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Review Public Works Supervisor Job Description and Discuss Hiring Schedule December 7, 2009 Page 4 enterprise funds (water+sewer). The 2009 budget had this position cost (wages+benefits) at $84,315 at a Step 3 rate, and the 2010 budget has a cost of $73,935 (Step 1). Using the higher rate, the actual cost to the general fund is $42,158. While this is a real cost to the City, this amount can easily be offset by reducing other planned expenditures, especially through reduced consultant fees. Reduced Consultant Fees: The PW Supervisor will free the PW Director to become more involved in performing in-house engineering work. Having a licensed Professional Engineer (PE) on staff allows the City to perform engineering services in-house without having to hire consultants. While we are not able to perform all required engineering in-house, we would be able to select projects that would not require any new software and could offset the position cost of the PW Supervisor. Attached is the CIP with the likely projects that public works would perform engineering services for. To determine the cost of engineering, a percentage of the total project costs was used. Depending on the complexity and amount of subconsultant help we hire (geotechnical, etc.), that percentage varies project to project and could be as high as 25%. To be conservative in our analysis, Staff did not exceed 20% as a maximum. Future Staffing Levels: PW Staff believes that there will be much efficiency found with having a PW Supervisor on-hand, especially when it relates to the required labor needs. The PW Supervisor will be scheduling work to ensure maximum use of labor on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual basis. The O&M division has a high labor demand in the summer months and lower demand in the winter months. It will be the PW Supervisor’s responsibility to lessen these highs and lows for a more “consistent” workload. Although there will always be a seasonal fluctuation, mellowing out the labor curve will allow the flexibility to reduce the number of seasonals, or not fill a vacated maintenance position, or some other staffing options. In addition, the Parks Supervisor is eligible for retirement in two years. This employee has over 23 years with the Public Works Department – the majority spent in park maintenance and as a supervisor since 2002. PW Staff recommends getting a PW Supervisor on-board now to capture his knowledge before retirement. The Parks Supervisor can also assist a new PW Supervisor with the steep learning curve associated with any new employer. It is anticipated to eventually have a single supervisor for the O&M division, with two to three lead person or foremen-type positions filled internally to provide in-field oversight of maintenance workers. Staff hopes to find a qualified candidate that could be groomed for the single O&M supervisor. Getting a PW Supervisor on-board now will help achieve this goal and opportunity for a reduction in personnel costs and a simpler chain-of-command. Hiring Schedule: A proposed hiring schedule for filling the PW Supervisor is as follows: December 14, 2009 City Council authorizes advertisement Dec. 17, 2009 - Jan. 15, 2010 Applications received and reviewed by Staff January 15, 2010 Posting closed Jan. 18, 2010 – Jan. 27, 2010 Interviews conducted January 27, 2010 Finalist selected February 1, 2010 Status update at Council Work Session February 8, 2010 Authorize hiring at regular Council meeting Early March 2010 PW Supervisor begins