Agenda Packets - 2008/08/04 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Item No: 8 Meeting Date: August 4, 2008 Type of Business: Work Session Administrator Review : ___ City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Honorable Mayor and City Council From: James Ericson, Clerk - Administrator Item Title/Subject: Review Structure of the Public Works Director Position Introduction: At the July 28, 2008 meeting of the City Council, staff was asked for an update on the hiring process for the public works director position. I had responded that consultant engineer Joe Rhein, Assistant City Administrator Crane and I had interviewed our final candidate earlier that day. Reference checks are being conducted however no offer has been made at this point. In light of the difficulties we’ve encountered, we felt the Council should be aware of another option to address the filling of this position. Discussion: The Council may recall that we have advertised for this position twice, the first time very few people applied and those who were interviewed were not considered a good fit for a variety of reasons. The Council revised the minimum requirements of the position for the second advertisement by changing the PE qualification from required to desired. The second advertisement resulted in more applications and after interviewing the top candidates, an offer was made to an individual who would later turn it down for “economic reasons”. At that point we contacted one of the finalists who had not yet been interviewed (he had originally removed himself from consideration because a friend had also applied and was to be interviewed.) When he was told that the other candidates had not been selected, he agreed to the interview. The individual has significant relevant experience, but he is not a city employee. While he has been working for the same community for many years, he is actually a “contract” employee who works for an engineering consultant. The individual was asked whether he was interviewing to become a Mounds View city employee or if his intent was to remain in the employ of the engineering consultant. The candidate responded that he was open to either scenario. Before we go any further with this final candidate, I thought it would be helpful to initiate a discussion with the Council regarding the position and whether the Council would like to explore the possibility of contracting with an engineering firm for a public works director. Many cities utilize a consultant or contract employee for their public works director. The specific terms of such an arrangement naturally vary depending upon a city’s individual needs. Mounds View, for example, would presumably need someone on a full time basis who would also attend all Council meetings and other meetings (e.g., park and rec, streets committee) as assigned. As with anything, there are benefits and there are detriments to such an arrangement. This employment scenario is not foreign to Mounds View as some members of the Council may recall that our present Building Official began her work here in Mounds View as a contract employee for building inspection services through the Blaine - Spring Lake Park - Mounds View Fire Department.