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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1/14/2025 Item 7b, Horn and Cruce - Staff Agenda CorrespondenceCity of San Luis Obispo, Council Memorandum City of San Luis Obispo Council Agenda Correspondence DATE: January 14, 2025 TO: Mayor and Council FROM: Matt Horn, Public Works Director Prepared By: Greg Cruce, Deputy Director – Maintenance Operations VIA: Whitney McDonald, City Manager SUBJECT: ITEM 7b – PUBLIC WORKS MAINTENANCE DIVISION STAFFING STUDY Staff received the following questions, regarding the Public Works Maintenance Division Staffing Study Update. The questions are below with staff’s response shown in italics: 1) Have the two Maintenance Superintendent positions and Parks Crew Coordinator identified on page 473 been fully funded and filled? Yes, the two Maintenance Superintendent positions have been approved, funded and filled. The recommended second Parks Maintenance Coordinator was revised to a Parks Technician position and the job description has been approved and the position is funded. The selected candidate has accepted the conditional employment offer and is progressing through the background check and medical evaluation. Below is a chart with the recommended positions status. Recommended New Positions Program Position(s) Status Fleet Lead Mechanic Not Approved Parks/Streets Maintenance Superintendents (2 FTE)1 Approved, Both Positions are Filled Parks Parks Technician Approved, Employment Offer Accepted Facilities Facilities Technician Not Approved Fleet Fleet Specialist (Increase .5 to FTE) Not Approved PW Admin Business Analyst Not Approved Not listed on this chart is a second Crew Coordinator position reclassification recommended by Baker Tilly within Streets Maintenance. This reclassification has been approved and the position is filled. The existing position funding was adequate to facilitate the reclass and no additional operating budget was requested. 1 One new Maintenance Superintendent was added and the second was a reclassification of an existing Maintenance Supervisor. Item 7b. Public Works Maintenance Division Staffing Study Page 2 2) Is there a cost comparison for contracting out Fleet Maintenance services to a local automotive repair shop versus hiring in-house staff? Below is a comparison for hourly rates for a Heavy Equipment Mechanic versus a private auto repair shop. The City rate is assuming the employee is at top of scale with a full benefit package, and the private shop cost includes an 8.5% commercial account discount. Fleet Repair Hourly Rates City Hourly Rate $49.14/hour Private Repair Shop $170.00/hour While the hourly rate of work is an important factor when itemizing cost, other contributing factors that must also be considered for cost comparison are:  Transporting assets to and from the private shop requires two City staff members and two City vehicles.  Parts used to complete repairs are often billed at a higher rate than if purchased directly by the City.  All vendor completed work requires inspection, data entry into the assessment management system, and corrections by staff if sub-standard work is identified.  Not all vehicles can be serviced by a private shop due to being specialty equipment or security concerns with law enforcement vehicles. 3) Please elaborate on Recommendation No. 12, a Locking Dumpster Ordinance. Would this apply only to City dumpsters, or would it be applied to the larger community? The Utilities Department is the lead on this initiative, which has already been completed. Several Municipal Code updates were introduced on April 2, 2024, including a locking dumpster ordinance. The ordinance does not mandate that all commercial customers lock their dumpsters; instead, it allows staff to require a locking mechanism if a premises has recurring issues with overages, scavenging, or litter accumulation. The ordinance was adopted following outreach to the business community and a Community Forum. 4) The report suggests increasing the existing Fleet Specialist to full-time. Would this recommendation displace the current employee who is half-time? Staff is recommending increasing the current Fleet Specialist position from half- time to full-time. If this change is approved through the budget process, the current employee would be given the opportunity to continue in this role on a full-time basis.