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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAGENDA REPORT 2000 0315 CC REG ITEM 10ETo. From: Date: AGENDA REPORT City of Moorpark Honorable City Council ITEM l 6' E CITY OF MOORPARK, r.AT,TFORNTA City Council i�feeting of - A11011�' 16100 ACTION:1 vtz, ' t441 YL'L`. . BY: Wayne Loftus, Director of Community Developmentf�/� March 6, 1999 (CC Meeting of 3/15/2000) Subject: Consider Organizational Alternatives for the Department of Community Development BACKGROUND: The Department of Community Development is currently organized into three (3) divisions which include Planning, both Current and Advanced, Code Enforcement, and Building & Safety, a contract function, which incorporates building plan check and inspection. The Current Planning function supervised by the Planning Manager (currently vacant) with one Principal Planner, one Assistant Planner, and one Planning Technician (currently vacant) is responsible for a variety of work tasks including development project review and permit issuance. The Advance Planning division currently staffed with one Principal Planner is responsible for the General Plan, policy development and special studies. During the current efforts to fill several vacant positions, it has been suggested that alternatives be evaluated to determine the most appropriate organizational structure for the current needs of the Community. Additionally, this discussion represents alternatives for the organization as well as the preferred organizational structure based upon the current staffing levels and the capability of the existing staff and available pool of applicants in the current market. The Planning Manager position, which under the present organization supervises the Current Planning function, and has been unfilled since March 1999, however, interviews have been held and the top two candidates identified. The Planning Technician position became vacant on March 3, 2000, with the resignation of that employee to accept employment elsewhere. The Secretary II and Secretary I positions (Secretary I is 1/2 time shared with Administrative Services) are both vacant, however, 0002i-6 Honorable City Council March 6, 1999 Page 2 the person previously serving as the Secretary II, currently works in the Department five (5) hours per day (part- time) . Recruitment is underway for both of these positions. Newly budgeted positions authorized by the 1999/2000 Fiscal Year Budget or by subsequent action of the City Council have not been filled, however, interviews have been held for the Principal Planner position, and interviews are pending for the Senior Planner position, however, only one position at either level would be filled. A second Code Enforcement Officer should be filled by April 1, 2000. The Community Development Department currently has a personnel allocation of 11.5 positions; however, at the present time only six (6) positions are filled on a full -time basis. Additionally, because of concerns related to the budget amount needed to fill all allocated positions it appears unlikely at this time that the Senior Planner position approved by the 1999/2000 Fiscal Year Budget (Attachment A) will be filled. Revenue projections used for the 1999/2000 Fiscal Year Budget have not yet materialized although it does appear that some of this project revenue will be forthcoming during the 2000/2001 Fiscal Year Budget year unless the economy weakens. Because of this budgetary concern, the following discussion for each alternative will focus on a staffing level of only 10.5 positions, not the authorized 11.5 positions. DISCUSSION: Three (3) organizational alternatives have been selected for presentation and evaluation including: the current organizational structure, Alternative 1 with one Planning Manager supervising Current Planning and the Director of Community Development directly supervising the remaining Department functions including Advanced Planning, Code Enforcement, and Administration and Building & Safety. Alternative 2, involves the creation of four (4) divisions, three (3) of which are headed by a Principal Planner with no Planning Manager designated by the organizational structure. Administration and Building & Safety would remain under the direct supervision by the Director of Community Development. The last alternative, designated as Alternative 3, involves the designation of three (3) divisions; one for Current Planning and one for Advance Planning, both supervised by a Planning Manager. Code Enforcement would be incorporated into Advance Planning, S: \Community Development \Everyone \City Council Agenda Reports \cc - 000315 Organizational 0002,19 Alternatives.doc Honorable City Council March 6, 1999 Page 3 while Administration and Building & Safety would continue as the third division in the department under the direct supervision of the Director of Community Development, along with the administrative function. The following discussion provides more detail concerning the operational characteristics of each of the three evaluated alternatives. Alternative 1- Alternative 1 (Attachment A) represents the current organizational structure of the Department, and includes three operational divisions comprised of: