City of Gonzales
CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT
STAFF REPORT
TO: Honorable Mayor Rios and City Council
DATE: February 7, 2022
FROM: Rene Mendez, City Manager
SUBJECT: Updates to the Organizational Chart, Classification Plan & Job Descriptions
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that your City Council receive the staff report and take the following actions to:
1) Adopt the Updated City Organizational Chart;
2) Approve the New Assistant City Manager and Police Captain Positions and Job Descriptions; 3) Approve updates to the Job Descriptions of the Recreation Coordinator/Administrative Analyst, Youth Program Coordinator, and Sports & Senior Program Coordinator; 4) Approve changing the name of the Fire Engineer to Fire Lieutenant; and 5) Approve the revised Classification Plan.
BACKGROUND
The City has an existing Organizational Chart and Classification Plan that is adopted annually as part of the budget. The Chart is needed to clearly reflect the department/functions of the organization including the allotted positions for each department and functions. It also reflects span of control and the supervisor flow of the organization. The Classification Plan delineates the salary range for each position (classifications) within the Organizational Chart, as well as the progression through the steps of each range.
While most years there are no changes to both, from time to time it is important to assess the Organizational Chart and Classification Plan and bring forward any updates needed to keep up with changing workloads; better cover and align “span of control” responsibilities; retain and attract the needed personnel; establish a more visible succession pathway, and ultimately be able to effectively provide the services and coverage needed for the community.
REVIEW AND ANALYSIS
AGENDA
ITEM
17 The City is at a pivotal stage as we start the decade. With the expected and planned residential development, the Community Center Complex project, the expansion of the wastewater treatment plant, the continuing growth of the City’s economic base, the construction of the microgrid, and changing regulatory environment and requirements, the organization needs to constantly evolve and position itself for the future.
A couple of other reasons for the reorganization is that:
1. It creates succession throughout the organization; and
2. As the City grows, one of the important parts of the fiscal analysis will be how to finance the organization that will be needed in the future to support the growth. In order to best inform that analysis, it is important to begin evolving the organization at this time in preparation of what is coming and to establish the new organizational foundation.
While the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the transition and our community is certainly experiencing its impacts, the reality is that most projects and initiatives have continued to move forward.
As we move into the decade and transition to the post COVID-19 pandemic reality, staff believes that it is necessary to make the following recommended enhancements to the organization (Attachment 1) and the corresponding updates to the Classification Plan (Attachment 2) that will be presented below. • Establish an Assistant City Manager Position.
• Move the Recreation Department/function under the supervision of the Director of Community Engagement and Strategic Partnerships and realign duties and responsibilities across the Department.
• Create a Captain position in the Police Department.
• Rename the existing Fire Engineer Position to Fire Lieutenant.
City Managers’ Office - Assistant City Manager
Attachment 3, the recommended new job description for this position, reflects the duties and responsibilities that at is core supports any and all the responsibilities assigned to the City Manager, as necessary. As evident in the proposed job description, the Assistant City Manager (ACM) will focus primarily on organizational issues so that the City Manager can focus more on external issues, but also have oversight over the Public Works, Community Development/Planning, and Building functions.
Another important reason for establishing this position is that it establishes a clear succession path to the City Manager position should the Council choose or at a minimum, provide the Council the ability to maintain continuity if needed within the organization.
So why now? At this critical junction with everything that is before the City, the span of control and oversight needed is challenging to maintain. While sometimes difficult to acknowledge, the fact of the matter is that with everything currently underway and coming in the near future; it creates a “span of control” challenge that would be difficult for larger organizations with significant more staff resources, let alone for a small City. Therefore, it is important to establish the necessary structure to support what is being done and needs to be done. Another concern to guard against is spreading the organization to thin and important things being missed or not adequately addressed.
In order to keep up with everything currently underway and what is coming, the Deputy City Manager has been tasked with providing Assistant City Manager level work and has been assigned significantly more responsibility. Therefore, should your Council approve this position, it is my intent to promote the Deputy City Manager to Assistant City Manager, and maintain the Deputy position vacant until sometime in the future, at which time it would come before your Council for approval. It is not anticipated that this would happen for a few years.
Reorganization of the Recreation Department/Function
In taking a closer look at the existing Recreation Coordinator, it fits and aligns well under the duties and responsibilities of the Director of Community Engagement and Strategic Partnerships, who will provide the level of management leadership and oversight needed moving forward. Especially as we bring the Community Center Complex online, it is more important than ever to have the necessary skill sets to develop the partnerships and programs necessary. In addition, the continuing development and evolution of the existing youth, sports, and senior programs require enhancing, strengthening, and maximizing the skill set of existing personnel.
