Adopt Resolution #14-09-183 to Restructure Administrative Services

The purpose of this case is to request the City Council to authorize restructuring the Administrative Services Department as directed (by consensus) at the August 26, 2014 work session discussion.   Please see the attached DRAFT minutes for details of the August 26, 2014 discussion, case 2.03 page 4.  

At the August 26, 2014 work-session, City Administrator Ulrich reviewed the case as follows:   The City's Economic Development Manager submitted his letter of resignation, and his last day of employment will be September 12. The purpose of this case is to consider the alternatives for the continued performance of the duties of this position once it is vacated.

Strategic economic development is defined as one of the primary goals in the City's Strategic Plan. Based upon this priority, the current Economic Development Manager position was authorized, and hired in October of 2013, after a lengthy search process. It is anticipated that economic development will continue to be a high City priority for the foreseeable future.

Since hiring the position in 2013, a number of important strategic initiatives have been completed. Among those items were:

• Re-structuring of the COR TIF District 14 in order to meet the City's revenue goals for the District and to increase the amount of land in the general tax base.
• Adopted an "exit strategy" for the COR properties which included a market-based pricing schedule and listing with a professional real estate broker, CBRE.
• Progress toward the sale and development of a number of other key City properties such as the old Municipal Center, the 167th/Hwy 47 Commercial node, and a new business park on the west side of Armstrong.

Of course, a number of business development, retention, and recruitment functions continue to be done by the City on a regular and on-going basis.

In addition, at the August 26, 2014 work-session, City Administrator Ulrich discussed options for addressing the upcoming Economic Development Manager vacancy.  Councilmember Riley was unable to attend the work-session; however, he was briefed at the September 2, 2014 work-session.    By consensus, the City Council agreed to and directed staff to proceed with  Mr. Ulrich's option #2 as follows:

2. Re-assign duties to existing staff and make internal adjustments as necessary (recommended).
Advantages: Cost savings in payroll by hiring different positions at a lower pay level. Promotional opportunities are offered to existing staff who have demonstrated value to the organization. A continuity of service is provided if the work is picked-up by someone knowledgeable of the community.
Disadvantages:  Economic Development will be the major focus of this position, however, the job will still have some administrative duties. Also, the City may incur some additional consultant costs for professional services, but it is expected that any additional costs will still be within the City's existing professional services budget, or charged back to developers. 

Proposal:

Staff supports and recommends filling this position with the following internal restructuring (Option #2 above):

• Promotion of the Assistant to the City Administrator (Mr. Patrick Brama)  to Assistant City Administrator/Economic Development Manager, with primary economic development duties assigned to that position.  Salary would be increased commensurate for the position. Note, a market rate adjustment for this position was previously recommended and budgeted in 2015.
• Promotion of the current Administrative Intern (Ms. Nichole Wenberg)  to a full-time, entry-level position as a Public Information & Events Specialist, with primary duties to include, but not limited to, event planning (e.g., Happy Days, Business Appreciation, banquets, Business Expo, etc.), social media, general City communications, and other administrative support and projects as required.
• Utilize the existing professional services budget to supplement with consultant services as necessary. (Note:  all costs would be covered by the existing professional services budget or charged back to developers.)
• The Community Development Director would have primary responsibility for land-use related projects and planning, plus provide technical review and assistance in regard to the Housing Assistance Policy and other housing related policies and projects.

It should be noted that both candidates exceed the minimum qualifications of their respective proposed positions, and both have proven experience in their respective proposed roles with Ramsey, and with previous employers.

The current Administrative Intern's new role falls within the scope of representation by the AFSCME collective bargaining group.   As such, per the 2013-2014 AFSCME labor agreement, the position was advertised internally for 5 days.    No one other than the current administrative intern applied for the position.  

Per the August 26, 2014 work-session, options and alternatives were presented as follows:   Again, option #2 is the recommended option.  :

The City has a number of options that it can consider, including:

1. Do not fill the position, and reduce or eliminate economic development duties as a priority (not recommended).

Advantages: Cost savings in payroll by eliminating a position. There would be less staff overall, and some work could continue to be done by staff, or farmed-out to private consultants.
Disadvantages: This option is not consistent with long-term strategy of promoting economic development to create financial stability. Potential loss of tax base and employers. Reduced land sales and fewer development considerations. Workload on existing staff may lead to unachieved expectations, low job satisfaction, and turnover.

2.  Re-assign duties to existing staff and make internal adjustments as necessary(recommended).
Advantages: Cost savings in payroll by hiring different positions at a lower pay level. Promotional opportunities are offered to existing staff who have demonstrated value to the organization. A continuity of service is provided if the work is picked-up by someone knowledgeable of the community.
Disadvantages: Economic Development will be the major focus of this position, however, the job will still have some administrative duties. Also, the City may incur some additional consultant costs for professional services, but it is expected that any additional costs will still be within the City's existing professional services budget, or charged back to developers. 

3. Conduct an external recruitment for the position and hire an outside candidate in its current form (not recommended). Advantages: A new person could potentially enhance the development team's skills and resources.
Disadvantages: This option would not result in a cost savings, and could increase costs overall. Economic development efforts would suffer over the three (3) to six (6) months required to fill the position.

The 2014 funding required to restructure Administrative Services is well within the 2014 budget.  The 2015 funding is as follows and represents an estimated net budget savings of $24,865: 



Please refer to the attachment for additional detail regarding the these figures.

Staff recommends filling the needs of the Economic Development Manager role by restructuring staff within Administrative Services as follows:
1) Promotion of the Assistant to the City Administrator to Assistant City Administrator/Economic Development Manager, effective September 15, 2014 at $37.04 per hour which is step 1 of the 2014 wage scale;

2) promotion of the current Administrative Intern to a full-time, Public Information & Events Specialist, effective September 15, 2014 at $22.18 per hour which is step 2 of the 2014 pay scale.

Motion to adopt resolution #14-09-183 to restructure Administrative Services as follows: 
1) Promote the Assistant to the City Administrator to Assistant City Administrator/Economic Development Manager, effective September 15, 2014 at $37.04 per hour which is step 1 of the 2014 wage scale;
2) promote the current Administrative Intern to a full-time, Public Information & Events Specialist, effective September 15, 2014 at $22.18 per hour which is step 2 of the 2014 pay scale.