10.0. SR 07-12-1993
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ITEM 10
TO:
MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
FROM:
PATRICK KLAERS, CITY
JULY 8, 1993
DATE:
SUBJECT: BUDGET DISCUSSIONS - P SONNEL
ISSUES
The material for this agenda item was distributed to the City
Council last week, per request from the Council. At this
meeting, I hope to get direction from the City Council on what
personnel additions are desired in later 1993, for the 1994
Budget, and what the staff should plan on for personnel
additions in 1995. Additionally, through this discussion staff
will then know what personnel additions have to be pushed off
until 1996 or beyond.
There are definitely some staff needs in a number of areas in
order for us to provide the level of services that we feel are
appropriate. Some of the desired positions perform very public
and quantifiable services, while some of the other positions
which are necessary for the overall management of City affairs
provide benefits that are less tangible and visible.
Municipalities are clearly into the information age and it is
becoming at least as important to accurately compile and
disseminate relevant information to various groups/individuals
as it is to fix the City streets and provide police services.
The State Comparable Worth Law somewhat verifies this by the
fact that pay rates for clerical functions must be comparable
to street maintenance functions. We are as likely today, as a
City, to be sued for inaccurate information or inappropriate
information being distributed, as we are for a officer's
wrongful action in the line of duty or a street employee
hitting a car with a snow plow.
All the requests from the various department heads have some
merit. It will be the City Council's responsibility to decide
which employees are more important at this time in order to
provide the level of service that they feel is appropriate. I
don't feel that any department head has asked for employees
that are not needed and which would not provide a needed
service or function. The overall financing picture for adding
new employees is not the best, but is very typical for
municipalities that have exhausted all of their non-tax revenue
resources. Finances for the positions and the expenses for the
positions were briefly reviewed in my previous memos.
In addition to discussing personnel needs, I understand that
the City Council may want to discuss the wage plan and
increases for 1994. In this regard, the 1993 City Pay Plan was
included in the information that was distributed last week.
P.O. Box 490 · 13065 Orono Parkway · Elk River, MN 55330 · (612) 441-7420 · Fax: (612) 441-7425
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A number of Department Heads will be in attendance at the
7/12/93 meeting in order to answer questions from the City
Council on their staffing requests. Unfortunately, the Finance
Director and the Chief of Police are out-of-town and
unavailable to attend this meeting.
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TO:
MAYOR & CITY COUNCIL
PAT KLAERS, CITY AD~~TQ
JUNE 29, 1993 ~ ~
STAFFING PRIORITIES
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
The City Council has requested to review staffing priorities
and other personnel issues prior to the development of the
proposed 1994 budget. Based on the increase in demands for
public services as our community grows and develops, it is
appropriate that a personnel priorities discussion take place
by the City Council. The need for City Council input on
staffing priorities was briefly discussed last year by the City
Council during the budget process (see attached memo excerpt).
The past practice of the City Council has been to provide input
to myself and the Finance Director throughout the year on
staffing priorities. Staffing changes and additions are then
finalized during the annual budget review process. Limited
discussion by the Council has taken place on long term staffing
goals and needs.
Attached to this memo are a number of memos regarding personnel
issues and priorities. In this memo, I will attempt to offer
some input on the priority for each desired/needed position
when taking into consideration the needs of the entire City and
not just each individual department. This is necessary as
personnel additions directly affect the City's financial status
because, with very few exceptions, each staff addition will
have to be financed through increased tax revenues. The
Council should note that increased tax revenues do not
necessarily mean an increased tax rate, because as the
community develops, so will the tax base increase upon which
the tax burden is spread out.
Total General Fund personal services expenses in 1993 are
approximately $2,000,000. With no changes in the City Pay
Plan, a 3% increase "across the board" for employees, the
normal employee step increases, a typical increase in the City
contribution to the employee insurance package, and
implementation of the WIP for police union officers; the City
Council will see personal services in 1994 increase by about
$100,000 (5%). Any personnel additions that are needed and
authorized would be expenses incurred above this amount.
I understand that beyond
the Council may also want to
City Pay Plan. The 1993
reference.
personnel additions and priorities,
discuss certain aspects of the
Pay Plan is attached for your
P.O. Box 490 · 13065 Orono Parkway · Elk River, MN 55330 · (612) 441-7420 · Fax: (612) 441-7425
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PREVIOUS COUNCIL DISCUSSION ON STAFFING NEEDS
One of the very few City Council discussions on long term
staffing needs took place in the fall of 1990. At this Council
meeting, discussion took place regarding the need for directors
or super department heads. The essence of this Council
discussion was reviewed with the current City Council in early
1993 when the debate took place regarding the City Planner.
One of the premises to the City Council discussion on directors
was the need to have less people reporting directly to me as
the City Administrator. While in the private industry many
firms are trying to eliminate the middle management positions
(due to financial constraints), it is a valid concern in Elk
River that some municipal functions need to be consolidated
under a director in order to be more efficient in managing the
City departments. I currently have ten (10) division or
department heads reporting directly to me and we have
approximately 50 City employees. If the police and street/park
employees were excluded from the total, I would have eight (8)
people reporting to me which supervise about 16 employees.
Overall, having ten people report directly to me with their
departmental needs makes it difficult to efficiently manage the
overall operation of the City. In the last, Star News,
School Superintendent, Dr. Flannery, said the same thing
regarding the School District reorganization plan. An
appropriate quote from this article from Dr. Flannery is that
"there are too many issues that are left on my lap." I
sometimes feel the same way.
During the 1990 City Council discussion on directors, one of
the most valid positions discussed was the community
development director. This position would oversee Economic
Development, Planning, and Building/Zoning (including
environmental). This position would allow for the more
efficient management of the development issues that face the
City. Of all the director positions discussed, this one is the
most valid and most workable.
The other positions reviewed by the City Council in 1990 were a
public safety director, a public works director, and an
assistant city administrator. The public safety director is
not programmed at this time and it may be more appropriate to
look at this position during the time the City is looking for
its next Fire Chief. The public works director may never
happen if the City does not take over the water utility
operation. The Street/Park Superintendent is currently working
with one lead worker and may very well add another at some time
in the future. This would allow one lead worker to be in
charge of streets and another to be in charge of parks
underneath the Superintendent's direction. The assistant city
administrator position is the next most likely position after
the community development director, but this position appears
to be a number of years away. The discussion by the City
Council was that the assistant city administrator position was
more of a management position and our actual need at this time
relates more to a worker position that can accomplish special
projects and tasks as assigned.
