Post Office Box 561 Wilton, California 95693 916-261-7547 [email protected]
CITY OF HERCULES
Public Works Department
Organizational Review and Analysis
Prepared by:
Mike Bakaldin
Charlene Harris
Mike Oliver
Municipal Resource Group, LLC
March 2021
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................ ................................ ................................ .....1 BACKGROUND ................................ ................................ ................................ ................. 1 ORGANIZATIONAL ASSESSMENT PROCESS AND METHODOLOGY ................................ .....2 A. Document Review ................................ ................................ ................................ 2 B. Staff and Customer Interviews ................................ ................................ .............2 C. Comparative Municipality Review ................................ ................................ ........3 KEY OBSERVATIONS AND FINDINGS ................................ ................................ ................. 3 A. Public Works Department ................................ ................................ .................... 3 B. Engineering Division ................................ ................................ ............................. 4 C. Maintenance & Operations Division ................................ ................................ .....5 COMPARATIVE AGENCIES ................................ ................................ ................................ 9 RECOMMENDATIONS ................................ ................................ ................................ ....10 A. Staffing ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 10 B. Organizational Modifications ................................ ................................ .............13 C. Technical and Equipment Enhancements ................................ ........................... 16 PROPOSED ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE ................................ ................................ ....17 CONCLUSION ................................ ................................ ................................ ................. 17
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A List of Interviewees
Attachment B List of Interview Questions
Attachment C-1 City of Pinole Organizational Chart
Attachment C-2 City of Orinda Organizational Chart
Attachment C-3 Town of Moraga Organizational Chart
Attachment C-4 City of El Cerrito Organizational Chart
Attachment D Hercules Public Works Department Proposed Organizational Structure
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City of Hercules (“City”) engaged Municipal Resource Group, LLC (“MRG”) to assist the City’s Public Works Department (“Department”) in determining an organizational structure and staffing configuration that would improve service delivery and outcomes , increase efficiencies and effectiveness, clarify employee roles and responsibilities, and streamline management oversight.
The process included a review of provided documentation and data ; individual interviews of identified Department staff, the City Manager, and each member of the City Council; and a review of data from comparative municipalities. The data and subsequent analysis were incorporated into a series of findings and recommendations.
MRG’s most critical recommendation is to reclassify a currently vacant Maintenance Worker I/II position to a new Public Works Specialist (Inspector) classification . This one recommendation addresses many of the Department’s most pressing issues, in that it would:
• Free the Public Works Superintendent to provide the necessary oversight and direction to maintenance staff and the time to implement a work order system, performance or workload measures and other management tools;
• Provide needed oversight of development projects and encroachment of permit-related work in the City’s right-of-way;
• Provide additional time for the Associate Engineer to review and coordinate the work of outside consultants by reassigning work to the new position; and • Satisfy the City Council ’s and other stakeholders ’ goal for enhanced oversight of the landscape contractor by assigning oversight to this new position, who would be trained and experienced in inspecting contract work and enforcing contract provisions.
Other key recommendations include:
• Consider creating a new Public Works Supervisor classification; • Shifting janitorial duties for all City buildings and potentially park restrooms from full-time staff to contract services and/or part-time staff; and
• Implementing a v ariety of work productivity, performance measurement and accountability systems to improve effectiveness.
BACKGROUND
The Department is tasked with overseeing the construction, rehabilitation , and maintenance of the City’s infrastructure. The Department ope rates with a limited number of staff supported by outside consultants and contractors for a wide variety of designated services. While the City has continued to develop and grow (9% population growth since 2011), and infrastructure and infrastructure maint enance requirements have increased along with service delivery expectations, t he number of Department staff has remained constant since 201 4, following staffing reductions to address fiscal impacts brought on by the Great Recession. The Department
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operated with an average staffing of 14.75 FTEs between the years 2011 through 2014. Beginning in Fiscal Year 2015, the staffing level was reduced and has remained at 11.0 FTEs.
The MRG project team conducted a high -level staffing, service delivery and organizational structure analysis of the Public Works Department to achieve the following objectives:
• Evaluate service delivery methods and outcomes, utilizing City Council, City Manager, and Public Works staff input, and provide reco mmendations to improve service delivery and outcomes;
• Evaluate staffing levels, positions, and contracted services in relation to the workload to provide recommendations as to appropriate staffing levels; and • Evaluate the Public Works Department’s organiz ational structure and provide recommendations for improved efficiency and service delivery.
The report that follows represents the results of that review and analysis, which included interviews with Department staff, the City Manager, and each member of t he City Council. The results were based upon these interviews as well as a review of best practices and organizational design, other municipal models, and an assessment of the current departmental environment.
ORGANIZATIONAL ASSESSMENT PROCESS AND METHODOLOGY
The organizational assessment consisted of the following three steps:
A. Document Review
MRG reviewed the City’s budget documents, staff cost allocations, Lighting and Landscape District Engineer Reports, and Department job descriptions to develop an und erstanding of the City’s and Department’s financial position and organizational structure.
B. Staff and Customer Interviews
On January 14, 2021, the project was officially kicked off with a n online meeting that included City Manager David Biggs, Public Works Director/City Engineer Michael Roberts, and MRG Consultants Mike Oliver, Mike Bakaldin and Charlene Harris. Mr. Biggs and Mr. Roberts provided a background overview of the Department as well as critical input and perspective on the history, culture and effectiveness of the City and the Department. The team also discussed and finalized the project scope of services and timeline.
