Southborough personnel board sets 3-week vacation rate for two hires, forwards memo to select board

The Town of Southborough Personnel Board voted to set a three-week vacation accrual rate for two recently appointed employees and approved a draft personnel memo for submission to the Select Board, actions board members said are intended to correct pay and benefit gaps for long-tenured employees.

At a regular Personnel Board meeting, members approved setting the vacation rate at three weeks for newly hired senior-center staff members Laura West and Brelane Gallivan; the motion carried unanimously. The board also voted to forward a draft memo summarizing the board’s prior recommendations to the Select Board for consideration; that motion passed unanimously as well. Earlier in the meeting the board approved minutes for May 2 and June 10 with one abstention (vote 4–0–1).

The personnel discussion accompanied personnel transitions at the town’s senior services programs. Staff reported that Laura West began this past Monday as the new senior center program manager and that Peg was elevated to senior center director after Pam retired on June 30. Board members also said the board is preparing for another hire, an outreach coordinator identified in the meeting as Britney Lean, who is scheduled to begin July 31 and comes from the Franklin Senior Center.

Board members described the vacation-rate motion as a corrective step tied to a broader effort to align long-tenured employees on the town’s salary/step grid. Members discussed that, when the step system was reintroduced after years off the grid, some employees ended up at lower steps than their years of service would suggest because of prior position regrading and historical hiring agreements. The board said the three-week vacation setting for the named hires reflects those employees’ prior experience in similar program roles and is intended as an interim corrective measure ahead of a more formal salary survey and county-required actions under the town’s SAP rules.

Separately, the board approved a draft memo to the Select Board summarizing the personnel board’s prior recommendations and asking how the Select Board prefers to receive that material (memo, presentation or meeting). Members said they chose the memo for the Select Board packet and that, depending on the Select Board’s response, the Personnel Board will decide next steps and any follow-up presentations.

Procedural notes from the meeting: the board asked staff to correct minutes where a recording omitted who seconded a previous motion. Members also discussed internal timing for future personnel-board work, including a planned reorganization at the next personnel-board meeting and coordination with any action the Select Board takes on the submitted memo. Board members noted that final implementation of pay changes would be subject to town-meeting funding and any required county approvals tied to the SAP.

Votes at a glance

• Approval of meeting minutes (May 2 and June 10, 2025) — Motion to approve with correction; second by John [last name not specified]; outcome: approved, tally recorded as 4 yes, 0 no, 1 abstain.

• Set vacation approval rate at three weeks for Laura West and Brelane Gallivan — Motion moved and seconded (movers not specified in transcript); outcome: approved unanimously.

• Approve draft personnel memo for submission to the Select Board — Motion moved and seconded (movers not specified in transcript); outcome: approved unanimously.

Next steps

The draft memo will be submitted to the Select Board for its packet; the Personnel Board expects the Select Board’s response to shape the Personnel Board’s August agenda and any presentation to town meeting if funding or policy changes are required.