Agenda - Council - 03/25/2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Evaluation Criteria for Vacant and New Positions 1. Is the position essential? Yes. The police department is an essential function of the City. The police department has operated with one or two Community Service Officers (CSO) in the past. It is necessary to backfill this newly vacated CSO position in order to provide quality, cost-effective, and efficient government services. Minnesota State Statute requires the city and police department to provide animal control services which is a primary responsibility of the CSO. 2. Is the position critical? Critical positions are positions that are, for example, one -position job classes or positions with duties that cannot be modified, reassigned or eliminated. Detailed responses to the following questions will be required in determining whether or not a position is "critical" to providing high -quality services to residents, business owners and/or employees: • Explain how this position is key to achieving the strategic goals identified by the City Council. Public safety has been the number one priority of a City. The CSO position is a support position to the police department. This allows license police officers to take calls required by Minnesota state statute and to conduct more proactive policing patrols. • Can the duties be re -engineered or automated? Please explain. The position of a Community Service Officer cannot be re -engineered or automated and it must be performed by a tactful and professional employee working with the best interest of the City. A CSO can also perform the duties of this position at a lower pay rate than a licensed police officer, saving the city money. • Can the duties be reassigned temporarily or permanently? Please explain. No, this position has already been reduced from two down to just one CSO. Currently, the duties are being performed by a license police officers. Officers are currently shuffling squads for maintenance and repair at higher pay. The CSO can reduce the need of an officer to shuttle squads at a lower pay rate. Additionally, this position requires follow up be conducted within a set time frame. The Officers rotating schedules sometimes makes this difficult to make sure the timeline is followed.