MOST COMMONLY REQUESTED POSITIONS
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A summary of the departmental additions that have been
requested and/or discussed during budget meetings in the past
few years are listed below. I have added some comments
regarding some of the positions and have tried to prioritize
the needs using the following code:
1. Position needed ASAP;
2. Position needed within 2-4 years;
3. Position needed within 4-8 years; and
4. Position needed after the year 2000.
City Council - Directors or Super Department Heads
* Community Development Director - 2 - Based on growth and
development in the community and the need to efficiently
manage this growth; plus the need to consolidate services
and to reduce the number of employees reporting directly
to the City Administrator
* Public Safety Director - 3 - Should be evaluated during
the time that current Fire Chief, Russ Anderson, retires
* Public Works Director - 4+ - May never happen if the City
does not take over the management of the Water Department
* Assistant City Administrator - 2/3
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Police Due
are needed in
which means
annual bases.
to growth in the community, personnel additions
all police employee areas and the need is ongoing
the need for new positions must be evaluated on an
* Community Service Officers - 2
* Clerical (secretaries/receptionists) - 2
* Patrol Officers - 1
* Special Assignment Officers (investigation officers,
juvenile officers, and supervisors) - 1/2
Office Employees (see PDK 1994 Office Staff Memo for more
information on these positions)
* General clerical help - 1
* Finance Clerk - 1
* Personnel Coordinator/Administrative Assistant - 1
* Community Development Director - 2/3
* Planning Intern - 1
* Zoning Assistant (Gary will soon be part time in the
Planning Department) - 2 - changing this position to full
time will need to be evaluated as the work load increases
in the Planning Department
* Deputy City Clerk - 2/3
* Building Maintenance Employee (under supervision of Phil
Hals) - 3/4+
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Building/Environmental
* Housing Inspector - 1 - see the separate memo on this
topic from Steve Rohlf
* Residential Building Inspector - 2 - depends on new
building starts
* Plumbing Building Inspector - 3
* Code Enforcement/Environmental Assistant (plus
recycling/garbage) - 1/2 - this position is currently
part time as Gary also works in the Planning Department.
The work load will have to be monitored to see if this
position needs to be a full time position.
Fire Department
* Fire Marshal - 2
* Fire Department Maintenance Employee (under supervision of
Phil Hals?) - 3
Park Director - 3
Assistant Senior Citizen Coordinator - 2
The Liquor Store employees and the Wastewater Treatment Plant
employees are excluded from this list as these employees are
financed within the individual enterprise funds and are hired
as can be afforded and as needed.
POSITIONS NEEDED BY YEARS
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ASAP
* Personnel Coordinator/Administrative Assistant - $36,000
* Part time office clerical help - $7,200 budget addition in
1994 - plus $3,600 in the Council Contingency Fund
* 1/4 time Finance Clerk - We may need to add 8 hours per
week to Brenda's schedule if the work load in the Finance
Department requires more help (especially for special
assessment searches). We should put $5,600 into the
Council Contingency fund to cover this possibility.
Shifting Brenda's time entirely to the Finance Department
heightens the need for more clerical hours (from Geryl).
* Planning Intern - $20,000 - while the Intern employee will
rotate annually, the position is desired to be permanent
* Police Patrol Officers - $33,000 each (D.A.R.E.
fundraising efforts will finance the existing officer
that is promoted for the expansion of the D.A.R.E.
program) .
* Housing Inspector - $32,000
* Park Summer Help - $6,000 - This is help above the "free"
summer help that Phil receives through State and local
programs and the currently hired part time help. This
expense would not be needed if a regular full time
maintenance employee was hired.
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2-4 YEARS
* Police Investigative officer
* Police Patrol Officers
* CSO
* Police Receptionist
* Community Development Director
* Street/Park Maintenance Employees
* Residential Building Inspector
* General Office Clerical help
* Finance Clerk
* Assistant Senior Citizen Coordinator
4-8 YEARS
* Park Director
* Assistant Finance Director
* Fire Marshal
* Deputy City Clerk
* Police Patrol Officers and CSO
* Police Receptionist/Secretary
* Office Clerical help
* Street/Park Maintenance Employees
* Assistant City Administrator
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8 YEARS +
* Building Maintenance Employee (mainly for City Hall)
* Fire Department Equipment and Building Maintenance Employee
* Public Works Director
* Public Safety Director
* Police Officers
* Street/Park Maintenance Employees
* Police Clerical help
* Office Clerical help
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CITY COUNCIL PRIORITIES - The City Council has not had any
special meetings to discuss personnel priorities for the City.
Input from City Council on program priorities is usually
obtained throughout the year as various work projects do or do
not move forward. The expenditure priority issue that the City
Council has not extensively discussed in the past, but which
needs discussion some time soon, is to establish priorities for
City personnel additions.
Page 3
Miscellaneous Issues
August 26, 1992
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During the budget sessions, I routinely receive requests from
the Police Department for more officers and clerical help, from
the Building and Zoning Department for a Housing/Rental
Inspector, from the Street/Park Department for more Maintenance
Workers, from the Fire Department for a Fire Marshall and a
Maintenance employee, and recently from the Finance Department
for more accounting support. At some time in the near future,
and this does not have to be done this year, but should be
addressed within the next 12 to 18 months, the City Council
needs to provide input to myself and the Finance Director on
what are the highest priorities for future staff additions.
This will help guide us in working with the department heads in
establishing future work programs and goals for their
departments. This topic needs to be at least briefly discussed
at this time so that I can respond to the requests from the
department heads.
*Receive addi tional holiday pay compensation. Pay is based on union contract.
- No-fe.: 1/ n 00 I hr =
~ NOiE: Hourly rates indicate position receives overtime. ./'.
