Billerica Personnel Board advances plan to overhaul decades-old employee bylaw

BILLERICA — June 4, 2025 — Billerica's Personnel Board moved Wednesday toward a town-meeting warrant article that would delete the town's personnel bylaw and replace it with a policy document managed by the HR director and town manager. The draft, initiated by HR Director Michelle Rivera and revised line by line by a committee of non-union employees, covers roughly 23 to 25 non-union town hall staff and had not been substantially updated since the 1990s. The board's sharpest debate was over a Section 23.13 provision awarding bonuses of up to $2,000 for employees who avoid using sick days — a figure members called "a huge amount of money" — with several saying they would prefer a sick-leave buyback with a maximum cap instead. Members also agreed to preserve Personnel Board authority over employee suspension and removal hearings rather than shift that role to the town manager, citing a conflict-of-interest concern. Rather than dissolve the board entirely, members discussed reconstituting it as a strictly advisory body conducting annual public reviews of HR policy changes.