RPVCCA_CC_SR_2013_04_16_02_Matrix_Citywide_Organizational_AssessmentCITY OF
MEMORANDUM
CHO PALOS VERDES
TO: CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS
FROM: MAYOR SUSAN BROOKS, MAYOR PRO TEM JERRY
DUHOVIC - MEMBERS OF THE COMPENSATION
SUBCOMMITTEE
DATE: APRIL 16, 2013
SUBJECT: MATRIX CITYWIDE ORGANIZATIONAL ASSESSMENT
THE MATRIX REPORT ")
REVIEWED: CAROLYN LEHR, CITY MANAGER
RECOMMENDATION
Receive and file the Matrix Citywide Organizational Assessment ( "The Matrix Report ").
Instruct Staff to analyze The Matrix Report, specifically the "Recommendations" section,
and provide the City Council, by a date certain, with a Plan of Implementation ( "POI "). The
POI will address each recommendation individually, specifically providing Staffs
analysis /commentary for or against the implementation of the recommendation, the
Manager responsible for implementation of the recommendation, the cost associated with
the implementation of the recommendation and a time table for implementation. The P01
will be brought back to the City Council for ratification and approval.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Rancho Palos Verdes City Council retained the The Matrix Consulting Group to
conduct a Citywide Needs and Efficiency Assessment /Study and to provide the Council
with a report reflecting their findings and recommendations. The report, known as the
Matrix Citywide Organizational Assessment ( "The Matrix Report "), was designed to
provide an assessment of the efficiency and effectiveness of City operations, specifically
identifying strengths and opportunities for improvement relating to the organization, its
staffing and the management thereof. The Matrix Report summarizes their analysis,
findings, conclusions and recommendations.
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April 16, 2013
BACKGROUND
On March 20, 2012, the City Council adopted goals and priorities for 2012. Under the
general heading of "Government Efficiency,
Fiscal Control and Transparency" was a more
focused goal to "Improve Organizational Efficiency ", which in turn specified "conducting a
performance audit of City staffing and programs." The potential engagement of a third
party consultant was introduced for the City Council's discussion and consideration in
furtherance of this goal.
On July 3, 2012, the Mayor and Council appointed an Ad Hoc Subcommittee consisting of
Council Members Brooks and Duhovic to bring forward proposals for an organizational
assessment of City staffing and programs. Of the three proposals received, the Ad Hoc
Subcommittee recommended that the City Council select the Matrix Consulting Group to
conduct the organizational assessment. The City Council approved engaging the Matrix
Consulting Group to perform the
organizational assessment on July 17, 2012.
DISCUSSION
The primary goal of conducting the organizational assessment was /is to assist the City
Council and Staff in promoting efficiency, transparency, and streamlined operations in
RPV City government while maintaining appropriate service levels for RPV residents. To
achieve this goal, the organizational assessment was to identify opportunities for
improvement in operational and economic efficiency.
In conducting the organizational assessment, the Matrix Consulting Group utilized a wide
variety of data collection and analytical techniques. They conducted the following data
collection and analytical activities:
Developed an understanding of the key issues impacting the City
To evaluate the City, the Matrix Consulting Group conducted interviews with
members of the City Council and managers in each department. Interviews focused
on departmental goals and objectives, management systems, the use of
technology, the levels of service provided by the City, the resources available to
provide those services, etc.
Developed a descriptive profile of the City
The Matrix Consulting Group collected data for each department to document the
current organization of services, the structure and functions of the various
departments, budgets, workload data, management systems, inventory of the
infrastructure, etc.
Provided an opportunity for employee and City Committee /Commission
member input
In addition to selected interviews, the Matrix Consulting Group administered an
employee survey and a survey of City Committee and Commission members.
These surveys asked individuals to evaluate a variety of statements regarding the
overall operations of the City, the individual departments and to identify strengths
and opportunities for improvement.
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Identified key strengths and opportunities for improvement in each
department
The `best management practices' assessment included comparisons to industry
standards developed by professional organizations, such as the American Planning
Association, American Public Works Association, Government Finance Officer's
Association, etc. Additionally, the project team also utilized the Matrix Consulting
Group's library of best practices developed by the firm while conducting
hundreds
of management studies throughout the country.
Conducted further analysis of issues identified for their final report
Based on its initial findings, the project team evaluated additional data, analyzed
issues and alternatives, resulting in recommendations regarding staffing levels and
management practices that would streamline operations and maintain existing
service levels.
ALTERNATIVES
Receive and file the Matrix Citywide Organizational Assessment and instruct Staff to take
limited or no action.
CONCLUSIONS
The Ad Hoc Subcommittee believes the Matrix Citywide Organizational Assessment has
proven to be a worthwhile exercise. Although not all encompassing and fairly limited in its
scope, The Matrix Report, in conjunction with the assessment completed by Management
Partners in February 2008, provides the City Council and the residents of Rancho Palos
Verdes with a significant amount of data to assess and improve the City's efficiency and
effectiveness with respect to City operations, staffing, policies, procedures, resources, and
the management thereof.
FISCAL IMPACT
The overall fiscal impact of implementing the Matrix Citywide Organizational Assessment
recommendations is unknown at this time. As part of the Plan of Implementation of the
Matrix Report recommendations (see Recommendation Section above), the costs
associated with the implementation of each recommendation are to be identified by Staff
and approved by the City Council.
Attachments:
The Matrix Citywide Organizational Assessment ('The Matrix Report ")
The July 17, 2012 Staff Report entitled CONSIDERATION OF PERFORMANCE
AUDIT PROPOSALS
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Final Report on the Citywide Organizational
Assessment
CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES,
CALIFORNIA
matrix
consulting group
March 21, 2013
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION AND EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1
2. PROFILE OF OPERATIONS 7
3. EMPLOYEE SURVEY RESULTS 27
4. COMMISSION / BOARD SURVEY RESULTS 37
5. BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES, OPERATIONAL AND
STAFFING ASSESSMENT 44
A. City Manager / Human Resources 45
B. Finance and Information Technology
56
C. City Clerk
68
D. Community Development 71
E. Public Works 80
F. Recreation and Parks 90
6. EVALUATION OF ORGANIZATIONAL TRANSPARENCY 95
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1. INTRODUCTION AND EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Matrix Consulting Group was retained by the Rancho Palos Verdes City
Council to conduct a Citywide Needs and Efficiency Assessment Study. The report,
which follows, presents the results of the study. This study was designed to provide an
assessment of the efficiency and effectiveness of City operations, identifying strengths
and improvement opportunities relating to organization, staffing and management. In
this concluding point of the study, the project team has assembled this final report,
which summarizes our findings, conclusions and recommendations.
1. STUDY SCOPE AND METHODOLOGIES
The Rancho Palos Verdes City Council sought to conduct this Organizational
Assessment in its continued efforts to streamline operations while maintaining
appropriate service levels in an increasingly challenging economic environment. The
objective of this study was to identify opportunities for improvement in operational and
economic efficiency.
In this Study,
the Matrix Consulting Group project team utilized a wide variety of
data collection and analytical techniques. The project team conducted the following
data collection and analytical activities:
Developed an understanding of the key issues impacting the City. To
evaluate the City, Matrix Consulting Group conducted interviews with members
of the City Council, and managers in each City department. Interviews focused
on goals and objectives, management systems, the use of technology,
the levels
of service provided by the City, the resources available to provide those services,
etc.
Developed a descriptive profile of the City. The Matrix Consulting Group
collected data for each department to document current organization of services,
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Final Report of the Organizational Assessment
the structure and functions of the various departments, budgets, workload data,
management systems, inventory of the infrastructure, etc.
Provided an opportunity for employee and committee member input. In
addition to selected interviews, the Matrix Consulting Group administered an
employee survey and a survey of board and commission members. These
surveys asked individuals to evaluate a variety of statements regarding the
overall operations of the City, the individual departments and to identify strengths
and opportunities for improvement.