Planning, Code Enforcement, and Administration and Building & Safety. The Planning function is divided into Current and Advanced Planning with the Planning Manager in charge of Current Planning and Advance Planning comprised of a single position, that of a Principal Planner directly supervised by the Director of Community Development. In the absence of a Planning Manager the Director of Community Development has been directly supervising Current Planning as well as the other two divisions of Code Enforcement, and Administration and Building & Safety. Building & Safety is a contract function and as such on a daily basis typically requires minimal direct involvement by the Director. Under this organization, the Planning Manager position is intended to function as the assistant department manager and assist in many administrative duties for the department including preparation of the budget. This structure is very traditional for a small department in a small city where information flow is channeled to the department Director with policy direction and overall operations remaining the responsibility of the Director. As originally envisioned and as currently organized, the Advance Planning section of the Planning Division is directly responsible to the department Director for both policy guidance as well as direction on a regular basis since there is not a "manager" within that section. The Planning Manager position responsible to manage the Current Planning function was first created and filled in 1997, and is viewed as having significant responsibility and independence to accomplish department goals and respond to issues affecting the development process within the context of overall policy direction from the Department Manager. Functionally, Code Enforcement was supervised by the Planning S: \Community Development \Everyone \City Council Agenda Reports \cc - 000315 Organizational V 0 0 Z *'t:(j Alternatives.doc Honorable City Council March 6, 1999 Page 4 Manager when that position was filled, however, it is currently supervised by the Director of Community Development. Based upon a typical workday the Principal Planner for Current Planning evaluates projects and writes reports on complex development proposals for the Planning Commission and City Council, handles condition compliance for most projects and works directly with proponents of larger development proposals. The Assistant Planner and Planning Technician respond to inquiries at the counter and on the telephone, issue zoning clearances for building permits and prepare less involved reports and research for review by the Director and conduct field inspections. Both of these positions also assist with research and informational reports for Advance Planning when possible, based upon the workload and priority of projects in process. Alternative 2- This alternative establishes what is commonly known as a "flat" organization where tasks are spread to many staff positions who have a relatively equal level of empowerment to complete the work effort in coordination with other equal level relating staff and disciplines. In this type of organizational structure there is no hierarchy and the designation of an assistant department manager frequently occurs on a rotating basis or because of strong performance, however; there is no pay differential other than the step that the division managers are on within the same pay range. Attachment "B" illustrates this type of structure applied to the Department of Community Development, where there are three (3) Principal Planners heading up divisions within the department responsible for: 1) Current Planning involving the, review and processing of development projects including issuance of permits and zoning information at the counter and on the phone; 2) Advance Planning, responsible for General Plan Elements and amendments and related policy issues; and the third division 3) Special Studies, which would be designated to conduct special studies related to Advance Planning or Current Planning issues including the development of code amendments and policy and procedures to implement the General Plan, and specific assignments to assist with any work load concerns in the Advance Planning and Current planning areas. S: \Community Development \Everyone \City Council Agenda Reports \cc - 000315 Organizational V 0 0 2,' -',�k Alternatives.doc Honorable City Council March 6, 1999 Page 5 A fourth division could also be incorporated to handle administrative matters (Administration) including general administrative tasks, administration of contracts for planning and environmental services, RFP's (Request for Proposals) and interface with the Building & Safety division. This additional (fourth) division could be implemented by upgrading the Planning Technician to a Principal Planner resulting in a total of four (4) Principal Planners, under this organizational alternative. Based upon the present staffing level, the Current Planning Division would have one support staff at the Assistant Planner level and one at the Planning Technician level. The Advance Planning Division would be comprised of the Principal Planner and Code Enforcement Officers. The Special Studies Division would be staffed by a Principal Planner, and