On January 27, 2021 , MRG held on-site interviews with the City Manager, the Public Works Director, and selected Department staff. The interviews focused on the individuals’ roles and responsibilities, their Division’s performance, service delivery, measurements of effectiveness, resource allocation and potential opportunities for improvement. MRG held follow -up phone interviews with the Public Works Director and Superintendent to clarify details and ensure the accuracy of the report findings.
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In late January and early February of 2021, MRG interviewed each member of the City Council .
The interviews generally focused on service delivery and potential opportunities for improvement.
The complete list of interviewees is found in Attachment A. The interview questions are provided as Attachment B. These served as a guidepost for the interviews, and subse quent questions were asked as issues were further identified or additional clarification was needed.
C. Comparative Municipality Review
The Consultants conducted a desk review of the organizational structures and assigned functions of four comparative municipalities in Contra Costa County . These municipalities included El Cerrito, Pinole, Moraga, and Orinda.
KEY OBSERVATIONS AND FINDINGS
The review and analysis process led to the following key observations and findings. They identify opportunities for improv ement in the Department ’s organizational structure and serve as a roadmap to improve service delivery, operations, efficiencies, and management oversight. The recommendations in the next section are derived from the key observations and findings.
A. Public Works Department
The Public Works D epartment consists of two Divisions: Engineering and Maintenance & Operations.
The Public Works Director/City Engineer manages both Divisions, but is primarily focused on the Engineering Division in his capacity a s the City Engineer . The Public Works Superintendent manages the Maintenance & Operations Division, while dedicating a significant portion of his time to support the Engineering Division. Key findings and observations regarding the Department include:
• The Public Works Department utilizes outside consultants and contractors to provide a significant portion of the Department’s services. Department staff is tasked with managing the contracts and overseeing the work product. The contract model appears to work well for the Department and allows for greater flexibility in managing the resources necessary to deliver services. However, there are challenges in managing the number of contracts and adequately overseeing the work product.
• The Department experienced sig nificant personnel reductions between 2011 and 2014 , dropping from a high of 18 full-time positions to the current 11 full-time positions. • Due to the currently “lean” organizational structure, both the Department’s management personnel (Public Works Director/City Engineer and Public Works Superintendent) spend virtually all of their time performing staff -level work or managing everyday work functions. Currently, neither position has sufficient capacity to perform strategic planning
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or d evelop and implement new procedures and systems to i mprove infrastructure reliability and work productivity.
• The Department does not perform regular personnel performance evaluations, except for probationary employees and employees eligible for step increa ses, and lacks performance standards and workload measures for most of the key functions .
Consequently, the Department is hindered by a lack of clear expectations within an agreed framework of planned goals, standards, and competence requirements. • The Department does not utilize a work order or computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) . Work assignments are typically distributed verbally and currently there is no formal or informal follow -up process. City -wide, there has been a recent effort by the City Manager’s office to track citizen complaints and service requests via a spreadsheet with an expectation that each complain t/request will be tracked up to final resolution. The City is also exploring implementation of an off-the-shelf work order system that could potentially be used by all departments to issue and track complaints, service requests and internally generated work.
• The Department lacks a succession plan , and the organizational structure does not provide a clear line o f succession for the two leadership positions, Public Works Director/City Engineer and Public Works Superintendent.
B. Engineering Division
The Engineering Division administers the City’s Capital Improvement Program ; reviews and inspects grading and public i mprovements on private development projects ; reviews traffic engineering; issues encroachment and grading permits ; and administers the City’s clean water and sewer lateral certification program s. Engineering staff primarily provide s counter service, address public inquiries, and manage outside consultants and contractors who perform the bulk of the development plan reviews, capital project design, and capital project construction management.
The Division is staffed by a Public Works Director/City Engineer and an Associate Engineer, and is supported by the Public Works Superintendent, who performs public works inspections on encroachment permits and private development projects and assists with capital projects. Key findings and observations for the Engineering Division include:
• Prior to his appointment in 2014 as the Public Works Superintendent, the incumbent served as the City’s Public Works Inspector for over 20 years. Because t he Inspector position has not been filled, the Superinte ndent continues to serve as the primary inspector for development projects, encroachment permits and sewer lateral repairs and replacements. These dual roles result in the Superintendent spending less than the required time managing the maintenance activities. The Associate Engineer serves as his backup. The Superintendent estimates that, on average, inspection and Engineering Division-related responsibilities account for 30 to 40% of his time. • Engineering staff reports that they do not have the capacity to inspect a significant portion of the encroachment permit work, especially the work performed by public utilities. Staff
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also has limited capacity to actively inspect development projects and ensure compliance with conditions of approval.
• The Engineering Division relies heavily on outside consultants to review plans and specifications for new developments. Staff members report that they no longer have the capacity to review the outside consultant’s development plan review comments . As a result, plan review comments are typically transmitted directly from the consultant to the developer without review by City staff. Further, City staff has limited time to coordinate and manage the outside staff. The lack of City staff review , and coordination of development plan reviews can lead to uneven conformance with City specifications and conditions of approval.
• Virtually, all capital project design, construction management, and project inspection activities are performed by outside consultants. On occasion , Engineering staff will manage a small capital project and perform the construction inspection in-house.
C. Maintenance & Operations Division
The Maintenance & Operations Division is responsible for the following:
• Maintaining the City’s public parks, landscape medians, streets, sidewalks, and facilities; • Ensuring clean stormwater and compliant wastewater discharge into San Pablo Bay through the City’s creek and storm drain maintenance, street sweeping and sewer collection programs;
• Graffiti abatement;
• Addressing illegal dumping; and
• Oversight of the City-wide Lighting and Landscaping Assessment District contracts.