Identified key strengths and opportunities for improvement in each
department. The `best management practices' assessment included
comparisons to industry standards developed by professional organizations,
such as the American Planning Association, American Public Works Association,
Government Finance Officer's Association, etc. Additionally, the project team
also utilized the Matrix Consulting Group's library of best practices developed by
the firm while conducting hundreds of management studies throughout the
Country.
Conducted further analysis of issues identified for this final report. Based
on initial findings developed, the project team evaluated additional data, analyzed
issues and alternatives, resulting in recommendations regarding staffing levels
and management practices that would streamline operations and maintain
existing service levels.
This report consists of a comprehensive review of the operations, management,
and staffing of the City's departments.
2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS
This section presents a summary of the recommendations contained within the
report. The following table provides a complete summary of each recommendation
within the report, and includes a relative priority of the recommendation.
Recommendations Priority
1. City Manager / Human Resources
The Human Resources module in the ADP system should be carefully evaluated upon
completion of its implementation to ensure that it contains the features and functionality
to provide a comprehensive Human Resource Information System (HRIS) for the City.
High
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Recommendations Priority
The City should develop a workforce planning effort that identifies key positions within
the organization, develops cross - training programs to develop additional internal staff
with competencies and abilities to fill the position (at least on a short -term basis), and
develops forward looking contingency plans for filling these critical positions when they
become vacant. The succession planning effort underway within the Public Works
Department should be utilized as a model for other Departments.
Low
The City should summarize the results of the currently performed exit interviews on all
departing employees and provide annually in a report to the City Council.
Medium
The City should conduct an annual employee climate survey to better understand from
the employee's perspective the employment climate.
Medium
The City should implement the updated employee manual as soon as practical following
adoption of the MOU. Upon completion, it should be provided to all employees and
training provided to all employees on the manual.
High
The City should provide refresher training to all supervisory staff on the performance
evaluation process and the existing performance evaluation form to ensure consistent
utilization and rankings across departments and supervisors.
Additionally, to ensure that all forms are completed in a timely manner, each supervisor
should be specifically evaluated by their manager on the timely, accurate and
thoroughness of their evaluations of staff. This should be a specific evaluation factor on
supervisor evaluation forms.
Medium
The City should develop a series of performance metrics to evaluate their worker's
compensation program, with ongoing consultation with CJPIA on additional training
needs for City staff to minimize claims.
Low
The City should centralize the handling of all accident, risk and worker's compensation
claims by transferring the responsibility for claims review from the City Clerk's Office to
the Human Resources position.
Low
The City should institute a safety committee covering all employees. Medium
The City Council should periodically review its adopted compensation policy for the City
of Rancho Palos Verdes and update as appropriate to maintain a competitive
compensation system.
High
The City should review the current approach to position classification to determine if a
more formalized system is needed to ensure both internal and external equity of
positions.
Low
The City should implement a program for reviewing position descriptions and duties
performed for each position at least once every five years.
Medium
Staffing as currently allocated to this Department should remain and the vacant Human
Resources Manager position should be filled and the duties expanded.
High
The current contract Administrative Analyst II position responsible for emergency
preparedness should be made permanent. Organizationally, it can either remain in
Parks & Recreation or relocated to the City Manager's Office.
High
The City should rebid the City's legal services contract.
This contract has not been
competitively bid since it was originally established.
High
The City should consider establishing a staff City Attorney position to handle routine
legal matters of the City. It is estimated this could save the City approximately $34,000
annually plus improve access and responsiveness to legal advice for City staff.
High
Finance and Information Technology
A review of the performance measures utilized and tracked should occur to ensure
alignment with Council priorities.
Medium
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Recommendations Priority
The five -year CIP document that is currently developed should be included within the
budget document.
High
The City should continue to expand the use of electronic payments with vendors. High
All cost recovery goals should be reviewed at least every three years by the City
Council and updated as necessary.
Medium
The City should further automate existing financial practices and enhance online
functionality during the implementation of the new financial system.
High
The City should expand the availability of online payments via credit card for public
convenience, in conjunction with the implementation of the replacement ERP system.
High
The City's IT Technology Plan should be updated in light of the recently completed IT
review.
High
The City should conduct an RFP process for IT services. Prior to conducting this effort,
the desired service levels in each functional area of IT, especially related to GIS
program services should be developed to ensure it is in alignment with City needs.
High
Training should be provided to designated department representatives so that they can
load documents directly to their website without IT support.
Low
The duties currently performed by the Finance Director related to the handling of Air,
Space and Noise issues related to Air Traffic should be transitioned to the Planning
Division of Community Development.
High
The current staffing allocations should remain as budgeted with the exception of the IT
position, which should be reclassified as an IT Project Manager and filled as recently
recommended by NextLevel during their IT review.
High
City Clerk
The City should consider a change to implement only action minutes for City Council
meetings and the meetings of other Council appointed boards and commissions.
Medium
As the City furthers the database build of its Electronic Document Management System,
it should provide online access to commonly requested information or documents to
enhance public transparency without requiring public records requests.
Medium
No changes in current staffing allocations are recommended. All currently budgeted
positions, including vacancies, should be filled.
High
Community Development
The City should include plan review / processing times on applications, and more-
prominently display these performance standards on the website.
High
The City should pursue expansion of additional onine services for Community
Development permitting functions including online submittal of applications, online
permitting for over the counter permits, online review of plan review comments, and
online view of application status. This effort should be performed in conjunction with the
replacement of the existing permitting software. This should occur after the completion
of the IT services competitive bid process.
High
Any decision regarding changing the City's enterprise wide software system should take
into considerations the ability of the new system to maintain or enhance functionality
currently in place within Community Development with their existing system.
High
The City should consider addition of some funds to assist full -time staff in completing
the update of the City's General Plan in a timely manner.
Medium
The City should implement online permitting for over the counter permits that do not
require plan reviews to enhance service to the public.
High
Staff should pursue implementation of either an interactive voice response or online
inspection requests to expand service to the public and automate the inspection request
process.
Medium
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Recommendations Priority
Existing planners should be allocated the duties related to Airspace and Aircraft Noise
related to air traffic issues currently performed by the Finance & IT Department staff.
High
One permit technician position should be reclassified to a Building Inspector position to
provide greater ability to handle varying workloads. Medium
No other changes in staffing or organizational structure are recommended at this time.
Existing vacancies that are authorized in the budget were considered as a part of the
staffing complement when evaluating workload and should be filled.
Medium
Public Works
The Public Works Department should adopt the same processing time standards as are
utilized by the Community Development Department.
High
The City should review and update, as necessary, the ongoing preventive maintenance
guidelines for infrastructure under control. This will provide the ability to more
accurately define annual expenditures necessary for maintenance of existing
infrastructure for inclusion in the annual budget.
Medium
The City should rebid the fleet maintenance contract at least every five years. Medium
The City should begin the planning process to conduct a comprehensive long -term
facility needs study to develop a plan for upgrading or replacing municipal facilities.
High
The City should utilize cost of construction standards for establishing the size and
specialities of City engineering staff. This will directly link staffing requirements to the
number and size of projects under management by City staff to ensure sufficient
resources are alloacted to oversee capital projects.
High
Engineering staff should have established informal "billability targets" so that work
activities are charged directly to managed and designed projects.
High
The position of Deputy Director should be held vacant until the City fills the PW Director
position.
High
Following the development of detailed capital program resource requirements and
implementation of cost of construction guidelines, the number of engineering staff
should be reviewed and the Assistant Engineer position filled as needed.
High
The City should consider implementation of a maintenance tracking system to address
identified issues and provide real -time business intelligence regarding maintenance
efforts, costs, and assessment of condition.
Medium
Recreation and Parks
The City Council should conduct a review of recreational programs, in conjunction with
staff, to determine whether they wish to remain with the current approach of primarily
providing recreational classes through contracted private instructors.
Medium
The City should focus implementation of the selected software system on automation
and on -line access to recreation programs and space rentals.
High
No changes are recommended in authorized staffing levels unless the Council
determines through policy decision to increase the level of recreational programs
provided by City staff resources.
