Personnel committee approves workplace policy tied to state grant despite two no votes

Allegany County's personnel committee on March 4 approved a gender-based violence in the workplace policy and agreed to forward the measure to the full board so the county can apply for a state household hazardous-waste grant linked to the policy requirement.

The policy was presented as a streamlined version of a longer state template. Personnel Officer Mr. Budinger said the county pared the model down to the items required by the grant so the county would not assume additional obligations beyond existing assistance and referral practices.

Committee members asked for time to review the draft and questioned whether the state requirement applied broadly to all grants. One member said they had not received the emailed draft and asked staff to resend notice to the legislators; the clerk confirmed the policy file had been emailed March 3.

The committee approved forwarding the policy to the full board, enabling the county to pursue the approximately $60,000 DEC-related grant. Two members — Mr. Ricky and Mr. Barnes — recorded no votes; the roll call otherwise indicated a majority in favor.

The committee chair noted that final adoption would be by the full board and members would have a further opportunity to review the policy there. Staff said the county attorney and county administrator had reviewed the county's version before the committee hearing.

Next step: the policy will appear on the full board agenda for consideration; if the board approves it, staff said it will be posted and annual notices will be issued as required by the policy.