Agenda - Council - 04/11/2000 - Laserfiche WebLink

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I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I\ PC CASE# CONSIDER ESTABLISHING THE TEMPORARY POSITION OF PUBLIC WORKS LEADPERSON By: Dean Kapler, Director of Public Works Background: Each year Public Works employs a number of seasonal employees to deal with increased services required by spring and summer seasons. These activities include park and trail maintenance for all residents along with athletic field maintenance for RYAA and other groups. Because of the location and number of areas to maintain, seasonal employees are utilized throughout the city, many times spreading the group out in different locations. Due to the variety of locations and activities, adequate supervision and direction can be difficult to maintain. Public Works staff is recommending establishing a trial position of"Public Works Lead Person". The responsibilities of this position will be to assist the Supervisor in directing the seasonal employees along with normal duties of a Public Works Maintenance Worker. This position will not decrease the responsibilities of the supervisor, as he will still be expected to daily supervise all activities under his control. It will instead give more constant direction to the mostly less experienced seasonal employees. As a result, minor work direction changes and other decisions can be made with a minimum, of downtime. The outcome of establishing this position will be to maximize the efficiency of the labor hours spent in the field. In addition it will extend an opportunity to an existing Public Works Maintenance Worker to further develop his/her skills through increased problem solving, communication, training and project direction. Staff is suggesting posting a temporary Public Works Lead Person position for interested Public Works full time employees. Staff feels the additional responsibilities warrant a temporary increase in wage rate. Because there are some additional skills required as a Public Works Lead Person, the position of a skilled mechanic would be a good comparison to the suggested position. 1999 Stanton survey shows the average wage for a skilled mechanic in class 6 cities is $31,260 or $15.20 per hour. This compares to the average Ramsey Public Works Maintenance Worker at $26,146 or $12.57 per hour. If the position were paid at 80% of the difference of the positions above, the wage would be $14.53 per hour or $1.96 more than the average Ramsey Public Works Maintenance Worker is making now. Staff is suggesting the position be paid an additional $1.96 per hour. The term of the position would run through September 2000. Staff Recommendation Staff recommends posting a temporary position of Public Works Lead PersOn effective until September 2000 with a wage increase of $1.96 per hour.