Grover Beach City Council
February 27, 2023

Rick Haydon, Project Manager
Craig Bronzan, Special Advisor
Susan Healy Keene, AICP, Special Advisor
Don Rhoads, CPA, Special Advisor
Dave Sykes, PE, Special Advisor
Michelle New, Consulting Manager
Vicki Sun, Senior Consultant
City of Grover Beach
Citywide
Organization Assessment
February 27, 2023
Major Engagement Objective
• Management Partners, now
combined with Baker Tilly, conducted
a high-level assessment of the City
organization with a more in-depth
review of the Public Works, Parks
and Recreation, and Administrative
Services departments.
• Goal:
 Achieving an efficient organization
structure,
 Improving City services, and
 Addressing future needs.
2 3
Information
Gathered
Council and Department Interviews
Site Visits
Focus Groups
Employee Survey
Peer Comparison Data
Prior Assessments
• City Council members are proud of City leadership, community events, and City staff, particularly Public Works maintenance staff • Strong interest in more community events held in parks as well as additional recreational activities offered to the public • Anticipates an increase in homeless-related issues in the future • Interest in aesthetic improvements along Grand Avenue; would also like to see utility lines be undergrounded
• Concerned with traffic safety along Grand Avenue; would also like more traffic enforcement
4 Major Themes from Council Interviews
• Generally strong communication both within departments and citywide • Low staffing levels in Administrative Services, Public Works (maintenance), and Parks and Recreation
• Pending retirements in several key positions without replacements due to lack of effective succession planning
• Multiple departments report lacking key performance indicators (KPIs) and standard operating procedures (SOPs)
• Some departments lack key resources (e.g., work tools and equipment, technology, asset management or permit/project tracking systems) • Concerns about development review coordination with Public Works • Staff generally motivated to do a good job
• Staff seem to prioritize and value providing good customer service 5 Major Themes from Staff Interviews
Focus Groups
• Conducted two focus groups
 City of Grover Beach residents
 Public Works maintenance
staff
6 • City leaders are doing a good job addressing issues (homelessness, economic development, beautification, etc.), and the City is proactive and innovative in its approach
 Participants also noted it is easy and pleasant to work or interact with the City • Interested in improvements regarding sidewalks; improving walkability and bike-ability (and reducing car-dependence), mitigating traffic and noise, and being more supportive of and welcoming to new small businesses (including doctor’s offices)
• Participants had an overall interest in the City:
 Being a more attractive destination for businesses and residents  Supporting more City-sponsored community-building events and activities for residents
 Seeing more City-sponsored youth sports programming and childcare services 7 Major Themes from Community Focus Group
• Maintenance staff working out of the corporation yard feel they are significantly understaffed and will need at least three to four additional staff based on their workload
• Succession planning is urgently needed
• Training is ad hoc and a burden on already overworked staff • The corporation yard and work tools are very old; staff report not having the right tools to perform their jobs
• Opportunities to improve departmental communications exist • Staff do not know where their requests for equipment or for additional staff go, and would appreciate more communication and updates from department management
8 Major Themes from Public Works Focus Group
Employee Survey Informed Our Recommendations
• Open from August 22 through
September 2, 2022
• A total of 40 employees
responded to the survey (a
response rate of about 46.4%)
9 Staffing
Resources
Training and Professional Development
Organizational Health
Organizational Culture
Communication
Employee Relations
Continuous Improvements
Service Delivery
Customer Service
Major Themes from the Employee Survey
• The City’s organizational culture appears strong and customer service is paramount
• Nearly all respondents (95%) said that they would recommend the City as a good place to work
• Over 90% agree that leaders encourage open and honest communication
• A total of 83% of respondents indicated they have the necessary resources to do their jobs
• Just over three-fourths of respondents (77%) agreed that communication is good within the City
• A sizeable majority of respondents (75%) disagreed that the staffing in their department was appropriate
• Succession planning is also a concern as 72% of respondents indicated their department is not prepared for future retirements • A total of 68% of respondents disagreed with the statement that their pay is fair for the duties they perform
