LIMESTONE, Maine — Members of Limestone’s Select Board unanimously approved a revised employee handbook during a Dec. 19 meeting and discussed a few minor changes including callback time, nepotism, and an eventual streamlining of the municipal social media policy.
Selectman Pat St. Peter discussed town employees’ minimum callback time, to determine the amount of compensation given to employees who are called in to work when off. St. Peter said the handbook stipulates that any employee called back into work has to be paid for a minimum of two hours. However, St. Peter added that Police Chief Stacey Mahan and Public Works Director Jim Pelletier told him that their respective departments had gone with a minimum of three hours for several years.
St. Peter said he had “no reservations” in bumping the callback time to three hours, but could not find anything in the town records to show when this amount of time had been approved, and he asked the other board members how they felt about the issue.
Selectboard Chairman Tom Albert said he thought the current policy of two hours was fine, and St. Peter moved to approve the new handbook.
With the motion on the floor, Selectman Chris Durepo suggested eventually shortening the town’s social media policy, which is about half a dozen pages in length.
St. Peter said the policy was among the town’s most recent, being adopted just months ago, and said he would be receptive to eventually shortening the text.
Albert agreed, adding that it would be a good idea to take another look at the policy and streamline its wording.
Durepo also asked how the town would address the nepotism policy with many fire department employees being related to one another, and suggested adding an exclusion for that particular department.
Albert amended the motion to suggest adding an exclusion in parentheses and the board unanimously voted to approve the new handbook with the aforementioned changes.
