ABDO consultant urges Dayton City to keep personnel handbook as 'guard rails'; council seeks clearer process for termination records

An HR consultant from Abdo and Brena told the Dayton City Council at a work session on April 20 that the city’s personnel handbook should serve as a set of "guard rails" for employee expectations rather than an overly prescriptive contract.

The consultant said handbooks are intended to explain "what’s expected of the employee" and to guide managers, not to list every possible scenario or create rigid procedures that could strip the city of discretion. "Handbooks are not meant to be... an agreement between the employer and the employee," the consultant said, adding that overly detailed rules can box administrators into actions that become difficult to reverse.

The discussion came as the council considers adopting an updated personnel policy and as Dayton prepares to onboard a new HR partner and post a new HR position. The consultant said many municipalities updated handbooks after Minnesota paid leave changes and emphasized that some operational steps — such as forms and leave-of-absence procedures — are better handled as SOPs or staff processes outside the handbook.

Council members raised concerns about when they learn of serious personnel issues. Several members said they often do not know about personnel problems until a termination is on the agenda. One council member asked for clarity on what the council can see before a termination vote and how to receive enough information without breaching employee privacy.

The consultant and the city attorney described the legal limits: portions of an employment record are confidential under state data-practices rules and other laws, and materials provided to the council typically are reviewed and redacted by the city attorney. The consultant said the council can vote to request employment records, but standard practice is for the attorney to review records and remove information the law requires to be withheld.

To address the council’s information gap, the consultant proposed practical, nonbinding fixes: a short, attorney-reviewed memo or timeline in the council packet that summarizes the key events leading to a disciplinary or termination recommendation; a simple form staff would complete to ensure consistent packet information; and, if desired, a small personnel committee that could confidentially review records and then report to the full council. The consultant said those steps can give council members context (for example, how long an issue has been ongoing and which staff have been involved) without releasing unnecessary private details.

The consultant also recommended clarifying return-to-work triggers and other areas the council found vague in the draft policy. Abdo and Brena offered to work with city staff and the city attorney to produce draft forms and suggested SOPs that could be included in staff processes rather than in the public handbook.

A brief administrative note: the meeting opened with staff reporting Police Chief Hendendrickson was out sick and Chief Ostrip covered in his place. Near the end of the session, members flagged minor typographical edits; the consultant said they would capture agreed edits and circulate a final version for staff to send out.

Next steps recorded at the session included staff and the consultant working with the city attorney to prepare the suggested memo/form for packet use and to finalize any clarifications to the personnel policy ahead of the council's planned vote.