, the WASTEWATER ELECTRICAL TEAM with main- crew re- tenance placed two issues over 400 horse- the rest of power the County variable wastewater frequency collection drives and system. the backup Electronics electronic Chris John Marvin Wayne Bill Supervisor Austin deBloois Parker Richards Woodall soft starts CHRIS process that AUSTIN provided the design, programming and control these pumps. supervision during the project. The old pump drives were failing due to Under normal periods, one small pump age and suffering from a somewhat poor design. can keep up with the flows, however, during pe- In the past the drives were a major factor in sev- riods of abnormally high flows (read “rain eral small spills at that station. In addition, the events”) the station’s emergency generator is ac- electronic controller was replaced and a third tivated and it runs the large pumps under our pump drive was completely rewired. All this re- auxiliary power. This saves the County approxi- quired a rapid, orderly transition between the mately $16,000 per year in “demand” charges old controllers and the new units. from the electric company. The new, more reliable and significantly Great Job Guys on a complex job well simplified control system was completely done saving the County many $$$!! changed over by March 12, just in time for that County staff driving more defensively By Martha Lewis, Personnel Technician I basis for business purposes as provided in Kent County Levy Court Policy 4-6. The Basic Defen- t might just be a little safer on the roadways I sive Driving class was held on March 4 and the now thanks to the defen- Advanced Defensive Driving class on March 25. sive driving course many Employees completing the Basic Course Kent County employees were: ROBIN ANDINO, CHRISTAL CANNON, completed last month. KIM CROUCH, BEVERLY HAY, DANIELLE LAM- The safe driving BORN, JACK LOFTIN, HOLLY MALONE, HAR- course is mandatory for OLD NEAL, MARGO ORLANDO, JEFF OUTTEN, County staff operating a vehicle on a regular (Continued on Next Page) Pag e 8 P April 2010 Trained staff could make roadways safer (Continued from Page 7) The course is also open to County employees in- WAYNE RICHARDS, BRET SCOTT, KATHY terested in the certification for a cost of $11, SKINNER, and MARK STRONG. payable at the door. Employees completing the Advanced The defensive driving certification is valid Course were: SHERRY BARKER, DENISE CAYZ, for three years and employees completing the KAREN COOPER, MARY EISENBREY, JOHN program are usually eligible for a reduction in FOLEY, KATHY GOODEN, SHIRLEY GOODWIN, their auto insurance premiums. The county bene- DALE JONES, BRIAN LEWIS, DIANE LOCKER- fits from having safer drivers in County-owned MAN, DICK MacDONALD, SANDRA MARTIN, vehicles. Employees failing to achieve defensive SCOTT McMILLON, BRENT MOLLOHAN, KEITH driving certification during dates offered by the MUMFORD, JAMES NEWTON, JOE O’CON- County are required to promptly take the class at NELL, STELLA PADILLA, LESLIE PERSANS, another location on their own time, the County ROBERT PROBST, MIKE RIGBY, KEVIN SIPPLE, will reimburse employees for the course cost. ROBERT SKRIPKO, ALLEN THOMAS, JOHN For more information about this policy or TINGER, LESLIE VASQUEZ, NICOLE VAUTARD, other Kent County risk management programs, SCOTT VAUTARD, HILARY WELLIVER, MIKE contact the Personnel Office at 744-2310 WEYANT, and ANNETTE WHITBY. A second and final Advanced Defensive Employee Council Driving course will be offered on Thursday, Fundraiser Pancake Breakfast April 8 from 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon in the Levy Wednesday, April 14 Court chamber. Employees required to maintain 7:30 a.m.-8:30 a.m. Complex kitchen defensive driving certification should attend. Kent COUNTY BIRTHDAYS 25 Robert Watts, Public Safety/Emer. Comm. APRIL 25 Melissa Smith, Public Safety/EMS 01 Gale Maas, Administration 27 Richard Mosley, Public Works/WWF 01 Mari Fabres, Public Works/WWF 28 Daniel McLaughlin, Public Safety/Emer. Comm. 03 Martha Lewis, Personnel Office 29 Keith Mumford, Comm. Servs./Recreation 03 Terri Misiewicz, Finance 30 Darren Jones, Public Safety/EMS 03 Jason Miller, Public Works/Engineering 03 Joshua Norris, Public Safety/Emer. Comm. MAY 04 Tami Edwards, Administration-IT 01 Jill Johns, Planning Services 06 Katie Ridgway, Public Safety/Emer. Comm. 03 John Messina, Community Services/Parks 07 Marty Hayes, Clerk of the Peace Office 05 Ronald Eby, Board of Assessment 09 Karen Cooper, Tax Office 05 Jack Loftin, Public Safety/Emergency Comm. 10 Mark Horton, Public Safety/EMS 10 Audrey Stanford, Assessment Office 11 George Kuerner, Public Works/WWF 12 Dale Jones, Planning Services/I&E 11 Craig Harvey, Public Works/Engineering 15 Patrick Quillen, Community Services/Parks 14 John Mieczkowski, Public Safety/EMS 15 Sheila Ross, Assessment Office 15 Sarah Keifer, Planning Services Director 19 Terry Gentry, Public Works/Facilities Mgt. 16 Donna Zerhusen, Finance 21 Jennifer Donavon, Planning Srvs/Planning 16 Michael Bishop, Public Safety/EMS 22 Richard Washington, Public Works/WWF 17 Rodney Smith, Planning Services/Planning 24 Mary Ellen Gray, Planning Services/Planning 18 George DeBenedictis, Planning Services/I&E 26 Larry Warner, Deputy Sheriff 20 Scott Kimball, Public Works/WWF 28 Keith Powell, Public Works/WWF

