By Tracy Ouellette
Editor
The East Troy Village Board voted to require harassment training for all permanent village employees and board members at the Nov. 2 meeting.
Trustee Dusty Stanford brought the proposal to the board and said he thought everyone should take part in the training “so everyone knows what harassment is.”
“I’ve worked for large corporations and every couple of years everyone has to go through the training,” he said.
Stanford said he had discussed it with Village Attorney Linda Gray and Clerk-Treasurer Eileen Suhm, who both thought it was a good idea.
“I think it would be a good idea to be proactive on this,” Gray said at the meeting.
Stanford said the cost associated with the training, which would be done online, would be “nominal.”
Village Board President Randy Timms said the web-based training would cost the village about $200 and give the village access to the training site for 30 days. Timms agreed that it should be required of all village employees and board members.
Police Chief Alan Boyes said the Police Department already requires the training of it’s employees every two years and proposed that the department be allowed to continue doing it that way since law enforcement is different and requires some extra training.
Suhm asked if the board wanted to require it of seasonal Park and Recreation workers, many of whom are away at college at the moment, and the board decided they would be exempt.
Timms questioned whether the board should impose some type of penalty for employees who might refuse to take the training, but Suhm said she thought that would be considered insubordination in the workplace, which is already covered in the employee handbook.