High
The currently authorized and vacant Recreation & Parks Director position should be
filled as soon as practical.
High
The Interim contract position handling emergency preparedness should be authorized
as a full -time position in the City (either continuing in Recreation & Parks or relocated to
the City Manager's Office),
High
Transparency Enhancements
Direct email addresses for top administrative officials (such as is provided for the
elected officials) should be available on the website.
Medium
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Recommendations Priority
A community calendar should be available on the website that shows all meetings of
public bodies, commissions, and boards with the meeting date and time noted.
Medium
A sample Public Records Act request form that is downloadable or able to be completed
online should be provided for ease of the public.
Medium
Historical budgets (at least covering last 5 years) should be available on the City's
website, in addition to the current budget that is available. For the City, this would
require adding the last three two -year budgets to the website.
Medium
A listing of all contracts entered into by the City should be provided that includes basic
information regarding the contract such as effective and termination dates, services
covered or to be provided by the contract, and the annual and total price of the
contracted services.
Medium
Identification of any active lobbying contracts or services that the City has entered into
with summary information regarding the firm hired, the purpose of the service, and
annual costs of the contract.
Medium
The City should expand upon the current listing of fees and charges that are contained
on the City's Finance Department page of the website to ensure that it includes all City
fees and charges. A prominent link on the homepage should be added to enable
residents and the public to easily locate this information.
Medium
The City should continue to convert all forms and applications utilized by the public to
fillable pdf forms that can be completed online and printed rather than simply providing
a download link to the form. This will increase the usability of the forms for the public.
Medium
In the longer -term, the City should provide online access to check the status of
applications submitted. For some forms / applications, this will not be feasible until the
City changes vendors for major software systems.
Medium
Each of these recommendations is addressed in more detail in Chapter 5.
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2. PROFILE OF THE EXISTING ORGANIZATION
The pages that follow provide a descriptive profile of the City of Rancho Palos
Verdes. The purpose of a descriptive profile is to document the project team's general
understanding of the City's organization, allocation of staff by unit and function, and
principal assigned responsibilities of staff. Data contained in the profile were
developed, based on the interviews and data collection conducted by the project team,
including:
Interviews with City management and managers in the various Departments and
Divisions.
Documentation of key practices as they relate to work planning and scheduling,
policies and procedures, as well as work processes.
In this chapter, the structure of each Descriptive Profile is as follows:
Brief overview of the departmental functions and responsibilities.
Organizational charts showing all staff positions by function and shift (as
appropriate) and reporting relationships.
Summary descriptions of key roles and responsibilities of staff. It should be
noted that responsibility descriptions are not intended to be at the "job
description" level of detail. Rather, the descriptions are intended to provide the
basic nature of each assigned position.
Information contained in the Descriptive Profile represents the current "as is"
status of the organization. Recommendations for change will be compared against the
current practice to identify impacts on the existing organization or changes in
organizational structure or staffing that should occur.
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1. CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE
1. INTRODUCTION
The City Manager's Office provides leadership and oversight of the day -to -day
administration of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes consistent with local government best
practices and in accordance with the policies adopted by the City Council. The City
Manager oversees all City staff and their operations, with direct supervisory
responsibilities for four Department Directors and four staff of the City Manager's Office.
2. ORGANIZATION
The following chart provides the basic organization and actual staffing of the City
Manager's Office. The chart shows all direct reports to the City Manager within the City
Manager's Office. In addition, the following Department Directors also report directly to
the City Manager: City Clerk, Community Development Director, Finance and
Information Technology Director, Public Works Director, and Recreation and Parks
Director.
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Organizational Structure of
City Manager's Office
City Council
City Attorney ICitY Manager
contract)
Deputy City
Manager
Sr. Admin
Analyst
Executive
Staff Assistani
3. STAFFING
In the table, which follows, a summary is provided of the staffing allocated to the
City Manager's Office along with a brief description of the roles and responsibilities of
each position.
Authorized Staffing
by
Classification
Administration
City Manager
Roles and Responsibilities
1.0 • Oversees operations of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes.
Develops background, information, and recommendations on programs and
policies for adoption by the City Council.
Ensures overall compliance with City's adopted budget.
Provides general supervision and direction to direct reports including
Department Directors.
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Authorized Staffing
by
Classification
Deputy City
Manager
Senior
Administrative
Analyst
Executive Staff
Assistant
Roles and Responsibilities
1.0 • Serves as principal support and backup to City Manager.
Currently also serving as Interim Recreation and Parks Director, due to
current vacancy.
Oversees Human Resources (indirectly) and City Clerk functions on a day -to-
day basis.
Handles special projects for the City including Open Space Sign Plan
development.
Oversees Emergency Services Planning, cable franchise, and community
outreach programs.
Serves as liaison with Fire Department and Sheriff's Department.
1.0 • Oversees and processes film permits.
Services as "grants coordinator" for the City including coordination with
contracted vendor who seeks out grant opportunities for the City.
Conducts special projects as assigned (i.e. — updating City Council rules and
regulations).
Monitors "border issues" and legislation.
1.0 • Provides general City Council support and administrative support to the City's
Executives.
Conducts special projects as assigned.
Coordinates schedules, answers calls and directs callers to appropriate
individual, and handles internal administrative functions for the office.
rm Serves as HR Coordinator under supervision of the HR Manager, providing
day -to -day technical support.
Human Resources
Human
Resources
Manager
Currently filled
with an interim
contract
manager)
1.0 • Oversees the City's personnel, labor relations, affirmative action and
employee development functions.
Serves as employee benefits manager for various benefit programs
including medical, dental, vision, disability and life insurance.
Oversees and administers recruitment, selection and new employee
orientation phases of the hiring process.
Handles internal investigations and assists supervisors in addressing
employee issues and /or discipline.
Administers City's worker's compensation program.
Assists City Manager on special projects and performs other duties as
assigned.
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2. FINANCE AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
1. INTRODUCTION
The Finance and Information Technology Department is responsible for the
overall financial operations of the City and oversight of the information technology
services (and the associated contract).
2. ORGANIZATION
The following chart provides the basic organization and actual staffing of the
Finance and Information Technology Department:
Organizational / Reporting Structure of
Finance and Information Technology Department
Deputy
Director
Senior
Accountant
Finance and
IT Director
Accountant
Sr. IT Analyst
vacant)
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3. STAFFING
In the table, which follows, a summary is provided of the staffing allocated to the
Finance and Information Technology Department along with a brief description of the
roles and responsibilities of each position.
Authorized Staffing by
Classification Roles and Responsibilities
Administration
Director 1.0 • Oversees the various operations of the Finance and Information
Technology Department.
City Treasurer
Develops policies and procedures for all programmatic areas of
responsibility.
Responsible for all City investment activities.
Liaison with Oversight Committee on the storm drain program
Oversees all fiscal management programs for the City and the
Successor Agency to the Redevelopment Agency and Improvement
Authority including budget monitoring, reporting, and compliance.
During last year to eighteen months serving as principal IT oversight
due to existing vacancy in IT Analyst position.
Serves as City representative related to oversight of Airspace and
Noise issues related to air traffic.
Senior Administrative 1.5
Analyst
Senior IT Analyst
Vacant)
One position shared 50/50 with City Manager Office. Position
handles special projects including budget in brief document
development (FIT), publishing City Newsletter (CM), Airspace
complaints (FIT), assist with development of Community Grant
programs, event planning, and proclamations and special IT projects.
Second position: Positions assist with all special projects throughout
the City including those involving financial analysis, research and
policy development.
1.0 • Performs day -to -day administration of IT contract service provider
PVNet).
Assists users and City employees with operational issues related to
hardware / software functioning.
Assists in development and oversight of IT strategic plan.
Position role / responsibilities should be reviewed — vacant extended
period of time.
Staff Assistant (PT) 0.5 Works approximately 20 hours per week.
Assists with annual business licensing processing.
Provides phone system support.
Assists with filing and mailings related to financial activities.