Pag e 9 P April 2010 Employee Of the Month—INSIGHT Name: MARK KENNEDY Pet peeve: Road construction during rush Job: Media Systems Coordinator hour. Time with the County: 5 years If I’ve learned one thing in life, it’s: Education: Bachelors Degree There’s so much to learn. My role as a County employee: Life goals and values important All things AV. to me: Physical fitness, mental fitness What keeps my job interesting: and family. Varying schedules and meetings. Characteristics and values im- What gives me a sense of accom- portant to me: Consistency and plishment on the job: Making sure Creativity. meetings occur as smoothly as possi- Who has had the most impact on ble. my life: I’ve been blessed to have had Professional advice I would like a number of special people impact my to offer to other County employ- life for the better; each at very critical ees: Change is never permanent only moments; but most of all the Creator of consistent. life. Family: Wife - Paula, Sons – Jaren & Lemuel, Personal goals I have accomplished or Princesses – Niomi, Nalla, Salome & Samahrah would like to accomplish: Being alive and After work I enjoy: Watching boxing & bas- married with children past the age of 24. ketball, playing Qwirkle with my children, cook- If I could have been in any profession of ing and video chatting with my friends overseas. my choosing, I would have been a: Herb & Favorite new movie: None at the moment. Spice farmer somewhere in the Middle East or Due to the nature of my work I find myself fo- North Africa. cusing more on the technical aspects of movies, If I could have two wishes, they would which makes it difficult to enjoy. be: To have Florida weather in Delaware all the Favorite old movie: Any of the old Shaw time, and no hurricanes with that. Brothers kung fu movies out of Hong Kong. You’d be surprised to learn that I: I used Favorite sports: Boxing & Basketball to work in the World Trade Center Tower 2 on Favorite music: Blues, ‘70’s, HipHop, Top 40, the 104th floor for a financial services firm prior Jazz to 9/11. Favorite Kent County restaurant: Flavor The most adventurous thing I’ve ever of India done is: Tandem-line Skydive 5,000 ft from a Favorite Kent County event: Youth-In- perfectly working aircraft. Government Day Three people (living or dead) I’d invite to dinner: Maya Angelou, Dave Chappelle, Floyd Mayweather and/or Moses. A Monthly Contest I’m most proud of: My children. A free movie ticket will be given to the first two employees who find the last four digits of Go Green Kent Co! his/her Social Security number in the Conserve At Home—Appliances current issue of Kent Connections and Wash clothes in cold water; Clean off the lint screen contacts the Personnel Office at 744- on your clothes dryer after every use; Hang clothes out 2310. ROBIN ANDINO from the Emer- to dry; Air dry dishes in your dishwasher instead of gency Communications Division spotted using the dry cycle; Decide what you want before you his number and was the only person to call in last open the refrigerator door… month. It’s easy to win, just read Kent Connections!! Pag e 1 0 P April 2010 HVBUFNBMB.mboe!pg!fufsobm!tqsjoh! the ability of the women to weave their long hair Like many people, I have always been fascinated and bright cloth into a flat pan shaped hat. The by pyramids. After visiting the oldest in 2002 children would beg for a dollar to weave words (Giza, Egypt) and the most famous in Mexico with string into ballpoint pen coverings. In nearby (Chitzen Itza in 2004), I patiently looked for the Panajachel, the mix of indigenous peoples and right tour at the right price to see Tikal—made American “hippies” was an oddity of note. world famous as the rebel base camp in the origi- From the lakeside town of Panajachel, nal STAR WARS movie. nicknamed “Gringocastenango” with a wink to- In March 2007, I found that deal at ward the many Caucasian residents, we boarded www.caravan.com for $995 for 11 days with al- the bus and traveled back through Guatemala City toward Copan across the border in Honduras. The city, known as the “Athens of the Ma- Traveling yan World” features numerous high platforms and a steep stairway with the history of the kingdom Man carved into the steps. The Mayan kings would By Allan Kujala, Personnel Director build higher and higher pyramids successively on

top of each other, often destroying the supporting most everything included. The flight was extra, structure—but not in Copan. One such structure but all the food was not. was preserved fully intact inside a covering stone The weather was warm and dry and we pyramid and the public can venture inside to see would later learn that the timing was quite fortu- the red painted exterior walls of the father’s cere- nate. Our first night was in the capital, Guate- monial building. It is awesome! mala City, which features a large traditional We ventured into the quaint town of Copan plaza with large government buildings and a for a few essentials and after church surrounding it. The One of 3 volcanoes along Lake Atitlan in Guatemala our return to the hotel learned next day we headed to about the unreliability of elec- Chichicastenango, an an- tric service in Central America. cient market town with Power was out for an hour and hundreds of stalls selling it is awfully dark in the