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4.2 Annual Strategic Plan Review <br />Mr. Hanson presented the memo which offered background on the strategic plan review <br />process. He highlighted the fact that one of the items from last year's plan, a review of <br />ERMU's Mission, Vision, Values policies, will be brought back at a later meeting. He noted <br />that the structure of the strategic plan may change with updates to those policies but as <br />those updates have not been approved, this plan maintains the same structure as versions <br />from previous years. Mr. Hanson explained that the primary focus in this process was to <br />not create minor strategic initiatives that could distract from major initiatives like the <br />Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) implementation. Mr. Hanson then invited the <br />Commission to discuss the plan. <br />Commissioner Westgaard shared his agreement with reviewing the Mission, Vision, and <br />Values policies for update, as well as focusing on the remaining nine initiatives, in <br />particular AM I. <br />Commissioner Stewart commended staff on completing the tasks they had. <br />Chair Dietz stated his opinion that more focused strategic initiatives is a good approach. <br />The Commission reached consensus on high level strategic themes and dashboard <br />initiatives. <br />4.3 Employee Handbook Annual Update <br />Ms. Zachman presented her memo on the 26 updates to the Employee Handbook, <br />produced in cooperation with Campbell Knutson. She explained the revisions consisted <br />largely of updated labor law language and approved wage and benefit changes. There <br />were also changes to improve clarity, consistency, and conciseness. Ms. Zachman added <br />that the biggest changes were adapting previous language for ERMU's sick time policy to <br />meet state guidelines that went into effect on January 1, 2024, and including Family <br />Medical Leave Act language. <br />Chair Dietz asked how employees were notified of the changes. <br />Ms. Zachman responded that electronic and/or hard copies are provided to staff and that <br />she personally presents changes in meetings. <br />Commissioner Westgaard asked if there were significant changes to the drug and alcohol <br />policy with particular regard to recreational cannabis legalization. <br />Ms. Zachman explained that drugs and alcohol are separate topics outside of ERMU's <br />Employee Handbook. She noted that a previous edition of the handbook had anticipated <br />those changes and updated the language, making it general enough to not require major <br />Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Meeting Minutes <br />July 9, 2024 <br />Page 3 <br />