Agenda Packets - 2012/01/23 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Item No: 7A Meeting Date: January 23, 2012 Type of Business: CB Administrator Review: ____ City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Honorable Mayor and City Council From: Desaree Crane, Assistant City Administrator Nick DeBar, Public Works Director Item Title/Subject: Resolution 7886, Approving the 2012 Public Works and Parks Seasonal Positions Introduction: On March 26, 2001, the City Council adopted Resolution 5546, which describes the procedure for hiring Seasonal Employees. This resolution requires that the City Council approve all seasonal positions. Discussion: Annually the City Council has approved the hiring of seasonal Public Works positions. Resolution 5546 requires that approval take place six weeks prior to actual hire of seasonal employees; therefore, this is typically done early in the calendar year. Seasonal Employees benefit the City by providing labor services during periods of higher labor demand at much lower pay rates keeping overall labor costs down. In return, seasonal employees benefit from the skills and work ethics they learn on the job. As a result, the employees, the City, citizens, and taxpayers all benefit from this program. Historically, there have been three time periods throughout the year when the City has employed seasonal workers. These periods have been: Summer (10 positions), Fall (2 positions), and Winter (1 position). In 2009, it was the consensus of the City Council and Staff to decrease the Summer seasonal positions from 10 to 8 positions, due to the budgetary cuts in state aid. This number was further reduced in 2010 when the Winter seasonal position was eliminated and the part-time water division position was reclassified as a public works seasonal position. In 2011, the City Council approved 8 seasonal positions. Staff is recommending 8 seasonal positions for 2012. Three of the seasonal positions are paid from the Enterprise Funds (water, sewer, storm). Summer Seasonal Employees – Duties include general Public Works and parks maintenance duties. The employees generally are employed for about three months in the summer – mid-to late-May to mid-to late-August. Typically one Parks Division seasonal employee and one Utility Division seasonal employee begin employment in April. Fall Seasonal Employee – There are two (2) seasonal positions, one (1) in Public Works Utilities Division and one (1) in the Parks Division. Historically, summer positions are extended to cover