Maintenance & Operations staff’s primary duties include:
• Providing janitorial service to City facilities except for City Hall; • Performing light building maintenance;
• Cleaning and light maintenance of City parks;
• Replacing and repairing streetlights and street signs; • Inspecting sewer lift stations;
• Removing graffiti and illegally dumped materials;
• Temporarily patching potholes;
• Responding to sewer overflows; and
• Performing limited pavement and curb marking maintenance.
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The Division is also responsible for overseeing outside contractors who:
• Maintain t he Ci ty’s park and median landscaping, traffic signals, vehicles, sidewalks, roadways, and building and sewer system mechanical and electrical systems; • Provide street cleaning, weed abatement, and pest control services; and • Clean and repair the sewer collection system.
The Maintenance & Operations Division is staff ed by a Public Works Superintendent , four Maintenance Worker I I positions and four Maintenance Worker I positions, with one of the Maintenance Worker I/II positions currently vacant. Key findings and observations include:
• The Public Works Superintendent has insufficient time to organize, direct, and supervise the work of the Maintenance & Operations Division. In addition to his inspection duties, the incumbent supports the Engineering Division as needed, which on average, takes up to 40% of his time. Over the past year, the Superintendent estimated that he spent up to 50% of his time overseeing the City’s energy efficiency and conservation project (Engie).
In effect, the Superintendent has had approximately 10% of available time in the last year to oversee the Maintenance & Operations Division. The Superintendent’s primary office is located at City Hall, with a secondary office at the maintenance yard. • As a result of the Superintendent’s mu ltiple responsibilities, Maintenance & Operations Division s taff is primarily self -directed. Each Maintenance Worker is assigned several parks and buildings to maintain during their workweek. The first half of the typical weekday is spent performing janito rial work in the City’s buildings and park restrooms, inspecting sewer lift stations, and opening and inspecting parks and buildings. The second half of the day is spent resolving issues discovered during the morning, responding to public complaints and se rvice requests, working on minor projects assigned by the Superintendent, inspecting contract maintenance work, or inspecting an assigned zone for issues.
• The Division does not have clearly established standards or expectations for the various routine daily tasks that the staff perform. For example, once a maintenance worker cleans and opens a building and restroom, there is no accepted or set standard as to the minimum number of times the maintenance worker should return to each facility during the day to ensure cleanliness and safety. Further, there is little to no day-to-day supervision of maintenance staff by the Superintendent. Consequently, staff performance and facility conditions are inconsistent due to a lack of clear expectations, accountability, and oversight.
• The Division does not have clearly established response time expectations for the most common requests for service, including pothole repair, street light repair or graffiti removal. Staff members stated that graffiti and illegal dumping requests for service are typically handled within 48 hours, and that street light outages can take up to a week. • The Division does not have the equipment or materials for asphalt work beyond the temporary repair of potholes with cold patch . More permanent asphalt repairs are prioritized and either performed under the annual asphalt maintenance contract or
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incorporated into the City’s asphalt management program and performed in later years.
It is the City’s practice to defer permanent patching and repairs to either the annual contracted repair project or the CIP program, which can take years to implement. • Maintenance is primarily conducted in a reactive mode, although there has been an effort to be more proactive. Recently, staff divided the City into eight zones to match the number of budgeted maintenance workers. Each worker is expected to drive through the assigned zone at leas t once during the calendar month to identify potholes, faded pavement markings and street signs, graffiti, and any other potential issues. The zones are rotated each month so that there is a fresh set of eyes looking for items in need of repair or replacement.
• The Division does not formally track completed or outstanding work, resulting in the lack of a potential work backlog. However, Division staff members were consistent in the belief that there were no outstanding items or projects in need of immediate attention.
That belief is partially supported by the following:
▪ In the last two years, the Division had the entire sewer collection system cleaned and video inspected by contract. Per the Public Works Superintendent, the City only experiences, on average, one sanitary sewer overflow per year; ▪ In the last two years, all street name signs were replaced by staff; ▪ The vast majority of the City’s streetlights are newer LED fixtures, which have an anticipated service life of at least 15 years, thereby minimizing the number of bulb replacements needed as compared to the older high-pressure sodium streetlights that require replacement every three to five years; and
▪ None of the interviewed staff or Council members highlighted serious issues with the City’s facilities or infrastructure , except for concerns with the condition of the City’s roadways and a perceived long lag time to perform necessary repairs. • Maintenance s taff’s perception that there is no work backlog suggests that the Maintenance & Operations Division is adequately staffed for the amount of work that it performs in relation to the amount of work that is cont racted out. A widely accepted standard is that properly functioning maintenance organizations should have a work order backlog of approximately four weeks.
The backlog allows for proper planning and procurement of necessary contractors, equipment, or supplies prior to the start of work. Longer backlogs lead to poor employee morale due to overwork, loss of confidence that work will be done , and the slow degradation of infrastructure. Shorter backlogs lead to difficulty in keeping maintenance staff focused on priority work, increase unplanned work, and result in falling productivity.