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Authorized Staffing by
Classification Roles and Responsibilities
Financial Services
Deputy Director 1.0 Supervises many key financial services personnel and their respective
duties.
Assists the Director on budget development, financial policy
development and committee / commission support (including primary
staff liaison for the Finance Advisory Committee)
Prepares draft budget document and provides staff support for City
Council budget workshops.
Prepares Five -Year Financial Model.
Primarily responsible for overseeing Citywide purchasing compliance.
Oversees development of various accounting reports to monitor fiscal
activity of the City including accounts payable, accounts receivable,
purchasing, and payroll.
Oversees cash management program and develops cash forecasts
and analysis as required.
Provides fiscal support to all City entities including primary staff
support for the RDA successor agency and dissolution activities.
Senior Accountant
Accountant
1.0
1.0
Provides general and as needed assistance to the Deputy Director in
the daily operations of the City's fiscal operations.
Responsible for development of various financial reports, research on
payroll and IT issues, and special projects.
Assists with development of CAFR.
Prepares monthly Cash Balance report and ensures timely
reconciliation of all bank accounts.
Accountant performs monthly reconciliation of all bank statements,
and cash reconciliations. Handles all general ledger accounting.
Positions perform a variety of fiscal audits, reconciliation, and journal
entries to maintain fiscal records of the City and ensure appropriate
internal controls.
Prepares and develops a variety of reports including monthly financial
reports.
Senior Accounting
Technician
Account Technician
1.0
1.0
Perform a variety of accounting duties including: accounts payable,
accounts receivable, cash management, purchasing, and payroll.
Research and reconcile issues within assigned area of financial
responsibility.
Prepares accounting reports and summaries, as needed, to ensure
proper accounting for assigned area of responsibility.
Staff are generally assigned to the following functional areas with
provision of, as needed, financial support in other areas: (1) one
position (Accounting Technician) allocated principally as Accounts
Payable Technician; and (2) one position (Senior Accounting
Technician) allocated as payroll technician.
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3. CITY CLERK'S OFFICE
1. INTRODUCTION
The City Clerk's Office is responsible for the preparation of agenda packets for all
City Council, Successor Agency and Improvement Authority meetings; the
administration of local elections; providing access to public documents in compliance
with applicable statutes and regulations; and maintaining all historical records of the City
including minutes, ordinances and resolutions of Council meetings and other City
commissions.
2. ORGANIZATION
The following
chart provides the basic organization and staffing allocation of the
City Clerk's Office:
Organizational Structure of
City Clerk's Office
Deputy City
Clerk
City Clerk
Staff Assistant I I
Administrative
Analyst /Records
Manager
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3. STAFFING
In the table, which follows, a summary is provided of the staffing allocated to the
City Clerk's Department along with a brief description of the roles and responsibilities of
each position.
Authorized Staffing by
Classification Roles and Responsibilities
City Clerk
City Clerk 1.0 • Reports to the City Manager / Deputy City Manager. Appointed by
City Manager.
Responsible for providing leadership and direction to assigned staff in
the performance of all assigned duties of the City Clerk's Office.
Oversees the City's records management program including
archiving, storage, and compliance with records retention
requirements. Maintains City Municipal Code.
Prepares agenda and ensures compliance with posting requirements
for all Council meetings.
Prepares all permanent records of the City Council and other
proceedings.
Assists departments in handling records retention compliance and
responding to Public Records Act requests.
City Elections Official
Fair Political Practices Commission Filing Officer
Responsible for receipt of claims and other legal filings (i.e.,
subpoenas, summons, etc.)
Deputy City Clerk 1.0 • Assists City Clerk in coordinating and administering all assigned
functions of the City Clerk's Office outlined above.
Serves as City Clerk in her absence.
Handles public record requests.
Assists with preparation of agendas, budgets, and special reports as
required.
Maintains City records.
Oversees contract management for selected service areas.
Responsible for document processing related to resolutions and
ordinances.
Assists with Risk Management functions including acceptable legal
services, claims acceptance, etc.
Conducts bid openings for Public Works.
Administrative 1.0 • Responsible for design, implementation and coordination of the
Analyst/Records Citywide Electronic Document Management System, utilizing the
Manager LaserFiche software program.
Assists with records management program and development of
protocols related to records retention program.
Assists with research of City records, as needed, to support public
records requests and /or staff requests for historical or public records.
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Authorized Staffing by
Classification Roles and Responsibilities
Staff Assistant II 1.0 • Assists with agenda preparation, copying, imaging, posting to
website, etc.
Assists with input and proofing of documents in LaserFiche system.
Assists with a wide variety of other special projects (
interdepartmental
and citywide).
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4. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
1. INTRODUCTION
The Community Development Department is responsible for the administration of
the City's planning and land entitlement functions (Planning Division), building
permitting and inspections (Building Codes and Safety), and code compliance and
enforcement (Code Compliance).
Through the three Divisions of the Community Development Department, staff is
responsible for developing and implementing appropriate policies and regulations to
guide development activities within the City limits and the enforcement of those codes to
ensure compliance.
2. ORGANIZATION
The following chart provides the basic organization and actual staffing of the
Community Development Department:
Organizational Structure of
Community Development Department
Deputy
Director (1)
Director
uty
DirectDepor (1)
Building
Official
Senior Planner Building
2) Inspector II (2)
Associate Permit
Planner (3) Technician (2)
Assistant
Planner (2)
Planning Tech
1)
Code
Enforcement
Officer (2)
Admin. Staff
Assistant (1)
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3. STAFFING
In the table, which follows, a summary is provided of the staffing allocated to the
Community Development Department along with a brief description of the roles and
responsibilities of each position.
Authorized Staffing by
Classification Roles and Responsibilities
Administration
Director of Community
1.0 • Provides executive level oversight and administration to the operation
Development of the Community Development Department in the areas of Planning,
Building, and Code Enforcement.
Responsible for ensuring the goals and objectives of the City's
programs are met for assigned areas.
Responsible for supervising staff, resolving operational and employee
issues, and assigning work.
Develops budget and administers for the assigned functional areas.
Supervises and administers city codes related to planning, building
codes, and code compliance.
Planning Division
Deputy Director 1.0
Deputy Director 1.0
Supervises all Planning, Code Enforcement and Administration Staff
and handles oversight of workloads and department operations such
as budget preparation and implementation, monitoring of department
performance goals, staff performance evaluations and the resolution
of department personnel matters.
Directs department operations in the Director's absence.
Responsible for managing own projects such as Trump National Golf
Club, General Plan Update and Affordable Housing.
Supervises Planning Staff on miscellaneous advance planning
projects.
a Directs department operations in the absence of the Director and /or
other Deputy Director.
Responsible for managing own projects such as the Marymount
College project, Terranea Resort, the City's Nature Preserve, Trails
Network Plan Update, California Coastal Trail and Abalone Cove
projects.
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Authorized Staffing by
Classification Roles and Responsibilities
Senior Planners 1.0 Senior Planners handle more complex land use development
applications. Associate and Assistant Planners assigned less
Associate Planners 2.0 complex and more routine projects in relation to their position and
experience.
Assistant Planner 2.0 Works with applicants to process land development permits, sign
one position vacant) permits and subdivision applications from conceptual phase through
Planning Commission / City Council approval.
Planning Tech
1.0 Reviews submittals and provide comments to applicants on
position vacant) requirements to meet City codes. Interpret, apply and explain City
planning policies, ordinances, and comprehensive plan related to land
entitlement issues
Assigned as planner of the day to handle counter duties.
May represent department and present to various commissions
including the Planning Commission, and City Council.
Senior Planner 1.0 Primarily assigned to handle workload and case review for view
restoration cases.
Associate Planner 1.0 Process applications, conduct field assessments, develop staff
recommendations and reports.
Assist with general plan update.
Administrative Staff 1.0 Supports the operational activities of the Planning Division.
Assistant Handles phone calls and public service at the counter, answers
position vacant) questions, provides information and direct customers to staff.
Assists in preparation of documents / agendas for the Planning
Commission.
