HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/02/1988, 1-B - 1988-89 BUDGET REVIEW - NEW POSITION REQUESTS II�I�III�IIIIII�III II� MEETING DATE:
civ' of San Luis oBispo 5-3-88
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT ITEM T2:En
FROM: Toby Ross, Assistant City Administrative Officer
SUBJECT: 1988-89 budget review - new position requests
CAO RECOMMENDATION: Authorize 3.25 new positions and defer a Police Officer
position until completion of the Police Services Plan
DISCUSSION:
The 1987-89 Financial Plan includes four new positions for the 1988-89 fiscal year .
Additionally, conversion of a half-time clerical Assistant I to a three-quarter time
position is requested to maintain full-time service at the Community Development
counter. Based on evaluation consistent with City policy, three and one-quarter
positions are recommended.
SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS:
The new positions recommended would cost $84,300 for salary and benefits or $43,000
(net) after subtracting current expenses. This is less than what is programmed in
the Financial Plan.
CONSEQUENCES OF NOT TAKING THE RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Depending on the position, programs or services could be reduced if the positions
are not approved.
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Imma COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
BACKGROUND:
As summarized on page F-26, the 1987-89 Financial Plan includes four new permanent
positions for the 1988-89 fiscal year: two in the Police Department and one each in
Public Works and Recreation. Consistent with the Human Resources Policy, these new
position requests were evaluated at both the department and administrative levels
(CAO's office, Personnel and Finance Directors) . The evaluations included
assessment of:
- The necessity, term, and expected results of the new activity.
- Staffing and materials costs including salary, benefits, equipment,
uniforms, clerical support and facilities.
- The ability of private industry to provide the proposed service.
- Additional revenue or cost savings which may be realized.
Summaries of these evaluations are attached.
The four positions requested in the Financial Plan for 1988-89 were: Field Service
Technician; Police Officer; Engineering Technician; and Recreation Coordinator.
The Field Service Technician (FST) is. a non-sworn public safety position that
performs a variety of duties not requiring a sworn Police Officer. The Police
Department has had two FST positions since the late 1970s funded from salary
savings. Consistent with City policy, the Financial Plan proposes to convert them
to permanent positions: one in 1987-88 and the other in 1988-89. Staff recommends
that the FST be approved.
The Police Officer would be assigned to increase patrol strength. The Police
Department has recently begun work on a Police Services Plan. This study, which
will assess resources and requirements and recommend programs for the next five
years, is scheduled for completion during the coming fiscal year. The CAO
recommends and the Police Chief concurs that this position request be deferred until
after the Police Services Plan is completed.
The Engineering Technician performs a variety of duties in support of the design,
traffic and inspection functions of the Engineering Division. With the increase in
capital projects and traffic engineering activities the division has been unable to
keep up with the workload. Private sector alternatives are financially unattractive
and the workload is expected to remain high for at least the next three-five years.
Staff recommends that the Engineering Technician be approved.
The Recreation Coordinator is requested to permanently staff the Latchkey Program
which provides child care services to more than 200 children at four sites.
Currently the program is supervised by a temporary employee. This program is
primarily supported by user fees which are sufficient to cover the net cost increase
of about $13,000 for the new position. Staff recommends that the Recreation
Coordinator be approved.
In addition to four positions originally requested, a Clerical Assistant I in the
Community Development Department should be increased from one-half to three-quarter
time. This adjustment was required when the .Department extended the hours of the
Public Counter to 8 am to 5 pm. The money necessary to do this was included in the
Financial Plan but the adjustment in the position from .5 to .75 was inadvertently
left out. The error now should be corrected.
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COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
ALTERNATIVES:
See position summaries attached.
SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS:
The fiscal impacts of the requests are summarized in the chart below:
No. of Salary & Other Cost Annual
Position Positions Benefits Costs Adj . Net Cost Comments
Field Service Tech. 1 $27,000 0 ($27,000) 0 (1)
Police Officer 1 43,000 $5,000 $48,000 (2)
Engineering Tech. 1 28,000 2,000 30,000
Recreation Coord. 1 24,000 0 ($11 ,000) 13,000 (3)
Clerical Asst. I .25 5,300 0 ($ 5,300) 0 (4)
(1) Overhire/no new costs
(2) Position not recommended at this time
(3) Program is fee supported. Temporary wages will be reduced by $11,000
(4) Increased time for an existing position. Money already included in budget.
Recommended
position totals 3.25 $84,300 $2,000 ($53,300) $43,000
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Attachments: Position Summaries
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POSITION SUMMARY
POSITION: Field Service Technician (FST) - Police Department
DESCRIPTION: The FST is a non-sworn public safety position which performs
a variety of tasks including non-hazardous calls for service, assisting
with traffic control, processing of property, vehicle abatement, relief
dispatching, vehicle maintenance coordination, fingerprinting and other
duties not requiring a sworn officer.