However, the lack of a work order system and historic work and performance data does not allow for quantitative verification that the Division is properly resourced. • Under the City’s Memorandum of Understanding with Local 315, “two Public Works Maintenance Workers will be designated as "Lead Workers" and will receive 5% additional duties pay.” The MOU does not define the expected duties and responsibilities
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of th e “ Lead Worker.” The Department practice has been to give lead pay to one Maintenance Worker II to assist the Public Works Superintendent in overseeing the landscape contract and for another Maintenance Worker II to assist the Public Works Superintendent in overseeing the street lighting system and sewer lift stations. The actual authorities and expectations of the two maintenance workers designated as “Lead Workers,” both in terms of contract oversight and providing direction or technical and functional supervision to other maintenance workers, is not clearly defined or understood by staff. Typically, a Lead Worker, consistent with position classification standards, is defined as an employee who has one or more employees assigned to their area of expertise and who directs, plans, schedules, assigns, and reviews the work of assigned employee(s). Lead Workers do not have supervisory authority. • In the absence of the Public Works Superintendent (vacations, etc.) , it has been the practice to assign one of the two “Lead Workers” to assume some of the duties of the Public Works Sup erintendent. The acting assignments do not typically come with additional pay unless the absence is for two weeks or more. Additionally, there appears to be inconsistent communication to maintenance staff when an acting assignment is made. This results in a lack of clarity about assigned duties and reporting expectations during the acting assignment.
• The Division has not instituted an employee standby procedure for after -hours emergencies. The c urrent practice is for Police Dispatch to first contact the Superintendent for after-hours emergencies . The Superintendent is expected to be available for requests for service or assistance. When the Superintendent is not available, Police Dispatch works down the list of maintenance workers, and if no staff are contacted, the issue goes unaddressed. One exception are sewer overflow calls, where Dispatch has the option to call the City of Pinole collection staff for assistance. • The Division provides weekend coverage fo r parks and facilities with full -time staff by assigning two Maintenance Workers a Wednesday through Saturday shift and two Maintenance Workers a Sunday through Wednesday shift. All other maintenance staff work Monday through Thursday , except for the Supe rintendent, who works Tuesday through Friday to ensure adequate staffing and oversight on Friday. • All maintenance staff have credit cards and procure necessary parts by driving to hardware stores and other suppliers. The maintenance yard does not have a central storeroom, nor does there appear to be a system to minimize the number of visits to retail outlets or to procure and store commonly used parts and supplies at the maintenance yard.
• The Division has not mapped or inventoried many of the asset s that it operates and maintains, such as pavement markings, street signs, and trees. The City, as a whole, does not have a Geographical Information System (GIS).
• There currently are staff that have been in the entry-level Maintenance Worker I classification for over 10 years, even though they may have the requisite experience and qualifications to function as a Maintenance Worker II. Operationally, there is no clear distinction between the duties and responsibilities performed by the Maintenance
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Worker I or II. While the Maintenance Worker I/II classification could function as a flexible staff classification, the Department is not managing the classification in that way.
COMPARATIVE MUNICIPALITIES
MRG conducted a desk review of the organizational struc ture and functions of public works- related functions in four selected compara ble California municipalities. The four selected municipalities are all small cities or towns in Contra Costa County that rely heavily on contract support to deliver services. All four deliver a range of services similar to the services provided by Hercules, with one exception. Pinole is the only other municipality that operates and maintains a sewer collection system. Pinole is additionally unique in that it is the only selected municipality that operates a wastewater treatment plant, which coincidentally also serves Hercules. Copies of the organizational charts for the four comparative municipalities are provided in Attachments C- 1 through C-4.
All the comparable municipalities are structured differently, with some assigning park maintenance, facility maintenance, janitorial, and median maintenance to their parks and recreation departments. MRG accounted for all positions performing services matching those of Hercules’ Public Works Department, regardless of department. Positions performing functions not found in Hercules, such as wastewater treatment plant staff in Pinole, or recycling center staff in El Cerrito, were excluded from employee counts. The key data are referenced in Table 1, below:
Table 1 – Comparative Municipalities Public Works-Related Functions Agency Population1
Public Roads
(maintained
miles)2
Collection
System
(miles)
Engineering
Staff
O&M
Staff
Total
Public
Works
Employees
Total PW
Employees
/10,000
Population
Pinole 19,500 53 49 3 10 13 6.7
El Cerrito 25,000 72 NA 5 14 19 7.6
Orinda 19,000 92 NA 7 53 12 6.3
Moraga 16,900 63 NA 5 6 11 6.5
Comp
City Avg 20,100 70 49 5 9 14 6.8
Hercules 25,500 55 63 2.54 8.54 11 4.3
1 California Department of Finance Population Estimates - May 2020. 2 Caltrans California Public Road Data - December 2020. 3 O&M staffing reduced to 5 from 7 in FY 2020-2021 to address COVID financial impact. 4 The Public Works Superintendent position was estimated to split time equally between Engineering and Maintenance & Operations.
A review of the organizational charts of the comparable municipalities indicates that each of the four organizations have more management and supervisory positions allocated to oversee public works-related functions relative to Hercules. The higher level of management and supervisory positions allow for increased levels of staff supervision and contract oversight, additional capacity for strategic planning and implementation of workload and performance measurement systems, and improved succession planning.
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As shown in Table 1, above, the data suggests that the Department, as a whole, is understaffed in comparison to the other municipalities, especially after normalizing the number of employees per 10,000 population . When combined with the key findings and observations, MRG believes that the Engineering Division, more specifically, requires additional resources. The primary areas of need are public works inspection and oversight and coordination of outside consultants.