Processes invoice payments for department and assists with
development, monitoring and oversight of budget.
Handles purchase requisitions for the Department.
Code Enforcement Division
Code Enforcement 2.0 Perform office and field work related to enforcement of the City's
Officer Municipal Code specifically in the areas of: zoning, sign, land use,
ordinance violations, public nuisances, business licensing.
Provide information and assistance to residents to reach compliance
with municipal ordinances.
When required, issue notice of violations and take enforcement action
to achieve compliance with municipal ordinances.
Maintain case files to support enforcement actions.
Each officer is assigned to a primary service area within the City.
Most enforcement is reactive — limited proactive program in place.
Conducts public outreach and educational efforts.
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Building Division
Building Official 1.0 Oversees daily operation of the Building and Safety Division of the
Community Development Department including budget development
and operational procedures.
Supervises assigned staff, handles personnel issues, assigns work
and evaluates performance.
Serves as Chief Building Official for the City of Rancho Palos Verdes.
Ensures all building permits issued are in accordance with adopted
municipal codes and building codes.
Oversees plan review and inspection work of staff.
Develops, implements and enforces appropriate rules, regulations and
interpretations regarding building codes for the City.
Resolves complex building code interpretation issues.
Building Inspect II
one position vacant)
2.0 Performs plan reviews on submitted building permit plans for areas of
assigned responsibility. Provide comments / feedback to applicants
and review resubmittals.
Conduct field inspections to ensure construction activities are being
conducted in accordance with both approved plans and applicable
building codes.
Participate, as required, in coordination of projects through
development review process.
Assist customers with understanding and complying with building
codes and regulations, permitting procedures, and inspection
requirements.
All staff have multiple certifications enabling cross utilization of staff.
Permit Technician 2.0 Handles front counter activity related to submitted building permits
including accepting applications, reviewing for completeness,
and
answering questions.
Assists with routing and processing of plans.
May assist with limited plan review activities as needed and based
upon skill sets.
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5. PUBLIC WORKS
1. INTRODUCTION
The Department of Public Works is responsible for the maintenance, repair and
construction of the City's infrastructure, to include both horizontal, vertical and
landscape assets, and to ensure the safe and efficient operations of equipment,
machinery, streets, parks, open spaces and buildings. It is responsible for providing the
full service of traditional public works functions, with the exception of utilities. The
majority of functions are provided through contracted services delivery.
2. ORGANIZATION
The following chart provides the basic organizational structure of the Department
of Public Works. Positions exclude part -time contracted positions or contracted service
delivery vendors.
Organizational Structure of
Public Works Department
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3. STAFFING
In the table, which follows, a summary is provided of the staffing allocated to the
Public Works Department along with
a brief description of the roles and responsibilities
of each position.
Authorized Staffing By
Classification
Roles and Responsibilities
Administration
Public Works Director
currently interim 12-
month assignment)
1.0 Provides executive level leadership over the Department of Public
Works, including broad oversight over such activities as fiscal
management, administration, engineering, construction, inspections,
special events, streets, trails, facility, fleet operations and
maintenance services.
Performs in a lead role in developing policies, procedures, and
programs, staff development, etc.
Communicates regularly with the City leadership on policy matters,
current events and issues, represents the department to the City
Council, public, business community, and other agencies.
Manages and oversees various special projects.
Directly supervises personnel to include professional, para-
professional, supervising and engineering staff and a variety of
contracted and external service providers.
Deputy Director
vacant)
1.0 Position is vacant.
Senior Administrative
Analyst
Administrative Staff
Assistant
Permit Clerk
2.0
1.0
1.0
Provides various administrative and professional support functions to
the Department.
One Sr. Administrative Analyst principally assigned to serve as Office
Manager and handles solid waste contract oversight and
administration functions, the other Sr. Administrative Analyst position
handles departmental financial and budget duties.
Administrative Staff Assistant performs a variety of duties including
mail and appointments, functioning as Secretary to Public Works
Director, work front counter, and handled public and phone calls /
inquiries.
Permit Clerk handles a variety of administrative duties related to the
processing and issuance of Public Works permits.
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Authorized Staffing By
Classification
Roles and Responsibilities
Senior Engineer 3.0 Senior Engineers currently report directly to the Public Works Director
with respect to their assigned projects and areas of responsibilities.
Associate Engineers 3.0 Senior Engineers are assigned to specific functional areas including:
1) Water Quality — surveys, landslide issues, storm drain
Assistant Engineer 1.0 improvements, water quality /pollution source, and streets in
vacant) landslide area;
2) Right -of -Way / Traffic Safety — all streets outside of landslide
Public Works 1.0 area, oversight and management of all contractors performing
Inspector (contract) street maintenance for the City; and Traffic Safety / Traffic
Studies; and
3) City Facilities / Parks — park improvement projects, restroom
improvements, parking lot improvements, trails improvements,
and City Hall ADA requirements.
Each Senior Engineer is supported in the performance of their duties
by one Associate Engineer.
Provide project management (PM) services on various long -term
capital projects for the City.
Public Works Inspection services provided by a contract Inspector
who supports all Engineering staff.
Maintenance Manager 1.0 Oversees contracts for facility and ground maintenance activities
including buildings, grounds, and custodial services.
Maintenance Worker Maintenance Works assist with contract services oversight and
II 2.0 coordination and handle directly minor and more routine repairs and
maintenance activities primarily for park and street maintenance.
Emergency situations handled by City staff as required to minimize
risk and liability to the City and individuals.
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6. RECREATION AND PARKS
1. INTRODUCTION
The Recreation and Parks Department is responsible for the administration of the
City's recreation programs, parks, and recreation facilities (including the interpretive
center / museum).
2. ORGANIZATION
The following chart provides the basic organization and actual staffing of the
Recreation and Parks Department:
Organizational Structure of
Recreation and Parks Department
y
Recreation
Services
Manager
Director
Administrative
Analyst II
1 Recreation
Supervisor
Recreation
Supervisor
Administrative
Analyst II
contract)
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3. STAFFING
In the table, which follows, a summary is provided of the staffing allocated to the
Recreation and Parks Department along with a brief description of the roles and
responsibilities of each position.
Authorized Staffing by
Classification Roles and Responsibilities
Administration
Director 1.0 Position is currently vacant and is being filled on an interim basis by
the Deputy City Manager.
Position is responsible for general oversight and administration of the
Recreation and Parks Department including management of service
delivery, work assignments and evaluation of staff, and measuring
program and employee performance.
Responsible for budget development and administration for both
operating and capital budgets related to Recreation and Parks
programs.
Administrative Analyst 1.0 Maintains department website, event banners and other community
outreach programs.
Oversees Park Ranger program.
Handles a variety of special projects including master planning for
park sites.
Supervises contract clerical staff.
Administrative Analyst
contract)
1.0 Principally assigned as the City's Emergency Management
Coordinator, including supporting the Emergency Preparedness
Committee.
Develops policies, plans and staff response action plans for
emergency management activities.
Oversees all tabletop and full -scale emergency management
exercises.
Recreation and Parks representative on ERP committee.
Recreation Services
Manager
1.0 Responsible for oversight and management of the City's Point Vicente
Interpretive Center / Museum and associated programs, activities;
including hikes and tours of the facility and grounds.
Manages day -to -day operations of the Museum facility including
rentals.
Oversees 170 docents (approx. 80 of which are active participants).
Supervises Recreation Program Supervisors.
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Authorized Staffing by
Classification Roles and Responsibilities
Recreation Program
Supervisor
2.0 Oversee the City's Recreation Programs and facilities located within
the City Parks.
Coordinate with service providers to schedule and provide a variety of
recreational programs. The majority of recreational classes and
programs in the City of Rancho Palos Verdes are provided by private
instructors.
One supervisor oversees the City's REACH program for
developmentally disabled adults.
Coordinate all special events for the City including Whale of a Day,
July 4th Celebration, and other annual and one -time events.
Coordinate with school district and library district on joint programs
and use of shared sites.
