HomeMy WebLinkAbout30- Community Development ` ORIGINAL
CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION
From: M. Margo Wheeler, Director Subject: Approval and Implementation of Public
Counter improvements for the Community
Dept: Community Development Development Department.
Date: March 1, 2011
MCC Date: March 7,2011
Synopsis of Previous Council Action:
Recommended Motion:
MOTION 1: That the Community Development Department Public Counter improvement
program be approved and that the City Manager be directed to implement the program; and
MOTION 2: that the following actions be referred to the Personnel Committee for review: a)
Delete one Senior Administrative Assistant position; b) reclassify two Customer Service
Representative positions to Development Services Technicians; c) transfer funding and positions
from the Fire Department to Community Development for two Code Enforcement Officer II
positions and authorize two part-time positions; and
MOTION 3: That the Finance Director be authorized to amend the FY 2010/ 1 budget to reflect
current year changes beginning April 1, 2011 and incorpprate t e hanger ' to LFY 2011/12
budget proposal as listed in the staff report.
M. Margo Wheeler
Contact Person: M. Margo Wheeler Phone: 5357
Supporting data attached: Staff Report; Ward(s): Citywide
FUNDING REQUIREMENTS:
Amount: $0 Net Impact to the General Fund
Source:
Acct. Description:
Finance:
Council Notes:
Agenda Item No. ,3(�
CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION
STAFF REPORT
Subject:
Approval and implementation of Public Counter improvements for the Community Development
Department.
Background:
At the March 2010 retreat, entitled "Building a Better Community," the Mayor and Common
Council defined a vision and identified a set of strategic goals to achieve that vision. During this
retreat, the City Manager presented a number of organizational strategic initiatives designed to
assist in implementing the direction and vision of the Mayor and Common Council. One of the
elements of the initiative entitled Development Process Improvements, was to "Establish a one-
stop shop for permit issuance"
Four of the components of the initiative are:
• Determine the optimal staffing levels needed to accomplish each of the objectives.
• Identify and remove steps that may be duplicated or unnecessary to deliver services in a
more efficient manner.
• Improve communication and cooperation between staff and the development community.
• Implement City's customer service program to change the reputation of the City to a
preferred place to do business.
Additionally, the reorganization and creation of the Community Development Department was
an important step in leading to the "Development Process Improvements" Initiative approved by
the Mayor and Common Council. The current configuration of Planning, Building and Code
Enforcement is the industry standard for mid-sized cities. Planning takes the lead in the
development process. Building leads in the process of ensuring creation of a project on the
ground. Code Enforcement is the lead in ensuring that projects are maintained as approved and
conditioned by the Planning Commission and/or Mayor and Common Council.
Also, in March 2010 the Development Process Partnership (DPP) group, comprised of members
of staff together with representatives of the private development community, reviewed the
Community Development processes, compared them to industry benchmarks, as well as to the
processes employed by other cities; and developed suggestions for improvements. This
partnership is on-going, with meetings having been held in January and February 2011. Based
on the direction of the strategic initiative, the suggestions from the DPP, input from meetings
with staff, and general observations, a number of departmental organizational changes are
proposed.
1
CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO—REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION
STAFF REPORT—continued
Analysis:
As a result of the reorganization of the department in July 2010 and the 2009 reductions in force
resulting from budgetary reductions, the department's public counter is currently understaffed.
This situation is limiting the transition to a true "one-stop" counter operation and severely
impacting the productivity of the technical staff members that are involved in the processing of
plans and development related applications.
The success of the "one-stop" counter concept is predicated on having a sufficient number of
adequately trained Development Services Technicians (DSTs) that can provide the full range of
planning, building, land development, and public works related expertise to meet the service
needs of a typical customer, without the customer having to wait for service at multiple stations.
The current year budget only allocates two DST positions for the counter. On a typical day,
given the volume of customers the department is currently serving, these two DSTs require a
considerable amount of backup or assistance from the technical staff assigned to plan review and
application processing. When a DST is absent due to vacation, sick leave, or training, the
technical staff must suspend work on their projects in order to provide service at the counter. As
a consequence,planning cases,building and land development plan review approvals, and permit
issuances are being unnecessarily delayed. Another problem that occurs when technical staff
members replace DSTs at the counter is that the "one-stop" functionality is lost. The technical
staff member can only serve customers in their respective area of expertise, and thus customers
may have to wait multiple times to complete their business.