10. 0(1 / hr :::
, '3 00 / h... =
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-75-
CITY OF RK RIVER
SALARY/WAGE RANGES
EXHIBIT 2
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STEP STEP STEP STEP STEP STEP
1/2 1 2 3 4 5
------
---- --
CITY ADMINISTRATOR S2~093 S5~123 58, 153 61~183 64,213
FINANCE DIRECTOR 43,412 4S,9'Sl 48.462 50.987 53,512
POLICE CHIEF 42.745 45,278 47,811 50.344 52.8n
STREET SUPERINTENDENT 42,745 45.278 47,811 50.344 52,8n
BUILDING & ZONING ADMINISTRATOR 42.237 44,739 47,241 49.743 52.245
WWTP SUPERINTENDENT 42,237 44,739 47,241 49,743 52,245
LIQUOR STORE MANAGER 37,041 39,790 42.539 45.288 48.037
FIRE CHIEF 37,041 39~790 42.539 45,288 48.0'Sl
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COORD. 34.445 36,192 37.981 39.894 41,912
BUILDING OFFICIAL 33,238 34, 736 36,213 37,710 39,208
CITY CLERK 33,238 34,736 36,213 37,710 39.208
ASSISTANT LIQUOR STORE MANAGER 20,883 22,422 24!003 25,542 27,102
POLICE SERGEANT*
BUILDING INSPECTOR 13.42 14.07 14.70 15.34 15.98
e ZONING ASSISTANT 11.43 12.28 13.13 13.99 14.86
RECYCLING COORDINATOR 11.43 12.28 13.13 13.99 14.86
SR. ACCOUNTING CLERK 10.09 10.88 11.65 12.44 13.24
TAC OFFICER 9.58 10.36 11.13 11.93 12.72
SECRETARY 8.31 9.13 9.96 10.73 11.53
COMMUNITY SERVICE OFFICER 8.31 9.13 9.96 10.73 11..53
SENIOR CITIZEN COORDINATOR 7.73 8.35 9.00 9.64 10.28
SECRETARY RECEPTIONIST 7.73 8.35 9.00 9.64 10.28
RECEPTIONIST 7.00 7.65 8.30 8.95 9.50
FULL TIME LIQUOR CLERK 7.13 7.73 8.31 8.95 9.50
CLERK TYPIST 6.00 6.70 7.35 8.05 8.75
WWTS OPERATOR 10.52 11.06 !t. 98 12.67 13.34 14.04
MAINTENANCE II I 12.47 13. 10 13.75 14.44 15.16
MAINTENANCE IJ 11. 01 11.33 11.68 12.37 13.04 13.74
MAINTENANCE I 9.00 9.55 10.10 10.65 11.20 11.7S
LABORER 7.21 7.47 7.73 8.24 9.01 9.53
. .......- 'MIl " -~""'~~'~{'Mn-'fd,"""._"""-'-:.'-"."_'_-"""',._:',.-..-..:~.. '"',....i""y-,.~,-'_,;..~~\......-,.;'p",_..,....:"--~,_'
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CITY OF ELK RIVER
1993 COMPENSATION PLAN
EXHIBIT 1
All 1992 pay ranges established by the City Council will
increase by 3% in 1993, based on' Step 5, in order to
remain competitive to the private market and comparable to
similar ',communities. Based on . acceptable work
performance, all City employees will move up.; one. step in
their pay range - or to the, top of the pay ~lan"whichever
is, less.
The 1993 pay ranges .... for City emplciyees
Exhibit 2.
are listed..' in
"'>'".'. ",,'
.-'. -"', .... ,-, . ./
,;'~"';'~;".:~!"<3. :The.l993 Pay Plan continues the City's efforts to comply
....?J~~~?~[~./~:~;},:~:;:::.t'.i'..:;w~t.h. the. c~mp~rable ~?rt~ Law.
"";.L:;,~?Nt:;:f}tt;;:,'4;;".:::,:The., part. time " Liquor' Store 'shall in
..~~~t.'''.''~~'i1~r;';i~;iiigWi~~~~::~ following
~~~~I~~~(~~if~!!:~~::::::e::~3~L;t time employees
'..:.',(:;''':'';f,\,'',/.' average of at least 20 hours per week are to. receive
:;,,(;"~':(:::.):~~::;,,:;.>' prora~ed benefits for vacation, holiday, and sick time.'
~~~~~~~r~~~~~~)~~;irun;~~;~edan~mp~~~:~~ts(P~~~~:te~ep~~;men~ltywil~OU~~~~
':~:;g~;-,:::::~;i;/:i;~::<'(: approval: of the Police Union Contract and are not governed
,,;"<>~,':':'':."'';'''',i>;<'''by any clauses of this resolution '
;;~f~~tl$~~~~~~~~rj~~~i~~~~o~~~ agr::~;~ie:~en ~;:l;m~l~;~:i ~:s
.,~li~~~;~~~t!EL~~::;~~ i~ i2~~~;~~,':' . ~~~~f~i~y~;:e~~~t~~b~~~~n ~ii~7 ag~~~ ...
:~i~;::u;cl~~i'"~h:t";c:,;y:,,,-'~~(\'\.:healthl...l~fe,,l and.,dental benef~ts.;,::.foremployees w~ll be
Y"(~';...!increased:Nto:r( $265: 00...' per:. month' in:'1993 .'\'>/' P:rorated"
.;:)~i~".'" ::!;\c~~;;!;{insurance<'" benefi tS'...will',' be;:'offered'~: to all permanent:.
-:'''.;'-,'".-'- -' - -< ,::'-P~~~"~:~:--:':"',"'" , .,~_~' - ':::. " , . '
.::;ik.".,..~::~<h<~~;:;U:;r~;femployeesscheduled to work an' average of.30 or more hours
., ;;;t;~~~t~~i~'!~~I:r:::n we::~. Waste. Water Treatment' System Superintendent is.
'., absent for at least one continuous eight hour period, at
the discretion of the Department Head, one employee in the
Waste Water Treatment System Department may receive an
additional . $.50 . per hour for functioning as the "Lead
Contact Worker." This adjustment during the absence of
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the Department Head is to reflect additional
responsibilities directing the work crew and work program.
10. To encourage continuing education for City employees, the
City will reimburse. 75% of the tuition fee to employees
for successfully completing classes directly related to
their position with the City. Any such class must be
taken on employee time and receive written approval-bi~ the
City. Administrator before tuition: reimbursement will be.
made~
11. -
The City Council can
the pay plan at
compliance to' the
employment status,
based on performance
make adjustments in- any section of
any City Council meeting based on
Comparable Worth Law, changes.' in
changes in work- responsibility, or
incentives.
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TO:
MAYOR & CITY COUNCIL
PAT KLAERS, CITY ~TOR
JUNE 30, 1993 /
1994 OFFICE STAFFING NEEDS
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
The intent of this memo is to specifically address
personnel needs in 1994 for the City office.
following positions are requested:
additional
In 1994, the
Personnel Coordinator/Administrative Assistant
Housing Inspector
Planning Intern
Extra 8 hours per week for Finance Clerk (Brenda)
Extra 20 hours per week for general clerical position
(Geryl)
With the exception of the housing inspector, the needed
personnel additions will have to be financed through an
increase in tax revenues. It is hoped that the following
comments will help in the evaluation of these positions.
Personnel Coordinator/Administrative Assistant Currently,
the personnel function is jointly handled by Lori Johnson,
Finance Director, Sandy Thackeray, City Clerk, and myself.
Lori, by far, does more personnel work than either Sandy or
myself. As the City staff has grown and as more state and
federal laws are passed which relate to employees, the need for
a personnel coordinator in the City of Elk River increases.
There may not be enough personnel duties to keep this employee
busy 100% of the time, but by labeling the position with an
administrative assistant title, we will be able to assign other
duties to the position as necessary. I believe it is most
appropriate to have this position under the supervision of Lori
Johnson as the position will have to work closely with the
Finance Department in many of the personnel duties. Adding
this position will allow us to handle all of our personnel
needs in a timely manner and will also free up time for Lori
and myself to work on other duties and responsibilities.
A personnel coordinator/administrative assistant will mainly
work in the personnel area. Duties for this position include:
- Compliance to the Americans With Disabilities Act
and other handicap accessibility state and federal
including updating our City Affirmative Action Plan
job descriptions.
(ADA)
laws
and
Assisting in the development of a written employee
evaluation system on a semi-annual basis.