Each supervisor is assigned primary responsibility for a specific park /
facility.
Each Recreation Program Supervisor is responsible for supervising a
large number of part -time employees.
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3. EMPLOYEE SURVEY RESULTS
As part of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes' Citywide Management and Staffing
Study, the project team developed and distributed a survey to the City employees in
September 2012 to solicit input and comments regarding a variety of operational
practices. The following summary provides information regarding this survey effort and
the key findings that were developed from the responses.
1. AN ANONYMOUS SURVEY WAS CIRCULATED TO ALL EMPLOYEES.
An anonymous survey was circulated to all City employees to provide them with
an opportunity to provide input regarding operations, services, staffing, and
organizational structure. Employees were asked to respond to a series of questions
regarding the working environment, agencies, departments, efficiency, effectiveness,
and overall operations of the city.
Respondents provided the degree to which they either disagreed or agreed with
the statement, given the following options: "No Response ", "Strongly Agree ", "Agree ",
Neutral ", "Strongly Disagree ", and "Disagree ". For discussion purposes in this
document, the project team groups the "Strongly Agree" and "Agree" responses into one
grouping when reporting general employee responses; the same is true for the "Strongly
Disagree" and "Disagree" responses and the "No Response" and "Neutral" responses.
Overall 95 surveys were distributed, of which 59 responses were received,
resulting in an overall response rate of 62 %. Forty -nine of the responses received were
from full -time staff. This equates to a response rate of over 90% from full -time
employees.
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The following tables show the overall breakdown of responses by department
and full -time / part -time.
Department / Function
Responses
Administrative Services (City Manager's
Office, Finance, HR, City Clerk)
20
Community Development (Building, Code
Compliance, and Planning)
17
Public Works / Parks & Recreation 22
Total 59
Employee
Status Responses
Full -Time 49
Part -Time 10
Total 59
The sections below summarize the results of the employee survey.
2. MAJORITY OF EMPLOYEES RESPONDED THAT TRAINING IS EFFECTIVE
AND TECHNOLOGY IS USED EFFICIENTLY.
Respondents were provided with statements regarding employee training and the
efficient use of technology. The survey questions in this category and their response are
summarized in the table below:
Statement Agree Disagree Neutral
1. I receive the training needed to be an effective and efficient
employee. 81% 3% 16%
24. We leverage technology so personnel are more efficient. 56% 18% 26%
25. Our department utilizes the internet to allow citizens /
customers to conduct business. 67% 16% 17%
26. I have access to the appropriate tools and equipment to do
my job well. 82% 7% 11%
27. I receive the proper amount of training to use our technology
systems. 84% 2% 14%
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Statement Agree Disagree Neutral
28. Our equipment / technology is well maintained. 75% 9% 16%
29. I have access to the necessary software and technology
needed to perform my duties. 66% 20% 14%
In summary, the majority of the respondents believed that they receive the
necessary training to be efficient and effective employees and that not only is
technology well- maintained and readily accessible it is also used efficiently by the
employees.
3. RESPONDENTS GENERALLY AGREED THAT EMPLOYEES ARE HELD
ACCOUNTABLE AND THAT PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS AND
EVALUATIONS ARE CLEAR, FAIR, AND CONSISTENT.
Respondents were asked several questions regarding employee performance
expectations, employee accountability, and the performance evaluation process. The
questions in this category and their responses are summarized in the table, below:
Statement Agree Disagree Neutral
2. The performance expectations of my job are clear to me. 91% 3% 6%
5. Personnel within my department are held accountable for their
performance. 71% 10% 19%
20. The performance evaluation process is fair and consistent. 65% 18% 17%
In summary, it can be seen that the majority of respondents agreed that the
performance expectations are clear, employees are held accountable, and performance
evaluations are fair and consistent.
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4. A MAJORITY OF OVERALL EMPLOYEES AGREED TO A SENSE OF
TEAMWORK WITHIN DEPARTMENT AND TEAMWORK BETWEEN CITY
DEPARTMENTS, BUT COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT RESPONDENTS HAD
MIXED REACTION TO THE SENSE OF TEAMWORK BETWEEN CITY
DEPARTMENTS.
Respondents were asked to respond to two statements regarding the
sentiment
of teamwork within the department and within the City. The survey questions in this
category and their responses are summarized in the table below:
Statement Agree Disagree Neutral
3. There is a strong sense of teamwork within my department. 84% 7% 9%
4. There is a strong sense of teamwork between City
departments. 55% 19% 26%
The following points summarize the statistical information provide in the table
above:
A majority of overall respondents, 84 %, agreed with question #3 "There is a
strong sense of teamwork within my department." Only 7% disagreed and 9%
remained neutral regarding the statement. 100% of Administrative Services
respondents and 86% of Public Works' respondents agreed with this statement,
compared to 63% of Community Development respondents.
mi A slight majority of overall respondents, 55% agreed with question #4 "There is a
strong sense of teamwork between City Departments" about 19% disagreed, and
26% remained neutral. About 65% of Administrative Services respondents and
59% of Public Works' respondents agreed with the statement, while only 38% of
Community Development respondents agreed with the statement, 38% of them
disagreed, and 24% remained neutral.
In summary, a majority of the overall respondents agreed that there is a strong
sense of teamwork within their department and a strong sense of teamwork across the
City departments. However, Community Development respondents had a mixed
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reaction to a sense of teamwork between City departments and did
not agree with such
a clear majority.
5. RESPONDENTS HAD MIXED REACTIONS REGARDING WORKLOAD AND
STAFFING LEVELS, BUT MAJORITY OF THEM AGREED THAT THERE IS
AN APPROPRIATE MIX BETWEEN MANAGERS AND STAFF AND THAT THE
DAY -TO -DAY WORKLOAD IS MANAGEABLE.
Respondents were asked to respond to a series of statements concerning the
level of staffing and workload activities, including their attitude towards day -to -day
workload. The survey questions in this category and their responses are summarized in
the tables below:
Statement Agree Disagree Neutral
6. The workload is well balanced among the personnel in my
department. 39% 25% 36%
7. The workload activity is well balanced among the different City
Departments. 33% 14% 53%
8. My Department has the appropriate number of personnel to
provide high levels of service. 36% 38% 26%
9. My department has an appropriate mix between the number
of managers and staff. 62% 24% 14%
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33. Attitude towards day -to -day workload. of Responses
I am always overloaded. I can never catch up. 25%
Sometimes my workload is heavy, but most of the time I can keep up. 61%
I have the right balance between time available and the amount of work. 11%
I could handle more work without being overloaded. 3%
In summary, employees agreed that there is an appropriate mix of managers and
staff within their department and that their day -to -day workload is manageable.
However, respondents remained neutral on the workload balance across City
Departments, and had mixed responses regarding workload within their department and
the ability of the personnel within their department to provide high levels of service.
6. EMPLOYEES GENERALLY AGREED THAT MANAGEMENT PROVIDED
STRONG LEADERSHIP AND COMMUNICATED EFFECTIVELY WITHIN
THEIR DEPARTMENT, BUT HAD MIXED REACTIONS REGARDING
PROBLEM RESOLUTION.
Respondents were asked to respond to a series of questions regarding
management and its communication with the employees. The following table
summarizes the survey questions in this category and their responses:
Statement Agree Disagree Neutral
10. Managers in my department provide strong leadership and clear
direction for the future. 72% 17% 11%
11. I feel supported by the managers in my department. 84% 9% 7%
12. My department is rarely in a crisis mode. 49% 30% 21%
13. I generally know what is going on in my department. 86% 7% 7%
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Statement Agree Disagree Neutral
14. My first line supervisor keeps me apprised of developments in my
department. 86% 5% 9%
19. In my department, we do a good job planning and scheduling our
work. 86% 5% 9%
21. Problems and issues in the City are resolved in a timely manner.
49% 19% 32%
In summary, while respondents generally had positive responses towards
management and its communication with the employees, it can be seen that regarding
the department being in crisis mode and problems being resolved in a timely manner
respondents had a mixed reaction.
