Policy Meeting Minutes Jan 27, 2010

Spectrum Society for Community Living

Policies and Procedures Meeting

January 27, 2010

Present: Kevin, Jenn, Tri= cia, Catherine, Jane, Geraldine, Emily, Scott, Ernie, Leslie, Brenda, Kelly, Mo= rgan, Serge, Ed

By Skype – Next Meeting – Couldn’t = make the connection this meeting with staff from the Sunshine Coast

1.<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> = ; Introductions: Everyone introduced themselves.

2.<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> = ; Agenda developed: Team representatives added items to the agenda from their teams= .

3.<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> = ; Government funding pressures – Contracts & Gaming – Ernie shared a le= tter from MCFD that provided examples of the budget pressures being faced by Ministries. The letter says = there will not be “cross the board” cuts but they will be focusing on residential services. Ernie explained CLBC’s information on budgets for next year – still = no firm knowledge of funding – Provincial Budget will be presented on M= arch 2^nd, 2010. CLBC h= as also expressed a concern about funding – pensions will cost $12 Million to implement in 2010, pressures for new services cost typically $12 to 15 Mil= lion each year. CLBC has also bee= n

4.<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> = ; Pensions: Ernie has been updating the = policy committee on planning for pensions for the last three years. In April 2010, most of the commun= ity living agencies will be funded to add the Municipal Pension Plan as a bene= fit to their employees. Ernie ha= s been meeting with CLBC on behalf of non-union organizations and has received the following commitment from CLBC:

a.<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> = ; “CLBC will treat union and non‐union service providers equitably when prov= iding funding for the Municipal Pension Plan (MPP) beginning in the 2010‐11 fiscal year.“

b.<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> Ernie reviewed the two core options for retirement programs:

Group RRSP	Municipal Pension Plan – MPP
Variable contributions for Employees (1% - 4%) Employees can increase or decrease based on current circumstances.	Fixed rate for employees – 6.99% on wages up to $47,200 per year – 8.49% on wages over $47,200
1% to 4% more accessible for starting employees	7% contribution (deduction from payroll) harder to manage.
Variable contributions for Employer (1% - 4%) Employer can change plan to manage costs.	Fixed rate for employers – 6.84% this year for Spectrum based on demographics. Spectrum has= not control of this rate.
Program can be changed based on employee demographics or funding pressures.	Once contributions begin, Employer must stay in plan.
Employees can manage investments and potentially get returns greater than pension investments.	Employees have no say in investment decisions.&nb= sp; Retirement Income is based on a fixed formula (Earnings X Years of contributions X 2%)
Employees can manage investments and get terrible returns and have less retirement income than expected	As above – guaranteed retirement income
Employees can remove money from RRSP – will have less retirement income at retirement. -= First Home Buyers Program -= Adult Education Program	No funds can be removed from a defined benefit pension.
RRSP Retirement income depends on the amount saved and can run out.	Pension Retirement Income is guaranteed to last until the death of the pensioner= .
RRSP Investments must take into account cost of living increases	MPP has cost of living increases for reti= rement benefits. See table linked here:

c.<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> = ; Spectrum applied for admission to the Municipal Pension Plan last summer. This application and subsequent a= pproval – see approval letter below – has helped the negotiations with= our funders. As confirmed member= s of the MPP, the premiums are now a recognized cost and CLBC has committed to funding fixed costs.

d.<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> http://www.spectrumsociety.org/policy/Document%20= Library11/1/PensionCorpApprovalPage1.pdf

e.<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> On the MPP website, there is a pension calculator that can give you examples of the pension you can expect ba= sed on your age and salary.

f.<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> = ; Timing: In collective bargaining, there has= been some discussion of delaying the implementation of the MPP to reduce the co= sts to agencies and allow some funding to be used for other things. In a recent proposal, they sugges= ted delaying the pension to August 1, 2010.&n= bsp; Because CLBC has stated they will fund the pension for all agencies= in the same way, <= /span>we must wait to see what the new collective agreement determines about pension implementation date, before we can set our pension implementation date. If no collective agreement is rea= ched before March 31, 2010, then the pension comes into effect on April 1, 2010.

g.<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> = ; Options: To give our employees more options, we are confirming whether we can conti= nue to offer the Group RRSP to those current employees who do not want to make 6.99% deductions from their paycheques.&n= bsp; Current employees would have the choice of Group RRSP (up to 3% mat= ching contribution from Spectrum) or MPP (6.84% matching contribution from Spectrum). New hires after t= he MPP begins would be required to participate in the MPP.

5.<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> = ; Sun Run: Spectrum Team – last year everyone expressed interest but we mi= ssed the deadline. Individuals se= rved by Spectrum and employees are all welcome to join the team – walkers, runners and rollers can all participate.&= nbsp; Run is on May 9, 2010. Registration can be done individually on the Sun Run website .

a.<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> = ;

6.<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> = ; Budget Cuts to programs: One representative asked about budget cuts at programs.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> He described the manager cutting = the budget for groceries and recreation and cleaning supplies. Ernie explained that rather than = implementing budget cuts, the manager was attempting to get expenses closer to the budg= eted amount. For example, the amo= unt for groceries at most programs is $375 per month per person. Many programs are spending close = to that amount – most are a little over – and some have made big chang= es to their shopping plans to get closer to budget. Some programs have different base= d on individual needs or individual control of the funding for all program expe= nses.

7.<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> = ; Policy Updates: Revised policies have been posted to the website – listed individually so it is easier to find the information you need:

a.<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> = ; http= ://www.spectrumsociety.org/ContentIncludes/policies.aspx

8.<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> = ; Extended LOA’s: Can an employee take an extended leave of absence and return = to their same position? Will th= ey have the same pay when they return? Can they continue their benefits coverage? = The policy outlines most of the answers to these questions.

a.<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> = ; http://www.spectrumsociety.org/PolicyDirectory/P= ersonnel%20Policies/P20.0.LOA.LongTerm.pdf

b.<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> Ernie discussed some examples on how decisions are made about leaves. The people we support have expres= sed a preference for continuity and keeping long term staff, so if a leave is a = month or possibly two months with a firm return date, then a position might be h= eld for the person on leave. If = the leave is more than a month then Spectrum is more likely to grant the leave= but provide a guarantee of a similar position (same number of hours and rate of pay).

9.<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> = ; Jury Duty: One representative ask= ed about Jury Duty and what Spectrum covers.= The policy says up to one full month of paid time to fulfill your c= ivic duty and participate in a trial as a member of the jury or as a subpoenaed witness.

a.<= span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> = ; http://www.spectrumsociety.org/PolicyD= irectory/Personnel%20Policies/P19.0.Special.and.OtherLeave.pdf

10.= <= ![endif]>Vacation Pay: One representative asked about whether excess vacation pay can be pai= d out in a lump sum rather than as time off. Employment Standards regula= tions require that employees take their vacation time. As long as employees have taken a= t least two weeks of vacation time, additional accumulated vacation pay can be pai= d out as a lump sum.

11.= <= ![endif]>Next Meeting: May 19, 2010 – 4pm to 7pm at Spectrum Office