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CCRPC committee approves revised personnel policy with pronoun protections and $300 staff spending limit
Summary
The CCRPC Joint Finance & Executive Committee approved updated administrative and personnel policies that add explicit privacy and pronoun-protection language for transgender, gender nonconforming, and nonbinary employees and raised the staff purchase approval limit to $300 to reduce administrative burden.
The Joint Finance & Executive Committee of the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission approved updated administrative and personnel policies on Sept. 4 that add explicit protections for employees’ chosen names and pronouns and increase the staff purchase approval limit to $300.
Charlie Baker, executive director, presented the packet and read proposed language from the staff memo about names and pronouns. He said the proposal’s “Goal” is to “ensure the safety and comfort of all employees regarding their sex and gender,” and the memo states that “a transgender, gender non‑conforming, or nonbinary employee has the right to decide how much information to share, when to share it, and with whom.” The memo also notes that, “in the case that pronouns are not known, they/them pronouns can be used, or pronouns can be avoided altogether,” and that, except for bona fide initial mistakes, refusing to use a person’s chosen pronouns may constitute harassment.
Baker explained staff also proposed raising the threshold for purchases requiring Executive Director approval from $100 to $500 because the $100 limit — unchanged for about 20 years — generates excess paperwork. Staff accounting data presented at the meeting showed that 69% of staff expenses last year were under $100 and another 9% were under $200, leading members to settle on a compromise $300 limit that committee members said will cover roughly 83% of typical staff expenses.
Bard Hill moved to adopt the updated Administrative and Operating Policies and Procedures with the edited $300 threshold; Michael Bissonette seconded the motion and the committee carried it unanimously. Meeting minutes show the policy language was reviewed by outside counsel (SP&F Attorneys, P.C.) prior to the meeting.
The committee’s action places the updated policy before the Board for implementation steps; committee members commended staff — in particular Anne Nelson Stoner and communications and business staff — for extensive work on the personnel updates and the code of conduct.
Next steps: the Board will be notified of the committee’s recommendation and staff will proceed with implementation consistent with the approved policy language and the Board’s direction.