P.O. Box 490 · 13065 Orono Parkway · Elk River, MN 55330 · (612) 441-7420 · Fax: (612) 441-7425
1994 Staffing Needs
6/30/93
Page 2
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Working on revising the City employee insurance package
and benefits package.
- Ensuring compliance with the state Comparable Worth law.
- Coordinate the recruitment and hiring process of new
employees.
- Monitor and improve the City wellness/fitness program and
the WIP (currently only offered to police union employees).
- Develop a City employee training program.
- Develop a City employee assistance program.
- Implement the employee safety program.
- Update the City Personnel Ordinance as appropriate.
- Ensure compliance to all state and federal laws relating
to personnel...family leave law, sexual preference law,
employee benefits for partners law, etc.
- Monitor proposed and new state and federal personnel laws.
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Additionally, under the "administrative assistant" title, this
position could take the lead in such projects as improving the
City risk management program, being the City staff coordinator
for the Library expansion project, and serving as the City
liaison for the Senior Citizen program.
Personnel has become a very technical and specialized work
responsibility within municipalities. Personnel in Elk River
is currently one of the easiest responsibilities to "let slide"
as it is somewhat of an invisible issue and is sometimes not
dealt with until problems develop. The City must take a
pro-active approach to our personnel needs and be prepared for
issues and problems before they develop.
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By removing most of the personnel work from Lori's desk, she
would be able to apply more time to ongoing projects and more
closely monitor the responsibilities of the Finance Department.
This position would also allow me more time to spend on the
municipal budget, public improvement projects, the capital
improvement program, special projects, and to actually do some
personnel work. By this last statement I mean that I will be
able to actually do some written personnel evaluations for the
department heads and also will be able to spend some time on
the overall staff organization and development. Additionally,
I have been very lax in my professional City management
organization and it is appropriate that I begin to get more
active in the League of Minnesota Cities and the State City
Manager's Association. Work in Elk River has become so hectic
for my position that in 1993, I missed the State City Manager's
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1994 Staffing Needs
6/30/93
Page 3
Conference and I am feeling like I am beginning to fall behind
in current management trends and issues and this is not a good
situation or beneficial to the City of Elk River.
It is anticipated that the 1994 starting base pay for this
position would be about $29,000 per year. This would put the
position on par with the Building Inspector. Total
compensation would approach $36,000 per year in 1994. From an
overall City Management point of view, this is the most
important staff addition that is needed in 1994.
1/4 Time Finance Clerk Position (Brenda) Brenda is
currently working about 32 hours per week and, of this total,
10 hours is, in theory, applied to administration. In reality,
she is working almost all 32 hours in the Finance Department.
We may need to have Brenda apply 40 hours per week to the
Finance Department to help address some of the needs identified
during the City Audit presentation. These additional hours
should allow the City to adequately handle the special
assessment searches which was a main issue discussed during the
Audit presentation. We cannot afford to have a part time
additional person added to handle special assessment searches.
Between Brenda and Joan, they should be able to handle these
special assessment searches. The revenue for special
assessments is already in the budget, so to indicate that we
could finance a part time position with the special assessment
revenues is true, but it would reflect a need for additional
tax revenues as we are already using this special assessment
revenue for financing some of the existing Clerk position in
the Finance department.
Increasing Brenda's time by 8 hours per week on 1/1/94 would
cost the City about $5,600 in 1994. This money does not need
to be in the budget as a personnel expense, but should be
listed as a possible City Council Contingency fund expense as
the Council may need to authorize this extra 8 hours per week
sometime in 1994.
1/2 Time General Clerical Position (Geryl) The City has a
need for more clerical help throughout the City offices. In
this regard we are requesting that Geryl be increased from a
part time 20 hours per week status to full time 40 hours per
week status. We really need 32 hours per week on 1/1/94 and
will evaluate the need for the additional 8 hours per week
throughout the year. This would allow Geryl to fill in as
necessary for vacations and to provide additional
administrative clerical support for Lori, Sandy, Bill, and
myself. This will especially be needed if Brenda works only in
the Finance Department. Additionally, Geryl will be able to
provide back up services for Cathy in the Building, Zoning, and
Planning areas. Geryl also currently backs up Debbie at the
receptionist desk when she is gone for breaks and vacations and
1994 Staffing Needs
6/30/93
Page 4
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when she is absent due to sickness. Having Geryl move to a
full time status will provide a much needed back up and relief
for our existing clerical staff.
Having Geryl move to full time status will cost the City
approximately $10,800. This is a rather large increase as
Geryl currently does not receive benefits and she would be
eligible for all benefits once she reaches 30 hours per week.
We should budget an extra $7,200 for this position (32 hours
per week) and note that if the position goes to full time in
1994, then Council Contingency funds will be needed.
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Planninq Intern Steve Ach has been hired as the City
Planner. It is unrealistic to expect Steve Ach to do the
planning function that was done entirely by Janelle, at least
half of Steve Rohlf's time (maybe more), and some of the time
from Gary Schmitz. In 1994, it is anticipated that about 20
hours per week of Gary's time will be able to be applied to the
planning function (after the Utilities start doing the garbage
billing). This will assist Steve Ach in carrying out the
responsibilities of the Planning Department. However, the
updating of the Growth Management Plan is on the horizon and
this project, which is scheduled to begin in later 1993, can
take upwards to eighteen months to complete. Steve will not
be able to do the entire project and will need outside
consulting help, but a great deal of his time will be dedicated
to this project. This will necessitate some assistance in the
Planning Department to fulfill some of the functions that
Janelle handled as the Zoning Assistant.
Now that we have office space and someone to supervise an
intern, it seems appropriate for the City to pursue some
economical (entry level position) planning assistance. The
Planning Intern can help in assisting the public with general
planning information, responding to walk in inquiries and
telephone calls, reviewing initial applications for rezoning,
conditional use permits, variances, administrative
subdivisions, etc., per direction from Steve Ach.
Additionally, the Intern can work on special projects as
necessary. An internship program is an excellent opportunity
for the City to get some assistance for meeting the planning
needs of the community. These planning needs will increase as
development pressures begin in the western area of the City
and, quite possibly, along east Highway 10. This position
would ideally begin in the fall or in the spring to coincide
with the school year. However, this position is anticipated to
be permanent and once one intern leaves, we would be looking to
add a new intern to continue to economically fulfill a City
planning need.
.
It is estimated that a graduate student intern would begin at
$9.00 per hour and end at $10.00 per hour and would be hired
for one year. This position, if begun on 1/1/94, would cost
.
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1994 Staffing Needs
6/30/93
Page 5
the City less than $20,000 annually. Typically an intern is
not eligible for benefits.
Housinq Inspector Please see the attached material from
Steve Rohlf regarding the Housing Inspection Program. Steve
will be in attendance at the 7/12/93 meeting to discuss this
position with the City Council. Additionally, Russ Anderson
will be in attendance to help in the discussion of this
position and how this position would relate to a fire
inspection program.
