august ‘14

electronic employee newsletterPitt Points

a message from theCOUNTY MANAGER

D. Scott Elliott

a message from theCOUNTY MANAGER

FISCAL YEAR 14-15 HIGHLIGHTS

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Scott Elliott

With the new fiscal year underway and a new budget adopted, I thought I’d take the time to offer some highlights of the changes you will see.

CompensationCommissioners approved non-monetary compensation, as well as a one-time cash payment to be issued on December 17 for those employees who meet the following guidelines:

1. Employees with salaries that fall below increment 17 in their position pay grade on the county pay scale and who received a satisfactory performance appraisal score (3.0) will be credited with 16 hours of personal leave and receive a monetary payment of $150.

2. Employees with salaries that are at increment 17 and above in their position pay grade on the county pay scale and who received an above standard performance

appraisal score (3.55) will be credited with 16 hours of personal leave and receive a monetary payment of $150. Em-ployees with a satisfactory score will be credited with 8 hours of personal leave and receive a monetary payment of $75.

3. Employees hired on or after January 1, 2013 and reached permanent status, as defined in the Pitt County Personnel Ordinance, no later than December 31, 2013, will be credited with 8 hours of personal leave and receive a monetary payment of $75. Employees must have a satisfactory performance appraisal score on their final PEPs.

4. Employees in unclassified positions and whose performance appraisals are completed by their respective Governing Boards will be credited with 16 hours of personal leave as long as the score is above standard and receive a monetary payment of $150.

Employees will also receive a 1.5% market adjustment (COLA). This increase applies to all employees on the County’s payroll, and will be effective January 1, 2015.

Health InsuranceThere have been some additions to the Health Insurance Fee Minimization Program: Individual Goal Setting requires that two of the four remaining wellness units be related to health improvement goals established by each employee, such as weight loss or diabetes management, during counseling that follows biometric screenings. Employees may also earn monetary compensation for meeting certain goals (weight loss, etc.).

The County’s employee health clinic has changed. Employees are now directed to utilize Greenville Express Care located on Memorial Drive. You can read more about the switch from Vidant Employee Clinic on page 5.

Though the new fiscal year has brought some changes, one thing remains the same – my appreciation for your hard work to help make Pitt County “A Leader in the State and the Best in the East.”

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MISCELLANEOUS TIDBITS

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During January through April 2014, we underwent a project to remove asbestos-containing pipe insulation in the County Office Building and on the first floor of the

Here’s some news, presented in edible bites. Enjoy!

Asbestos Abatement Project

Transportation Building (the 2nd floor of the Transportation Building contained no pipes with asbestos insulation). All accessible asbestos pipe insulation was removed in both buildings and all pipes were re-insulated with non-asbestos containing insulation. This work was completed at night to minimize work disruption. Employees of each of the two buildings were kept informed about the project in a weekly e-mail update. The project report is available upon request.

She’s a Jolly Good “Fellow”Kimberly Broady Hardy, MSN, FNP-BC of Greenville, North Carolina, an Inaugural Fellow in the Duke-Johnson & Johnson Nurse Leadership Pro-gram, successfully completed the one year program in May 2014. Program components included three leadership retreats as well as distance-based learning activities and a transformative health leadership project. The Duke-Johnson & Johnson Nurse Leadership Program is a partnership be-tween Duke University School of Medicine, Duke University School of Nursing and Johnson & Johnson. This program provided leadership development for advanced practice nurses to enable them to effectively ad-dress the health needs of their communities – especially that of underserved populations. Program Fellows are expected to be change agents within their practice settings and the evolving health care environment.

Photo (from left to right): Michael Bzdak, Executive Director of Corporate Contributions, Johnson & Johnson; Kimberly B. Hardy, Program Fellow; and Anh N. Tran, Director of Duke–Johnson & Johnson Nurse Leadership Program, Duke School of Medicine

If you’re one of those home gardeners who have unused pesticides and are looking for a way to properly dis-pose of them, the Pitt County Cooperative Extension may be able to assist you. The Extension provides info on the selection and proper use of various types of pesticides. They can also assist homeowners with the dis-posal of those pesticides that are not needed. This prevents unlawful handling and protects our water supply. Simply call 902.1700 to make an appointment.

Have Unwanted Pesticides?

Featured PolicyAt their August 4 meeting, the Pitt County Board of Commissioners voted 5-4 to update the County’s no smoking policy to include e-cigarettes. The Policy to Prohibit Smoking and Vaping in County Buildings and Vehicles now addresses the emergence of electronic cigarettes and prohibits their use (or vaping) in County-owned buildings and vehicles.

