GCEA Director’s Meeting October 2025

The regular meeting of the Board of Directors was held on October 15, 2025, in person in the Perkins Room and via Teams and lunch was provided. Meeting was called to order by Sean Toro, GCEA President at 12:30 p.m. and roll was called.

Guest in attendance: Anna Osborne, CEA

MEETING AGENDA APPROVAL:

Motion was made by Elisabeth Bergman to accept the printed agenda for the October meeting. The motion was seconded by Cindy Ritter. All in favor, motion carried.

FINANCE REPORT:

The September Profit and Loss report was reviewed by the Finance committee and approved via email. The report will be distributed with approved October Minutes. Profit and Loss was sent to directors prior to meeting.

MINUTES APPROVAL:

September meeting minutes and Called Meeting Minutes were approved via email.

PRESIDENT’S REPORT AND DISCUSSION:

·         Sean Toro discussed presenting the City Manager with a plan to increase morale, reduce mental health stressors and call attention to burn out of employees.

·         Will have a Meet and Confer regarding alterations to leave policy on October 25th.

·         Encouraged directors to reach out to members for representation. We need more of our membership to be involved and join the board.

VICE PRESIDENT’S REPORT:

·         Nothing to report. Patty Mundo was not in attendance.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

·         Community Alliance: Trying to increase GCEA involvement in community. The committee has reached out to Ascencia which is always in need of assistance. Seeking other organizations to volunteer with. Matt Mancini asked that the committee share any opportunities for volunteers with the membership. We have many members seeking opportunities to be involved.

·         Political Action: Nothing to report. Chair, Patty Mundo not in attendance.

·         Benefits: Nothing to report. Chair, Joe Palos not in attendance.

·         Digital Communications: Elisabeth Bergman, Chair, gave a brief report. Anyone who has something to post or interested in posting on website, contact her. Greg Asaturian requested any pictures taken, forward to him for the LinkedIn account.

·         Employee Assistance: Bertha Albright reported in absence of Chair, Patty Mundo. The committee has decided to no longer have the loan program. The decision was made due to finance and legal will no longer support the collection of funds upon termination of an employee. This puts the GCEA in an at-risk position for a no collateral, good faith loan.

o   Motion was made by Bertha Albright to move the remaining funds from the Employee Assistance Account into a CD. Kerri Zelenak seconded the motion. The motion carried. All in favor. None opposed.

o   Stephanie will move the funds into a CD in November if not sooner.

·         Scholarship: Elisabeth has been asked to update the flyer with current dates. Leslie or Bertha will get Elisabeth the dates needed for the Employee Scholarship.

·         Disciplinary: Matt Mancini gave report in absence of Patty Mundo. No pending actions currently.

o   If you know of an employee having an issue, they need to bring the problem forward ASAP which will assist in representation.

o   The use of CEA protocol is changing. Members are not allowed to contact CEA directly. Directors will be the first point of contact and begin to work through the issue with the employee. If the member needs further assistance the President or Vice President will contact CEA for further involvement.

·         New Employee Orientation: Next meeting will be in December.

·         Bylaws: Sean Toro reported that we have added the Executive Committee language to the Bylaws for voting.

o   Discussion regarding how to govern the Executive Committee ensued. The motion was made by Bertha Albright that the President would elect one member with approval of the board, the Vice President would elect one member with approval of the board, and the board would appoint one member from the board of directors. The motion was seconded by Elisabeth Bergman. All in favor. One abstained.

OLD BUSINESS

NEW BUSINESS

Nominations were made for the President and Vice President.

·         Sean Toro accepted his nomination at the Called Business Meeting, and he is unopposed.

·         Kerri Zelenak nominated Matt Mancini for Vice President. Elisabeth Bergman seconded the nomination. Matt Mancini accepted the nomination for Vice President. Matt will be unopposed. Patty Mundo stated previously that should someone volunteer, she would step down due to her current job responsibilities with Fire.

·         Bertha made a motion to close nominations. Elisabeth seconded the motion. All in favor. Motion carried.

·         CEA Increases: CEA is now increasing their rates starting January 2026 we will go from $2300 a month to $2500 a month with a 12-hour service cap. This service cap will include everything from phone calls, emails, meetings and representation. The rate will then increase in 2027 to $2600 per month. This contract can be cancelled at any time with a 30-day written notice by either party. There will be an extra or increased charge for our MOU negotiator which has not been budgeted at this time for 2026.

o   Sean will be meeting with Jeff Natke regarding the 12-hour cap, and he is seeking clarification on hours and if they can be increased.

Matt Mancini made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Cindy Ritter seconded the motion.

Minutes respectfully submitted by: Stephanie Kinnison