7. A MAJORITY OF EMPLOYEES AGREED THAT PROCESSES WITHIN THEIR
OWN DEPARTMENT WERE EFFICIENT, BUT REMAINED NEUTRAL
REGARDING PROCESSES INVOLVING OTHER DEPARTMENTS.
Respondents were asked to respond to a series of statements evaluating the
business processes and procedures of the department. The survey questions in this
category and their responses are summarized in the table below:
Statement Agree Disagree Neutral
15. The business processes within my department are efficient
and effective. 70% 9% 21%
16. The business processes involving other departments are
efficient and effective. 37% 11% 53%
18. My department has well documented policies and
procedures to guide my work. 61% 11% 28%
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In summary, a majority of respondents agreed that within their own department
the policies, procedures, and processes are effective and efficient, but remained neutral
regarding the processes of other City Departments and their effectiveness.
8. RESPONDENTS GENERALLY AGREED THAT THEIR DEPARTMENT AND
THE CITY'S ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE IS SOUND.
Respondents were asked statements concerning operations planning, and
organizational structure of the City and its departments. The survey questions in this
category and their responses are summarized in the table, below:
Statement Agree Disagree Neutral
17. My department performs work that is not duplicated by other
departments. 75% 4% 21%
30. The organizational structure of the City promotes the efficient
and effective delivery of services. 74% 7% 19%
31. The organizational structure of my department / division is
well suited to its responsibilities. 74% 16% 10%
32. There are no functions / services performed by my
department that would be more appropriately conducted by
another department. 65% 14% 21%
In summary, the respondents generally seemed to agree with the organizational
structure and planning of their own department and the City. Overall, a majority of
respondents, 75 %, agreed with question #17, "My department performs work that is not
duplicated by other departments." Only 4% disagreed and 21% remained neutral on the
subject. 100% of Community Development respondents and 79% of Administrative
Services respondents agreed with this statement, compared to 55% of Public Works'
respondents. However, where Community Development respondents felt that the
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functions performed by their department were unique, Public Works' respondents did
not agree as strongly.
9. AN OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF EMPLOYEES AGREE THAT
CUSTOMER SERVICE IS A HIGH PRIORITY IN THE CITY.
Respondents were asked two statements concerning the level of customer
service. The survey questions in this category and their responses are summarized
below:
Statement Agree Disagree Neutral
22. Customer service to the community is a
high priority in the
City. 98% 0% 2%
23. Internal customer service is a high priority in the City. 84% 4% 12%
In summary, the majority of respondents agreed that customer service both to
the community and even internally is a high priority in the City.
10. NARRATIVE SURVEY RESPONSES
In addition to the survey's forced choice questions, respondents were asked to
provide narrative responses to two open -end questions ( #35 and #36). The responses
to the questions were grouped by common themes and summarized by the project
team.
1) Please indicate the three greatest strengths of the City of Rancho Palos
Verdes:
Those who chose to answer the open -ended questions were provided with the
option to rank their options. Since many of the responses that were ranked either 1, 2,
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or 3 were similar, the common themes for all three rankings are summarized together
as follows:
O Customer service
O Excellent teamwork between employees
O Engaged and active residents
O Support from management
O Fiscally conservative
O High employee productivity
O Emphasis on constant improvement
The most frequent responses related either to customer service or helpful
employees of the City towards the residents or to the teamwork and loyalty that existed
among the City's employees.
2) What do you feel are the three most important changes that should be
made in the operations of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes to improve
customer service to the Public?
Staff respondents that answered this question were asked to rank their answers,
however, many of the responses overlapped between the three rankings and so the
most commonly expressed changes are summarized below.
O Develop trust between City Council and City Staff
O Improve interdepartmental communication and also communication between City
Manager's Office and City Council
O Increase staffing efficiency
O Increase services offered on City's website such as payment and registration for
services
O Develop streamlined policies and procedures
In summary, the majority of respondents believed that greater trust and
communication needs to be developed between the City Council and City Staff, along
with increasing staffing. However, the respondents also stated that staffing should not
be indiscriminately increased, but it should be evaluated to determine where positions
can be consolidated and where it is necessary to have staff to perform certain functions.
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4. COMMISSION / BOARD SURVEY RESULTS
As part of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes' Citywide Management and Staffing
Study, the project team developed and distributed a survey to members of City
Committees or Commissions in September 2012. This was done to solicit input,
feedback, and comments from this group regarding current City operations, in particular,
the support provided to their Committee or Commission by City staff. The following
section summarizes the key findings and observations developed from reviewing the
responses provided on the survey.
1. AN ANONYMOUS SURVEY WAS CIRCULATED TO ALL CITY COMMITTEE
OR COMMISSION MEMBERS.
An anonymous survey was circulated to all City Committee or Commission
members to provide them with an opportunity to provide input regarding
current service
delivery. Committee and Commission members were asked to respond to a series of
questions regarding the Committee / Commission focus, its operations, its staff support,
its organizational issues, and interaction with Council and City staff.
Respondents provided the degree to which they either disagreed or agreed with
the statement, given the following options: "No Response ", "Strongly Agree ", "Agree ",
Neutral ", "Strongly Disagree ", and "Disagree ". For discussion purposes in this
document, the project team groups the "Strongly Agree"
and "Agree" responses into one
grouping when reporting general employee responses; the same is true for the "Strongly
Disagree" and "Disagree" responses and the "No Response" and "Neutral" responses.
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Overall 28 surveys were distributed, of which 22 responses were received,
resulting in an overall response rate of 79 %. The following tables show the overall
breakdown of responses by committee / commission and length of service on the
committee:
Committee / Commission
Responses
Emergency Preparedness Committee 3
Finance Advisory Committee 6
Oversight Committee for Water Quality & Flood Protection 5
Planning Commission 4
Traffic Safety Committee 4
Total 22
Length of Service Responses
Less than 1 year 7
1 to 4 years 8
More than 5 years 6
Total 21
The sections below summarize the results of the Committee / Commission
survey.
2. RESPONDENTS GENERALLY AGREED THAT THE PURPOSE OF THEIR
COMMITTEE / COMMISSION IS CLEAR AND UNIQUE, ALONG WITH
ADEQUATE ORIENTATION AND TRAINING PROVIDED REGARDING THE
COMMITTEE / COMMISSION.
Respondents were provided with statements regarding the purpose of
Committees and Commissions and if appropriate training is provided to those serving
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on these Committees and Commissions. The survey questions in this category and their
response are summarized in the table below:
Statement Agree Disagree Neutral
1. The purpose of my committee / commission is clear. 90% 0% 10%
2. Upon appointment, an orientation session was provided
regarding the role and responsibilities of the committee /
commission. 71% 19% 10%
4. The role and responsibility of my committee is clear and well
defined in the Annual Work Plan. 71% 10% 19%
11. Training is provided to members of the committee /
commission to provide relevant background information and
knowledge of developing trends and issues related to our
assignment. 62% 19% 19%
18. The work of my committee / commission is unique — it is not
duplicated by other committees or staff responsibilities. 90% 0% 10%
25. I feel adequately informed to make policy decisions or
recommendations for the City. 90% 0% 10%
26. The City has the appropriate number of Committees /
Commissions. 57% 5% 38%
27. There is sufficient turnover in the individuals appointed to
Committees / Commissions to provide opportunities for all
that wish to serve the City. 50% 10% 40%
In summary, the majority of the respondents believed that the purpose of their
Committee / Commission was clearly defined and the work of their Committee /
Commission was unique. Additionally, the respondents expressed that they received
proper orientation and adequate training to serve on the Committees / Commissions.
3. A MAJORITY OF RESPONDENTS AGREED WITH THE COMMITTEE /
COMMISSION ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND ITS SIZE.