JUSTIFICATION: Two FSTs have been employed since the late 1970's. The
primary benefit is to perform non-hazardous tasks which would otherwise be
done by a sworn officer. Funding for positions historically has been from
salary savings due to vacancies during the year. In 1987-88 one FST was
made permanent. The current request is to make the other positions
permanent and should be reflected and provided for in the budget,
consistent with City policy. Salary savings are difficult to predict and
may not occur consistently in various years. These and similar positions
in other agencies have proven to be a cost effective means of service
delivery and reduce the need for additional sworn officers.
OOST: No net cost results from this change. Any salary savings that
would have been available to fund the position would still be available
for use or reallocation. Annual cost $27,000.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. Approve the FST position. This would fund a long-standing position as
a permanent position, consistent with City policy.
2. The position could continue to be funded from salary savings. This
would not be consistent with City policy to use permanent positions to
staff ongoing, year-round activities.
3. The position could be eliminated and replaced with a sworn officer.
This would add strength to the Department at a substantially higher
cost.
RECOMMENDATION: Fund positions in the budget.
POSITION SUMMARY
POSITION: Police Officer - Police Department
DESCRIPTION: Police Officer patrols assigned area of City to seek out
enforcement and protection opportunities. Responds to emergencies, crimes
in progress, traffic collisions, and other calls for service. Collects
evidence and property, interviews witnesses, victims, and suspects.
Processes crime scenes, directs traffic, and performs proactive crime
prevention and community relations functions, writes reports and enforces
numerous codes.
JUSTIFICATION: The number of persons assigned specifically to Patrol has
not increased since 1979, although several specialized positions have been
added: Traffic; DUI; Drug Enforcement; and School Resource. The
permanent resident population has increased by +120, while calls for
service have increased by 240, and traffic collisions have increased 600.
The department is experiencing increasing demands for special enforcement
problems; vandalism, high theft rate, juvenile, traffic, sex crimes, and
drug/alcohol abuse. This position is requested to keep pace with demands
for service.
The Police Department has recently undertaken a Police Services Plan to
assess the resources needs of the Department over the next five years.
This guide to staffing and programs in the Police Department should be
available in 1989.
COST: Annual cost $43,000 salary and benefits; $5,000 support costs.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. Authorize additional Police Officer position for 1988-89 budget year.
2. Deny authorization of additional Police Officer position.
3. Defer consideration and funding until review of five-year Police
Services Plan.
RECOMMENDATION: Defer consideration until evaluation of the five-year
Police Services Plan.
POSITION SUMMARY
POSITION: Engineering Assistant - Public Works Department
DESCRIPTION: This position is used for design and construction inspection
of City projects.
JUSTIFICATION: The workload of the Engineering Division is largely
dependent on the size of the City's Capital Improvement Plan. Design and
construction inspection services are provided by a combination of City
staff and consultants. In general , consultants are more expensive and
less familiar with City standards than City staff. Consultants will
always be required for some major projects because of their special
expertise but, if there is a sufficient number of small projects City
staff is generally less expensive. The workload now and in the
foreseeable future would justify another Engineering Assistant position.
COST: Given adequate workload City staff is less expensive than contract
consultants.
Annual salary $28,000
Equipment and supplies $ 2,000
(included in 955 Morro remodeling)
Contract consultant $30-50 per hour
Full-time consultant $60-100 thousand
ALTERNATIVES:
1 . Approve a permanent Engineering Assistant position. This approach is
generally less expensive than a consultant and generally higher
quality applicants than contract employees.
2. The City can contract out more of the work to consultants, a more
costly approach.
3. The City could hire a contract employee. This approach costs about
the same as a permanent employee and is appropriate if we expect the
workload to decline in the next two years.
POSITION SUMMARY
POSITION: Recreation Coordinator I - Recreation Department
DESCRIPTION: Recreation Coordinators are responsible for the separate
programs of the Recreation Department. The requested position is to
supervise the Preschool and Latchkey Programs .
JUSTIFICATION: Enrollment in the Latchkey Program has grown from 35
children four hours per day to over 200 children 6 to 11 hours per day in
1987-88. Latchkey services are provided at four sites. With the end of
year-round school at Hawthorne Elementary the summer program is expected
to increase significantly.
The program is currently staffed by temporary employees. A permanent
Recreation Coordinator I would improve the continuity of program
supervision and be consistent with the City's policy for staffing ongoing,
year-round activities with permanent employees.
COST: The position is Currently filled with temporary personnel .
Converting to a permanent position will increase salary and benefit costs
by approximately $13,000 in 1988-89.
The program charges a fee for the service and is designed to be 80-1000
self sufficient. Revenues to date indicate that the program is self
sufficient. Both revenues and costs are projected to increase in 1988-89.
Annual salary and benefit Recreation Coordinator $24,000
Current temporary position $11 ,000
Other expenses No change
ALTERNATIVES:
1 . Approve the Permanent Recreation Coordinator I position. This would
improve coordination of the program and be consistent with the City's
staffing policy with a small increase in personnel cost.
2. Continue staffing with temporary employees. This would be less
expensive than the permanent position but hampers year-round
coordination and may not be consistent with the City's staffing
policy.
3. Fill the position with a contract employee. The costs and benefits
would be about the same .as a permanent employee and would be
appropriate if the City Council wants to consider major modifications
to the program in the next two years.