Cavanagh, Nehls vote to cut ties with personnel consultant
As the Fayette County commissioners voted 2-1 Wednesday to sever ties with long-time personnel consultant Felice Associates, Commissioner Sean M. Cavanagh said Wednesday that company president John Felice attempted to “bribe” his way into keeping that contract. Cavanagh said that Felice told Melissa Close, Cavanagh’s confidential secretary, that he’d hire whomever Cavanagh wanted in the post of human resources director, a job currently held by Rita Wolinski and funded as part of the county’s deal with Felice.
“He (essentially) told me that to keep the contract, I could hire Bozo the Clown,” said Cavanagh, who made his comments as Commission Chairman Vincent A. Vicites touted the merits of keeping Felice on board.
Vicites, who voted against replacing Felice, said the firm has done good and cost-effective work for the county over the years. Vicites said it’s unfair to accuse Felice of not doing certain things – such as failing to develop an employee handbook – when the commissioners never asked that those items be done.
“They did good things for us,” said Vicites, who pointed to the firm’s solid track record in winning employee arbitration and grievance cases for the county.
Cavanagh, however, said that Felice wasn’t responsive to his needs as a county commissioner and was “skewed” toward Vicites in that regard. “Felice Associates wasn’t cutting the mustard. That’s why I voted to get rid of them,” said Cavanagh, who added, “He (Felice) offered a bribe to my assistant. And that’s your guy.”
Close confirmed during the meeting that Felice had made the hiring offer that Cavanagh described.
Contacted at his Greensburg office after the meeting, Felice disputed that claim. “I never said that,” said Felice. “Absolutely not. Because Sean’s not the controlling part (of the equation). You need two votes … I don’t know what he’s even talking about.”
Felice said that his firm’s contract with the county stated that if the commissioners are unhappy with the personnel director assigned by Felice – in this case Wolinski – they can request a new one. Felice said that’s what he was referring to in his conversation with Close.
“That’s exactly what it was,” said Felice. “If he (Cavanagh) wasn’t happy, all he would have to do is inform us.” Felice said that since his firm has a reputation to uphold, it would follow its standardized recruitment process in order to provide anyone with a qualified employee.
Commissioner Ronald M. Nehls, who voted with Cavanagh to hire Select HR of Bridgeville as the county’s new personnel consultant, said it’s high time to make a change that will pay dividends down the road.
“Select HR is head and shoulders above the others, in terms of their ability … and qualifications,” said Nehls. “We have no data to guide us on our human resources right now; if you ask for it, we don’t have it. I think we’re going to get a far better shake from having it (with Select HR).”
Vicites wasn’t nearly as convinced. He said that at the stated maximums, the Select HR contract could cost $282,300 in the first year and more than $600,000 over a three-year period. Those numbers are far greater than the $81,000 per year paid to Felice, said Vicites, which included all work on contract negotiations.
“It’s about a $200,000 increase over what we spent previously,” said Vicites, who added, “There’s no ‘out’ (provision) in this.” At minimum, he recommended that the county solicitor review the proposed contract – a move that Cavanagh and Nehls said was an implied prerequisite.
Cavanagh said that a big chunk of the money that Select HR would be paid in the first year — $114,750 under the heading of policy and procedures – would be a one-shot deal designed to bring the county up to speed in several critical personnel-related areas. He cited some of those as the employee handbook, developing manuals, bringing the county into compliance and flagging duplicate services.
“In 90 days they’ll have an employee handbook, which wasn’t done in 25 years,” said Cavanagh. He added that the goal is to use Select HR to enable the county to operate its own human resources department within three years, so it doesn’t have to “pay consultants forever.”
When Vicites stated that Select HR would cost the county $500,000 more than using Felice would, Cavanagh replied, “If you find $500,000 (difference), I’ll eat your shirt.” Vicites amended his statement, saying that he meant that the new firm would cost at least $500,000 over a three-year period, not be that it would be $500,000 more expensive than Felice.
Cavanagh said that Select HR would begin working for the county Friday, with its first task taking over negotiations on a new contract with the Service Employees International Union. Although Felice will continue providing the county with human resources service for another six weeks, Cavanagh said Select HR will begin phasing in a takeover of that important task as well.
Felice said that his firm’s $6,759 monthly fee covered a broad range of services to the county. He said the only extra cost was $75 per hour paid for work related to arbitration and grievance cases.
Vicites said that Select HR’s contract calls for a $9,800 monthly fee, plus $185 per hour for contract negotiations, at a maximum of 270 hours or $49,950. Vicites said he has concerns over how the county can afford to pay the higher fees.