Report from the Personnel Committee – August 27, 2013

Case 2 of 4: Resolution to End a Part-time Building Maintenance Worker’s Probation
Case 3 of 4: Resolution to Hire a Building Official and Continue Relationship with St. Francis
Case 4 of 4: Resolution to Recruit for an Engineering Technician III

Note: Case 1 of 4 was for discussion only.

The following cases were presented at this evening's Personnel Committee meeting.

Case 2 of 4: Mr. Jeff Strelow was hired for the position of part-time Building Maintenance Worker on February 26, 2013 and was subject to a six-month probationary period. Mr. Strelow has successfully completed the required six-month probationary period. Staff recommends retaining Mr. Strelow as a regular part-time employee.

Case 3 of 4: 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.

Case 4 of 4: The City has had the Engineering Technician III position slated for recruitment and in the budget since January 1, 2013. The request to recruit has been put off due to the many changes in the Engineering Division and the desire to get Bruce Westby, our new City Engineer, acclimated and in-tune the the business needs of the division. Mr. Westby, in cooperation with City Administrator Ulrich, have determined that hiring an Engineering Technician III will allow the City to better meet its engineering needs and will better utilize current staffing time and talents.

The Engineering Technician III would be primarily involved with:
• Preparing construction plans, specifications and engineer’s estimates
• Preparing as-built plans
• Providing primary and/or back-up construction inspection
• Providing primary and/or back-up topsoil inspections
• Providing primary and/or back-up stormwater infrastructure inspections for compliance with the city’s Stormwater Pollution Prevention Program (SWPPP)
• Providing primary and/or back-up grading inspections (if adopted)

The rationale for hiring this position is described in the attached Evaluation Criteria for Vacant and New Positions form, along with a draft job description.

Once the recruitment is complete, staff will bring a case forward asking for authorization to hire.

Case 2 of 4:  Alternatives are not applicable in this case..

Case 3 of 4: Option #1: Hire Mr. Rick Jarson as the City's new Building Official and to continue limited 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 foreseeable 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-up, 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.

Case 4 of 4:  Option #1: Authorize staff to begin a recruitment for an Engineering Technician III based on the available funding as described below. The pros to this option include: 1) supporting the City's financial well-being by providing in-house engineering services, 2) supporting the strategic initiative "Enhancing the State, County and City’s transportation system,"( i.e. if this position is not filled, the city will further delay the development and implementation of a long-term road maintenance plan and policy), 3) providing additional in-house resources to support the Engineering Division's work, 4) providing back-up when the Engineering Tech IV or Engineering Tech II are out of the office. The cons to this option include recruitment costs, which are minimal; and training costs.

Option #2: Direct staff to contract this function out. Staff feels that the pros to this option are limited to reduced hiring costs and reduced training costs. The cons to this option include less control over the process and work-product, possible high turnover, possible loss of knowledge if/when contractor leaves, and and a higher annual cost--estimated at $100,000 to $140,000.

Option #3: Direct staff to act based on discussion.

Case 2 of 4: To make a motion, which upon City Council approval, will remove Mr. Strelow from probation effective August 27, 2013 and retain him as part-time Building Maintenance Worker.

Case 3 of 4: 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

Case 4 of 4:  Option #1: Authorize staff to begin a recruitment for an Engineering Technician III based on the available funding as described below. The pros to this option include: 1) supporting the City's financial well-being by providing in-house engineering services, 2) supporting the strategic initiative "Enhancing the State, County and City’s transportation system,"( i.e. if this position is not filled, the city will further delay the development and implementation of a long-term road maintenance plan and policy), 3) providing additional in-house resources to support the Engineering Division's work, 4) providing back-up when the Engineering Tech IV or Engineering Tech II are out of the office. The cons to this option include recruitment costs, which are minimal; and training costs.

Option #2: Direct staff to contract this function out. Staff feels that the pros to this option are limited to reduced hiring costs and reduced training costs. The cons to this option include less control over the process and work-product, possible high turnover, possible loss of knowledge if/when contractor leaves, and and a higher annual cost--estimated at $100,000 to $140,000.

Option #3: Direct staff to act based on discussion

Case 2 of 4:  There are no additional funds required to remove Mr. Strelow from probation.

Case 3 of 4:  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.

Case 4 of 4:  The funding required for this position, based on a January 1, 2014, start date is budgeted at $72,358 (wages, benefits, taxes). This figure assumes hiring at step 1 of the 2014 wage scale. The full wage scale is as follows:

January 1, 2014 through June 30, 2014 = $24.17 to $30.23 per hour
July 1, 2014 through December 31, 2014 = $24.42 to $30.53 per hour

Based on the outcome of the candidate pool, staff would like the latitude to competitively negotiate a starting wage based on the 2014 wage scale; subject to available funding within the Division.

The position is funded as follows:

40% - Engineering
30% - Street Maintenance
10% - Water
10% - Sewer
10% - Storm Water

Case 2 of 4: Motion to adopt resolution 13-08-142 which confirms the recommendation of the Personnel Committee to remove Mr. Jeff Strelow from probation and retain him as a part-time regular Building Maintenance Worker.

Case 3 of 4: Motion to adopt 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.

Case 4 of 4:  Motion to adopt resolution #13-08-146, which confirms the recommendation of the Personnel Committee to authorize staff to begin a recruitment for an Engineering Technician III, posted at the position's full pay scale.