HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC AG PKT 2003-10-13 #S w
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AGENDA REPORT
DATE: October 13, 2003
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
THRU: John B. Bahorski, City Manager
FROM: Douglas A. Dams, P.E., Director of Public Works /City Engineer
SUBJECT: REQUEST TO FILL VACANCY AND ESTABLISH
SALARY RANGE
SUMMARY OF REQUEST:
That the City Council (1) approve the amendment to the Seal Beach Position
Classification Plan to re- establish the position of Associate Engineer, (2) establish salary
for same, and (3) authorize recruitment for two Associate Engineer positions.
BACKGROUND:
As Council is aware, the City's workforce has been downsizing from the early 90's either
through attrition or layoff. Much of the Director's efforts are spent on operational aspects
of the department. During the adoption of the FY02 /03 & 03/04 Budget, Council imposed
a citywide hiring freeze and required that full -time vacancies could only be filled with
Council approval.
With the recent Council approval of a 10 -year water infrastructure improvement program,
compliance with the sewer waste discharge requirements and most importantly the recent
resignation of the Public Works Assistant, who implements and manages the City's
Stormwater /Ocean Water Quality program, the City has an opportunity to review and
improve the existing Public Works operation.
With the loss of the City's coordinator for water quality, there is a serious gap with no
back up in the ability of the Department to comply with the requirements of the storm
water quality program, sewer waste discharge requirements, as well as implement the
current transportation grants and needed water infrastructure improvements. Additionally,
the Assistant City Engineer is the sole in -house employee to manage the various
consultants who administer, design and inspect projects within the capital program as
well as apply for new funding opportunities through the grants process and handle
Council inquiries and requests. There are many projects that are either in the
environmental or design phase and are not moving forward due to lack of in -house
resources for project administration.
Agenda Item S
It is recommended that the City recruit two associate engineers with project management
and engineering skills. These engineers will possess knowledge of operation of
stormwater, sewer and water distribution systems. There is already an existing job
description for this position and in a previous budget it was anticipated that the position
of Associate Engineer would be desirable to implement water quality regulations.
This proposal would allow for implementation of the City's capital program to catch up
on replacing failing infrastructure and performance of the various tasks necessary to
ensure the City stays in compliance with stormwater and sewer requirements from the
Santa Ana Regional Water Board. These two positions would be cross - trained so there is
an ability to place resources more dynamically and would provide a more balanced
approach than solely using consultants for project management and administration. It is
anticipated the regulatory climate and need to replace and rehabilitate the City's
infrastructure will only increase.
FISCAL IMPACT:
These two new positions will be funded by not filling the Public Works Assistant position
and funds designated within the Water Capital Fund and Sewer Capital Fund for project
management. The approximate cost of two positions would be approximately $150 to
$180 thousand dollars depending upon the step assigned. Currently there is $100,000
designated within the Water Capital Improvement Program for project management as
well as $65,000 budgeted within Drainage, Streets, Signals, Sewer and Facility
Maintenance programs. Additional funding from the Sewer Capital Program would
provide the remaining $15,000. There would be no increase in General Fund for filling
these positions.
The salary range for this position will be set at 55A (Step A $5,190 – Step E $6,307) with
the top of the scale below the beginning range for the Asst. City Engineer. This salary is
within the county -wide average for this position. When compared to outsourcing these
functions, an Associate Engineer would earn approximately $36 to $40 hour with benefits
as compared to a service provider who would charge from $80 to $110 per hour. The
position would be exempt and considered as part of the management group.
RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council (1) approve the amendment to the Seal Beach Position
Classification Plan to re- establish the position of associate engineer, (2) establish salary
for same, and (3) authorize recruitment for two associate engineer positions.
Prepared By: Conc :
IA ale
Mar K. Vukojevic, P.E. Doug? `�
Deputy City Engineer Director of Public Works /City Engineer
Agenda Item
I
NOTED AND ' ' ' OVED:
Jo .. Bahorski, City Manager
Agenda Item