6.5. SR 01-09-2012 - Laserfiche WebLink

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A January 10, 2011, memo from City Administrator Lori Johnson to the City Council informs the Council that the expected savings from the Phased Retirement will be reallocated within that division. The Phased Retirement savings minus the approved laborer position and the maximum street lead worker pay results in approximately $18,130 in savings for 2012. Supervision/Span of Control On July 11, 2011, staff presented a Streets Division restructuring plan which was not approved by the Council. A March 8, 2011, memo from the city administrator to Phil Hals outlines the discussion points from a meeting in which the work and supervision structure was discussed. The memo indicates daily operations and supervision will be managed by the assistant superintendent and lists a number projects and activities for the part-time street superintendent. In discussions with staff and in accordance with the aforementioned memos and staff reports, I did not feel a new job was created to oversee the Street Maintenance Division, rather an interim staffing situation resulted following an opportunity to take advantage of a new PERA retirement program. Outcomes /Recommendations When the Phased Retirement Option request was brought to the City Council for approval in December of 2010, savings was assumed from the decrease in hours for the street superintendent. Following the approval, additional staffing was requested and approved and pay incentives for additional supervisory (lead worker) responsibilities. The continuation of service levels was either assumed to be absorbed by existing staff or planned to be requested as needed upon further evaluation at a later date. Following are three questions important for the discussion. 1. Will the city save money from the Phased Retirement Option? 2. How does the phased retirement/part-time employment impact staffing/operations? 3. What are the advantages to the city with a Phased Retirement Option? 1Vill the city save money from the Phased Ketirement Option? Yes, if the remaining hours (1,040) can be absorbed by the existing staff accounting for vacation, illness, injuries, or unforeseen natural events, if there is currently an overstaff situation to meet the expected service level, if there are inefficiencies that can be corrected, or if work needs can be met at a significantly lower salary level. No, if additional staff is needed to meet work demands or new/different skillsets are required to replace what was missing. Hoav does the phased retirement/part-time employment impact sta~ng/operations? Laborer positions have been backfilled, however, the supervisory structure has not been formally addressed. We currently have excess supervisory expertise within the division and have identified/created new work, which may or may not have been outside of the work N:\Public Bodies\City Council\Council RCA\Agenda Packet\O1-09-2012\street maint memo.doca