The municipality comparison suggests that the Operations & Maintenance Division is also understaffed. However, t he key findings and observations indicate that the Division could be adequately staf fed and that the existing Maintenance Worker vacancy could be partially reallocated to areas of greater need and priority. A more meaningful assessment of the resource needs of the Department would require at least a year’s worth of workload and performanc e measurement data performed at the desired level of service . The Department could then more accurately ascertain the work that can and needs to be done as opposed to the work that is being done with existing staff and contract support levels.
RECOMMENDATIONS
While it is tempting to assume that increases in staff would solve most operational issues, the reality is that there are limits on the City’s ability to fund increases in permanent staff. For that reason, it is incumbent upon management to implement operational best practices and systems that create efficiencies and enhance the utilization of current resources ; adopt standardized expectations for quality service delivery ; and establish processes that ensure current personnel are as knowledgeable and widely trained as is practicable. With these considerations in mind, the recommendations in this report are focused on enhancing the operations and effectiveness of the Public Works Department.
Our recommendations are organized into three categories to facilitate review and analysis. The recommendations are focused on developing practical and implementable suggestions that will improve the Department’s organizational effectiveness and sustainability. These recommendations are not intended to be i mplemented all at the same time. Some of the personnel recommendations can be considered immediately due to the current vacanc y in the Department, while others can be scheduled for implementation over a longer period of time.
A. Staffing
Staffing recommendations are designed to provide options for addressing the findings. They are not described in absolute terms, but may be modified and implemented in combination with operational modifications. They include responses to address long-term organizational needs and seek to improve employee efficiency.
• Reclassify a vacant Maintenance Worker I/II position an d create a new Public Works Specialist (Inspector) classification.
The creation of a dedicated Public Works Specialist (Inspector) position addresses several of the Department’s most pressing issues:
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▪ By removing the inspection duties from the Superintendent, it frees the Superintendent to provide the necessary oversight and direction to maintenance staff and the time to implement a work order system, performance or workload measures and other management tools.
▪ A common theme during the interviews was that there was inadequate oversight of development projects and encroach ment permit-related work in the City’s right -of- way. A full-time dedicated inspector would ensure a more regular and consistent set of eyes in the field.
▪ The new position could assume some of the duties currently performed by the Associate Engineer, such a s overseeing the sewer later al inspection program and viewing the sewer lateral CCTV footage, freeing the Associate Engineer to review and coordinate the work of outside consultants.
▪ The Specialist could be assigned oversight of the City-wide landscaping c ontract, which would partially offset the loss of the Maintenance Worker position by freeing up the Superintendent and Maintenance Worker II currently tasked with overseeing the contractor.
▪ The City Council and other stakeholders have expressed a desire f or enhanced oversight of the landscape contractor. Assigning the new position to an individual who is trained and experienced in inspecting contract work and enforcing contract provisions, would satisfy that goal.
▪ By titling the new position as a “Specialist” rather than an “Inspector,” the City can add administrative and project management duties to the job specification to make the position more versatile and supportive of other Engineering Division functions .
The City of Pinole uses the Public Works Specialist title for its Inspector role. • Consider creating a new Public Works Supervisor classification.
The creation of a working s upervisor position addresses several of the Maintenance & Operations Division’s most pressing issues:
▪ An appropriately classified position to assist in the oversight and management of the City’s numerous outside contractors and vendors.
▪ A clear line of authority in the absence of the Superintendent. ▪ A path of succession and promotion within the Division. ▪ A position to assist in the development and implementation of needed system improvements discussed in the recommendations below.
The City could consider filling this position as additional funding becomes available.
Alternatively, this position could be eval uated in anticipation of a vacancy in the Maintenance & Operations Division.
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• Consider shifting janitorial duties for all City buildings and potentially park restrooms from full-time staff to contract services.
Currently, full -time maintenance workers prov ide janitorial services to City facilities except for City Hall, which has a janitorial contract. Several maintenance workers spend the first hours of each daily shift cleaning all City facilities, including park restrooms.
Interviewed staff believed that janitorial service could be provided more efficiently and cost-effectively by a janitorial contractor , with building cleaning occurring after hours in the evenings. The City could consider this transition as additional funding becomes available. Alternatively, this transition could be evaluated in anticipation of a vacancy in the Maintenance & Operations Division. In the absence of a work order system, the Department would first need to track staff hours spent on janitorial services to verify the staffing c urrently committed to janitorial services, obtain an estimate of the square footage of all City buildings, determine a potential range of costs for contract janitorial services, and determine if there are cost savings and service benefits to replacing staf f with contract services.
• Consider creating a Maintenance Aide classification and shifting the weekend parks and facilities duties from two full-time Maintenance Workers to one full-time Maintenance Worker supported by part-time staff.
Two full -time mainte nance workers provide janitorial and porter services during the weekends to City parks and other open facilities. The two full -time employee configuration is not varied by season or usage , resulting in potential overstaffing during bad weather or off -season and potential understaffing on holiday or peak usage weekends. Using part-time staff to perform the mostly menial weekend duties would be more cost-efficient and allow greater flexibility in staffing. Greater numbers of staff could be brought in for busy weekends and lower numbers for off-season, low-usage weekends.
The City could consider this transition as additional funding becomes available.
Alternatively, this recommendation could be evaluated as part of the recommendation to consider expanding the contract janitorial service s in anticipation of a vacancy in the Maintenance & Operations Division.
• Consider using the Maintenance Worker I/II as a flexibly staffed classification and/or better differentiate between the two levels.
