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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/17/2011 07 Staffing Changes in Human Resources and City Clerks Divisions BUSINESS OF THE CITY COUNCIL YAKIMA, WASHINGTON ® AGENDA STATEMENT Item No. 7 For Meeting Of May 17, 2011 ITEM TITLE: Consideration of staffing changes in Human Resources and City Clerks SUBMITTED BY: Michael A. Morales, Acting Assistant City Manager CONTACT PERSON /TELEPHONE: Michael Morales, 575 -6040 SUMMARY EXPLANATION: A number of organization and pension issues have arisen over this year that necessitate some service and staffing changes in the offices of the City Clerk and Human Resources, which are both under the Department of Administration. The Deputy City Clerk will retire July 5, 2011. One of the Deputy Clerk's primary job functions has been to administer the LEOFF 1 Police and Fire retiree's pension program. This includes calculation of pensions for LEOFF 1 and Prior Service Police and Fire members; coordinating insurance benefits; analyzing and processing medical claims and other duties associated with the pension program. This job function is complex and requires advanced technical skills due to the various state RCW's related to the Police and Fire Pension Act that apply to LEOFF 1 retirees. Also, as a result of health care reform legislation, the City now has the option to transfer the ®. risk associated with the state - mandated medical benefits for LEOFF I actives and retirees from the City's self- insured medical plan (administered by HMA) to Medicare and supplemental insurance policies. This will add approximately $425,000 annually to the City's general fund as a result of both expenditure savings in the Police Pension service unit, and a reduction in the property tax allocation to the Fire Pension. This change will only affect LEOFF I retirees 65 and older (i.e. Medicare eligible). The City must continue to provide the same benefit calculation and claims service for those under 65. continued on next page Resolution Ordinance Other (Specify) Contract Mail to (name and address): Phone: Funding Source APPROVED FOR SUBMITTAL: - City Manager STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Accept this report and approve the new position in Human Resources by motion. BOARD /COMMISSION /COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION: At their April 27, 2011 meeting the City Council Budget Committee recommended approval of the proposed changes. 1111 COUNCIL ACTION: (continued from page 1) 4111 Meanwhile, the City's time and money spent y pent to process and manage public records in response to public disclosure requests continues to increase. With only one person to manage this unfunded mandate, it is impeding our efforts to implement and maintain a citywide records management system and manage the public disclosure process in coordination with all City departments, creating liability for the City. Both of these functions are highly specialized and require comprehensive monitoring. Because the public records disclosure component has become so voluminous over the last few years and is not likely to decrease in the future, the records management piece has not received the necessary diligence and attention due to the Public Records Officer's workload and time constraints. We have also been informed that City Clerk Debbie Kloster will retire in January 2012, about 'a year earlier than had been planned. This shorter transition period means that we must appoint an Acting Deputy Clerk in order to ensure that Ms. Kloster's replacement has a firm understanding of all of the Clerk's essential functions. Under the previous timeline, the Deputy Clerk position would have had a longer time period to transfer the LEOFF I functions to Human Resources and the division operations would be reorganized to include management of the City's public records system. The Human Resources Division is and will continue to undergo significant change as well. Within the last 6 months, the Civil Service Chief Examiner retired and was replaced in March; the Human Resources (HR) Manager retires May 31; and a highly specialized (L &I, Workers Compensation) Human Resources Specialist has announced retirement for December 2011. 4110 These 3 employees represent the total combined loss of 77 years of experience and historical knowledge that will be lost in one year, and will impact the division and the organization as a whole. The HR Manager and HR specialist are subject matter experts in the City's self - insured programs and retiree benefits and it will not be possible to absorb the new LEOFF 1 duties with existing resources. While the workloads and loss of institutional knowledge in both the City Clerk's and Human Resources divisions are daunting, these circumstances also provide an opportunity to analyze the efficiency and productivity of both divisions, and reposition them to better function under the current and future demands of a changing environment. In discussions with each division, as well as the finance department, staff has recommended the following organizational changes: • Transfer the LEOFF I Police and Fire pension administration from the Clerk's Office to Human Resources to be included with other benefits management. • Change the job description of the Deputy City Clerk to add oversight of the City's records • management system. This would accommodate the increased responsibilities related to public records requests, allowing the Public Records Officer additional time to process daily requests. This task is currently underway and will be presented to the Civil Service Commission in the next few months. • Under the City Manager's authority, provisional or acting appointments can be made to accommodate vacancies. Given the timelines and demands facing the City Clerk's office, the City Manager will accelerate the succession plan for the City Clerk by • appointing Ms. Claar -Tee as the Acting Deputy Clerk, effective July 6, 2011 and as City Clerk effective January 2012. This will ensure that the essential functions of the City Clerk can be performed uninterrupted by the end of the year. . By that time, the realignment of duties and responsibilities for the position will have been approved by the Civil Service Commission. • Create an additional Human Resources Specialist position to absorb the LEOFF 1 responsibilities and assist with the transition and potential reorganization of the division leading up to and following the retirement of the current HR Specialist. The annual salary and benefits cost of this position is approximately $75,000, and would be funded by the general fund savings of the LEOFF 1 health insurance transfer. The estimated total annual savings' of the LEOFF 1 transfer is approximately $425,000, leaving a net savings /revenue to the general fund of $350,000. An additional appropriation is not required at this time since the City Manager can authorize the budget transfer from pension medical fund to human resources. The City Council Budget Committee discussed this proposal at its April 27, 2011 meeting, and recommended that the changes be approved. •