Hon- everything imaginable and duran jungle. an old adobe church built Next day we left Copan in 1540 that uses incense for our trip to Tikal and (lots of it) in its religious stopped for lunch in Rio Dulce, rituals. located along a crystal clear The next day we river leading from Lake Izabal headed to Lake Atitlan, to the Caribbean Sea. It was which is an amazing and luscious and the fresh seafood feast was beyond unique geological formation. It was created tens of compare. thousands of years ago when a volcano exploded Our tour bus bumped down dirt roads to and the caldron was flooded by groundwater fill- reach our fine hotel located on two large alligator ing in the gapping hole. We spent two nights in a infested lagoons not far from Tikal. The rooms little village along the lake, which backs up to the were constructed in two story octagons with win- old vertical walls of the long dead volcano open- dows all around and the nearby jungle featured ing. Directly across the lake are three active volca- walking trails and lots of wildlife. noes (the three sisters) that formed along the Amazing Tikal—the highlight of the trip southern rim of the old caldron. was just up the road.... We crossed the lake to visit the bustling town at the foot of the volcanoes and marveled at (Feature to be Continued in the next Kent Connections) Pag e 1 1 P April 2010 FROM THE STACKS By Hilary Welliver, County Librarian Big Fat Books that really are worth the effort Remember back when you received your book- Currer Bell, the novel introduced a new type of heroine – whose virtuous integrity, intelligence, list for your school report, and immediately and determination broke through class barriers tried to determine which was the shortest book to win equal status with the man she loved. on the list so you could get the assignment over The Stand by Stephen King. A word with quickly? Here are the books you may have of caution: Don’t read this during flu season. passed up. Plague kills nearly everyone in the world as the The following titles are very long books, result of a security glitch that looses a govern- around 500 pages or longer (not beach reading) ment-made mutant virus on an unprepared pub- – but weigh in as very worth the time it takes to lic. read them. You have a couple of long weekends The Host by Stephenie coming up. Why not try these heavyweights? Meyer. The earth is invaded by The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. a species that controls the minds Tolkien. You’ve sat through many hours of of their human hosts while leav- the movie trilogy, now rediscover the Magic of ing their bodies intact. Most of Middle-Earth through the masterpiece that in- humanity has been affected, but spired the script. The Lord of the Rings is the Melanie Stryder fights back with most widely read and influential epic fantasy of overwhelming memories of a lost all time. Young Frodo embarks on a treacher- love, causing the alien who has ous journey to destroy a magic ring that the attempted to take over her mind to become an Dark Lord, Sauron, is desperate to possess. unwilling ally. Gone With the Wind by Mar- The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Fol- garet Mitchell. Margaret lett. In 12th-century England, the creation of a Mitchell’s first and only foray into Gothic cathedral signals the dawn of a new age. the publishing world resulted in A sweeping tale of the turbulent Middle Ages, the sweeping story of tangled this is a masterpiece by one of the most popular passions and the incredible cour- contemporary authors. age of a group of people in At- Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. lanta during the time of the Civil Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back War. While many only remem- from the war and reunited with her husband on ber this title for the line “Frankly…I don’t give a a second honeymoon. Then she walks through a damn,” Gone With the Wind is a compelling and standing stone in one of the ancient circles that entertaining read. are scattered through the British Isles. Suddenly The Count of Monte Cristo by Alex- she is an “outlander” in war-torn Scotland…in andre Dumas. Falsely accused of treason, the year 1743. young Edmond Dantes is arrested on his wed- The Time Traveler’s Wife by ding day and imprisoned in the island fortress of Audrey Niffenegger. Henry Chateau d’If. After years of incarceration, Ed- finds himself displaced in time, mond stages a daring escape and sets out to dis- pulled to moments of emotional cover an immense treasure – and to catch up intensity in his life – past and with his enemies. future. The story is about the Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. power of love to endure beyond Published in 1847, under the pseudonym of the bounds of time. Pag e 1 2 P April 2010 Help Save the Planet! Plant Trees on Earth Day By Carl Solberg, Park Projects Manager Delaware and City of Dover for stormwater and habitat restoration wherever these opportunities pring has arrived, so Earth Day cannot be far S can be developed; leading by example on our behind. This year marks the Parks Division’s public lands. Past practices of urban reforesta- 15th consecutive conservation outreach volun- tion and habitat planting on Earth Day and teer project acknowl- Make-A-Difference Day edging