10 Comparison Agency Information
• Agency comparison data collected
for the public works, recreation,
and human resources functions
• Comparing cities is always
challenging with respect to service
levels, functions provided, and FTEs
11 Arroyo Grande
Grover Beach
Morro Bay
Pismo Beach
Prior Organizational Assessments
• Previous assessments, and the
status of their recommendations,
was reviewed and analyzed as part
of our information gathering
phase
12 2016 Citywide Assessment by
Management Partners
2018 Development Review
Assessment by Zucker Systems
2018 Police Department
Assessment by RW Martin
Consulting in conjunction with RJ
Haydon Management Services
13 Prior Assessments
2015-2016 Management Partners’ Report
• Of the 30 recommendations, 22 have either been
partially or completely implemented
2018 Zucker Report
• Of the 48 priority one recommendations, 32 were
addressed and completed. In all, 85 of the 107
recommendations have been addressed or
completed
2018 Police Department Audit
• Of the 37 recommendations, 29 have been
implemented with 7 outstanding and 1 no longer
relevant
14 Observations and Recommendations
Overall Observations
• Morale in generally positive throughout
departments
• Customer service is held to a high standard
• There are opportunities to improve internal
communications and organizational
efficiencies in Public Works
• Public Works field staff struggle with service
demands and are unable to routinely perform
preventive maintenance functions
• Calls-for-service in the Police Department have
significantly increased since last year
15 Observations continued
• The Police Department has addressed their succession planning issues
• The transition of police dispatch to Pismo Beach has been successful
• The Parks and Recreation Department does not have the capacity to increase programming or community events due to limited staffing
• While some volunteers are used for special events in the Parks and Recreation Department, a well-rounded volunteer program is needed as well as a formal process for measuring program success
• Opportunities exist in the Administrative Services Department for better front-office coverage
16 Observations continued
• The number of direct reports to the City
Manager is relatively large and needs to be
reduced
• The management analyst in Human Resources
is at capacity and is unable to spend time on
key assignments because of workload
• There is a lack of standard operating
procedures (SOPs) or desk manuals in some
departments
• The purchasing policies and citywide
administrative policies and procedures are
outdated
17 Noteworthy Recommendations
• Add a superintendent of maintenance and
implement more regular communication
briefings in the Public Works Department
• Perform a Public Works maintenance
workload assessment to determine
personnel and equipment resource needs
• As the Capital Improvement Program
expands, assess the need for contractual
services to address workload issues
• Develop a financial plan to renovate the
corporation yard and police vehicle yard
18 Noteworthy Recommendations continued
• Conduct a review of calls for service in the
Police Department to determine sufficient
patrol coverage
• Propose a cost sharing arrangement with
adjacent law enforcement agencies to
secure a South County mental health
counselor to assist patrol staff in the field
• Develop, implement, and fund an
equipment replacement program
• Develop key performance indicators to
inform effective decisions about resource
allocation and organizational efficiencies
19 Noteworthy Recommendations continued
• Add a recreation supervisor position to the
Parks and Recreation Department and utilize
part-time, seasonal, temporary staff, and
volunteers more in programs and events
• Analyze current parks and recreation program
costs to inform future expansion decisions
• Evaluate the costs and benefits of merging
the Parks and Recreation Department with
another department or keeping it as a standalone department 20 Noteworthy Recommendations continued
• Assess whether the shift from discretionary to
more administrative permits will require a
change to the staffing structure of the
Community Development Department
• Reassign supervision of the HR management
analyst to the deputy city manager
• Hire an HR technician to provide staff support in
key mission-critical areas
• Update all citywide administrative policies and
procedures, including the purchasing policy
21 22
Questions and
Comments
Thank you!
Rick Haydon|[email protected]
Craig Bronzan|[email protected]
Susan Healy Keene|[email protected]
Don Rhoads, CPA|[email protected]
Dave Sykes, PE|[email protected]
Michelle New|[email protected]
Vicki Sun|[email protected]
Thank you!