04-09-2025 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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ANALYSIS: Staff is proposing the Utility Billing Clerk position become a full-time position (40 hours a week). This modified position will include a secondary objective to provide administrative support to the Customer Service Specialist and to perform additional clerical assistance to all departments as needed. This position will be responsible for providing backup when the Customer Service Specialist position is not in the office or when the specialist needs to focus on special project work. Several options to redefine and modify front office coverage have been proposed. Historically, the main concern with making modifications involved the continued use of part-time employees. As the individual within the Utility Billing Clerk position valued flexibility in working part-time, consideration of the position being full-time was not historically a viable option. With the 2025 part-time (20-hour) administrative support position not being filled and 20 hours of utility billing clerk already budgeted, staff believes that by combining the two part-time positions into one will result in the following benefits: 1. Monday through Friday utility billing coverage for Little Canada residents. Currently, the Utility Billing Clerk schedule covers only Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM. 2. In the current setup, when the Utility Billing Clerk is not present, utility billing-related questions are handled by the Customer Service Specialist or City Accountant. In some instances, due to segregation of duties practices (only the current Utility Billing Clerk is allowed to make utility billing modifications), issues are tabled until the Utility Billing Clerk is available, resulting in delayed resolution to our City of Little Canada residents. 3. Reduce the need for the Customer Service Specialist and City Accountant to deal with utility billing-related issues. This will result in more time for the Customer Service Specialist and Accountant to focus on their primary duties. 4. There is a higher chance of hiring an experienced staff member with municipal utility billing experience and overall local government experience. Typically, part-time positions are more challenging to hire and retain, especially in an environment where every city is looking for experienced employees. DISCUSSION: Due to the timing challenges with losing a position, staff presented the full-time Utility Billing and Administrative Support Specialist position at the April 9, 2025, City Council Workshop. FINANCIAL IMPACT: Currently, the Utility Billing Clerk part-time position is financed by the Utility Funds, and it does not have a levy impact. The additional 20 hours of administrative support have been included in the 2025 budget, and it will not have an additional budget impact. Staff anticipates that no additional levy funding will be needed in the 2026 budget and future budgets to continue to support this new position.