COSA MINUTES

August 9, 2000

Call to Order: COSA Chair, Pat Rozier, called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m.

Special Order of the Day: Pat Rozier introduced the nominees for COSA Employee of the Semester, and she and President Hugh C. Bailey presented them with certificates. The nominees were: Barbara Brogdon, Tommy Carter, Betty Cole, Amanda Williams, Craig Williams, and Betty Lloyd. From these nominees Betty Lloyd won Employee of the Semester (Fall, 2000). She received a certificate as well as a reserved parking permit for the semester.

President Bailey made some welcoming remarks to the COSA members and guests and asked if there were any questions that he might answer. Debi Britt, past COSA chair, asked Dr. Bailey if it could be possible for the lunch period to be extended on Friday, September 29, 2000, so that staff members could better enjoy Staff Appreciation Day. President Bailey indicated that he would take the matter under advisement with his cabinet.

Minutes: Minutes from the COSA meeting of July 14, 2000 were approved as corrected.

1. Treasurer’s Report: Nina Windam, Treasurer, reported on the balance of COSA accounts as of August 2, 2000.

 

Fund 90 Account: $265.57 This balance has since been transferred to the COSA Discretionary account at the VSU Foundation to bring the Fund 90 account to zero. The Fund 90 account had originally been created so that the VSU COSA chapter could host the state conference for staff councils in October, 1999, and pay expenses from this account.

Fund 10 Account: $2500.00 This is the allocation of money for FY 2001 to fund COSA work.

Ms. Windham noted that the FY 2000 ending balance for the Fund 10 account was $35.64, which was returned to the General Fund.

 

Committee Reports:

Employee Recognition (of the Semester): Scott Doner, Chair, expressed appreciation for the work that Ann Lacey did in creating the nice certificates presented to the nominees and winner of the Employee of the Semester award. Nomination forms will be distributed to all members of the VSU staff in October for the Spring Semester 2001 Employee of the Semester. The forms will be distributed via intercampus mail and will also be on the COSA web pages.

 

 

Elections: Past Chair, Holly Decker, asked the current members of the Elections Committee to meet briefly after the COSA meeting in order to elect a chair for the new year.

Policy & by-laws Committee: Chair, Ruth Salter, reported that the committee had met and discussed the importance of maintaining the by-laws as the governing document of the organization and that they should be changed infrequently. On a Salter/Britt motion, the committee recommended the development of a Policies and Procedures Manual which would provide working guidelines for COSA. The guidelines contained in this manual should be easier to update and change than the by-laws. Discussion followed about the importance of receiving input from each committee about the work they were doing and the policies and procedures they were following to accomplish that work. Once compiled, a draft copy of the new manual would be reviewed by COSA before being adopted. The motion was approved.

Upon direction from COSA members at the July 14, 2000, meeting, the Policy & by-laws Committee discussed a new reporting format for the COSA Treasurer’s Report. On a Miller/Farmer motion, the committee recommended that all future Treasurer’s Reports include balances from the Fund 10 Account, the COSA Discretionary Account in the VSU Foundation, and the Retirement Walkway and Employee Recognition Account in the VSU Foundation. It was noted in the Treasurer’s Report that funds from FY 2000 (which had remained in the old Fund 90 Account) had been moved to the COSA Discretionary Account in the Foundation. It was also noted that the Retirement Walkway and Employee Recognition Account is a restricted account at the Foundation which is administered under guidelines developed by COSA. The motion was approved.

Mrs. Salter reported that the Committee decided that it was impractical to form a by-laws subcommittee since there were so few people to serve on the committee as a whole. They felt it more practical to work as a committee of the whole and work with both policies and by-laws. This procedure will be further reviewed as part of the development of a policies and procedures manual.