the Secretary II and Secretary I positions. The Building & Safety division and administrative functions would continue under the Director of Community Development. The disadvantages of this organizational structure relate primarily to the lack of depth in the professional planner positions in two of the three divisions requiring mid - management level employees (Principal Planner) to perform all work tasks required to adequately serve the customer. Because of this lack of depth in the organization, the ability to respond in a timely manner may also be compromised. This type of organization more so than the other alternatives tends to create specialists rather than generalists requiring significant amounts of cross training, which may result in loss of expertise in any or all areas where needed. Additionally, this structure does not improve on concerns in a small organization related to serving the customer when there is a break in service, such as a change in employment, vacation or illness. As is the case in most flat organizations loss of staff would result in the work being postponed, slowed down or reassigned to another division manager who may or may not have immediate knowledge and the available time to perform the needed work assignments. This lack of performance or response to the customer creates the potential for complaints concerning service to the community. The need for adequate direction and supervision combined with the separation of some functions such as special studies being separated from Advance Planning will require considerable additional time and effort from the Director to insure coordination of all work S: \Community Development \Everyone \City Council Agenda Reports \cc - 000315 Organizational O 0 l 24e " K" Alternatives.doc Honorable City Council March 6, 1999 Page 6 effort and accomplishment of work tasks. This organizational structure may have merit when applied to a larger organization where there is adequate staff to support all Principal Planners, however, for an organization the size of Moorpark's current Department of Community Development it is not preferred and could be viewed as top heavy because of the high number of mid- level managers, and minimal number of non - management employees. Alternative 3• Alternative 3 divides the department into three (3) divisions dealing with Advance Planning, Current Planning, Administration and Building & Safety. The two planning divisions would each be headed up and directly supervised by a Planning Manager, while Building & Safety and the Administrative functions would continue to be directly supervised by the Director of Community Development. Each of the planning divisions would have supporting staff with the Current Planning division assigned to have the highest number of positions to insure complete, detailed and timely review of development projects and issuance of permits. The Current Planning Division would include a Planning Manager, a Principal Planner, an Assistant Planner and a Planning Technician as is currently budgeted. The Advance Planning Division would include the Planning Manager, which is proposed by this alternative to be upgraded from the existing Principal Planner designation. This upgrading is proposed at this time in recognition of the importance of maintaining an updated and visionary General Plan and appropriate policy documents, and the need to focus on special studies such as the 118 Arterial corridor. Additionally, the ability to respond to developer proposals to amend General Plan Elements with complete and informed conclusions or alternatives is becoming increasingly important. This division would also include two Code Enforcement Officers. The benefits of this organizational alternative relate to the enhanced ability to coordinate the actions and work programs of only two mid -level managers who would have a significant focus on their discipline but are capable if necessary of supervising the other supporting planning division. Additionally, the Director would have two senior level managers that could relieve the Director from the burden of day to day operation to S: \Community Development \Everyone \City Council Agenda Reports \cc - 000315 Organizational Alternatives . doc 000223 Honorable City Council March 6, 1999 Page 7 concentrate on administrative and policy issues. Because both the Current and Advance Planning functions are significantly interrelated there should not be competition between division managers to determine priorities or empowerment of the divisions. Based upon the ideal Planning Manager profile, either division manager could be designated as the assistant department manager or the function could rotate between these two staff positions. However, in either case these Planning Managers would be capable of providing coordinated and uniform responses consistent with those that would be provided by the Director of Community Development. Additionally each of the divisions has assigned staff providing backup work capability during vacations, illness or staff vacancies. In addition to the proposed three (3) division department structure identified by this alternative, including the upgrading of one budgeted Principal Planner position to that of a Planning