Present | Present | ||
President Fernando Nacionales | X | Director Blake Nelson | X |
Vice President Corey Mathisen | X | Director Brandon JB Nelson | X |
Past President Dan Sullivan | Director Luke Schuette | X | |
Treasurer Wes Leksell | X | Director Mike Rude | X |
Secretary Benton Campbell | X | Director Mark Trogstad-Isaacson | X |
Director Carroll Aasen | X | Executive Director Dana Wheeler | X |
Director John Dalton | X | Administrative Assistant Donna Blackwell | X |
Director Jared DeMaster | Labor Relations Specialist Tony Kelly | X | |
Director Bruce Henningsgaard | X |
Meeting called to order by President Fernando Nacionales at 4:33 PM.
Review & Approve Agenda (Fernando Nacionales)
- Brandon Nelson moves to approve the agenda with one addition, a discussion of mileage reimbursements and travel status during the executive director’s report, Blake Nelson seconds. Motion carries.
Secretary’s Report – Review & Approve Past Minutes (Benton Campbell and Wes Leksell)
- February 26th, 2024, Meeting Minutes
- Carroll Aasen was present for that meeting; he was added to attendance. Bruce Henningsgaard moves to approve the minutes as edited, Carroll Aasen seconds. Motion carries.
President’s Report (Fernando Nacionales)
- Working on right-sizing staffing with Dana, Donna, Tony. Dana will be moving to half time. Tony will assume even more of the executive director role, and Donna will be updated to better match her job description.
Executive Director’s Report (Dana Wheeler)
- Property Taxes
- County is lowering the assessed value of the property, but it appears the assessment may still be too high. Dana is working with the county assessor to determine an accurate value.
- FY25 Budget
- Dana Wheeler and Wes Leksell have begun preparing the FY25 budget proposal.
- Staff Leave Balances
- Bruce Henningsgaard asks about Dana’s vacation balance and what the plan is to prevent leave accruals from reaching the amount Dana’s has. Fernando plans to sign an MOU/MOA with staff to match MGEC contract language.
- MDH Mileage
- MDH HR has been changing their rules on mileage reimbursements. Tony is working with other unions to speak up about this issue.
Treasurer’s Report (Wes Leksell/Dana Wheeler)
- Finance Committee Update
- No meeting. Budget prep underway.
Committee Reports
- Membership Committee Report (Mike Rude/Donna Blackwell)
- Constitution/Bylaw proposed changes will be sent to board members by April 8th. Would like board members to review and bring questions to the April meeting.
- Mike Rude moves to rename the “Distinguished Citizenship Award” to the “Citizenship/MGEC Service Award” and update the award description to allow service to MGEC to qualify members for this award. Wes Leksell seconds. Motion Carries.
Membership Update (Donna Blackwell)
- 1000 Full Members!
- Planning to bring cupcakes to the employee’s location to celebrate during the already-planned worksite meeting.
- MGEC Ethics Seminar Update
- 280 people registered. Final reminder to be sent out tomorrow.
- Report sent to MMB to increase dues.
- MMB has received our paperwork. SEMA4 is not updated yet, but the dues increase should be effective 3/13/24.
- New hires, retirees, outstanding list of recent potential members.
- Reviewed.
Labor Relations Update (Tony Kelly)
- Welcome and meet with MGEC meetings ongoing.
- MDH and DOT Grievances
- Discussed
- Worksite Meetings
- 5 meetings upcoming in the next few months.
- MDH Agency-wide comp study
- LPCR Update
- No major changes afoot. Bills have attempted to create equity amongst plans.
- Energy towards a coalition to revisit the cap. Max COLA is 1.5% annual under the current cap.
Vice President’s Report (Corey Mathisen)
- Nothing to report.
Past President’s Report (Dan Sullivan)
- Not present.
Other updates: Special board meeting scheduled for Wednesday, March 27 to discuss staffing.
Brandon Nelson moves to adjourn, Luke Schuette seconds. Motion carries. Meeting adjourned 5:39 PM