As a point of information, Mrs. Salter noted that Article IX; Section B. of the COSA By-laws designates the COSA Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson as the designated representatives of Valdosta State University to the University System of Georgia Staff Council (USGSC) meetings. Discussion followed about how many COSA members would attend the USGSC annual meeting in October, 2000. The consensus of the group was that COSA would pay for 2 official representatives. If the Chair and/or Vice Chair cannot attend, then the Council will determine the two official representative for whom all business expenses will be paid. However, members felt it important that as many people who want to attend the meeting in October be encouraged to do so. There are some departments with staff development funds that might be able to pay for all or part of the travel expenses. Additional discussion will take place at the September COSA meeting regarding funding for the USGCS meeting.

Employee Recognition and Walkway Committee: Debi Britt, Chair, reported that progress continues on the walkway project. A meeting with a group of faculty, staff, and retirees is planned for later this fall to formulate additional plans for the walkway. Mrs. Britt noted that COSA had received confirmation from Angie Culbreath, VSU Foundation Accountant, that the name of the account for the walkway project had been changed (per COSA request) to the Retirement Walkway and Employee Recognition Account. The next issue of the COSA Newsletter will go into more detail about the rationale behind the change to this account. The Foundation has included the Retirement Walkway as a designated choice on the VSU Annual Fund solicitation card, and people are encouraged to donate to this restricted account. Inman Grimsley reported that the VSU administration continues to be committed to the success of the walkway and that funding will be found for the bricks and installation.

Staff Appreciation Day Committee: Debi Britt reported that a great deal of work is being done to implement the Second Annual Staff Appreciation Day (September 29, 2000, at Blazer Field). Approximately $1000 is needed to produce this event, and the committee is only halfway to this amount through donations and the sale of baked goods. Money from COSA’s operating budget cannot be used to fund this event. There are plans to raffle several products and services that have been generously donated by local companies so those additional funds can be raised. In addition, specially designed tee shirts will be sold as a fund-raising activity. All COSA members, as well as employees of VSU, are encouraged to donate funds to the operating budget for Staff Appreciation Day.

Recycling Committee: Chair Holly Decker presented a comprehensive report about the recycling effort at Valdosta State University. In light of the fact that Mrs. Decker is literally a one-woman recycling program, the numbers are impressive. The City of Valdosta has picked up 7,140 pounds of plain white paper from VSU, and Holly has delivered 25,940 pounds of all types of paper and 140 pounds of aluminum cans to Fiber Mulch.

Report from the Chair: Pat Rozier reminded COSA that August 24, 2000, is the deadline for submitting information to Dr. Robert Hull for inclusion on the agenda of the Faculty Senate.

Pat Rozier also reminded all COSA committee chairs that it is their responsibility to provide a copy of their committee minutes to the COSA Secretary, Tommye Miller, for archival purposes.

Old Business: Debi Britt gave a report on the planned changes for the COSA newsletter. She and Ann Farmer plan to publish the newsletter on a monthly basis, if possible. More emphasis will be placed on the staff and their personal news and professional accomplishments. She asked that information, which is appropriate for the newsletter, be shared with her or Ann Farmer.

New Business: Inman Grimsley gave a report on the new insurance plan. The VSU Human Resources web page will be updated soon to include details about the new plan, including the PPO plan, which is so new to System employees. The information contained on the web page will be facts based on the original 15-page document sent to all HR people in the System. In addition to information on the HR web page, Mr. Grimsley is working with technicians from the Office of Information Technology and Steve Cline, Office of Auxiliary Services, to make information about the insurance plan available on all of the kiosks at various locations on campus. Department heads are being encouraged to go to the web site and print a copy of the 15 page document of explanation and put it in break rooms or make it available so employees without access to a computer can read the information. In addition, a representative from the Department of Community Health will be on campus in early October (for 3 days) to conduct seminars about the new insurance plan. Open enrollment for the plan will take place from mid-October to mid-November rather than the usual month of November.

COSA Chair, Pat Rozier, welcomed SGA President, Ashley Bell, to the meeting and encouraged him or a representative attends future COSA meetings.

The meeting adjourned at 10:00 a.m.

Respectfully submitted:

 

Tommye H. Miller, Secretary