01-11-2010 CC - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Mounds View City Council December 7, 2009 Truth in Taxation Meeting Page 4 1 Mayor Flaherty stated he does not know if the Council has actually made a hiring freeze official 2 for all departments, except the Police Department. He noted the City has not had a Street 3 Supervisor for three years and residents are looking for deep cuts but the Council has to also look 4 to the future. Mayor Flaherty stated he thinks hiring that position could be delayed due to the 5 economic situation, which may be worse in 2011 than 2010. He stated the City will be asking 6 union contracts and nonunion staff to take no increase or cost of living at this time. He noted the 7 Street Supervisor position is in the 2010 budget with half being funded from the General Fund 8 and half from the Water and Sewer Fund. 9 10 Council Member Mueller referenced Public Works Director DeBar’s report regarding staffing 11 needs for Public Works, which was very thorough and identified responsibilities being covered 12 by other staff without having a Public Works Supervisor. She indicated that part of the reason 13 the City hired Public Works Director DeBar was because of his skills in engineering and ability 14 to prepare documents for street projects. However, he has been unable to take on that work due 15 to other supervisory responsibilities. The report indicates, going forward for eight years (2010-16 2018), the amount of dollars spent on consultant fees at a conservative 20% ($120,000) and 17 filling this supervisory position would give Public Works Director DeBar the opportunity to 18 project future needs, work load, find ways to eliminate work load, and do a lot of work in-house 19 that is currently paid to a consultant. Council Member Mueller noted that if the City can save 5% 20 on consultants, it will more than pay for Supervisor wages and save money over the eight 21 remaining years of the street project. Public Works Director DeBar also indicated in his report 22 that key employees may be considering retirement in the next five years so those high level skills 23 will be lost. Therefore, having a Supervisor with that skill set gives the City the ability to build 24 those skills in current staff. Council Member Mueller noted the City has a very well paid, 25 educated, and competent Public Works Director who is saying this position needs to be filled and 26 if not filled, she believes the City is taking advantage of its Public Works staff. 27 28 Mayor Flaherty asked how much would be saved in consultant fees and on what projects if the 29 Supervisor position is filled. Public Works Director DeBar stated someone with the right skill 30 set would schedule, organize, and coordinate operations instead of the current day-to-day reactive 31 mode of operations. He referenced his report identifying CIP improvement projects that could be 32 handled internally, through purchased design software, without hiring additional engineering 33 staff based on having a Public Works Supervisor who is operational. The savings estimate for 34 2010 is $135,000 and over the course of the CIP to 2018 it could save $743,000, approximately 35 $82,000 per year on average depending on the projects scheduled. Public Works Debar clarified 36 the City will still need consulting help, for example, with the water tower for inspections and 37 specialized coating requirements, but could save about 10% on plan preparation and contract 38 administration, partnering with consultants. Mayor Flaherty stated it looks like the City could 39 save in consultation fees but the Council has to also consider that it budgeted $231,000 of LGA 40 in 2010 and that may not be received. 41 42 Council Member Gunn asked what happens if the City does not get LGA. Public Works Director 43 DeBar stated he is unable to do the engineering or consulting work if a Supervisor is not hired so 44 the City will have to hire an outside consultant and pay those fees. Council Member Gunn 45