this national have resulted in a com- day of natural resource bined area of over 8 celebration. acres of native trees and For the 2010 shrubs planted along event, Kent County the St. Jones River Parks Division, on be- IF YOU VOLUN- half of the St. Jones TEER… Greenway Commission, When: Satur- joins forces with the day, April 24, 2010, City of Dover and the 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. – Delaware Department Rain or Shine. of Natural Resources Who/What: and Environmental Families, individuals, Control in the onging groups, and volunteer St. Jones River Water- organizations are needed to help the Kent shed Buffer Project. This year we advance to County Community Services, Parks Division and the western shore of the river within the City of the St. Jones Greenway Commission to support Dover to begin restoring shoreline habitats on conservation stewardship on public lands. the St. Jones River. Where: Silver Lake Recreation Area Community volunteers are needed to and Elizabeth Murphey School are located in Do- plant native trees and shrubs along the riparian ver, on Kings Highway, north of Division Street. edge of the tidal St. Jones River within the Signs will direct you to parking for the event floodplain of the Elizabeth Murphey School. from the intersection of Division Street and Kent This event continues the over-all transformation Avenue. of Silver Lake Recreation Area, Mirror Lake, Me- More: Please bring work gloves, hard- morial Park, and the Murphey School floodplain soled, lace-up shoes or boots (no sneakers, into a beautiful demonstration of urban water please). Bring a Round-Point shovel if you can. quality protection through re-vegetation and Be sure to dress appropriately for outdoor work. landscaping. This is part of the St. Jones River A handicapped-accessible restroom, drinks, & Watershed Riparian Buffer Project undertaken snacks will be provided to all volunteers. by the DNREC 319 Program, the City of Dover, TO REGISTER as a volunteer and for neighbors and friends of the St. Jones Water- more information, please contact WAYNE shed. McCARTY at Kent County Division of Parks, 744- Plant materials for this Earth Day event 2489 or e-mail [email protected]. are funded by a donation from NRG Energy, Inc. Volunteers may also register on the day of the Kent County Parks, and the St. Jones Greenway event at the project site. Commission in collaboration with the State of Your help would be appreciated. Pag e 1 3 P April 2010 Actuary recommends lower contribution By Allan Kujala, Personnel Director gram, significant staff reductions, and status quo pay rates on the plan’s portfolio (up from $19.6 he rebounding stock market and static infla- T million a year ago). tion rate prompted The study incorporated the new cost Levy Court earlier method and actuarial assumptions approved last this year to initiate month by Levy Court and as expected the results annual rather than have had a positive impact on the FY2011 biennial pension budget. fund valuations to The actuary recommended that the an- determine the con- nual pension contribution be decreased to tribution needed to $1,539,554—down from $2,133,498 recom- meet future pension mended for FY10. benefits obligations. Levy Court allocated the contribution sav- The fund’s ings in the FY2011 budget to cover the health actuary, SMART Business Advisory and Consult- insurance premium increase and various operating Services of Devon, Pennsylvania and Chi- ing cost increases. cago, evaluated the County’s $21.4 million pen- Employees with questions about the sion fund as of January 1, 2010 and noted the County pension plan or the retiree benefits beneficial effects of the improved stock market, (OPEB) program, should contact the Personnel last year’s popular retirement incentive pro- Office at 744-2310. G.A.U.G.E employee performance appraisals due by May 28 By Allan Kujala, Personnel Director The system also rates each employee on “Performance Essential Competencies”, such as y now it is hoped that most employees and B communication; development of self; initiative; their supervisors have either started the annual interpersonal skills; quality of work; and team- performance appraisal process or at least re- work. Each employee is further rated for per- viewed the G.A.U.G.E. system handbook, be- formance in a specific skill group, such as Cleri- cause the forms are due in the Personnel Office cal, Maintenance/Trades, Technical, Profes- by May 28. sional, Supervisory and Man- The GAUGE format, agement. introduced nine years ago, has The levels of perform- been used consistently ance achievement are divided throughout the years with into five areas - Ineffective, great success. Employees who Somewhat Effective, Effective, were having performance Highly Effective, and Excep- problems either began to tional. A typical employee measure up or found themselves without a job. would score at different levels in each compe- The format has been praised as more tency. objective with scoring more easily understood The GAUGE evaluation forms, which are by both parties, the employee and the appraiser. recommended to be also completed by employ- The comprehensive performance ap- ees, are available on the County’s intranet on the praisal system rates each employee on “Core V: drive, in the CountyInfo folder, in Forms file Value Competencies”, such as customer service; under GAUGEappraisalForm in Word® or GAUGE ethics and integrity; job knowledge and skills; Eval Forms in Excel®. professionalism; and self-management. Pag e 1 4 P April 2010 MARK YOUR Bragging Rights CALENDAR Share your family