Using the Maintenance Worker I/II as a flexibly staffed classification allows qualified staff to progress from Maintenance Worker I to Maintenance Worker II once the employee’s performance, experience, skills, and knowledge clearly demonstrate a promotion is warranted. Flexible staffing is a commonly used administrative tool that recognizes positions where the organizational need for assigning work spans more than one class level. In a flexibly staffed p osition, an employee may be initially appointed to one class level (e.g., the entry level), and then be promoted to the next level (e.g., the journey level) without a competitive process. The most common flexible staffing involves entry - and journey-level classifications. Certain positions may be permanently allocated at the lower
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level because the duties do not warrant an upgrade to the higher level no matter how well an incumbent performs the duties. However, this does not appear to be the situation in the Department, since no clear distinction is made between the work performed by the Maintenance Worker I and II classifications. A decision to use the Maintenance Worker I/II classification as a flexibl y staffed classification would allow maintenance wor ker incumbents to promote from the entry -level to the journey-level classification once the employee’s performance clearly demonstrates a promotion is warranted. • Consider creating a Senior Civil Engineer classification.
Adding a Senior Civil Engineer classification gives the Department the flexibility to promote qualified staff from Assistant to Associate to Senior once the employee’s performance, experience, skills, and licensing clearly demonstrate a promotion is warranted. Adding the classification would potentially increase retention, which is critical for the Department, since there is only one Engineer position. Additionally, if the Department hires or promotes to the senior level classification, it provides a more likely potential candidate for Public Works Director/City Engineer for purposes of succession planning and organizational continuity.
B. Organizational Modifications
These recommendations focus on improving the D epartment’s effectiveness. The recommendations also include enhancem ent of support services and realignment of internal assignments.
• Ensure that Engineering staff coordinates and reviews outside reviewer comments for development projects prior to forwarding to developers/applicants.
Currently, Engineering staff does not have the capacity to review and coordinate the work of its consultants tasked with reviewing development project plans. If the City creates and fills the recommended Public Works Specialist position and reassigns some of the Associate Engineer’s current duties to the Specialist, such as overseeing the sewer lateral inspection program and viewing the sewer lateral CCTV footage, the Associate Engineer will have additional capacity to review and coordinate the work of outside consultants. • Provide enhanced oversight of the City-wide landscape contract.
As previously mentioned, the proposed Public Works Specialist /Inspector would be a fitting position to oversee the City-wide landscape contractor. The new position would primarily be field oriented and expected to drive throughout the City inspecting work in the City’s right -of-way. Monitoring the landscape work is a sensible add-on to the position’s field duties , and provides the City with a higher level of oversight , since the Specialist will be trained and experienced in inspecting contract work and enforcing contract provisions.
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Alternatively, the proposed Public Works Supervisor position could oversee the City-wide landscape contractor , and the Public Works Specialist /Inspector could be assigned additional duties in the Engineering Division to allow the Associate Engineer to focus more time on outside consultant oversight.
• Relocate the Public Works Superintendent to the Maintenance Yard.
The Public Works Superintendent should be permanently housed at the Maintenance Yard to provide appropriate oversight, coordinate work, and generally be more visible to Maintenance & Operations staff.
• Establish performance or workload measures for the Department.
It is important to establish performance measures and goals to ensure that staff is delivering projects and services within established standards and expectations.
Performance and workload measures also provide a meaningful way to justify additional resources, if necessary.
The best measures are derived from the perspective or expectations of the customer. For permits and approvals, that would include residents, contractors, or developers, while for capital projects and mainte nance services , that would include either residents, other departments, or a combination of both. Performance measures should cover timeliness, quality of services, customer satisfaction and/or cost. A typical outcome -based service objective may be to process an encroachment permit within a specified time period. The objective would be confirmed by the public as a desirable level of service. The actual performance measure would be the percent of permits over a given period of time processed within the desired timeline.
The absence of performance measurement does not necessarily mean that the staff does not focus on its customers or is not effective. However, a properly implemented performance measurement system ensures that staff understand s its customers’ needs and can focus on meeting and/or exceeding those expectations. • Establish clear timelines for response to the most common requests for service.
Develop a response matrix for the most common service requests that includes a timeline for resp onse. In setting the timelines, staff should be realistic with its ability to consistently meet the timeline. Customers typically are understanding in non-emergency situations if they are informed of the expected response time and observe that the issue was addressed in the stated time. Both staff and customers will generally be more satisfied with a 99% response rate for a two workday graffiti abatement timeline rather than a 50% response rate with a one workday graffiti abatement timeline. As a possible enhancement to c learly communicat ing the response commitment to internal staff, citizens, and the City Council at the time of the request, the response matrix could be posted to the City’s website. If properly tracked and managed, the response matrix could be used as a performance measure.
City of Hercules - Public Works Department Organizational Review and Analysis Page 15 Municipal Resource Group, LLC Report
• Clarify expectations, standards, and frequency of inspection for the Maintenance & Operations Division’s monthly public right-of-way inspection program.
Develop a checklist that clarifies expectations for the Maintenance Workers assigned to perform the monthly inspections of the City’s infrastructure. This would be a good task to track via the work order system.
• Consider establishing a standby procedure and rotation that incorpora tes all qualified maintenance staff.
