Agenda - Council - 06/10/2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Officers is eligible to be licensed as a Patrol Officer and served in this capacity on a temporary basis this past fall and winter. If the Community Service Officer is hired as a Patrol Officer, the Community Service Officer position would remain vacant indefmitely which would result in a substantial savings for the City. Many of the Community Service Officer's code enforcement duties could be assigned to existing staff members. This scenario will be discussed in greater detail below. Filling the position in this manner will result in a projected savings of $23,247 in 2008. In 2009, staff projects a savings of $48,425 as a result of not filling the CSO vacancy. A detailed budget analysis for the Patrol Officer /CSO scenario is attached. Building Inspections In recent years, the City Council made a decision to intensify the City's code enforcement efforts and this function was assigned to the two CSOs. In discussing the recommendation to fill the new Patrol Officer position, staff indicated that hiring a CSOs would result in a vacant CSO position for an indefinite period of time. Leaving a CSO position vacant indefinitely would require that code enforcement activities be assigned to existing staff members. Given the economic downturn and the decrease in building activity, the City's four Building Inspectors have available work hours and could comfortably contribute approximately .5 FTE to code enforcement. In addition, Building Inspectors are familiar with this line of work and have skills that could be effectively applied to assist with code enforcement, pending City Council approval. Staff will continue to explore options for effectively utilizing the City's current staff effectively. For example, Building Inspectors have been trained in and assigned pre - planning fire duties, in addition to code enforcement duties. Staff Recommendations Staff makes the following recommendations for Committee and City Council consideration: 1. Direct staff to begin the process to fill the new Patrol Officer position 2. Direct staff to begin the process to fill the vacant Associate Planner position Funding Source Attached is a detailed analysis that explains the financial savings to be incurred by adopting staff's recommendations as outlined. There are no cost increases associated with the proposed staffing plan. If the proposed plan is adopted as of July 1, staff projects a total savings of $66,000 in 2008. Further, adopting the staffing plan in 2008 will result in a projected savings of $70,000 in 2009.