Consent Item 4c
STAFF REPORT
City Council Consent Item
DATE: April 15, 2024
TO: Honorable Mayor and Council Members
FROM: Siana L. Emmons, City Clerk
THROUGH: Merritt Perry, City Manager
SUBJECT: Administrative Department Monthly Report for March 2024 STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Receive report as an informational item.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The Administration Department monthly report encompasses the following divisions: City Attorney, City Clerk, Risk Management/Human Resources and Information Technology.
CITY ATTORNEY
The City Attorney billing was 11.3 hours for the month of March for the Mitchell Law Firm, LLC.
Project support for this month included agenda review, ordinance review, contract review, and various email and telephone calls.
CITY CLERK DIVISION
For the month of March, the Clerk’s Office prepared and published three agendas for Regular City Council meetings, one Measure E agenda and one agenda for the Rohner Community Recreation Park District.
City Council Meetings
Council Meeting Date Agenda Items
March 4, 2024 Regular Meeting Cancelled 0
March 18, 2024 Regular Meeting 17
April 1, 2024 Regular Meeting 9
Totals 26
City Clerk’s Office Key Duties March
Public Records Act Requests 7
General Information Requests 25 – 30 per day, average
Ordinances 0
Resolutions 1
Minutes Prepared 4
Consent Item 4c
Notary Services Provided 1
Claims for Damages Filed 1
FPPC Filings: 12
Legal/Proof of Publications 0
Notices Posted (Public Hearing, Agenda, Ordinance, etc.) 6 The City is preparing candidate information for the upcoming November election. There are two (2) Fortuna City Council Seats open. If you are interested in running for office or would like more information about the general election or candidate information, please visit the City’s website www.friendlyfortuna.com, send e-mail to the Deputy City Clerk at [email protected], or call 707-725-7600.
If you need to register to vote, please visit: https://registertovote.ca.gov/
RISK MANAGEMENT / HUMAN RESOURCES DIVISION
Risk Management
There were no new Worker’s Compensation claims and no new tort claims as of March 1, 2024 Currently, the City has no open claims.
Date of Claim Type of Claim Status
09/29/2022 Civil Claim CLOSED
06/14/2023 Liability Claim CLOSED
09/13/2023 Liability Claim CLOSED
On March 20, 2024, risk staff met attended a virtual training hosted by Liebert Cassidy Whitmore (LCW) on Managing Employee Injuries, Disability and Occupational Safety. The workshop was designed to familiarize all levels of supervisors and managers with the basic principles and procedures of Worker’s Compensation.
Staff met for a Department/Division Head meeting just after the last Council meeting and reviewed the City’s procedures for a work related injury. Risk staff is preparing a “flow chart” to distribute to each department to make accessing information about how to handle workplace injuries, more accessible to all employees.
Risk staff is also working on developing a Health and Wellness Committee and have applied for grant funding through the City’s risk pool, California Intergovernmental Risk Authority (CIRA), to aid in the endeavor. If grant funding is approved, staff will recommend using the first round of funding to offset the current costs of the portion of gym memberships the City pays for per the Memoranda of Understanding (MOU’s) with the Fortuna Employee’s Association (FEA) and the Fortuna Police Employee’s Association (FPEA). As the Health and Wellness Committee develop, the committee will determine how to apply grant funding to provide employees with access to instructors, walking groups and helpful information on how to establish healthier eating and water intake habits. The committee will assess how to provide more accessible services for mental health and will look to work with local agencies, to better provide resources to our employees.
Risk staff continues to participate in Associate Risk Management (ARM) courses and have successfully completed, tested and passed the first series, 400 and is now participating in the 401 Consent Item 4c
series in preparation for testing. These courses are held virtually on Tuesday evenings at 5:30.
There will be one more series, ARM 402 to complete before testing and attempting to obtain certification. This is a nationally recognized program developed by the Insurance Institute of America and is focused on the science of risk management including avoiding, reducing and managing risk.
Human Resources
On March 21, 2024, Human Resources staff met with our regional Human Resources group which includes the Cities of Arcata and Eureka, and the County of Humboldt. The City of Arcata hired a new Human Resources/Administrative Services Director, Keira Vink, in the wake of the longtime Assistant City Manager, Danette Demello, announcing her impending retirement late last year.
The group welcomed Keira and re-established the importance of maintaining a monthly meeting.
The access to this local group of individuals, who primarily focus on similar human resources related job functions, is vital for developing lasting relationships, diversity of thought, access to new information, personal, career growth and growth for our agencies. The Human Resources Directors will meet monthly and a group of Human Resource Analysts, Payroll and Benefit Administrators and support positions, will also meet to establish a support network of local individuals working for public agencies in similar positions.
Current Recruitments:
Parks and Recreation:
Park Maintenance Worker I: Interviews completed, scores currently under review Police Department:
Police Officer Trainee: Interviews completed, scores currently under review Police Officer: Recruitment closed March 1, 2024, applications currently under review Police Dispatcher: Open until filled, still accepting applications Temporary Kennel Attendant: Recruitment closes on April 19, 2024 Public Works:
Treatment Plant Operator (TPO) Operator in Training (OIT)/ I & II: Recruitment re-published, closes April 12, 2024 at 4:00pm
Assistant City Engineer II: Recruitment on hold
Street Maintenance Worker II: Interviews completed, scores under review Utility Worker II/III: Candidate currently in background The City is always looking to recruit qualified staff for open positions. For more information about employment with the City of Fortuna, visit the City’s website www.friendlyfortuna.com, send email to the Deputy City Clerk at [email protected], or call 707-725-7600. We also encourage all interested applicants to create a user account on www.governmentjobs.com
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DIVISION
City Website Statistics (www.friendlyfortuna.com)
We encourage all citizens who are interested in receiving updates from the City to go on to the Fortuna’s website and sign up for e-notifications!
Consent Item 4c
Administrative, Police, Parks & Recreation and River Lodge staff continue to work collaboratively with the Revize build team to re-vamp the City’s existing webpages. One of the more noticeable changes will be the main menu on the home page. Currently a user accesses various pages by a “drop down and fly-out” menu, which can be confusing and tedious. This update will include a change to a “mega menu”, which will allow users to visually see all page choices. There will be updates to how the calendar looks and is accessible as well as the calendar being interactive for each department. Administrative staff is in the process of creating a website committee, so the city departments can meet collectively on a monthly basis and discuss and implement changes to the website to keep it up to date and relevant. This is an exciting time for the City to “re-brand”, not only the entire City website, but specifically our Parks & Recreation, River Lodge and Police webpages.
Currently, if any members of the public would like to receive public notices from Public Works, Community Development/Planning, the Police Department or Citywide Press Releases, please visit the website at https://www.friendlyfortuna.com/enotify/index.php and sign up for enotifications.
Computer/Network
Staff is working to eliminate outdated and redundant services provided by AT&T to produce cost savings at City Hall and satellite locations such as the park office and corporation yard.
In more recent IT news, the City will have upgrade all Microsoft systems, as the current system will soon lose ability to receive updates and tech support. In the next six months, the City will upgrade all users to Microsoft 365. This will be a large undertaking and support from Nylex will be crucial for the transition.
In addition, staff is reviewing budgeting available for eventual replacement of the Tricaster, which is the equipment utilized by Access Humboldt to produce our public meetings on public, education and government television (PEGTV).
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
Receive Administrative Monthly Report. Consent Agenda vote.