The current practice of solely relying on the Superintendent for after -hours emergency calls is not sustainable. The maintenance staff could be cross trained in the practices and procedures of the most common after hour emergency situations and be given the opportunity to be placed on a standby list. The City has an existing standby provision in the MOU with Local 315, which may need to be modified to ensure it meets the City’s needs and budget limitations. As it stands now, the City is obligated to pay a cash amount on top of an hourly rate for standby, which is a fairly generous provision. With the proliferation of cell phones, standby is no longer the burden it was in the past, where a standby employee could not leave his/her house while on call or had to find a phone after being paged . Today, a standby employee is free to leave their home , with only the limitation of staying within one hour’s driving distance of the City. Another potential cost saving measure would be to assign weekend standby to employees normally assigned to work weekends. A final consideration is to incentivize staff to resolve emergency situations by phone, where appropriate, without having to respond in person. A typical provision would be to pay a half-hour minimum for any call resolved by phone. • Ensure performance evaluations are completed consistently and in a timely manner.
The City does not have a formal performance management program. Rather, department heads are expected to complete annual e mployee performance evaluations for each respective performance evaluation period. While the Public Works Department has done a good job of completing performance evaluations for probationary staff on a timely basis, performance evaluations have not been completed in a consistent or timely manner for Department staff who have successfully completed their probationary periods. Performance evaluations will be especially important once the Department implements performance and workload measures. Late performance evaluations send a message that employees are not important enough to set aside sufficient time to conduct evaluations in a timely manner, which can negatively impact morale and productivity. The Public Works Director should ensure that evaluations for all Department employees are conducted in a timely manner.
City of Hercules - Public Works Department Organizational Review and Analysis Page 16 Municipal Resource Group, LLC Report
• Establish consistent and well -defined expectations and lines of authority in the Superintendent’s absence and clarify when “Additional Duties” pay will be applied.
Currently, there is a lack of clarity regarding who is in charge when the Superintendent is absent. One of the issues appears to be inconsistent communicati on about which “Lead Worker” is in charge, especially during absences of a week or less. Another issue appears to be that the “ Lead Workers” don’t understand or accept the expected responsibilities during brief absences, since it appears they are not given “Additional Duties” pay. These issues of “ Additional Duties” pay and “ Lead Worker” assignment s would be resolved should the Department adopt the recommendation to establish a Public Wo rks Supervisor classification. Typically, the assignment of duties to cover during an absence is assigned to a lower -level classification within the organizati on’s classification hierarchy.
With the addition of the Public Works Supervisor, any work necessitated by the absence of the Public Works Superintendent would be assign ed to the Public Works Supervisor.
Nevertheless, the City should develop a policy or procedure that clarifies when either the “Additional Duties” or “work in a higher-class” MOU provisions apply when an employee is requested to assume some or all of the duties of his/her supervisor. • Better define the “lead worker” language in the Local 315 MOU.
The City should clarify the expectations and responsibilities of those maintenance workers receiving the “Lead Worker” pay . Better definition will help clarify lines of authority, especially in the absence of the Superintendent.
C. Technical and Equipment Enhancements
These recommendations focus on enhancing operational effectiveness, providing essential systems management and equipment to improve productivity, and providing data to avoid costly repairs or service interruptions.
• Implement a basic work order and tracking system to begin tracking work output and scheduling recurring preventative maintenance activities.
There are numerous off -the-shelf work order systems or computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS) that the Department could implement fairly quickly and inexpensively. Such a system would allow the Department to start scheduling and tracking work to ensure items are not missed. The system, if properly installed and managed, will assist in establishing appropriate accountability measures , allow perform ance measurement of responses to service requests, and reporting work output and performance measures to the City Manager, City Council and the public. A work order system will also allow the Maintenance & Operations Division to schedule recurring maintenance items, such as storm and roof drain and gutter cleaning , and ensure they are completed on schedule and documented. Implementation of the system will require a significant up -front effort on the part of the Superintendent or the proposed Public Works Supervisor position.
City of Hercules - Public Works Department Organizational Review and Analysis Page 17 Municipal Resource Group, LLC Report
• Start mapping and inventorying maintained assets during the monthly inspection program.
As part of their monthly inspections, assign maintenance staff to begin mapping and inventorying the inspected assets within their inspection zones. The initial mapping and inventorying could be done on paper. Once mapped and inventoried, an employee should be designated as the keeper of the master inventory list and map to ensure all additions, deletions, or corrections are funneled through one person. Ultimately, the data could be added to a City-wide Geographic Information System.
• Develop an agreement with the City of Pinole or another neighboring agency to gain access to pavement patching equipment to improve road maintenance.
Gaining access to an asphalt patch truck on a scheduled basis will allow the Maintenance & Operations Division to make more permanent repairs in -house. This would resolve concerns about the length of time involved in making the repairs via the annual pavement contracts.
PROPOSED ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
A recommended Department organizational design model is provided in Attachment D. The recommended model is based on an objective analysis of interview input, available data, MRG knowledge of organizational design practices, and where appropriate, reference to the comparative municipal analysis. The rationale for the recommended structural changes is specified throughout the report. The recommended organizational structure provides the following benefits:
• Reallocates Department staff to areas of greatest need – public works inspection, outside engineering consultant oversight, and landscape contract oversight through the creation of a Public Works Specialist position.
• Creates a Public Works Supervisor classification that provides for both staff development opportunities and succession planning.
• Reallocates staff resources and responsibilities to provide adequate management and supervisory-level staff to develop and implement necessary procedures and systems for performance and workload management.
CONCLUSION
The Public Works Department provides important services to the community. Our proposed recommendations are intended to provide the Department an unbiased and objective view of the organization’s current status and potential o pportunities to address the identified areas of improvement. The process to implement the proposed recommendations will take time and perseverance, considering current staffing and resource limitations. A measured and incremental approach, combined with strong leadership in the Department, and a partnership with the City
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Council in making budget decisions and setting priorities, can be successful in implementing the proposed recommendations and in ensuring a more efficient and effective Public Works Department. The outcome will be enhanced quality services to the community. We thank the City Councilmembers, City Manager, and participating Department staff for the opportunity to assist in this process.