photos, stories, & more April 2, 2010 - Good Friday Holiday, County offices closed. Martin’s son completes boot camp April 7, 2010 - Blood Pressure Checks at the Nathan B. Hanggi, son of SANDRA MARTIN, Li- Wastewater Facility from 2:00-4:00 p.m. brary Technician, graduated from the Air Force April 8, 2010 - Advanced Defensive Driving Boot Camp in San Antonio, Texas in January Courses, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon, Administra- 2010. He is currently at Sheppard's Air Force tive Complex, Levy Court chamber. Base, Texas where he is attending school and train- April 14, 2010 - Blood Pressure Checks at ing for Crew Chief. After training, Nathan will be the Library at 9:00 a.m., and at the Administra- stationed at Dover Air Force Base. tive Complex, Room 257, 9:30-11:30 a.m. Orlando’s niece wins gold medal April 14, 2010 - L&W Insurance representa- Gina Taylor, the niece of MARGO Mangiamele- tive available to answer health insurance ques- ORLANDO, Deputy Register of Wills, was recently tions from 1:00-2:00 p.m., Administrative Com- chosen to be a peer partner for Grace Wisniewski plex, Room 213. (pictured on right) at the Special Olympics compe- April 20, 2010 - ICMA-RC Representative tition last month at the University of Delaware. Rosemary Knapp available to meet on the 457. The Cedar Lane Elementary School (Middletown) Call the Personnel Office for an appointment. students received gold medals for basketball. April 21, 2010 - Administrative Profes- sional’s Day. Please take the time to thank your clerical staff. Dixon’s daughter wins art award April 22, 2010 - Youth in Government Day Sarah Koehler, daughter of Cashier KIMM DIXON with high school students learning about County and husband Greg, was presented with a regional government. award through the Scholastic Art & Writing April 24, 2010 - Celebrate Earth Day with Awards program at Delaware State Univer- the Parks Division by planting trees & shrubs sity. Her ceramic piece titled "Hand of Crea- along the St. Jones River near the Elizabeth tion" garnered a Silver Key of Excellence. Sarah Murphey School from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. attends Smyrna High School and was the only April 2010 sophomore from Smyrna to receive an award. Sun Mon Tues Wed Thur Fri Sat 1 2 3 ^ S 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 P 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 r High Praise n 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Kudos to MIKE WEYANT, Building Codes Inspec- < ☺ tor II, for a Constituent Comment Card praising 25 26 27 28 29 30 1 him for his helpfulness and describing him as “the model of professionalism.” Fantastic!!! Pag e 1 5 P April 2010 Find the 8 Hidden Gems in Windows 7 By Mary Hazelwood, Network Specialist Games that will support DX11’s improved graph- Has Microsoft® learned a lesson from Windows ics include "S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat" and Dirt 2 – and they'll ship this year, not some dis- Vista®? The Vista operating system, which tant point in the future. shipped in early 2007, sold reasonably well but 3. A TV Guide for Internet videos The Windows Media Center program lets you connect your cable or satellite television feed to your computer and record shows, and in Win- dows 7, it's vastly improved. One impressive im- provement is Web TV Channels, a way to find streaming Internet video sites and view popular clips without any fuss. Microsoft includes Media Center in all versions of Windows 7 except the starter version. ran slowly and was plagued by hardware prob- 4. A hundredfold speed boost lems. The successor is called Windows 7®, and it Some technology fans think "Direct- should make your PC quicker, smarter, and more Compute" is the most revolutionary part of Win- fun. dows 7. It's a technology that controls where Windows 7 is an attempt to fix Vista's computers do their calculations, moving some problems — meaning technical issues as well as math-heavy processing onto the graphics card. the public's perception —and give Microsoft Win- This could result in as much as a hundredfold dows a much need PR boost. But Windows 7 is speed increase in, say, photo and video editing, more than just a Band-Aid® for your struggling and could lead to faster computing overall. computer. In fact, there are quite a few hidden 5. Massive monitors gems that will appeal to business users, mobile Ever considered linking up to three moni- mavens, accountants, gamers, and Web surfers tors together to make one colossal screen? It's alike. Here’s a rundown of the eight best: useful for tradeshows — or anyone who abso- 1. Smarter windows lutely must have the largest screen possible — One cool Microsoft feature borrows from and Eyefinity in Windows 7 makes it possible. A the Apple iPhone. In Windows 7, when you click first for Windows 7, Eyefinity requires the ATI on any window's title bar and shake it, every 5870 graphics card, which costs $379, but the other open window goes away. This reduces the tech will probably trickle down to other hard- clutter on your screen, letting you focus on the ware shortly. one window you care about. Shake it again and 6. 