If the City Council wants to move forward with a housing
inspection program which concentrates on rental housing units,
then this position is going to cost the City a total of about
$32,000. We can probably hire a Housing Inspector in 1994 for
about $25,000 in base salary (comparable to the recycling
coordinator position).
The City currently has about 950 rental units throughout the
community. If a rental licensing fee was initiated at $35.00
per rental unit, this would generate about $33,000 annually and
help finance the rental housing inspection program. If the
City pursues this new program to ensure that all rental units
in the community are as safe as possible, then a new rental
licensing fee should strongly be considered by the City Council
to finance this position.
The above items reflect the additional time that is, and may
be, needed within the City office in order to meet our ongoing
responsibilities. One other position should be briefly
mentioned and that is the Administrative Secretary/Receptionist
position. Alice and Brenda have had this title/position, but
Alice is now currently functioning as the only secretary for
myself, Sandy, Bill and Lori. Alice's work responsibilities
have changed and increased from the position she had at old
City Hall (720 Dodge Avenue) and she is clearly now working
exclusively in a secretarial role. In this regard, it is
recommended that Alice's title be changed to that of Secretary
and that her pay be adjusted into the Secretary pay range.
This would amount to an increase of approximately $1.29 in
1994. This adjustment is appropriate and fair and actually
should take place before 1994, but is not included in the 1993
budget.
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1994 Staffing Needs
6/30/93
Page 6
The above personnel items amount to about $107,100 in
additional expenditures in 1994 if everyone is hired on
1/1/94. If a rental licensing fee is initiated and brings in
approximately $33,000 in 1994, then all of the positions listed
above/below will have to be financed with approximately $75,100
of additional tax revenues.
Personnel Coordinator
Clerical Help
Planning Intern
Secretary Title Change
$36,000
7,200
20,000
2,700
$65,900
$ 5,600
3,600
$ 9,200 (Contingency Fund)
$32,000 (Licensing Fees)
8 Hours Finance
8 Hours Clerical
Housing Inspector
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TO:
PAT KLAERS, CITY ADMINISTRATOR
FROM:
SANDY THACKERAY, CITY CLERK OJ"/"
JUNE 29, 1993 ~
DATE:
SUBJECT: 1994 CITY CLERK PERSONNEL BUDGET
I do not foresee a need for additional clerical personnel with
the exception of Brenda and Gery1 being elevated to full-time
in 1994. Providing the Council approves the purchase of PC's
for Debbie and Geryl, the existing clerical staff should be
able to handle the work load for 1994. It may be that the
clerical staff is shorthanded at times (during vacations and
elections). The addition of PC's for Geryl and Debbie and the
elevation of full-time status for Geryl and Brenda should take
care of this situation, provided Brenda and Geryl will be able
to cover for Alice during vacations and elections (keeping in
mind that Alice is the only administrative secretary).
e
The personnel duties in the Clerk's office are minimal. They
include mainly working with applications; reviewing and rating,
running copies, sorting voluntary surveys, sending letters to
applicants, setting up interviews, and organizing applications
and information.
As for my duties, I have included a page from my annual report
which covers most of what I do. It does not cover items such
as open house, bridge ceremony, Board and Commission
appointments, public communication, drafting of licensing
ordinances (with attorney assistance), and other miscellaneous
duties. I feel I can comfortably handle all of the duties
assigned to me without feeling pressured, especially on an
off-election year.
In closing, I would recommend that Geryl and Brenda be elevated
to full-time status in 1994; that personal computers be
provided for Geryl and Debbie; and that Geryl and Brenda be
available to assist Alice when she is either on vacation, ill,
or assisting during elections.
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P.O. Box 490 · 13065 Orono Parkway · Elk River, MN 55330 · (612) 441-7420 · Fax: (612) 441-7425
.
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CITY CLERK
. .
The role of a City Clerk in city government consists of a wide
variety of duties and responsibilities, many of which are
dictated by Statute. Listed below are some of the duties and
responsibilities of the Elk River City Clerk.
1. Supervises the daily administration of office operations.
2. Executive Secretary for Council...
--Keeps records of all Council proceedings, including
preparing minutes of Council meetings.
--Maintains ordinance book. Ensures that all ordinance
amendments are published.
--Maintains resolution book. Resolutions adopted by
Council are indexed so they can be referenced in the
future.
--Prepares agendas and assists and supervises preparation
of agenda packets.
3. Elections...Handles details involved in conducting
elections.
4. Executes Official Papers...Joins with the Mayor in signing
all legal papers on behalf of the City.
5.
Recordkeeper...Maintains a records retention plan for the
City.
6. Administers Oaths of Office.
7. Issues Licenses.
8. Notary Public...Performs Notary services for the City and
public.
9. Improvement Projects...Works together with Engineer,
Attorney and Staff to follow assessment procedures for
improvement projects.
10. City Code...Keeps City Code current.
11. Index Council and EDA Minutes...Indexes Council and EDA
minutes for future reference.
12. Newsletter...Edits and coordinates City Newsletter on a
bi-monthly basis.
13. Office Equipment and Furniture...Evaluates need and
purchases office furniture and equipment.
14.
"':;'i:'<;:~ ""t" X::::..,i~_J~_-t>-.,,,:;.:;-~_m- - --
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TO:
PATRICK KLAERS, CITY ADMINISTRATOR ,
LORI JOHNSON, FINANCE DIRECTOR ~~
FROM:
DATE: JULY 2, 1993
SUBJECT: STAFFING LEVELS
During the Audit and Finance Department Annual Report
presentations, there was some discussion regarding the staffing
level of the Department. Because those discussions were
relatively recent, I am not going to reiterate that
information. However, since I will not be in town to attend
the July 12 Council meeting when personnel needs will be
discussed, I wanted to bring a few items to the Council's
attention.
First, in 1993 additional staff has been added. Brenda Ebner
is currently working about 30 hours per week in Finance. These
additional hours, for the present time, have helped to
alleviate the need on the accounting clerk level. Additional
hours may be needed later in 1994; the work load will be
monitored and additional hours will be added only if absolutely
necessary. However, as we discussed previously, there are also
other staff needs. At times I spend numerous hours working on
personnel issues. Even though the time spent on personnel is
very sporadic, there certainly is a need to dedicate more
time. There are several personnel projects that have been
explored and I feel would be beneficial to the City but without
adequate time to dedicate to taking them to completion, the
ideas have remained just that. You and I have discussed this
issue and your memo addresses this so I will not repeat the
information other than to make you aware that this would free
up some time to focus on other finance issues plus personnel
projects could be undertaken.
An additional item that needs to be taken care of is changing
Brenda's job title from Administrative Secretary/Receptionist,
which is no longer applicable, to an appropriate title. At
that time a pay range will need to be set. This will be
researched and additional information will be presented at
budget time when other job title and pay range changes are made.
