Compensated absences FY2011, 2012 and 2013 (Newton Human Resources)

Shawn,

Have sent your request again to the Human Resources Department. You should be hearing
from them shortly.

David Olson
Newton City Clerk
--
David A. Olson
City Clerk/Clerk of the Board of Aldermen
Newton City Hall
1000 Commonwealth Avenue
Newton, MA 02459
617-796-1200

When responding, please be aware that the Massachusetts Secretary of
State has determined that most email is public record and therefore
cannot be kept confidential.

Dear Shawn Musgrave,

The City of Newton Law Department is in receipt of a request from you relating to
"compensated absenses that are recorded as liabilities in finance." The City is unable to
discern what records you are seeking. The City will respond to a clarified and precise
records request if you wish to send one.

-Donnalyn Kahn
City Solicitor

When responding, please be aware that the Massachusetts Secretary of
State has determined that most email is public record and therefore
cannot be kept confidential.

Mr. Musgrave,

With that clarification, I am not aware of any documents that would be responsive to your
request.

-Donnalyn Kahn
City Solicitor

When responding, please be aware that the Massachusetts Secretary of
State has determined that most email is public record and therefore
cannot be kept confidential.

Shawn,

Newton's City Solicitor forwarded me your FOI request earlier this afternoon.

Attached is an MS Excel workbook that contains the documentation behind Newton's June
30, 2013 compensated absence liabiity, as reported in our audited June 30, 2013
Comprehensive Annual Financial Report.

You'll note that Newton reports three categories of compensated absences:

Accrued vacation time: Since vacation is credited to employees on a CY instead of a fiscal
year, we must calculate the dollar value of ununsed vacation days at June 30 of each year.
Employees must use all but 5 of their accumulated vacation days during the January -
December time frame.

Accrued compensatory time: This represents the dollar value of comp time that overtime
eligible employees have opted to take in lieu of paid overtime.

Accrured special leave (principally sick time): Newton employees can accumulate unliimited
sick time during their years of service to the City and are eligible to cash out the dollar value
of accumulated sick leave, up to a maximum of $6,000 at retirement. The dollar value of
accumulated special leave benefits represents the amounts expected to be cash out at
retirement.

Please take a look at the attached workbook and if it is what you're looking for I can forward
you the same for the two prior fiscal years.

If anything is unclear, please feel free to call me at 617 796-1305.

Thank you and please confirm receipt.

David Wilkinson, Comptroller
City of Newton, Massachusetts
(617) 796-1305
dwilkinson@newtonma.gov

When responding, please be aware that the Massachusetts Secretary of
State has determined that most email is public record and therefore
cannot be kept confidential.The following section of this message contains a file attachment
prepared for transmission using the Internet MIME message format.
If you are using Pegasus Mail, or any other MIME-compliant system,
you should be able to save it or view it from within your mailer.
If you cannot, please ask your system administrator for assistance.

---- File information -----------
File: 6302013 compensated absences.xlsx

Shawn,

Attached per your request - 2011 and 2012 workbooks.

Please confirm receipt.

Thank you.

On 31 Jan 2014 at 20:49, Shawn Musgrave wrote:

