November 15, 2013 The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch Page 31 Ocean City Weighing Veteran Hiring Policy By JOANNE SHRINER STAFF WRITER Regional Digest FROM PAGE 30 ipating included Worcester Prep, Worcester Tech, Wicomico, Washington, Bennett, Salisbury School, Salisbury Christian, Saints Peter and Paul, Gunston, Colonel Richardson, Indian River, Delmar, Sussex Central and Woodbridge. OCEAN CITY – A formal veteran preference hiring policy will return to the Mayor and City Council for a vote to be added to the town’s Policy Procedure Manual. Human Resources Director Wayne Evans explained to the Mayor and City Council the federal government administers a formal program to give preferential treatment to the selection and promotion of veterans and their spouses, widows or mothers. States may also have veterans’ preference employment statutes, but Maryland has not implemented a formal program. According to Evans, the federal government administers a pointsbased employment selection program requiring the use of validated civil service examinations for all covered job classifications. The federal program adds five points to test scores for veteran status and 10 points for disabled veteran status. Evans furthered, as there is no statutory requirement at the sub-political level, any preference conferred upon veterans on the town’s initiative would be voluntary. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission states in policy document N-915.056: “veterans’ preference statutes operate overwhelmingly to the advantage of men” and the commission further states “where an employment preference … is not mandated by statute … preference is not shielded from scrutiny under Title VII … and presumes the existence of adverse impact.” “Basically what they’re saying is if you are going to have a veteran’s preference program you need to demonstrate that it’s not having an adverse impact on employment of anyone in your work place,” Evans said.” The benefits of implementing veteran preference employment statute is it recognizes the sacrifices of citizens who have served their country, creates employment opportunity for a population segment who are firsttime entrants to the job market or reentering the job market, and expands the town’s applicant pool. The cons are it may require additional infrastructure to successfully administer an examination or pointsbased selection system, forming validated examinations and centralized administration, plus additional costs, triggers adverse impact analysis, and may disadvantage better qualified applicants. Currently, the Ocean City Police Department and CPD Communications, or dispatch departments, administer validated selection examinations. The town recognizes up to three years of military service time for pension service credit, provides full-time employees 80 hours of paid leave for military training each calendar year, and pays the difference between military pay and town wages for employees called to active duty. A policy alternative the Mayor and City Council considered with an examination-based preference is to expand the town’s outreach to vet- erans by advertising open positions on veteran’s job boards, which achieves “notice of opportunity” objective and increased representation of veterans in the applicant pool. Also, the policy would include extending interviews to qualified veteran applicants for each position and track and evaluate veteran application and placement results. “It would be something that would be proactive towards the employment of veterans that would be compliant with employment laws, and have a moderate to low cost associated with it,” Evans said. Councilman Dennis Dare, who asked for staff to look into a veteran preference policy last spring, explained the unemployment rate of veterans returning from overseas is 3 percent high than the general population, and for veterans under the age of 25 it’s even higher. “I am not interested in the points program that the federal government has. Many states do have the same program, but I am not proposing we do that,” Dare said. “Simply when applicants are equal instead of a coin toss, if you will, have the veteran be given the preference so that we are not discriminating.” Dare made a motion to have staff write a formal veteran preference policy to have the town hire eligible veterans and spouses of disabled veterans when their qualifications are substantially equal then nonveterans in the most qualified applicant pool, and to have the policy return to council for review. The council voted unanimously to approve the motion. Insurance Outreach Grows SNOW HILL – With confusion and uncertainty abounding over new federal healthcare requirements, the Lower Shore Health Insurance Assistance Program is continuing with an extensive outreach and education campaign that will reach hundreds of uninsured residents in Worcester, Wicomico and Somerset counties in November. The Lower Shore Health Insurance Assistance Program is planning to include the use of the Peninsula Regional Medical Center’s Wagner Wellness Van for mobile outreach events. The next outreach event is set for tomorrow, Nov. 16, at the Wal-Mart in Berlin from 1-5 p.m. Next week, similar mobile outreach events will be held at Apple Drugs in Berlin on Monday, the Wal-Mart in Pocomoke next Saturday, the Peninsula Pharmacy in Salisbury on Monday, Nov. 25, and the Fruitland WalMart on Saturday, Nov. 30. Staff has also scheduled office hours Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at various organizations throughout Worcester and Wicomico including health departments, social services, PRMC, libraries and other locations. For more information, call 855-445-5540. Salisbury Zoo Welcomes New Additions By SHAWN J. SOPER NEWS EDITOR Mail Scam Warning OCEAN CITY – The Ocean City Police Department this week is warning residents of a current mail scam targeting resort area organizations involving the undesired and unscheduled delivery of cell phones. Organizations in the resort area have reported receiving packages delivered by UPS or Federal Express containing several cell phones that were not ordered by the victims. Shortly after the package arrives, the victims reported receiving a phone call from the scammer, who identifies herself as an employee of Verizon. The scammer will then give instructions on what to do with the box of cell phones. In some cases, the victim is instructed to return the box to the delivery company with instructions to forward the box to a different location. The scammer further states the phones were sent to the victim by accident. Anyone with information about the scam is urged to contact Det. James Rodriguez of the Criminal Investigation Division-Major Crimes Unit at 410520-5347. SALISBURY – Salisbury Zoo officials have announced the new herd of alpacas acquired last year is expanding already with the birth of three alpaca babies over the last month. Over the last several weeks, three baby alpacas have been born, with the newest baby born last weekend. The older two born in October are black and white, while the latest addition to the herd is tan. The Salisbury Zoo received the herd last October from a private breeder in Ohio and the alpaca community at the facility is already growing by leaps and bounds. The average gestation period for alpacas is 11 months, but zoo officials said it is not uncommon for a pregnancy to last for over a year. A baby alpaca is called a “cria” and will weigh between 12 and 20 pounds at birth. Most alpaca births occur during the middle of the day and are uneventful, according to zoo officials. With the three births in recent weeks, the Salisbury Zoo’s current population now stands at nine. The alpaca, along with the llama, guanaco and vicuna, are native to One of the new arrivals to the Salisbury Zoo’s alpaca herd is pictured last week with its mother. Submitted Photo South America and are members of the Camelid family. They live in the savannahs and deserts of the plains and coastal areas, but do best in the highlands of the Andes. Camelids are sure-footed animals able to climb on unstable terrain. Alpacas and llamas are considered to be domesticated animals. Alpacas are used for wool, while llamas are used primarily for carrying heavy loads. Of the camelids, the alpacas are much smaller than their relatives the llamas and the guanaco. They are valued for their fine wool, which comes in plain black, off white, brown-black and tan. The colors are well represented in the nine alpacas at the Salisbury Zoo. The new babies and their family can be viewed daily at the Salisbury Zoo from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.