Finally, as the City continues to grow, additional finance
staff will need to be added. In the next five years, there may
be several needs: First, an accountant or assistant position
will most likely be necessary. This person would assist the
Director with special projects, data processing system
management and many technical accounting functions. A special
assessment clerk/cashier position may also be needed. As there
are more employees, more accounts payable activities and more
transactions flowing through the department, the two current
positions will not be able to handle all the functions
P.O. Box 490 · 13065 Orono Parkway · Elk River, MN 55330 · (612) 441-7420 · Fax: (612) 441-7425
.
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currently included in their job descriptions. It is somewhat
difficult to determine exactly what duties this future position
would have as that depends on how duties would be split between
the accounting/payroll clerk positions.
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TO:
MAYOR & CITY COUNCIL
FROM:
STEPHEN ROHLF, BUILDING & ZONING
ADMINISTRATOR
JUNE 15, 199 3 ~ fl-
DATE:
SUBJECT: BUILDING CODE, HOUSING CODE,
FIRE CODE
BUILDING CODE
The Uniform Building Code with the State amendments has already
been adopted by the City of Elk River. This code covers all
new construction, and inspections are already taking place.
HOUSING CODE
Housing
Housing
River.
but not
Code covers the inspection of existing houses. A
Code has not yet been adopted by the City of Elk
Staff recommends the Uniform Housing Code be adopted,
necessarily all the appendixes to it.
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The Uniform Housing Code would be enforced when their is a
transfer of title, complaint, or reasonable cause is shown that
an unsafe, dangerous, or hazardous situation exists. This code
covers all housing, including apartments and owner occupied
single family homes, when title transfers.
The Uniform Housing Code covers the following health/safety
items: inadequate sanitation; structural hazards; nuisances;
hazardous electrical wiring (the State Electrical Inspector
would be called in as needed); hazardous plumbing (which would
include septic systems); hazardous mechanical equipment; faulty
weather protection (which would include lack of paint); fire
hazards (the Fire Chief would be called in if necessary);
faulty construction materials; hazardous or unsanitary premises
(which includes weeds, rats, garbage); inadequate exits;
inadequate fire protection (again, on this item, the Fire Chief
would be called in as necessary so there is some overlap with
the fire code); and improper occupancy (i.e., a single family
home being divided into two and being rented as a duplex).
RECOMMENDATION
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The Building and Zoning Department recommends we adopt the
Uniform Housing Code, but not until we are ready to conduct
inspections. Further, an additional inspector will be needed
to adequately enforce the Housing Code. Lastly, thorough
notification will be needed to put people on notice of the
Housing Code's adoption.
If the Council feels it is the appropriate time, staff will
supply an ordinance amendment to adopt the Uniform Housing Code
P.O. Box 490 · 13065 Orono Parkway · Elk River, MN 55330 · (612) 441-7420 · Fax: (612) 441-7425
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Codes
June 15, 1993
Page 2
with the recommended appendixes. Staff will also supply a
recommended fee schedule for these inspections.
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9/1992
1 January
'T .bune/ihursday .- '1 \
Star fl ... .: '.
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CRYSTAL -.... " "<>-" .
. . ..,
.
~'.:: Home sellers must
:-. . .. have inspections
:' ~ Owners of single- and two-family
':. .:- homes in Crystal now must have
...:: their houses inspected and certi-
>~. " fled for building code compliance
.~:: ',' before selling them. The change
.. " took effect Jan. 1. The ordinance
:....: also requires annual licenses and
': ,. . inspections for all rental property
:'~' ~ in the city.
~.' Inspections cost $65 for a single-
.- family home and $80 for a two-
family dwelling. Karen Barton,
the city's building inspector, said
.. houses must be in compliance
~;; ~~ with codes that were in effect
.,.:: when the house was built. She
. .~.~~ said homeowners will be allowed
:; .~:; a flexible period in which to make
.. repairs.
..'~' Annual rental license and inspec-
. ~.- tion fees also will be $65 and $80
. for single- and double-family
homes. Owners of multiple-unit
. : buildings will be assessed $ 90 for
, . . the building and $5 for each unit.
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tar Tribune/Thursday/September 27/1a90
.~,jw
Landlords oppose licensing laws
. They say standards higher than for homeowners
By Pat Prince
Staff Writer
,When Minneapolis recently
passed an ordinance requiring the
licensing and inspection of rental
property, it was following the lead
of several suburbs that have been
regulating rental housing for
years.
But as in Minneapolis, Crystal
and S1. Louis Park are finding
that licensing landlords and in-
specting their property is politi-
cally sensitive. Landlords object
to licensing fees and the prospect
of inspectors pOking around in
their buildings. Some complain
that they are being held to a high-
er standard of maintenance than
homeowners.
One of the more controversial as-
pects of some ordinances, espe-
cially the one proposed in St.
Louis Park, is the provision that)
makes landlords responsible for
their tenants' conduct.
"Under the new ordinance, I'd get
a citation if a tenant doesn't shov.
el the snow on his sidewalk or
parks his motorcycle by the door,
or if there are weeds or the grass
needs cutting," said Gary Bers.
cheid, who owns several single-
family rental houses in St. Louis
Park. "Many times I don't have
control over a tenant's action."
Berscheid identifies himself as the
chief rabble-rouser of a group of
landlords in the city who oppose
the proposed inspection ordi-
nance.
While he supports licensing and
inspection, he feels the plan is too
costly and unduly harsh on land.
lords. His group, which has hired
an attorney to review the ordi-
nance, also objects to the fact that
rental houses would have to have
paved parking spots, while that
requirement isn't imposed on
neighboring owner-occupied
houses.
But like it or not, the licensing of
rental housing appears to be a
wave of the future. Nationally,
housing and tenants rights organi-
zations support the policy as a
way to ensure that tenants live in
safe house. Since the late I 960s,
larger cities have increasingly
adopted the practice to combat
blight by preserving their aging
housing stock.
In addition to Minneapolis, sever.
al cities, including Robbinsdale,
Columbia Heights, Richfield and
Bloomington, have recently en-
acted such ordinances. The ordi-
nances vary, but most involve an-
'"'1' nr ",,"tnt- n.d . ,
Staff Photo by Rita Reed \
Newton Parker, Robblnsdale hou~lng Inspector, uncovered an Improperly Installed fight' fixture In a
rental property. "Even though we're Inconveniencing good landlords, every other week I find a
situation that Is so dangerous that someone'sllfe Is In danger, where Injury or death was Imminent,"
he said.
Some, like Bloomington' and C0-
lumbia Heights, have licensed
large apartment buildings for
years and have recently extended
the policy to include inspections
of single- and two-family ,rental
dwellings.
