5.4 ERMUSR 2-11-2020UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING
TO: FROM:
ERMU Commission Wage & Benefits Committee
MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER:
February 11, 2020 5.4
SUBJECT:
Wage & Benefits Committee Update
ACTION REQUESTED:
Approve the following organizational structure changes as indicated in the attached
organizational chart:
1.Change System Engineer position to Engineering Manager at pay grade M10.
2.Change IT/OT Manager position to IT/OT Technician at pay grade F9.
DISCUSSION:
For two years there has been a vacant Information Technology / Operational Technology
Manager position. After the initial attempt to fill, the position was evaluated by the committee
and a modification was approved by the commission to increase the responsibilities and
effectively the pay rate. This modified position was posted, and again, the position was unable
to be filled.
Staff had contacted recruiting firms for pricing to fill the vacant position. The fees to use a firm
were $30,000 on the low end. And, the feedback was that it would be best to hire an engineer
for that position.
On January 14, the committee met to discuss the vacant IT/OT Manager position. It was
determined that the positions job responsibilities were a unique combination of skills including
project management, technical aptitude, communication, and IT/OT. The combination was so
unique that the pool of potential candidates was non-existent. There was consensus that rather
than hiring a firm to place an engineer in the IT/OT manger position, that we should re-evaluate
that position as an engineer on our own. It was imperative that we fill the position and due to
difficulty finding the appropriate candidate, creative solutions were needed.
The core competencies needed from the IT/OT manager position were really project
management, technical aptitude, and communication. All these skills are already possessed by
our System Engineer. The IT/OT specific skills were secondary to those of leadership skills. The
committee determined that a different approach to achieve the same balance of skills would be
to change the System Engineer position into an Engineering Manager position to provide high
level policy development, leadership, and project management skills. Then change the IT/OT
Manager position to an IT/OT Technician to provide the complement of specific technical skills.
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FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The IT/OT Manager position was at pay grade M8 and the System Engineer was at F10. The
proposed Engineering Manager position would be at M10 and the IT/OT Technician would be at
F9. The combined annual impact for the change in the two positions, if both are at the top pay
steps, would be $1,684.80/year. These positions had been budgeted at the top pay step. The
hiring process will result in the positions being filled initially at lower pay steps. Additionally,
the positions were budgeted for the entire year, yet the current IT/OT Manager position is
vacant. The financial impact for the proposed change will be a decrease in expense vs budget.
ATTACHMENTS:
2019 ERMU Organizational Chart
2020 ERMU Organizational Chart - PROPOSED
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