Manager, it is also proposed that the existing budgeted Planning Technician position be upgraded to an Associate Planner. This upgraded position would not increase the allocated staffing level, but would give added depth to the department that does not occur with the Planning Technician, due to the fact that it serves primarily as an in- service training position. Additionally, each division depending upon the work demands at the time could share this position. This upgrading to an Associate Planner is particularly important since hiring of an additional Principal or Senior Planner is being deferred because of budget concerns, Fiscal Impact- The alternatives that have been analyzed are different in several ways as discussed and likewise have different budget impacts related to the respective title and level of capability of the persons that are currently employed or may be ultimately hired. Based upon current personnel and their level of pay (salary only) and projecting the level of pay (Range) that may be necessary to attract qualified candidates, a budget amount for each alternative has been provided below. The budget amount identified applies only to the professional planning positions that comprise each alternative and does not include the Director of Community Development, Administrative staff or Code Enforcement Officers. The budget expenditure for each alternative would be approximately: S: \Community Development \Everyone \City Council Agenda Reports \cc - 000315 Organizational . �`�02 Alternatives.doc ��� ���',� Honorable City Council March 6, 1999 Page 8 Alternative 1 Alternative 2 Alternative 3 $282,113 $279,028 $297,148 None of the above approximate budget expenditures for each alternative discussed will impact the current (1999 -2000) budget because of the vacancies that currently exist. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Approve Alternative 3, including the upgrading of the Principal Planner to a Planning Manager and upgrading of the Planning Technician position to that of an Associate Planner. Attachments: A. Alternative 1 B. Alternative 2 C. Alternative 3 D. Detail of Division Assignments within the current Community Development Department organization. S: \Community Development \Everyone \City Council Agenda Reports \cc - 000315 Organizational r,fsl��r Alternatives.doc 0 0 2 54 G c, A COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT ORGANIZATIONAL CHART Community Development Director Administrative Secretary Secretary II Secretary I (1/2) Planning I I Code Enforcement Current Planning Planning Manager Principal Planner Assistant Planner Planning Technician Advanced Planning Principal Planner Alternative 1 - 10.5 Positions March 15, 2000 Code Enforcement Officer Code Enforcement Officer ATTACHMENT "A" Administration and Building & S C T� COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT ORGANIZATIONAL CHART Current Planning Principal Planner Assistant Planner Planning Technician Alternative 2 - 10.5 Positions March 15, 2000 Community Development Director Administrative Secretary Advanced Planning Principal Planner Code Enforcement Officer Code Enforcement Officer Special Projects Principal Planner Secretary II Secretary 1 (1/2) ATTACHMENT "B" Administration and Building & Safety R C A? iz N COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT ORGANIZATIONAL CHART Current Planning Planning Manager Principal Planner Associate Planner (1/2) Assistant Planner Alternative 3 - 10.5 Positions March 15, 2000 Community Development Director Administrative Secretary Secretary II Secretary I (1/2) Advanced Planning Planning Manager Associate Planner (1/2) Code Enforcement Officer Code Enforcement Officer ATTACHMENT "C" Administration and Building & Safety COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT ORGANIZATIONAL CHART Planning Manager Principal Planner Assistant Planner Planning Tech. *Development Entitlement Review *Conditional Use Permit Review *Environmental Review *Condition Compliance *Landscape Review & Inspection 'Public & Zoning Information *Development Standards *Zoning Code Amendments *Zoning Map Changes $Population & Housing Statistics *Development Reports *Affordable Housing Requirements for New Developments C N2 �t- Planning Manager Code Enforcement Officer Senior Planner Code Enforcement Officer *Administer & Update General Plan *Citizen Complaints *Prepare & Process Specific Plans *Overcrowding & Housing *Prepare & Process Environmental *Property Maintenance *Documents for City Projects *Public Nuisances *Review of County & Other *Assist Other Departments Agency Projects & Sheriff with Municipal *Special Studies & Projects Codes Violations *Citywide Traffic & Development *Neighborhood Preservation Impact Fees *Home Occupation Permits *Fee Studies *Vendor Permits *Fiscal Impact Studies *Development Agreements *Historical Preservation 'Staff to Affordable Housing/ Community Development Committee *Demographic Projections 'Growth Management *Residential Plan Check Nonresidential Plan Chec 'Miscellaneous Plan Checl *Residential Permits 'Nonresidential Permits *Miscellaneous Permits *Building Inspections 'Occupancy Investigation *Address Assignment *Public Information Attachment "D" ' W12000OVartment Organizational Chart.xls