64-bit computing the other windows reappear. Microsoft calls it Microsoft sold a separate version of Vista Aero Shake, and it also lets you clear off the for computers that used 64-bit processors, mean- desktop completely. Just move the mouse to the ing they can access massive amounts of memory lower right of the screen to hide all the open win- and perform certain calculations substantially dows and get your bearings back. faster. Want tons of memory? You've had to go 2. More-detailed graphics out of your way to track down that 64-bit ver- Next year, developers will start releasing sion. The latest laptop and desktops now ship games built on DirectX 11, a game engine that with 64-bit processors, however. So nearly every provides more detailed graphics. DX11 is an inte- version of Windows 7 includes both the 32-bit gral part of Windows 7. It supports a technique and 64-bit version — and can support all the called tessellation borrowed from CGI movies to memory you want. (Continued on Next Page) add tons of detail without slowing gameplay. Pag e 1 6 P April 2010

(Continued from Page 13) 7. Faster startups Windows 7 boots much faster than Win- dows Vista. In my tests using a Lenovo S20 By Michele Lapinski, Employee Council Secretary Workstation PC, Windows 7 booted about twice With our three volunteers made official mem- as fast as Windows Vista. Windows 7 is also bers without the need for an election, the Coun- snappier when resuming from a sleep state after cil met on March 30 to choose officers. The new the screen has dimmed; in fact, it's almost in- officers are DEXTER KOLLIE as President, stantaneous. TRUDENA (TRUDY) HORSEY as Vice-President, 8. Touch computing YVONNE MESSINA as Treasurer, and your’s truly With a touchscreen PC, you can swipe was again elected as Secretary. your fingers across your computer screen to A fundraiser pancake breakfast for em- browse through images, click buttons, and scroll ployees will be held on Wednesday, April 14 through lists. You'll need a touch-screen moni- from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. tor, of course, but Microsoft argues that using The 50/50 raffles are continuing to come your hands to sort through data is much more on strong with the next drawings set for April 1, intuitive than pointing and clicking. April 16, and April 30. An email reminder will Do these features warrant an upgrade? go out to everyone in the County Complex either Absolutely – especially since Windows 7 not the afternoon before or the morning of. only provides the latest OS bells and whistles, (Proceeds from the 50/50 raffles go towards the but fixes most of the problems with Windows funding of the annual employee holiday party Vista. **7948** **3085** **9786** and luncheon events.) Good luck! **3123** Pets need Side Splitter your help Quotes from Employee Appraisals (from the Internet, not Kent County files) By Debbie Moore, Deed Clerk II

Abandoned pets need our help throughout the 1. Since my last report, he has reached rock bot- year, but each year a group of Kent County em- tom and has started to dig. ployees participate in the Spring SPCA Donation 2. His men would follow him anywhere, but only Drive and once again we ask fellow employees out of morbid curiosity. for help. 3. Works well when under constant supervision The SPCA animal shelter is in need of and cornered like a rat in a trap. clean old blankets, towels, sheets, plus canned 4. When she opens her mouth, it seems that this dog and cat foot as well as kitten and puppy is only to change whichever foot was previously food. For a complete list of needed items, check in there. out the Kent County SPCA website. 5. This young lady has delusions of adequacy. Interested employees can drop off the 6. She sets low personal standards and then con- items or cash donations any time this month to sistently fails to achieve them. the Kent County Recorder of Deeds office for 7. This associate should go far—and the sooner delivery to the SPCA. **5333** **4855** he starts the better. Pag e 1 7 P April 2010 Welcome to Levy Court! Name: GILBERTO “Gil” RUIZ Job: Computer Support Tech- INSIGHT INTO THAT OTHER DEPT/DIV/OFFICE nician I Date Hired: March 15, 2010 Sheriff’s Office Education: High School, Dela- Mission: To provide support to the State of ware Tech/Community College Delaware Courts, including courtroom security of Air Force and prisoner transportation. Also to conduct tax What I like most about my sales for Kent County. new job: Provides a new chal- Location: Kent County Courthouse lenge and opportunity to gain Department: Kent County Sheriff (Row Office) new skills Levy Court Committee Chair: Commissioner Greatest accomplishment: Finishing my As- RICHARD E. ENNIS sociates Degree Department Head: JIM HIGDON, Sheriff Greatest challenge or obstacle: Finish col- # of Positions: 8 lege while working Major Tasks: Serve legal notices such as sub- Future goals: Complete my Bachelors degree poenas, levies, summons and complaints. Trans- & MS Certifications port state prisoners in our jurisdiction and pro- Person/event that most inspired me in vide courtroom security. Auction off properties to my career: The Air