>
> January 31, 2014
> Newton Human Resources
> Human Resources Department City Hall Room 218 1000 Commonwealth Avenue Newton, MA
>
> This is a follow up to a previous request:
>
>
>
> Hello,
>
> Yes, this is precisely what we need. Could you send the remaining fiscal years?
>
> Best,
> Shawn
>
> ---
>
> On Jan. 31, 2014:
>
> Shawn,
>
> Newton's City Solicitor forwarded me your FOI request earlier this afternoon.
>
> Attached is an MS Excel workbook that contains the documentation behind Newton's June
> 30, 2013 compensated absence liabiity, as reported in our audited June 30, 2013
> Comprehensive Annual Financial Report.
>
> You'll note that Newton reports three categories of compensated absences:
>
> Accrued vacation time: Since vacation is credited to employees on a CY instead of a fiscal
> year, we must calculate the dollar value of ununsed vacation days at June 30 of each year.
> Employees must use all but 5 of their accumulated vacation days during the January -
> December time frame.
>
> Accrued compensatory time: This represents the dollar value of comp time that overtime
> eligible employees have opted to take in lieu of paid overtime.
>
> Accrured special leave (principally sick time): Newton employees can accumulate unliimited
> sick time during their years of service to the City and are eligible to cash out the dollar value
> of accumulated sick leave, up to a maximum of $6,000 at retirement. The dollar value of
> accumulated special leave benefits represents the amounts expected to be cash out at
> retirement.
>
> Please take a look at the attached workbook and if it is what you're looking for I can forward
> you the same for the two prior fiscal years.
>
> If anything is unclear, please feel free to call me at 617 796-1305.
>
> Thank you and please confirm receipt.
>
> David Wilkinson, Comptroller
> City of Newton, Massachusetts
> (617) 796-1305
> dwilkinson@newtonma.gov
>
>
>
> When responding, please be aware that the Massachusetts Secretary of
> State has determined that most email is public record and therefore
> cannot be kept confidential.The following section of this message contains a file attachment
> prepared for transmission using the Internet MIME message format.
> If you are using Pegasus Mail, or any other MIME-compliant system,
> you should be able to save it or view it from within your mailer.
> If you cannot, please ask your system administrator for assistance.
>
> ---- File information -----------
> File: 6302013 compensated absences.xlsx
>
> ---
>
> On Jan. 31, 2014:
>
> Ms. Kahn:
>
> To clarify, are you responding on behalf of the Law Department or the Human Resources and/or Finance Departments, as well?
>
> The figures I've requested are a standard (and often obligatory) component of audited financial statements.
>
> It is similarly standard for municipal employers to have a policy to govern how their employees accumulate compensated absences, or else multiple policies as outlined in collective bargaining or department-specific provisions.
>
> Thank you again for your help with this request.
>
> Best,
> Shawn
>
> ---
>
> On Jan. 31, 2014:
>
> Mr. Musgrave,
>
> With that clarification, I am not aware of any documents that would be responsive to your
> request.
>
> -Donnalyn Kahn
> City Solicitor
>
>
> When responding, please be aware that the Massachusetts Secretary of
> State has determined that most email is public record and therefore
> cannot be kept confidential.
>
>
> ---
>
> On Jan. 31, 2014:
>
> Hello,
>
> Thank you for your response. Please see clarification below and let me know if I can provide further clarity.
>
> For the balance of compensated absences, other municipalities have found these figures in the annual audited financial statements.
>
> On the policy for accumulating compensated absences, other municipalities have found these in either a citywide personnel or human resources policy, or else in collective bargaining agreements.
>
>
> Thank you,
> Shawn
>
> ---
>
> On Jan. 31, 2014:
>
> Dear Shawn Musgrave,
>
> The City of Newton Law Department is in receipt of a request from you relating to
> "compensated absenses that are recorded as liabilities in finance." The City is unable to
> discern what records you are seeking. The City will respond to a clarified and precise
> records request if you wish to send one.
>
> -Donnalyn Kahn
> City Solicitor
>
> When responding, please be aware that the Massachusetts Secretary of
> State has determined that most email is public record and therefore
> cannot be kept confidential.
>
>
> ---
>
> On Jan. 31, 2014:
>
> To Whom It May Concern:
>
> I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 3, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
>
> Thank you for your help.
>
>
> ---
>
> On Jan. 13, 2014:
>
> Shawn,
>
> Have sent your request again to the Human Resources Department. You should be hearing
> from them shortly.
>
> David Olson
> Newton City Clerk
> --
> David A. Olson
> City Clerk/Clerk of the Board of Aldermen
> Newton City Hall
> 1000 Commonwealth Avenue
> Newton, MA 02459
> 617-796-1200
>
>
>
> When responding, please be aware that the Massachusetts Secretary of
> State has determined that most email is public record and therefore
> cannot be kept confidential.
>
> ---
>
> On Jan. 10, 2014:
>
> To Whom It May Concern:
>
> I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 3, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
>
> Thank you for your help.
>
>
> ---
>
> On Dec. 10, 2013:
>
> Mr. Olson:
>
> The below records request has been faxed to the Newton Human Resources Department on three separate occasions without response. Please confirm whether this request is in process.
>
> Best,
> Shawn Musgrave
>
>
> ---
>
> On Nov. 2, 2013:
>
> To Whom It May Concern:
>
> I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 3, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
>
> Thank you for your help.
>
>
> ---
>
> On Oct. 18, 2013:
>
> To Whom It May Concern:
>
> I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 3, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
>
> Thank you for your help.
>
>
> ---
>
> On Oct. 3, 2013:
>
> To Whom It May Concern:
>
> Pursuant to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, M.G.L. c.66, §10, I hereby request the following records:
>
> -A copy of the policy for reimbursement related to compensated absences that are recorded as liabilities in finances
> -A record of the total amount of compensated absences that are recorded as liabilities for FY2011, FY2012 and FY2013
>
> I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as we believe this request is in the public interest, as suggested but not stipulated by the recommendations of the Massachusetts Supervisor of Public Records. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.
>
> I expect the request to be filled in an accessible format, including for screen readers, which provide text-to-speech for persons unable to read print. Files that are not accessible to screen readers include, for example, .pdf image files as well as physical documents.
>
> In the event that fees cannot be waived, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
>
> Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days, as the statute requires.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Shawn Musgrave
>
> Filed via MuckRock.com
> E-mail (Preferred): requests@muckrock.com
>
> For mailed responses, please address (see note):
> MuckRock News
> DEPT MR 6967
> PO Box 55819
> Boston, MA 02205-5819
>
> PLEASE NOTE the new address as well as the fact that improperly addressed (i.e., with the requester's name rather than MuckRock News) requests might be returned by the USPS as undeliverable.
>
>
>
>
>

David Wilkinson, Comptroller
City of Newton, Massachusetts
(617) 796-1305
dwilkinson@newtonma.gov

When responding, please be aware that the Massachusetts Secretary of
State has determined that most email is public record and therefore
cannot be kept confidential.The following section of this message contains a file attachment
prepared for transmission using the Internet MIME message format.
If you are using Pegasus Mail, or any other MIME-compliant system,
you should be able to save it or view it from within your mailer.
If you cannot, please ask your system administrator for assistance.

---- File information -----------
File: 6302011 comp absences.xlsx

Shawn,

I'm sorry about the delay in getting you this information.

I think the problem was that no one in the Law or HR departments understood
what you were looking for.

Should you have any future requests for financial information, please direct them
to the Comptroller's Office and in most cases we'll be able to respond the same
day. If we're not the custodian of the documents you are looking for, we'll be able
to get you to the correct department promptly.

Thanks again for your patience.

David Wilkinson
City Comptroller
617 796-1305
dwilkinson@newtonma.gov

David Wilkinson, Comptroller
City of Newton, Massachusetts
(617) 796-1305
dwilkinson@newtonma.gov

When responding, please be aware that the Massachusetts Secretary of
State has determined that most email is public record and therefore
cannot be kept confidential.