Full Text Of Saratoga County Board of Supervisors’ Resolution That Allowed for the Implementation of the Time and a Half Raises

Lew Benton asked that I post the full text of the resolution.

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RESOLUTION 84 – 2020

Introduced by Supervisors Pemrick, Kinowski, Kusnierz, Schopf, Tollisen, Winney and Wright

AUTHORIZING EMERGENCY ACTIONS IN SUPPORT OF THE CHAIRMAN’S DECLARATION OF A STATE OF EMERGENCY, AND AMENDING THE 2020 COUNTY BUDGET IN RELATION THERETO

WHEREAS, the 2019-Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) is an infection associated with fever and signs and symptoms of pneumonia or other respiratory illness, appears to be transmitted from person to person predominately through droplet transmission and, if spread in the population, could have significant public health consequences;

and WHEREAS, on February 1, 2020, pursuant to 10 NYCRR Section 2.1(a), Dr. Howard A. Zucker, as Commissioner of Health of the State of New York, designated COVID-19 as a communicable disease under the State Sanitary Code, which was ratified on February 6, 2020 through the adoption of emergency regulations amending 10 NYCRR Section 2.1;

and WHEREAS, on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic;

and WHEREAS, there are several confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Saratoga County and that number is increasing;

and WHEREAS, Saratoga County has a clear governmental interest in protecting the health and safety of the residents of the County and beyond;

and WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 24 of the Executive Law of the State of New York, on March 16, 2020 the Chair of this Board of Supervisors issued Executive Order No. 2 of 2020 declaring a State of Emergency in Saratoga County for a period of thirty (30) days effective at 12:00 pm on March 16, 2020;

and WHEREAS, it is necessary and advisable that County departments seeking to procure services and purchase supplies, material and equipment needed to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic be authorized to forego compliance with competitive bidding and competitive offering requirements as permitted by General Municipal Law §103(4) and the Purchasing Procedures of the County of Saratoga;

and WHEREAS, the County’s Incident Command Team formed to coordinate and manage the County’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic is working out of the offices of Saratoga County Emergency Services, and its members are working long hours thereby necessitating that meals be brought into them at their work stations;

and WHEREAS, the meals provided to the employees serving on the County’s Incident Command Team are paid for using the County’s credit card, which credit card has a credit limit of $15,000;

and WHEREAS, as it appears that the County’s Incident Command Team will be in operation for several months, it is necessary to seek a raise in the credit limit of the County’s credit card from the local bank that issued the card to an amount not to exceed $50,000 in order that meals may be provided to members of the County’s Incident Command Team while the team is in operation;

and WHEREAS, the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors seeks to guarantee that the employees of the County of Saratoga subject to quarantine due to COVID-19 are able to do so without exhausting their accruals in order to assist in ensuring the health of the employee, the workplace, and the public;

and WHEREAS, on March 15, 2020, the County Administration issued a directive to all County departments to reduce staffing levels to approximately 50% by having non-essential employees stay at home in an effort to help contain the spread of COVID-19;

and WHEREAS, on March 16, 2020, Governor Cuomo issued Executive Order No.202.4 directing local governments to allow non-essential personnel to be able to work from home or take leave without charging accruals, except for those personnel essential to the locality’s response to the COVID-19 emergency, which nonessential personnel shall total no less than 50% of the total number of employees of each local government;

and WHEREAS, it is necessary to provide for a flexible and expeditious process for determining appropriate County staffing levels and rates of compensation in response to the County’s efforts to contain and mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic and any current directives of the Governor affecting local governments;

and WHEREAS, Saratoga County Public Health Services is in need of additional staffing, supplies and equipment in order to respond to the ever increasing number of individuals who have tested positive for COVID19, been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, or who are exhibiting symptoms of COVID19;

and WHEREAS, it is necessary to amend the 2020 Saratoga County Budget to effect a transfer of $1,000,000 from Fund Balance to Saratoga County Public Health Services in order to allow Public Health Services to hire additional temporary staffing, procure needed supplies and equipment, and help to meet the needs of those individuals in the community subject to mandatory or precautionary quarantine;

