Resolution to Hire a Building Official and to Continue Working with the City of St. Francis

On May 28, 2013, the City Council directed staff to end contracted Building Official services and to recruit for a City Building Official.    Staff conducted this recruitment and received twenty-seven applications, sixteen of which met the minimum position requirements and eight candidates were interviewed.   At this time, staff recommends hiring Mr. Rick Jarson, effective on or near September 16, 2013, at $31.23 per hour (step 1 of the 2013 wage scale) with a credit of 10 vacation days.   Mr. Jarson has successfully passed the City’s background check, reference checks, physical and drug screen, as well as the work-style assessment.

Due to a spike in Building Division activity, staff found it necessary to utilize the services of neighboring cities and found the Saint Francis Chief Building Official to be particularly beneficial with a high level of expertise.  Staff proposes continuing this relationship with Saint Francis by utilizing Mr. Andy Schreder for Chief Building Official services--limited to ten to twelve hours per week to provide additional expertise and to serve as a back-up Building Official during times of leave, etc. 

Staff anticipates the hours necessary to contract with Saint Francis (St. Francis would invoice the City of Ramsey) would be offset by a reduction in hours provided by Inspectron, Inc.  The City would likely experience a cost savings under this scenario due to a lower hourly rate contracting with Saint Francis.   Inspectron Inc. would continue to be available in order to meet customer needs during times of  spikes in activity levels.  Staff feels that this proposal provides the City with a great degree of flexibility in moving forward.

As a side note, in the future, there may be an opportunity to develop a mutually beneficial shared services agreement for specialty inspection services such as mechanical inspections or plumbing inspections; this will be brought forward for City Council consideration at a later date.

This case will appear on the regular agenda of tonight's City Council meeting as part of the Report from the Personnel Committee.

The May 14, 2013 Personnel Committee case and draft minutes are attached for review.  The case was unanimously approved by the City Council on May 28, 2013. 

Option #1:  Hire Mr. Rick Jarson as the City's new Building Official and to continue limited shared services with the Saint. Francis Chief Building Official.    The pros on this option include having a non-contracted full-time Building Official on staff, providing the City and staff with the greatest flexibility in meeting customer' needs,  and having a trained back-up Building Official to cover leaves, etc.  The cons are that the City would be adding to its fixed staff costs, however, as the May presentation on this topic indicated, the activity level for now and the forseeable future, make this the most practical and cost-effective option.

Option #2:  Hire Mr. Rick Jarson as the City's new Building Official and discontinue limited services with the Saint Francis Chief Building Official.   The pros to this option are having a non-contracted full-time Building Official on staff.  The cons would include less flexibility in meeting customers' needs and a lack of a trained back-up Building Official. Inspectron could also be used as a back-uo, but at a higher price than utilizing St. Francis.

Option #3:  Hire Mr. Rick Jarson as the City's new Building Official and direct staff based on discussion.

To make a motion, which upon City Council approval, will authorize staff to move ahead with option #1 above to:  Hire Mr. Rick Jarson as the City’s new Building Official, effective on September 16, 2013, at $31.23 per hour (step 1 of the 2013 wage scale) with a credit of 10 vacation days and to continue limited services with the Saint Francis Chief Building Official, as needed, but not to exceed an average of ten to twelve hours per week.

The Building Official position is a component of the General Fund.  Expenses of the Building Division are paid by Building Permit revenue collected when Building Permits are issued.  Assuming revenue projections in the 2013 budget are met, the costs of the position would already be covered as part of the current Professional Services Line Item. In response to revenue projections, the base permit levels are currently exceeding those year to date in 2012.   The estimated 2013 budgetary impact, assuming a mid-September start date, is  approximately $26,540 to $30,876.    This excludes the required buy-out payment (i.e., 10% of the first year's salary) which would be due to Inspectron, Inc. 

Motion to approve resolution #13-08-145, which confirms the recommendation of the Personnel Committee to hire Mr. Rick Jarson as the City’s new Building Official, effective on September 16, 2013, at $31.23 per hour (step 1 of the 2013 wage scale) with a credit of 10 vacation days and to continue limited services with the Saint Francis Chief Building Official, as needed, but not to exceed an average of ten to twelve hours per week.