Force satisfy judgments. If I had it to do over, I would have done Busiest Time: The economic downturn has tri- this differently: Finish college and then enter pled the number of mortgage foreclosures handled the Air Force I’m most relaxed and happy when I’m in the office and therefore the workload. doing this: Working on PC’s Work Hours: 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Family: Married, three daughters, 5 grand kids Budgeted Income: $820,000 Most recent movie enjoyed: District 9 Where’s it come from: 3% on land sales for Favorite TV show: Star Trek past due taxes, mortgages, & personal loans; auc- Favorite sport: Basketball tion fees; serving of summons, subpoenas, etc.; Favorite meal: Roast Pork Budgeted Expenses: $569,200 Favorite music: Latin Where’s it go: Personnel, indirect costs, insur- Favorite saying or slogan: “Patience grass- ance, vehicle operating expense, utilities, office hopper” supplies, legal services, etc. Who has had the most impact on my life: Interesting Fact(s): This is a County office, Mom and Dad but most of the work is done for the State courts. A dream I have is to: Fully retire to Puerto Conducting a tax sale for delinquent property Rico and spend days fishing taxes is one of the only functions done for the If I won a million dollars I would: Pay all County. Persons arrested on a capias are hand- family and my bills and retire cuffed to a bench in our office while awaiting an The most adventurous thing I’ve ever appearance in various courts. The Sheriff some- done is: Join the Air Force on impulse times has to actually go out to a person’s home Three words that describe me: patient, and sell their personal property to satisfy a judg- loyal, dedicated ment. Pag e 1 8 P April 2010 speed to medium and beat 1 minute. Spoon bat- ter over oranges and spread evenly. Recipe of Bake 35-40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in skillet on wire rack 10 minutes. Run knife around side of cake to loosen from skillet. Place platter The Month on top of skillet, carefully invert cake onto plat- Recommended by Yvonne Messina, Personnel Technician I ter. Remove skillet. Let cool 30 minutes. Orange Upside-Down Cake Kent Co. Employee Obsessions Take a minute to visit the display cases on the first Ingredients and second floors of the Kent 1 Tablespoon butter or margarine, softened County Administrative Complex ½ cup packed light brown sugar which feature an extensive collec- 3 navel oranges tion of Beanie Babies amassed over 1¼ cups all purpose flour the years by Acting Director of ¾ cup granulated sugar Community Services KEITH MUM- ¼ cup cornmeal FORD. He admits he started col- 1½ teaspoon baking powder lecting the stuffed animals in hopes of cashing in ½ teaspoon salt years later to pay for his daughter’s college educa- ½ cup milk tion, but many are now worth less than he paid. ¼ cup olive oil Got an interesting hobby or like to collect 1 large egg limited edition baubles? How about a collection of 1 teaspoon vanilla extract trinkets from far-away lands? Then show off your Directions talent for amassing things! Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In bot- tom of 10 inch cast iron or heavy skillet with ovenproof handle, spread butter. Sprinkle evenly with brown sugar. From oranges, grate 1 teaspoon peel; set aside. Cut peel and pith from oranges; discard. Slice oranges crosswise into ½ inch-thick slices; arrange in single layer over sugar in skillet (If necessary, cut 1 or 2 slices into pieces to fit into spaces). Monthly statistics from Kent County Department of Public Safety In large bowl, with wire whisk, combine 2010 FEB. JAN. ‘10 YTD flour, granulated sugar, cornmeal, baking pow- 9-1-1 calls 7,022 6,805 13,827 der, and salt. In small bowl, whisk milk, oil, # calls by Cell Phone 4,377 4,323 8,700 egg, vanilla, and orange peel until blended. With mixer on low speed, add milk mixture to Fire incidents 781 478 1,259 flour mixture and beat until blended. Increase Ambulance incidents 1,744 1,683 3,427 Paramedic incidents 912 818 1,730 # Patients to hospital 693 619 1,312 > What are the plans for the new County Library facility? # Patient DOA 26 21 47 > Who was selected favorite Administrative Professional? > What are the new dependent health insurance rates? # Patient refuses care 47 41 88 > What’s in the adopted FY2011 County budget? # Patient release/BLS 86 94 180 > How popular is the non-photo ID program? # Response cancelled 181 164 345 Pag e 1 9 P April 2010

Shelby Burd Jen Donavon Mari Fabres Nancy Glenn Cynthia Jennifer Jill Johns Goldsboro Graham Kent County’s Exceptional

Evelyn Jopp Charlotte Gale Maas Barbara Lindquist Assistants Miller

