FOR THE COUNCIL MEETING OF DECEMBER 5, 2023
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
TO: City Council
FROM: Interim City Manager Alex Posada
BY: Director of Utilities Shad S. Springer
SUBJECT: Adoption of a Resolution Approving an Agreement for Professional Services with Baker -Tilly US, LLP for an Organizational Assessment for the City of Santa Maria Utilities Department
Description:
The City Council will consider approving an agreement with Baker -Tilly US, LLP for an organizational assessment for the Utilities Department and a related increase in budget appropriations to fund the agreement.
Environmental Notice: The activity is not a “Project” as defined under Section 15378 of the California Environmental Quality Act State Guidelines; therefore, pursuant to State Guidelines Section 15060(c)(3) no environmental review is required.
RECOMMENDATION:
Adopt a Resolution approving an agreement for professional services with Baker-Tilly US, LLP for an organizational assessment for the City of Santa Maria Utilities Department and approving an increase of $84,000 in appropriations for Fiscal Year 2023-24.
BACKGROUND:
The Utilities Department is one of ten City of Santa Maria (“City”) departments and has over 120 authorized positions , of which approximately 100 are filled. The Utilities Department is divided into three distinct divisions:
Water Resources (operating division ) includes water, wastewater, sewer collections, storm sewer, regulatory compliance, and engineering and technology; 50 positions.
Solid Waste (operating division) includes disposal, collections, regulatory compliance, and engineering and technology; 62 positions. Business (support division ) includes department administration, customer service, finance, human capital, and operations support; 11 positions.
Anticipated growth, both regulatory and customer -based, has a significant impact on utilities as it can affect the demand for utility services and availability of resources. As these demands increase, growth can strain existing infrastructure, staffing, and resources. With increased demands and various staffing changes throughout the 2 organization, a comprehensive staffing analysis will assist the Utilities Department in identifying what resources and changes are needed to maintain sustainable operations and prepare for the future.
DISCUSSION:
The City has prioritized workforce recruitment and retention as one of the key initiatives of focus . In consultation with the City Manager’s Office, t he Utilities Department developed a goal for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-24 to initiate an organizational assessment to identify resources and staffing required to both sustain Utilities operations and prepare for the future.
Baker-Tilly US, LLP (“Baker-Tilly”), a consulting and public accounting firm, is currently performing a similar project for the City’s Recreation & Parks Department. As a result, Baker-Tilly was determined to be uniquely qualified to conduct this work for the Utilities Department.
Baker-Tilly and City Utilities staff negotiated a scope of work for the Utilities Department organizational assessment, with input from the City Manager’s Office and City Human Resources Division, along with other terms and conditions that resulted in th e attached agreement (Attachment “A”). The total cost of the agreement is $184,000.
The proposed work is anticipated to take approximately seven months and will include data gathering analysis, process mapping, employee and department interviews, peer agency comparisons, staffing models, draft and final reports, and support implementation recommendations. As part of the analysis, Baker -Tilly will also explore opportunities to gain efficiencies from an organizational -wide perspective through an evaluation of the overlapping work with other Departments. For example, capital improvement projects in Public Works and finance-related work in Finance, to recommend alternatives or improvements.
The Utilities Department intends to use the organizational assessment as a roadmap for the resources and staffing needed to be successful in the short- and long term, with a ten- year outlook. It is anticipated this tool will be instrumental to the City in developing Utilities’ future budget requests for City Council consideration.
Alternatives
The City Council may:
1. Not approve the agreement as proposed and direct City staff to issue a Request for Proposals for an Organizational Assessment. This will result in additional staff time and costs for issuing a Request for Proposal. In addition, Baker -Tilly is a qualified, reputable firm already performing similar services for the City, which results in cost -savings to the City through their selection to perform this work , in contrast to the selection of another firm without an established understanding of the City’s overall framework and strategic objectives.
2. Not approve the agreement as proposed and direct City staff to reduce the scope of work under the project, with a correlated reduction in budget. This will result in 3 missed opportunities to pursue a comprehensive and robust evaluation of the Utilities Department as well as a failure to leverage the expertise of the consulting firm selected for the project to fully analyze and consider all strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that this project presents.
3. Direct City staff not to pursue an Organizational Assessment for the Utilities Department. This will result in the Utilities Department not meeting one of its established FY 2023-24 goals.
Fiscal Considerations
The Utilities Department has budgeted $100,000 for this project in the FY 2023-2024. As part of this contract award, the Utilities Department is requesting an additional appropriation of $84,000 in FY 2023-2024 to fund the proposed agreement.
Impact to the Community
Execution of th e agreement enables the Utilities Department to continue meeting its mission statement of providing efficient utility services using progressive innovation, excellent customer service, and the responsible use of public resources for the long-term benefit of the community.
ATTACHMENT
Attachment “A”: Agreement for Professional Services