New language: E-cigarettes: shall mean any electronic oral device, such as

Featured Video

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The Pitt County ReviewBack in 2010 when Pitt County hosted the NC Association of County Commissioners’ annual conference, the Office of Public Information created the Pitt County Review (PCR) as a way to showcase videos, interviews, and images gathered during the conference. Forty-one episodes later, PCR has interviewed numerous in-studio guests, shot several on-location shows, updated its look, and won two awards (one state and one national). The monthly show is broad-

E-cigarette use is now prohibited in County buildings and vehicles

one composed of heating elements, battery, and/or electronic circuit, which provides a vapor or nicotine or any other substances, and the use or inhalation of which simulates smoking; the term shall include any such device, whether manufactured, distributed, marketed, or sold as an e-cigarette, e-cigar, e-pipe or under any other product name or descriptor. Smoking: shall mean the use or possession of a lighted cigarette, lighted cigar, lighted pipe, or any other lighted tobacco product, e-cigarette, e-cigar, e-pipe or any other product name or descriptor.

Those desiring to use e-cigarettes may do so in the designated smoking areas. To read the policy in its entirety, visit PICKLE or just click here. Have questions? Call HR at x3050.

cast on PittTv and airs weekdays at 11:30a and 6:30p. You can also find the show online on YouTube and PegCentral. If you have a topic you’d like to have featured on PCR, email the Office of Public Information at pittinfo@pittcountync.gov.

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Applicable to unincorporated areas of the County only

Check out the web site below for more info

Hunting dogs are excluded

Impounded dogs will bemicrochipped at owner’s expense

Dogs at large are prohibited

A new Animal Control ordinance willbecome effective January 1. What doesit mean for your canine?

Applicable to unincorporated areas of the County only

Check out the web site below for more info

Hunting dogs are excluded

Impounded dogs will bemicrochipped at owner’s expense

Dogs at large are prohibited

A new Animal Control ordinance willbecome effective January 1. What doesit mean for your canine?

Applicable to unincorporated areas of the County only

Check out the web site below for more info

Hunting dogs are excluded

Impounded dogs will bemicrochipped at owner’s expense

Dogs at large are prohibited

A new Animal Control ordinance willbecome effective January 1. What doesit mean for your canine?

Applicable to unincorporated areas of the County only

Check out the web site below for more info

Hunting dogs are excluded

Impounded dogs will bemicrochipped at owner’s expense

Dogs at large are prohibited

A new Animal Control ordinance willbecome effective January 1. What doesit mean for your canine?

Applicable to unincorporated areas of the County only

Check out the web site below for more info

Hunting dogs are excluded

Impounded dogs will bemicrochipped at owner’s expense

Dogs at large are prohibited

A new Animal Control ordinance willbecome effective January 1. What doesit mean for your canine?

www.pittcountync.gov/depts/amcontrol

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NEW EMPLOYEE HEALTH CLINIC

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The employee health care clinic service is changing! Pitt County employees will transition from Vidant Employee Clinic to Greenville Express Care, located at 613 S. Memorial Drive, Greenville. The health practice is located in the same building, although a separate entrance, that houses Healthwise Pharmacy.

Vidant Employee Clinic will continue to see County employees until August 31. Employees can begin using Greenville Express Care now.

This clinic is an urgent care facility that charges primary co-pays. Greenville Express Care is open Monday - Fri-day from 8:00a to 6:00p and Saturdays from 8:00a until 12 noon. They are closed on Sundays. The telephone number is 413.0720. You can make an appointment OR walk-in and wait to be seen. The physician is Dr. Don-ald Ribeiro and there are mid-level practitioners reporting to/supervised by Dr. Ribeiro. The practice accepts cash, check, debit, Discover, VISA, and insurance.

At this time, this service is only available to Pitt County employees and not their dependents; family practice services are provided, whether as a primary health care provider or on an episodic/urgent care basis. There will be no psychiatric/psychological services available and Greenville Express Care will not provide narcotic pain management services.

All services provided by Greenville Express Care will be filed on the County’s BCBSNC insurance coverage. The employee will be responsible for one-half of the co-pay at the time of service. Greenville Express will bill Pitt County for the other half of the co-pay. When the County is billed for the half of the co-pay, the only informa-tion provided to the County will be the date of service and the employee’s name. No protected/confidential health information will be shared with the County. Please notice that Payroll Deduction will not be used with Greenville Express Care.

Once the employee arrives at Greenville Express Care for services, the employee will provide his or her work identification (ID card) and current BCBSNC insurance card. These items will be photocopied by Greenville Express and returned to the employee. Please be sure to have these two items with you when you go to Greenville Express Care.

As with the previous relationship with Vidant, employees who visit Greenville Express Care do not have to use leave time for the duration of the health care visit. If the employee has to be referred out to another location/provider, has to have a prescription filled, needs diagnostics that cannot be provided at the Greenville Express Care location, etc., the employee will have use leave time for these tasks or schedule them to be done during off-work time.

Greenville Express Care is not to be used for Workers’ Comp injuries. The procedures for Workers’ Comp remain the same.

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NEW EMPLOYEE HEALTH CLINIC

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