The following table provides the number of hours each of the identified technical staff members
have spent at the counter over the course of the last 4 months:
Hours Spent by Technical Staff Providing ackup at the Public Counter
Name/Title Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Total Percentage
2010 2010 2010 2011 Hours of Available
Hours
Sr.Plans Examiner 87 97 88 78 350 73%
Engineering Assoc. 22 24 24 44 114 25%
En g.Asst.III 21 20 50 39 130 26%
Senior Planner 6 16 15 10 47 18%
Planning Aide 83 59 21 10 173 31%
Cust. Service Rep. 135 99 123 161 518 100%
City Planner 15 35 2 3 55 10%
Totals 1387 deficit hours or z 2.5
FTE
The total deficit hours noted in the above table roughly represent the man-hours required to fully
staff the counter operation. If the counter were fully staffed, the above noted technical positions
would still be expected to provide a reasonable degree of technical support to the counter
2
CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO — REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION
STAFF REPORT—continued
function at approximately 5-10 percent of their available time. Accounting for their role in
providing technical support for the counter, the above totals suggest that the DST staffing needs
to be augmented by two positions.
It should be noted that the four month period represented in this table is historically the slow
period of the year. Thus, it is anticipated that the demand for staff time at the counter will
increase in the spring and summer months; and the consequent negative impacts on the
processing of development applications will increase as well, given the current staffing levels.
The daily average number of customers served and the average wait times for customers is
provided in the following table.
Average Customer Volume and Wait Times
Month Daily Average No.of Customers Average Wait Time minutes
Oct 2010 65 21
Nov 2010 66 23
Dec 2010 62 19
Jan 2011 65 29
The average wait time for this four month period was 23 minutes per customer. On the high-end,
a wait time approaching 2 hours was occasionally recorded. These lengthy wait times occurred
when technical staff was not available to fill in for missing DSTs due to scheduled meetings or
leave. The department currently has two Customer Service Representatives, who are
underutilized in their current positions. Both of these individuals have previously held the
position of DST prior to the reduction in force in 2009. Both of them have the skills and
knowledge to help make the transition to a "one-stop" counter a success. The reassignment of
the two trained DSTs to the counter operation should reduce average wait times to a more
acceptable range of 10-15 minutes.
Currently, having the Code Enforcement staff located in separate building results in major
inconveniences to the public, creates a security concern, and generates a duplication of services.
For example, a member of the public responding to a Code Enforcement warning begins the
process at the Code Enforcement office on E Street. However, as the codes enforced are
primarily the development and building codes, the customer must discuss the issue with the staff
experts located in the main City Hall building on D Street. All too often the customer begins in
one building, and then is directed to the City Hall for assistance, instruction, and permitting.
Further, if a fine is involved, the customer must return to the first building to pay.
An additional issue is the fact that the payments collected at the Code Enforcement Office must
be physically returned at the end of the day to the main City Hall building. This transporting of
materials long distance also occurs for all hearings that are held in the Council Chambers. This
is an unnecessary inconvenience and concern that can be readily rectified.
3
CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO—REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION
STAFF REPORT—continued
The consolidation of department purchasing, payroll, timecard, budget, and other functions has
not yet been completed; this is another inefficiency to be corrected. It is imperative that all Code
Enforcement Officers spend their time in the field and have appropriate support staff. With the
addition of the annual conditions of approval and mitigation measures inspections this support is
mandatory. The relocation of some Code Enforcement staff to the main City Hall, reassigning
some support functions and augmenting with part-time staff will increase efficiency for all
divisions.
Implementation:
Currently, there is one vacant full time Senior Administrative Assistant position within the
department. It is proposed that this position be eliminated in order to reinstate two trained staff
members currently classified as Customer Service Representatives to their previous
Development Service Technician positions. Additionally, it is recommended that the
Department hire two permanent part time staff members to both assist at the front counter and be
available to provide service elsewhere as necessary.
Proposed Staffing Changes
Annual Salary
Title & Benefits Change
Delete:
• 1 Sr. Admin Asst. $ 51,400 -$ 51,400
Reclassify
• 2 Customer Serv. Rep to $ 94,200 -$ 94,200
• 2 Dev. Serv. Tech $ 103,600 +$103,600
Add:
• 2 Office Asst. P-T $ 27,624* +$ 27,624
Savings: $ 14,376
*No benefits
Another staffing change that is necessary is to have the Fire Department transfer funding to
Community Development for the two Code Enforcement Officer positions that conduct multi-
family inspections. The duties and assignments of these positions are within the Community
Development Department.
4
CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO—REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION
STAFF REPORT—continued
Financial Impact:
There is a small savings of$14,376 annually to the General Fund related to these actions, as the
positions are funded through a reallocation of existing budgeted funds.
Recommendation:
MOTION 1: That the Community Development Department Public Counter improvement
program be approved and that the City Manager be directed to implement the program; and
MOTION 2: that the following actions be referred to the Personnel Committee for review: a)
Delete one Senior Administrative Assistant position; b) reclassify two Customer Service
Representative positions to Development Services Technicians; c)transfer funding and positions
from the Fire Department to Community Development for two Code Enforcement Officer II
positions and authorize two part-time positions; and
MOTION 3: That the Finance Director be authorized to amend the FY 2010/11 budget to reflect
current year changes beginning April 1, 2011 and incorporate the changes into the FY 2011/12
budget proposal as listed in the staff report.
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