07/10/12 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

looking at the information, she noticed an issue of communication between departments and Citywide had been raised by all four. Another issue mentioned related to opportunity for advancement. Councilmember Strommen stated the Council can consider what it can do to make working for the City easier. She noted Ramsey is not a huge City but the Council should assure employees are compensated and titled appropriately. Councilmember McGlone stated he thinks the City is on track, noting over the last 3.5 years, staff is down 20 FTE, which has "opened the door" for tremendous advancement opportunities in title and salary for those who remained. Chairperson Tossey agreed there is a problem with communication and asked how that can be addressed. City Administrator Ulrich stated part of the issue is the environment since budget discussions and layoffs had been considered for an extended period of time resulting in job justification. He noted comment was made that the City needed to do a better job using the intranet. City Administrator Ulrich stated there is currently a weekly update and quarterly staff meetings to keep employees updated but it appears that is not what was meant by "communication." He stated the lack of communication comment may relate to issues at the micro level. Councilmember Strommen stated the other consideration is that something has to give when eliminating 20 FTEs and one of those things is communication at the micro level because you just do not have time. She stated the Council will need to recognize that dynamic and consider whether something else can make up for that level of communication. Councilmember McGlone asked if there has been a change or staff felt they are now missing something that they had before, which may not have increased function but was now brought forward at the exit interview. City Administrator Ulrich noted all are establishing new relationships because of new employees and responsibilities, which takes time to sort out. Chairperson Tossey stated he recently met with two departing staff members who believed there were communication issues on a bigger scale than the micro level. He agreed that is a problem and with fewer employees assuming more duties, there needed to be bolder leadership. Human Resources Representative Lasher reference a comment indicating the intranet can be better utilized by staff and indicated she will give more attention to improvement in that area. Chairperson Tossey suggested that the full Council, as time allows, discuss this topic at a Work Session meeting. COMMITTEE INPUT None. Personnel Committee / July 10, 2012 Page 4 of 5