, 'Another problem is idenfifying
Fridley has licensed all rental buildings that include rental
properties for years" but, with'\' units. In Robbinsdale, housing in.
only one full-time inspector, the spector Newton Parker identifies
city has conducted inspections rental properties by checking out
only when tenants complain. houses with more than one elec-
trical meter or those that generate
more garbage than would be ex-
pected from one family: The next
step'is to buy newspaper adS ask-
ing tenants to telephone if their
landlords haven't posted a li-
cense. \ , ' '.'
Some landlords say they will have
to pass the fees to tenants, who,
the landlords say, will question
Columbia Heights, which charges
$15 for a single-family house in-
spection, took the novel approach
of drafting two firefighters to con-
duct inspections when they're not
putting out fires.
Having the staff to make the in-
spections is one of the biggest
problems. S1. Louis Park, which
has delayed action on the issue
until Oct. I, intends to hire an
. extra inspector and staff member.
The fees paid by landlords are
expected to pay for the program. '
Landlords have objected to the\
proposed fee, $50,a year and $35
inspections.
But Robbinsdale's Parker said the
benefits to tenants are obvious.
Rental properties are especially
likely to have work done by do-it-
yourselfers who don't really know
what they're doing, he said.
"Even though we're inconven-
iencing good landlords, every oth-
er week I find a situation that is
so dangerous that someone's life
is in danger, where injury or death
was imminent," he said. "That
includes gas leaks, a gas can next
to a furnace, or a broken chimney
that's not obvious from outside.
Even though we're 'hot potatoes
politically, sometimes it makes it ,
all worth it when we come across
those cases where someone really
is in jeopardv,"
INFORMATION SERVICE ..
League of Minnesota Cltles
183 University Ave E.
SlIIfaul, MN .55101
Classification # ~S)c:
Municipality Robhi'l\~ da..\~
Da te (g. - \3"' ~:L-__
Subject
DEe 13 jSS9 J .
IRobbins.Ctale gets
.a housin~f~9d'e \
..:c.,.,' c..~ j '\ --.- . . '\1,. ',_
Council alsoapproves1 hIgher
". ~. . .
garbage.bills
-
By Phil Pfuehler e.,; For la~dlords, the code
.. . , - . I passed at last week's Council.'
~~pIte la?dlord ~lStance, t me~ting. Jaas-more"impact, .
RObbInsdale s CouncIfwent: rwhlch IS. why they've ob-
· forw~rd and passed, a second I. ,ljected: _:" '. ,. '. .' .
;. ~ reading of a. Housing Mai.n-II, O' Rental' . ; 'ti: ill be" :
F tenance Code. ."\ V mspec ons w
f ". - - . _ .,' . :. '1 J for the .pr~perty's exterior as
For homeowners '.the newt w~l1asIts mtenor. Inspections
code will: .'! I : wIll be every two years and
! carry a. fee that landlords
o Be ~ected pri~ariJy at !nlUstpay. .... .
the ex tenor paint. on' their ~.
homes and garages. If the' i. 0 ProPc;sed 'tWo-year fees
overall paint is more than 25 I range from $50 for a single.
percent blistered or peeling, ; family rental home to $560 for
you may ~ asked to ~int up. . 'a 1(10-unit. apartment. ,The .
:'counciJ may. set these fees at
O'To a lesser degree,"the rthenextDeceni~rmeeting.
~ode targe~ crumbling retain- f'. '.' .
Ing walls, dilapidated garages \'. :Ro~binsdale's Code J~:n-
: and picket fenceS. . ) , .
.~~. [ 0 Not in cluded in' the. 'Cod.e. :f. ~.r~em enC .O.f'.fic~~ . sc. ~tt -I'
t; \.... .,. . . WillIams defended the em-
;;. '-. .:".. ~~''''''';''., .;Pha:sis on rental properties by,.
'" '. are InterIor home checks, or . s~YI,ng tha.t that area of the I
l..l.~;man~tory ,point-of-salecode : ~lty S hOUSIng stock ShowS.Jhe
k~foll1pliance inspections:,. .:. I Beatest need for .u~eel>~' -.'~ .. .
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Ilk
TO:
MAYOR & CITY COUNCIL
FROM:
PAT KLAERS, CITY ADMINIST
DATE: JULY 2, 1993
SUBJECT: 1994 NON-OFFICE STAFFING NEEDS
Memos from the Fire Chief,
Superintendent are attached
that Phil, Russ, and Tom Tyler
7/12/93 City Council meeting
staffing priorities.
Police Chief, and Street/Park
to this memo. It is anticipated
will be in attendance at the
to facilitate the discussion on
The following comments are offered to help the City Council
consider all the issues involved in staff additions and
personnel priorities.
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Street/Park Department
Maintenance employees are needed on an ongoing basis.
- The City should plan to hire most new maintenance
employees under the laborer title and the pay for this
position in 1993 began at $7.21 per hour.
- If no new maintenance employees are hired for 1994, then
the City should plan on more paid summer help for Phil and
his crew beginning in 1994.
- The City Council should plan on adding one new maintenance
employee in 1995, 1997, and 1999, at a minimum.
These comments coincide closely to the memo from Phil.
Police Department
Police Patrol Officers are needed on an ongoing basis.
- As more officers are hired and more work undertaken and
accomplished, then more clerical help is needed.
- As the City grows, more non-uniformed assistance and help
is also needed (CSO's).
e
- 1994 One Patrol Officer and D.A.R.E. Officer (financed
by the fundraising efforts) and an extra 10 hours/week for
the CSO are needed.
- 1995 - One clerical position.
- 1996 - Two Patrol Officers (one existing officer is likely
to be promoted to an investigative and/or supervisory
position) .
- 1997 - One clerical position and/or one CSO position.
- 1998 - Two Patrol Officers.
- 1999 - Zero additions.
- 2000 Two Patrol Officers (one promotion within) and one
clerical position.
These comments vary slightly from the requests and comments
within Tom's memo.
P.O. Box 490 · 13065 Orono Parkway · Elk River, MN 55330 · (612) 441-7420 · Fax: (612) 441-7425
~ Fire Department
The Fire Chief has asked for a full time or part time Fire
Marshal for a number of years. I am not sure that a part time
Fire Marshal can hired. An alternative may be to hire some
existing firefighters to perform Fire Marshal duties as they
relates to the fire inspection program that Russ will discuss
with the Council. Based on entire City-wide needs, a Fire
Marshal position will be difficult to authorize or finance in
1994.
A building and equipment maintenance employee has also been
requested by the Fire Chief in the past few years. The memo
from the Fire Chief indicates that, initially, the Fire Marshal
could also do inspections/work on the Fire Department equipment
and station.
The fire inspection program under management of the Fire
Marshal is a separate program from the housing inspection
program as reviewed in Steve Rohlf's memo.
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TO:
PATRICK KLAERS, CITY ADMINISTRATOR
PHIL HALS, STREET/PARK SUPT.
