December 2024 Meeting Minutes and Handouts

Call to Order – Chad Willis, Chair 

Item 1: Treasurer’s Report – Natalie Davis, Treasurer and Abigail Miller, Treasurer-Elect

See attached report.

Item 2: Staff Shout-Outs – Hana Fuller, Secretary  

  • Jennifer Ficken, Nurse, University Health Services  
  • Holly Tipton, Coordinator, Office of the Provost & EVPAA 
  • Laura Jones, User Services Consultant II, ITAC Customer Engagement  
  • Monica Sanchez, Administrative Assistant III, Materials Management & Logistics

Item 3: Tip of the Month: Bobcat Bloom – Samantha Williams, Vice-Chair 

Bobcat Bloom is a floral program overseen by the Department of Agriculture at TXST. Dr. Tina Cade and her students put together a variety of floral arrangements, potted plants, and compost for sale each month. Request to join the mailing list for their newsletters to stay informed on the latest arrangements available!  

Staff Ombuds Services – Noel Fuller, Staff Ombudsperson 

Staff Ombuds website. The purpose of the Staff Ombuds service is to give staff a confidential source to seek guidance from related to the workplace. This may be related to disagreements with a colleague, understanding policies, help determining possible actions, providing guidance, etc. Staff ombuds services are confidential, the only information shared out is a general number of contacts by division along with general themes. The Staff Ombuds is still a mandatory reporter.

Question: To the extent you can share, what type of concerns do you see?
Answer: See concerns with organizational change. Usually due to a lack of transparency and not understanding why changes are being made. 

Parking and Safety Updates – Chief Matthew Carmichael, Assistant Vice President, Public Safety 

See attached presentation.

The UPD philosophy is to serve with love, care, and compassion. This is the foundation for working with the Texas State community and UPD staff.

Parking has transitioned under UPD. UPD is very short staffed, this is prevalent in law enforcement throughout the country. When parking was absorbed by UPD, most parking guards did not transfer over, this is the lowest staffed area. 

UPD is working to address the mental health needs of TXST. All UPD officers are trained in crisis intervention and de-escalation techniques; officers with two years of experience are eligible for the Mental Health Officer Certification. Working to expand the UPD therapy dog program to include campus patrol for greater access to the service. A co-responder program is under review, which includes a partnership with clinicians to support someone experiencing a mental health crisis.

Parking is still under transition. Working on transparency, the website will have more information. Hiring is in process for staff and student employee positions. For the first time, UPD will have part-time student safety officers writing parking tickets and supporting special events. The Thorpe Ln lot will be available in 2025 creating more than 400 new parking spaces. 

Bobcat Safe Rides has provided 14,000 rides home to students; this service provides rides to anywhere on campus and in San Marcos. UPD wants to grow this program to prevent long wait times. 

The Campus Safety Committee is available for all to attend. Next meeting is January 27 at 5 p.m. in the LBJ Grand Ballroom or online via Facebook live. The committee voted to implement a parking permit reduction for staff earning less than $37,000 per year. Recommendation could be up to $42,000.

Austin Salyer, a Texas State University student and aspiring military officer, was tragically killed by a stray bullet while sleeping at his apartment in San Marcos on September 16, 2021. In his honor, the Texas State University Police Department created the Austin Salyer Community Service Award to annually recognize a ROTC student who exemplifies dedication to service, leadership, and compassion, accompanied by a $300 prize from the "Leave No Victim Behind" organization.

  • Question: Parking for contractors - Staff I work with is having trouble with getting those done timely.
    Answer: Working on a better process for contractor parking processing. 
  • Question: What is the website to view the Campus Safety Committee agenda and minutes?
    Answer: https://www.police.txst.edu/campus-safety/campus-safety-committee.html
  • Question: What is UPD doing to address racial bias by police officers?
    Answer: UPD provided training for working with persons who are on the spectrum or have learning differences. As management, must work on educating our staff to understand the people we are serving and prevent unnecessary use of force. It is Chief Carmichael’s responsibility to ensure they hire the right people, provide necessary training on de-escalation, and partner with organizations like the NAACP. 
  • Question: Are there any plans to issue more (or really any) citations to the students who park in the bike lane on Comanche? They also often block the view of the crosswalks. I see it pretty much all day, especially during the busier times on campus.
    Answers: Yes, there is a plan to give additional citations, right now it is a staffing issue.

Item 4: Staff Concerns – Krystyn Fleischauer, Parliamentarian 

Check the status of submitted Staff Concerns 

Related to the staff concern on lack of option to submit anonymous staff concerns, Chad Willis, Chair of Staff Council, reiterated that staff concern identifying information is not shared with leadership. Retaliation is prohibited by university policy which has been emphasized by university leadership. Folks wanting to submit a more anonymous concern can request a Staff Council member submit on their behalf. The form does not log IP addresses, or logins. So, you can log in and use an anonymous email account, and there will be no way for us to associate it with a staff member. We just need a way to be able to get more information and to tell you the resolution.

Item 5: Vote on Bylaw Amendments – Krystyn Fleischauer, Parliamentarian 

Voted on the bylaw amendments proposed at the November meeting. Motion: Krystyn Fleischauer, second: Natalie Davis. Passed with 20 votes.

Item 6: Committee Updates for AY 2024-2025 

  • Goal 1: Parking, Joshua Lopez. Reminder that the committee is looking for pictures of faded or blocked signage, email to josh.lopez@txstate.edu. 
  • Goal 2: Employee Benefits and Accessibility, Stephanie Daniels. Researching how people understand workplace accommodations. Seeking an updated accessible path map. The committee wants to invite speakers in spring to discuss accessibility related to staff work. 
  • Goal 3: Leave/Time Off, Kathy Weiser. The survey on employee use and understanding of flexible work arrangements is in the workflow. The committee is benchmarking how other institutions of higher education are addressing the exclusion of higher education employees in SB 222 which provides parental leave to state employees. 
  • Marketing, Events, and Fundraising, Hana Fuller. Staff Council members are voting on final t-shirt design. Will be available for staff and faculty to pre-order in January.
  • Council Effectiveness, Krystyn Fleischauer. Reminder to complete Staff Council engagement survey. Committee chairs, review your section of the operating procedures document (available on the Staff Council website). 
  • UPPS, Krystyn Fleischauer. Reminder to review posted UPPS revisions. 
  • Elections, Scholarships, and Awards. No updates. 
  • Compensation and Benefits, Leslie Burgess. No updates.

Item 7: Announcements – Chad Willis, Chair  

Closed Session  

Staff Council members only.

Adjournment – Chad Willis, Chair 

Motion: Natalie Davis, second: Abigail Miller.