now, therefore be it RESOLVED, that in accordance with the Purchasing Procedures of the County of Saratoga and the provisions of General Municipal Law §103(4), and in furtherance of the declaration of a state of emergency in Saratoga County pursuant to Executive Order No. 2 of 2020, this Board of Supervisors hereby waives compliance with competitive bidding and competitive offering requirements by County departments for the procurement of services and purchase of supplies, materials and equipment needed to protect and maintain the life, health and safety of Saratoga County residents;

and be it further RESOLVED, that the County Administrator is hereby authorized to seek and obtain an increase in the credit limit of the County’s credit card from $15,000 to an amount not to exceed $50,000;

and be it further RESOLVED, that the County of Saratoga shall provide paid leave for all scheduled workdays within a fourteen (14) calendar day period to all County of Saratoga employees subject to mandatory quarantine due to the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. Employees will not charge accruals during their time off from work for quarantine. This directive will apply to all County of Saratoga employees, regardless of civil service classification, bargaining unit, and regardless of part time or accrual status. This directive shall not apply to any employee who is already out of work due to a paid leave of absence or unpaid leave of absence;

and be it further RESOLVED, that such paid leave will commence on the day after Saratoga County Public Health Services has either ordered or determined that an employee requires mandatory quarantine. If an employee is advised during the course of his or her workday that he or she must quarantine pursuant to the order or determination of Saratoga County Public Health Services, then that employee must immediately leave the workplace and will be paid for the remaining hours left for the scheduled day of work;

and be it further RESOLVED, that “mandatory quarantine” means a person who has symptoms of COVID-19, has been diagnosed with COVID-19, or has no symptoms but has been within six (6) feet of someone who has tested positive and who has been ordered or recommended to quarantine by Saratoga County Public Health Services. It shall also mean someone who has traveled to China, Iran, Japan, South Korea or Italy and is displaying symptoms of COVID-19. This list shall be subject to change in the discretion of the Director of Saratoga County Public Health Services, based upon circumstances present in Saratoga County and/or in accordance with guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control or New York State Health Department;

and be it further RESOLVED, that this Resolution shall not supersede applicable terms sets forth in the various collective bargaining agreements for an employee placed in quarantine due to exposure to COVID-19 while performing his or her duties, as the applicable terms set forth in the various collective bargaining agreements shall still apply. This Resolution shall apply to those not covered under any collective bargaining agreement or those subject to mandatory quarantine due to possible exposure while not in the performance of his or her duties for the County of Saratoga;

and be it further RESOLVED, that these extraordinary measures are due to the declared state of emergency and COVID-19 pandemic. These measures shall not to be construed against the County of Saratoga as a policy and practice for any other future occurrence;

and be it further RESOLVED, that the Chair of the Board, the Chair of the Law and Finance Committee, the Chair of the Human Resources and Insurance Committee, the County Administrator and the Director of Human Resources shall have the authority to jointly determine appropriate County employee staffing levels and rates of compensation that are consistent and in compliance with the current directives of any Executive Order issued by the Governor of the State of New York relative to local government staffing levels;

and be it further RESOLVED, that the 2020 County Budget is amended as follows:

PUBLIC HEALTH Appropriations:

Increase Acct. # A.40.409-6000 Regular Wages $150,000 Increase Acct.

#A.40.409-6930 Social Security $ 11,475

Increase Acct. #A.40.409-8200 Department Supplies $838,525 $1,000,000 Revenues:

Increase Acct. # A.0599.B Appropriated Fund Balance $1,000,000

and, be it further RESOLVED, that the emergency actions set forth in this Resolution shall remain in effect for so long as the Chairman’s declaration of a state of emergency as set forth in Executive Order No. 2 of 2020, or any renewal thereof in a subsequent Executive Order or Orders, shall remain in effect.

BUDGET IMPACT STATEMENT: The budget amendment will require an appropriation of fund balance in the amount of $1,000,000.