Tina Christina Kathy Angel Nicole Patty Jayne Miller Morton Phinney Short Vautard Virdin Zeranski County administrative staff to be honored in April By Martha Lewis, Personnel Technician I forcement; CYNTHIA GOLDSBORO, Sheriff’s Of- fice; JENNIFER GRAHAM, Emergency Medical ednesday, April 21st is an extra special day W Services; JILL JOHNS, Planning Services; EVE- and every office assistant knows it. It is Adminis- LYN JOPP, Administration; CHARLOTTE trative Professionals Day, and the Personnel Of- LINDQUIST, Sheriff’s Office; GALE MAAS, Ad- fice will once again coordinate a show of appre- ministration; BARBARA MILLER, Engineering; ciation for the clerical staff by all Kent County TINA MILLER, Sheriff’s Office; CHRISTINA MOR- employees. TON, Inspections & Enforcement; KATHY PHIN- Photographs of all the hardworking and NEY, Administration; ANGEL SHORT, Commu- dedicated secretaries employed by Kent County nity Services; NICOLE VAUTARD, Emergency will be on display in the Kent County Adminis- Management; PATTY VIRDIN, Planning; and trative Office Complex lobby to introduce the JAYNE ZERANSKI, Public Works. public to the most important person in each The nominations were limited to those County office. full-time Kent County clerical employees with the Finally, Kent County employees will position title “Administrative Secretary”, “Senior choose their favorite administrative professional Secretary” “Secretary”, or “Clerk”. Other em- and that special person will receive a special ployees may perform similar duties and their ef- prize package. forts are greatly appreciated. The employees nominated for Kent Cast your vote in person in the Personnel County’s Favorite Administrative Professional Office or cast your e-ballot by e-mailing MAR- include: SHELBY BURD, Finance; JEN THA LEWIS with your vote for your Favorite Ad- DONAVON, Planning; MARI FABRES, Wastewa- ministrative Professional beginning on Monday, ter Facilities; NANCY GLENN, Inspections & En- April 5 and ending Monday, April 19. Pag e 2 0 P April 2010 SO ME A NSWERS TO THOSE NAGGING QUESTIO NS By Allan Kujala, Personnel Director perwork? Q. I received paperwork from your office re- garding FMLA after being absent from work for one A. Usually vacation has to be requested in week. I don’t want to be on FMLA and do not un- advance, but if your Department Head allows derstand why your office keeps hounding me for the you to take vacation after the fact, then you FMLA paperwork. What can I do to stop this har- would not have to fill out the FMLA paperwork. assment? Keep in mind that while on FMLA, your absences are deducted from accrued sick leave, then ac- A. You need to promptly submit the Family crued compensatory time, and then accrued va- & Medical Leave Act paperwork as requested. cation. After you have exhausted your leave, you Staff is only doing their due diligence on this im- would be eligible to receive donated leave from portant issue, not harassing you. Employees do co-workers. not “choose” to be on FMLA, the employer places the employee on FMLA if they are eligible. FMLA Q. What does health care reform mean to is a federal law and it places specific duties upon County employees and how will it impact retirees? the employer and the employee. Essentially with FMLA protection the employee cannot be termi- A. HCR is a controversial issue, but I have to nated, disciplined, or held accountable in a per- admit that the new law will have little to no im- formance evaluation for the absence. It is like it pact on County employees or retirees. The reality never happened. Unless you demonstrate that is that County health insurance premiums have you were not eligible for FMLA for the one week increased by almost 400% in 10 years and while that sick leave was taken, you are on FMLA eligi- HCR may not solve all problems, doing nothing ble leave and one week of the 12-weeks per roll- was simply unsustainable. By requiring all large ing year was deducted. employers to offer health care to employees and requiring everyone to have health insurance, the Q. What happens if I exceed the 12-weeks per costs of medical care should be spread over a rolling year and what happens if I don’t submit the larger group and theoretically reduce the need FMLA forms as you requested? for sharp premium increases—which I believe the new law limits, so that is at least one benefit A. FMLA requires covered employers to main- we can all share in. tain benefits for an eligible employee out of work on FMLA and to retain his/her position. There Q. I was wondering how to go about taking are certain exceptions, but generally you cannot out a loan on my County pension plan? be terminated while recovering from a personal illness or injury or when providing care to an ill A. The County pension plan is a defined or injured family member. Under the law, after benefit plan and loans are not permitted. How- the 12-weeks of FMLA eligible leave is exhausted, ever, the deferred compensation plan (457 the employee can be dismissed. With regard to through ICMA-RC) does permit loans. Some 457 the FMLA paperwork, it simply confirms that the sponsors do not allow loans, but Kent County absence was FMLA eligible and since a doctor’s does. There are a number of restrictions to a 457 note is already required for any absence of more loan, such as a maximum loan amount of 50% of than 3-days the verification is rather simple. If account assets, only one loan per calendar year, after all this prompting you still refuse to submit interest is charged at market rates, there is a the paperwork, then we could be looking at a dis- loan origination fee, and it usually takes between ciplinary contact for insubordination. to one to two weeks to get the check. If you have a deferred compensation account through ICMA- Q. What if I choose to take vacation for the week RC, and need a loan from it, stop by the Person- I was sick? Then do I need to fill out the FMLA pa- nel Office for the required forms.