City of Hercules - Public Works Department Organizational Review and Analysis ATTACHMENT A Municipal Resource Group, LLC Report
ATTACHMENT A
LIST OF INTERVIEWEES
City Council Members
Chris Kelley, Mayor
Dion Bailey, Vice Mayor
Alexander Walker-Griffin, Councilmember
Dan Romero, Councilmember
Tiffany Grimsley, Councilmember
City Staff
David Biggs, City Manager
Michael Roberts, Public Works Director
Jeff Brown, Public Works Superintendent
Jose Pacheco, Associate Engineer
Eric Wright, Maintenance Worker II
Vergel Botin, Maintenance Worker I
City of Hercules - Public Works Department Organizational Review and Analysis ATTACHMENT B Municipal Resource Group, LLC Report
ATTACHMENT B
LIST OF INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
City Council Interview Questions
1. Which Public Works Department services – development services, capital projects, and maintenance - are you most familiar with as a Council Member? as a customer?
2. For each of the three broad Public Works areas of responsibility - development services, capital projects, and maintenance – what is your overall experience or impression?
3. What do you believe is working well in the Public Works Department?
4. What do you believe needs improvement in the Public Works Department?
5. Given funding and staffing constraints, which services or responsibilities do you believe deserve the highest priority?
6. Do you have any specific recommendations for service enhancement, efficiency gains, or additional sources of revenue to fund improvements?
7. Is there anything you would like to add that we have not covered today?
City Staff Interview Questions
1. How long have you worked for the City in your current position? overall?
2. What are your key duties and what percentage of your time is spent on each key duty?
3. Are your duties, performance expectations, and work unit goals clearly defined and understood by you?
4. In your absence, who performs your duties?
5. Do you or anyone in your unit manage any outside staff or contracts? a. What is the annual value of each contract and how much time is spent managing each contract?
b. Do you believe that contracting is the best way to service those functions? c. Are there any other functions that you believe could be better performed or supported by contract, another department or outside agency?
6. Do you have the appropriate resources and authority to achieve the objectives of your work unit? If not, what do you believe you need?
7. What are the most critical issues facing your work unit right now? Over the next 3 years?
8. What are your unit’s strengths? Its weaknesses?
9. What do you believe your work unit should be doing that it is not? Projects? Tasks?
10. Do you believe your work unit is staffed properly? What changes would you recommend?
11. Do you have any suggestions related to your unit’s or Department’s current organizational structure/assignment of tasks to make it more effective and efficient?
12. What do you feel is working well with the Public Works Department overall?
13. What needs to improve with the Public Works Department overall?
14. Is there anything you would like to add that we have not covered today?
City of Hercules - Public Works Department Organizational Review and Analysis ATTACHMENT C-1 Municipal Resource Group, LLC Report
ATTACHMENT C-1
CITY OF PINOLE
Organizational Chart
Development Services
Director/City Engineer
Public Works Manager
Public Works
Supervisor
Maintenance Worker
(5)
Treatment Plant
Manager
(not counted)
Public Works
Supervisor
(Collections)
Maintenance Worker
(2)
Senior Project
Manager
Public Works Specialist
City of Hercules - Public Works Department Organizational Review and Analysis ATTACHMENT C-2 Municipal Resource Group, LLC Report
ATTACHMENT C-2
CITY OF ORINDA
Organizational Chart
Assistant City
Manager/Public
Works Director
City Engineer
Senior Civil
Engineer (2)
Public Works
Inspector
Assistant
Engineer
Public Works
Maintenance
Supervisor
Maintenace
Worker III
Maintenance
Worker II
Sr. Admin
Assistant
Director of Parks
& Recreation
(not counted)
Facilities & Parks
Supervisor
Facility
Maintenance
Worker II
City of Hercules - Public Works Department Organizational Review and Analysis ATTACHMENT C-3 Municipal Resource Group, LLC Report
ATTACHMENT C-3
TOWN OF MORAGA
Organizational Chart
Public Works
Director/Town
Engineer
Senior Civil
Engineer
Associate Civil
Engineer
Engineering
Technician
Manager Public
Works/Parks
Maintenance
Senior
Maitenance
Worker
Lead
Maintenance
Worker
Maintenance
Worker (3)
Administrative
Assistant
City of Hercules - Public Works Department Organizational Review and Analysis ATTACHMENT C-4 Municipal Resource Group, LLC Report
ATTACHMENT C-4
CITY OF EL CERRITO
Organizational Chart
Public Works
Director/City Engineer
Senior Engineer
Associate Engineer
Engineering Technician
Operations &
Environmental
Services Manager (0.5)
Maintenance
Superintendent
Maintenance
Leadworker (2)
Maintenance Worker
(4)
Management Assistant
Management Assistant
Recreation Director
(not counted)
Aquatics & Facilities
Supervisor (0.5)
Custodial Maintenance
Lead Worker
Custodians (4)
City of Hercules - Public Works Department Organizational Review and Analysis ATTACHMENT D Municipal Resource Group, LLC Report
ATTACHMENT D
HERCULES PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
Proposed Organizational Structure
Public Works
Director/City
Engineer
Public Works
Superintendent
Public Works
Supervisor
(New)
Maintenance
Worker I/II (6 or 7)
Associate Engineer
Public Works
Specialist/Inspector
(New)