A long-standing problem over how Brookfield Township processes employee payroll came to a head recently with the filing of grievances by the fire and police unions.
The union contracts specify that payroll will be “processed” by the 3rd and 18th of every month, which employees tend to interpret as the dates they will have access to their money.
“What caused this grievance, I was out of town, I did not get it done until Monday morning, which was the (Nov.) fourth,” said Fiscal Officer Dena McMullin. “The issue is, I could have done it after 5 o’clock on Friday (Nov. 1). If I would have done it at 5 o’clock on Friday, the payroll would have hit their accounts on Tuesday, the same time it did.”
Most banks register the money in individual accounts on a business day, and the third was a Sunday.
Because the contracts set specific days, “It happens several times a year, especially, if there is a holiday involved,” McMullin said.
Trustee Dan Suttles said he has wanted to change how employees are paid in the past two contracts, but there had been little interest on the management or labor sides each time.
The trustees now are unified that a change has to be made, Ferrara said.
“We want it corrected,” he told representatives of the Ohio Police Benevolent Association, which represents the unionized policemen. “It’s, how do we correct it? We’re looking at a new provider, we’re looking at technology improvements, we’re looking at, maybe, a different way of keeping time sheets. There’s not one easy solution.”
One part of the solution could be lengthening the amount of time officials have to process payroll. For years, township officials have had three days to process payroll.
“It’s puts a strain on all the department heads – they’re scrambling to get it (time sheets) up here,” McMullin said. “Then, it’s a strain on trying to get it in. You’re putting so much strain on three days.”
In order to lengthen the amount of time officials have to process payroll, it would require a three-week buffer, during which employees would have to wait probably an extra week to get paid for the first pay after the switchover, Suttles said.
The township plans to implement a new payroll processing system, the Ohio auditor’s Uniform Accounting Network, once McMullin is trained on it. As of Nov. 13, she was still waiting for a training slot to open up.
“The inputting process should be faster and easier,” said Trustee Shannon Devitz.
Police union rep Sgt. Cody Dean said he doesn’t have a specific date when employees would like to see changes implemented.
“Obviously, the sooner the better would be great, but I understand we can’t just do it,” he said, adding that police employees would prefer to get paid every other week instead of twice a month.
Jeff Perry, OPBA business agent, said he would like to be informed of progress regularly, and be told a specific date for the switchover.
“We’re gonna make this work as quickly as we possibly can,” Ferrara said.
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