Furthermore, as the City continues to evolve and move forward, there is also a need to engage the community at a deeper level and establish the systems necessary to support the programing. As a result, staff is recommending the realignment of duties and responsibilities among the three existing positions:
the Recreation Coordinator, the Sports and Senior Program Coordinator, and the Youth Program Coordinator as reflected in Attachment 4 – A, B, & C.
Police Department - Captain
Similar reasons for the ACM position, essentially support the establishment of a new Captain position (Attachment 5) within the Police Department, which replaces the existing Deputy Police Chief position. It is needed to establish succession, provide much needed management and administrative support, establish more of an advancement pathway for employees, and ultimately strengthen the organization. In addition, with the constantly increasing regulatory and litigious environment, social media, and the changing public expectations surrounding law enforcement, it is not only necessary today, but more critical than ever to establish the necessary command and leadership support structure in the department.
Also, the Captain position is very common in other departments, and this would align the department with other agencies in the County.
Fire Department - Lieutenant
The recommended change is to simply rename the existing Fire Engineer positions to Fire Lieutenant, with no change to the job description and salary range. This recommendation is more due to the need to bring the command structure within the department in line with other agencies, and current best practice.
Classification Plan
The recommended Classification Plan (Attachment 6) reflects the changes described above. In addition, it reflects the cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) and other changes approved at the January 18th meeting.
Explain Recommendation and How it Supports the Vision
Gonzales will continue to be a safe, clean, family-friendly community, diverse in its heritage, and committed to working collaboratively to preserve and retain its small-town charm.
Explain: While internal in nature, the proposed recommendations support the Vision by making the necessary adjustments to strengthen the organization to be able to support and implement the Vision.
Explain how the Recommendation Directly Implements the Mission The City Council and Staff of the City of Gonzales will realize our Vision by providing the leadership, commitment, and resources necessary to provide excellent services that enhance the quality of life of our diverse community.
Explain: Please see explanation above for the Vision.
City services will be delivered in a cost-effective, respectful, and friendly manner to insure the safety and wellbeing of the residents and the promotion of business, recreational, housing and employment opportunities in an environmentally sustainable manner.
Explain: Please see explanation above for the Vision.
Strong fiscal policies allow us to provide appropriate infrastructure for:
• Public Safety X Yes No N/A
• Housing X Yes No N/A
• Recreation X Yes No N/A
• Environment X Yes No N/A
• Education X Yes No N/A
Explain: A stable organization is needed to ensure the high level of service necessary for the community.
ALTERNATIVES
Your Council has the authority to approve parts or none of the proposed adjustments to the organization.
While not recommended, based on the direction provided, staff would bring back a future item implementing the direction received.
BUDGET IMPACT
In general, the budget impacts are due to the Assistant City Manager position. All the other recommendation are fiscally neutral. For example:
• The Captain’s position in the Police Department replaces the Deputy Police Chief position and maintains the same salary scale. It is anticipated that this position would be filled by an internal recruitment process and any other leadership positions vacated (i.e., Sergeant and Corporal) would subsequently be filled by a similar process, and no new positions would be added. At this time, it is anticipated that no new positions would be added until the next growth phase of the City. • The Lieutenant position has no impact on the budget because it simply replaces the existing Fire Engineer position with no changes to the salary scale.
• The changes to the Recreation Department and functions, is fiscally neutral in that the existing authorized salaries for the three job description positions being updated, are simply being adjusted to support the changes to the duties and responsibilities utilizing existing resources. In addition, this will also support the added responsibility for the Director of Community Engagement and Strategic Partnerships.
The recommendation to establish an Assistant City Manager position if approved, will result in increase costs of $38,400 annually to the overall budget; $16,000 for the rest of this fiscal year. However, due to the proposed responsibilities of the position, the increase will be offset by non-General Fund revenue sources, so there will be no impact on the General Fund. Utility, assessment, and developer account funds will be used to offset the increase.
It is important to note that the estimates are based on existing personnel and reflect several assumptions on the possible application of benefits. It is possible that the actual cost impacts will vary depending on future personnel, and/or benefit costs.
CONCLUSION
It is recommended that your City Council receive the staff report and take the following actions to:
1) Adopt the Updated City Organizational Chart;
2) Approve the New Assistant City Manager and Police Captain Positions and Job Descriptions; 3) Approve updates to the Job Descriptions of the Recreation Coordinator/Administrative Analyst, Youth Program Coordinator, and Sports & Senior Program Coordinator Job Descriptions; 4) Approve changing the name of the Fire Engineer to Fire Lieutenant; and 5) Approve the revised Classification Plan.
Attachments:
1. Organizational Chart FY 2021-2022
2. Assistant City Manager
3. Police Captain
4. Recreation Coordinador
5. Youth Program Coordinator
6. Sports &Senior Programs Coordinator
7. Classification Plan