Village approves renewed employee-transfer agreement with East Troy Area Emergency Services District; modifies vacation payout rule for district personnel

The Village Board of the Village of East Troy approved an updated employee transfer agreement with the East Troy Area Emergency Services District and a related change to the village personnel manual at a board meeting.

The changes update dates and administrative terms in an agreement that first took effect after approval in 2021 and that moved district personnel to village employment as of Jan. 1, 2022. The board also approved a modification to Section 4.2 of the Village of East Troy personnel policy manual to specify vacation payout limits for emergency services employees.

Eileen, a village staff member who presented the item, said, “The original agreement was approved in 2021. As of January 1, 2022, the fire district personnel became village employees. That grama had expired as of December 31, 2023.” She told the board the update mainly corrects dates and clarifies administrative language.

The updated agreement ties the existing flat $1,000 administrative adjustment to the village’s cost-of-living adjustment, rather than keeping it as a fixed dollar figure, and clarifies unemployment reporting procedures after village staff discovered differences in how unemployment treats those employees. Eileen said she discussed the unemployment reporting change with Joe DeGaro and that the parties do not anticipate unresolved problems.

The agreement retains a clause allowing the parties to periodically review whether the district should become its own employer; the board dropped a prior requirement that the district must seek separate employer status after the initial two-year trial, citing complications with the Wisconsin Retirement System. Eileen described the change as preserving the option to review employer status without mandating it.

On the personnel-policy change, the board approved an amendment to Section 4.2 to allow a payout “of no more than 1 year’s worth of accrued vacation time” for East Troy Area Emergency Services District employees. Board members asked clarifying questions about how many days or weeks that could amount to. Meeting remarks noted that vacation accrual varies by years of service and that an employee with about 20 years of service could have up to five weeks of vacation. Village staff said their intent is to encourage employees to use leave rather than bank it for a large lump-sum payout, but acknowledged district staffing and overtime pressures make scheduling time off difficult for some emergency personnel.

Board members also asked how any increase in insurance or workers’ compensation costs would be tracked. Village staff explained that workers’ compensation “mod” factors are calculated on a three-year rolling basis and that claims are logged and reported; that process would allow the village to attribute cost changes to particular employers or incidents if needed.

A motion to approve the employee transfer agreement carried. The modification to Section 4.2 of the personnel manual was also approved.

The board did not provide a roll-call vote tally in the meeting transcript for these items; the motions were recorded as passed.