Consent Item 5a
STAFF REPORT
City Council Consent Item
DATE: March 17, 2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and Council Members
FROM: Siana L. Emmons, City Clerk
THROUGH: Amy Nilsen, City Manager
SUBJECT: Administrative Department Monthly Report for February 2025 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 9.9 hours for the month of February with the Mitchell Law Firm, LLC. Project support for these months included public records request review, ordinance review, contract review, personnel inquiries and various email and telephone calls.
CITY CLERK DIVISION
For the month of February, the Clerk’s Office prepared and published two agendas for Regular City Council meetings, one agenda for Special City Council Meetings, two agendas for the Planning Commission, one agenda for the FBID Board, and one agenda for the RCRPD Commission.
City Council Meetings
Council Meeting Date Agenda Items
February 3, 2025 Special Meeting 1
February 3, 2025 Regular Meeting 15
February 18, 2025 Regular Meeting 16
Totals 42
City Clerk’s Office Key Duties February
Public Records Act Requests 0
General Information Requests 25 – 30 per day, average
Ordinances 1
Resolutions 4
Consent Item 5a
Minutes Prepared 3
Notary Services Provided 0
Claims for Damages Filed 0
FPPC Filings: 0
Legal/Proof of Publications 3
Notices Posted (Public Hearing, Agenda, Ordinance, etc.) 8 On January 13, 2025, Clerk staff met Access Humboldt’s Production Manager Juan Carrillo, Director of Information Technology Clay McGlaughlin and their new Executive Director, Christina Jeffers. The purpose of the meeting was to provide a tour of the Council facilities and production equipment to Ms. Jeffers and make introductions. Staff will work with Juan Carrillo to schedule a time to review with Council microphone etiquette and best practices for streaming and recording Council meeting for public consumption via Access Humboldt, You Tube and other streaming methods.
Access Humboldt is also working with Clerk staff to obtain a quote to replace the cordless microphone in Council Chambers. The new microphone will have an electronic cradle to charge it, opposed to the battery operated style, as the current microphone has proven problematic in holding a charge.
RISK MANAGEMENT / HUMAN RESOURCES DIVISION
Risk Management
There were three new Worker’s Compensation claims as of February 18, 2025 and no new tort claims. City staff continues to work closely with LWP for Worker’s Compensation claims and George Hills our third party claims administrators to bring these claim to settlement or closure.
Currently the City has no open tort claims as they have all been successfully rejected or settled and closed.
Date of Claim Type of Claim Status
Following an incident that took place on March 3, 2025, involving damage to a police unit, risk staff is working collaboratively with the Public Works department and CIRA, the City’s risk pool, to replace the damaged vehicle as quickly as possible.
On February 24 through the 26th, Risk staff participated in the Annual Public Agency Risk Management Association (PARMA) conference. PARMA, was founded in 1974, by a group of eight risk managers. PARMA was the first organization of its kind, and was formed to provide a forum for California public sector risk managers to share ideas on how to perform their duties in this emerging field. At that time in the history of public entity risk management, no venue existed for risk managers to learn their trade, and most of what was being done was experimental in nature.
Risk management in public agency has and continues to evolve rapidly, particularly in regards to advancements in technological capabilities. This was the 51st Annual PARMA Conference and some of the topics covered were: administering leaves of absence, integrating Worker’s Compensation and safety for enhanced public agency resilience, Cal/OSHA update, workplace investigations, addressing implicit bias in Worker’s Compensation and claims management, ergonomics and psychiatric injuries and evolving approaches.
Risk staff will now be participating on the City’s risk pool, California Intergovernmental Risk Authority’s (CIRA) Executive Committee. The Executive Committee is elected from among the Consent Item 5a
Board, and meets quarterly to develop strategic goals and recommendations for the Board’s consideration. Subcommittees comprised of member subject matter experts (Finance, Underwriting, Coverage, etc.) support the Executive Committee. Risk staff will attend the first meeting during CIRA’s next Board meeting, March 20, 2025.
Human Resources
Human Resources staff continue to meet high demands for recruitments and hiring.
Current Recruitments:
Finance:
Account Clerk II: Candidate started February 18th
Community Development:
Senior Administrative Assistant: Recruitment closed February 21st, interviews in progress Building Inspector/Plan Checker: Recruitment open until March 28th Parks and Recreation:
Park Maintenance Worker I: Candidates currently in background Bus Driver I: Candidate started February 6th
Transit Dispatcher/Office Assistant: Candidate started February 6th Recreation Leader (Hot Shots): Candidate started February 6th Recreation Program Supervisor: Recruitment closed February 21st, candidate currently in background
Police Department:
Police Officer: Recruitment open until filled, interviews continue to be scheduled as qualified applicants apply
Police Officer Trainee: Candidate started February 3rd, recruitment re-opened until May 16th Public Works:
Lead Utility Worker: Recruitment closed February 28th, on hold Street Maintenance Worker II: One candidate started March 3rd and one 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 (www.friendlyfortuna.com)
City staff completed training sessions with Revize trainers to learn how to navigate and edit the new City website. Staff continues to make update to the website and are still aiming to launch the new site in the first quarter of the year.
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.
Consent Item 5a
Computer/Network
City staff will begin working with Nylex to integrate to Microsoft 365. Nylex will be sending a quote and together, City staff is working on an implementation plan. Transitioning to Microsoft 365 is required due to obsolete Microsoft office suite that the City currently uses.
In addition, staff is working with Nylex to relocate some of the existing City servers from a small room upstairs in City Hall to a new server location downstairs. This will provide streamlined access for Nylex and It support staff to troubleshoot servers, internet, phone and any other connectivity issues that may arise. It will eliminate the need for air conditioned ventilation in the upstairs server room and will also provide a large more organized storage space for the various hardware the network system requires. Also, by streamlining the equipment, the upstairs server room will be able to house the utility bill folding machine, which will create improved usable space in City Hall.
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
Receive Administrative Monthly Report. Consent Agenda vote.