FROM:
DATE: JULY 2, 1993
SUBJECT: FUTURE PERSONNEL NEEDS
The personnel issues
directly related to
we are to offer.
for the Street/Park Department are
the work load and to the level of service
For the short term, our summer needs are for an additional post
high school person to operate a 12 foot front mounted mower.
Because of the additional mowing at City Hall and the new
recreation fields, one mower is no longer enough. This
position could be a full time laborer level similar to Amy's
job description, or as a part time summer type position.
The winter season needs will be increasing with the addition of
three or maybe four new plats and 10 to 15 more cul-de-sacs to
plow. I can see three options to consider.
Option One: Hire a full time laborer person to mow grass in
the summer and plow snow in the winter.
Option Two: Hire a part time person to mow grass in the
summer and change the level of service for snow removal (not
snowplowing) in the downtown from within 24 hours to within 48
hours after a snow storm and change the ski trail grooming from
within 8 hours to within 36 hours after a snow storm. These
changes in the snow removal policy would allow us to plow the
snow as usual and only "spin" the cul-de-sacs; coming back the
second day to clean up and plow the cul-de-sacs completely and
groom the ski trails. Hauling the snow from the downtown would
be done on the morning of the third day following a snow
storm. This would also allow us to cut back on some overtime
pay during snow plowing.
Option Three: Hire the part time summer worker and two part
time on call people to help with snow plowing. This option
would be the most economical for the City, but I feel it will
be difficult to impossible to find qualified snow plowing
operators who would be available for such "on call" duty.
My first choice would to hire a full time laborer person.
Second would be as I stated in Option Two, hire a part time
summer worker and reduce the service level of snow removal. I
think that while Option Three sounds the most attractive, it
will be difficult to find capable people who will accept those
terms and retain them for the hours they would be needed.
P.O. Box 490 · 13065 Orono Parkway · Elk River, MN 55330 · (612) 441-7420 · Fax: (612) 441-7425
,
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Future Staff Needs: I feel that retaining the Street/Park
Department as one group has given us opportunities to perform
more effectively with personnel and equipment than two separate
departments could do. As the City grows, I would like to
promote a department member to park foreman and shift Mark
Thompson to street foreman, with any additional people joining
the department as laborers.
There are many reasons, in my op1n1on, to keep the Street and
Park Department together as it is now, but I think our overall
performance shows the most clearly.
...
-ElI(
Memorandum
-(I
To:
Mayor and City Council
From:
Thomas D. Zerwas, Chief of Police
Date:
July 2, 1993
Police Department
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Subject:
PERSONNEL REQUEST/PROJECTIONS
The police department has experienced significant increases in
calls for service over the past several years. This has been
largely due to the population increase in Elk Ri ver and the
surrounding area. We have also seen a significant increase in
motor vehicle traffic the past couple years; this, too, can be
attributed to population increases in our general area. As a
result of these increases, police department personnel have seen
significant increases in their work loads.
The above increases have lowered the level of service the police
department is providing our citizens. The police department hired
two (2) patrol officers in November of 1990. Since that time, our
calls for service have increased approximately forty percent (40%).
The increases that we have experienced are expected to continue at
the rate of 5-10 percent per year. At this rate, I feel we should
anticipate hiring two (2) patrol officers for the calendar year
1994. For calendar year 1995, at this time, I am projecting an
additional patrol officer be hired. For calendar year 1996, I am
projecting the need for two (2) additional patrol officers.
In the next few years, I feel we will also need to consider
creating the position of captain. I would eventually like to see
a captain in charge of the patrol division; and, an administrative
captain in charge of the investigative division and our community
service officers. The rationale for the captain positions is to
help spread out some of the administrati ve duties and
responsibilities that I currently handle. The police department
currently has twenty-one (21) permanent employees and twenty (20)
police reserve officers. This amount of personnel creates a
significant management responsibility for me. All of these
employees create thousands of reports yearly that I must read for
liability reasons.
For the calendar year 1994, I would like to increase our part-time
CSO position from 30 hours per week to a full time position. This
will allow us to keep one of our full-time community service
officers in the office 2-3 days a week to assist with record entry
into our computer system. This would make it possible for me to
fill our administrative secretary position which has been vacant
since Linnea McRae retired in January of 1992. I currently do not
have a secretary for typing confidential memorandums,
correspondences, and labor related issues. This person would also
be able to assist me with some of my ever increasing administrative
duties.
720 Dodge Avenue N.W., Elk River, Minnesota 55330 · (612) 441-2324
Memorandum
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To: Mayor and City Council
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From:
Thomas D. Zerwas, Chief of Police
Date:
July 2, 1993
Police Department
Subject:
PERSONNEL REQUEST/PROJECTIONS, continued
As you can see by the above requests and projections, the City of
Elk River is experiencing significant growing pains that must be
dealt with. If we do not keep up with the increases in work load
by hiring additional personnel, the citizens of Elk River will see
a significant reduction in response times for calls for service.
The quality of our service will also be affected if the above
issues are not addressed.
TZ/kma
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720 Dodge Avenue N.W., Elk River, Minnesota 55330 · (612) 441-2324
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TO:
MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
FROM:
RUSS ANDERSON, FIRE CHIEF
DATE: JULY 2, 1993
SUBJECT: INSPECTOR (FIRE MARSHAL) POSITION
.
The purpose of this memo is to outline the need and duties of
establishing a fire prevention program within our fire
department under the control of the Fire Chief. The inspection
process, no matter if it is for evidence of legal compliance
with a code or to make nonbinding fire safety recommendations,
is a search for unsafe conditions which must be on a continual
and regular basis. This is necessary because unsafe fire
conditions are caused by environmental and human behavior.
Environmental causes, such as hazardous products and
deterioration of building causes hazards to life and property
when fire occurs. Human behavior accounts for a large
percentage of unsafe conditions such as obstruction of exits,
smoke alarms inoperative, fire doors blocked open, storage of
materials in unsafe locations, and the list goes on and on.
Some of this can be reduced by regular fire safety inspections
and fire prevention education. I feel the City has grown to
the point where the prevention bureau program has become a
justifiable expense for the fire safety program in our City. I
will try to outline the duties of a fire marshal's position.
The fire priority of a fire marshal would be inspections of
apartment complexes, rental units, industrial facilities,
business, daycare and group homes when acceptable, also
answering fire safety complaints. Our intent for this position
is not to put somebody out of business or make it a financial
hardship, but to work with them in making their facilities a
safer place to work and live in. As time permits (first year
or two), the person in this position would be expected to
assist in equipment, truck and station maintenance, they would
work with a training officer on education and drills for our
firefighters, work on public education in fire prevention, and
be a firefighter in our department. I would like your serious
consideration on making this a full time position within our
department's structure. If there is any questions about this
request, please call me or stop by the fire station.
.
P.O. Box 490 · 13065 Orono Parkway · Elk River, MN 55330 · (612) 441-7420 · Fax: (612) 441-7425