Respondents were asked several questions regarding Committee / Commission
organization and structure. The questions in this category and their responses are
summarized in the table, below:
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Statement Agree Disagree Neutral
3. The appointment process to serve on a Committee /
Commission is fair and equitable. 71% 5% 24%
10. The committee / commission size is appropriate. 86% 5% 9%
15. The structure of our meetings enables us to effectively
manage our workload. 81% 0% 19%
16. My committee / commission receives an appropriate level of
legal support, when needed. 62% 5% 33%
In summary, it can be seen that the majority of respondents agreed that the
Committee / Commission organizational structure is intact and is fair and appropriate.
4. THE MAJORITY OF RESPONDENTS AGREED THAT STAFF PROVIDED
APPROPIATE AND EFFECTIVE SUPPORT TO THE COMMITTEES /
COMMISSIONS.
Respondents were asked to respond to a series of statements regarding
Committee / Commission interaction with staff and the level of support provided by City
staff. The survey questions in this category and their responses are summarized in the
table below:
Statement Agree Disagree Neutral
5. City staff provide appropriate background information for each
agenda item presented to the committee / commission. 90% 0% 10%
6. City staff provide, where applicable, alternatives for
consideration and a clear recommendation for each action
item presented to the committee / commission. 81% 0% 19%
14. The work of my committee / commission is valued by staff. 71% 5% 24%
22. Staff reports are well written. 90% 0% 10%
23. Staff reports are provided with sufficient time for me to
review in advance of meetings. 86% 5% 9%
24. Staff verbal presentations are effective. 100% 0% 0%
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In summary, a majority of the overall respondents agreed that City staff provides
appropriate background support, whether it be in the form of written reports, verbal
presentations, or recommendations.
5. MAJORITY OF COMMITTEE / COMMISSION MEMBERS AGREE THAT CITY
COUNCIL VALUES AND CONSIDERS THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS AND
INPUT.
Respondents were asked to respond to two statements concerning the
Committee / Commission interaction with City Council. The survey questions in this
category and their responses are summarized in the tables below:
Statement Agree Disagree Neutral
7. Recommendations and input developed by my committee /
commission are given appropriate consideration by the City
Council. 90% 0% 10%
13. The work of my committee / commission is valued by the
City Council. 76% 0% 24%
In summary, respondents agreed that the City Council considered their
recommendations and inputs and valued their work and time spent on the Committees /
Commissions.
6. RESPONDENTS GENERALLY AGREED THAT THE WORKLOAD OF THE
COMMITTEE / COMMISSION IS APPROPRIATE ALONG WITH THE
OPERATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE / COMMISSION.
Respondents were asked to respond to a series of questions regarding
Committee / Commission operations such as meeting frequency and length, along with
their workload level. The following table summarizes the survey questions in this
category and their responses:
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Statement Agree Disagree Neutral
8. The workload of my committee / commission is appropriate — all
items presented can be given due consideration before action is
taken. 90% 0% 10%
9. The frequency of meetings for my committee / commission is
appropriate. 86% 0% 14%
17. My committee / commission is made aware of developing issues
that may impact our areas of responsibilities. 76% 19% 5%
19. Our meetings are substantive and support the purpose of the
committee / commission. 95% 0% 5%
20. Our meetings are conducted in an orderly fashion. 95% 0% 5%
21. The public has sufficient opportunity to provide input to the
committee / commission. 81% 5% 14%
In summary, the Committee / Commission members agreed that the workload of
the Committee / Commission and the operational aspects of the Committee /
Commission are appropriate and in functioning condition.
7. NARRATIVE SURVEY RESPONSES
In addition to the survey's forced choice questions, respondents were asked to
provide narrative responses to two open -end questions ( #28 and #29). The responses
to the questions were grouped by common themes and summarized by the project
team.
8. Please indicate the three greatest strengths of the City of Rancho Palos
Verdes:
Those who chose to answer the open -ended questions were provided with the
option to rank their options. Since many of the responses that were ranked 1, 2, or 3
were similar, the common themes for all three rankings are summarized together as
follows:
0 Dedicated City Staff
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O Active and involved local community
O Effective cost control and fiscally conservation
O Community- oriented governing practices
The most frequent responses related either to City staff and their dedication to
the community or to the local community's involvement in the City's governance.
9. What do you feel are the three most important changes that should be
made in the operations of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes to improve
customer service to the Public?
Respondents that answered this question were asked to rank their answers,
however, many of the responses overlapped between the three rankings and so the
most commonly expressed changes are summarized below.
O Improve communication and develop transparency between the government and
the community
O Improve the City Website (e.g. electronic transactions, live webcast of meetings)
O Decrease government regulation
In summary, the majority of respondents believed that the most important change
needed to be made in terms of improved communication and greater transparency
between the City Government and the community.
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5. BEST MANAGEMENT, OPERATIONAL AND
STAFFING ASSESSMENT
In the assessment of Rancho Palos Verdes, the Matrix Consulting Group project
team utilized a wide variety of data collection and analytical techniques to evaluate the
operational practices of the City organization. The project team conducted the following
data collection and analytical activities:
At the outset of the project, the study team interviewed City management. The
purpose of these interviews was to develop an initial understanding of the issues
and background, which led to this study.
The project team conducted a process of interviewing managers in every
department.
In order to maximize the employee input into this study, the project team
distributed an anonymous employee survey which every employee in the
departments included in the scope of the study had the opportunity to fill -out and
return to the project team.
While on site, the project team collected a wide variety of data designed to
document workloads, costs, service levels and operating practices.
In order to make the assessments of operational strengths and improvement
opportunities, the project team developed a set of performance measures, called
best management practices" against which to evaluate current services,
workloads and service levels in the City. The measures utilized have been
derived from the project team's collective experience in working with hundreds of
municipalities in California and throughout the country. The performance
measures utilized represent the following:
Statements of "effective practices" based on the study team's experience
in evaluating operations in other municipalities.
These measures are both
qualitative and quantitative.
Where they exist,
statements reflecting "industry standards" were used to
incorporate commonly utilized service delivery approaches in addition to
targets developed by national research organizations.
In both instances, these measures of efficiency and effectiveness were
selected and adjusted to reflect the unique operating and service
conditions in Rancho Palos Verdes. Such factors as weather, topography
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and history came into play in the selection of actual performance
measures.
The purpose of this report, then, was to develop an overall assessment of City
operations and staffing needs that the City Council and City Manager can utilize to meet
on -going service needs in a sustainable way. The following subsections of this chapter
present the findings of our operational and staffing assessment by major functional
area. We have identified both current strengths within the operations in place and
opportunities for improvement that are designed to either increase efficiency and
effectiveness of service provision or move the City toward implementation of best
practices and operational practices. Each subsection concludes with organizational and
staffing recommendations.
A. City Manager's Office and Human Resources.
The principal direct service areas within the City Manager's Office is the Human
Resources function. At the present time, this position is vacant and filled on an interim
basis through a contracted position. The following section outlines the best practices
and operational practice assessment of the Human Resources function.
1) Best Practices and Operational Assessment.
For each best practice or performance target, the project team has identified
whether it is a current strength of the organization or an opportunity for improvement.
Performance Target Strengths Potential Improvements
Human Resources maintains
personnel records in an efficient
and readily accessible manner
utilizing an integrated human
resource information system
HRIS).
Personnel records are
maintained in a central and
secure location within the Human
Resources office.
The City does not have a
comprehensive HRIS in place.
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Performance Target Strengths Potential Improvements
Human Resources use a
workforce planning system to
project retirement dates by
Department and prepare for
replacement of lost
competencies and skills. This
system has been automated. The
plan is updated annually.
To date, limited workforce
planning efforts have been
undertaken. Staff is aware of the
future impact retirements may
have on the organization due to
the long- tenure of many key staff
members.
The average recruitment times
include the following:
45 -60 days for clerical and
operations' staff
60 -90 for professional and
paraprofessional staff
120 -150 days for management
staff
Recruitment efforts have been
extremely limited in the last year
due to not filling vacancies during
the revamping of the pension
program. Average recruitment
times have not been analyzed
due to limited data set.
Human Resources can
demonstrate through climate
surveys, exit interview results,
and /or other appropriate
methods, that it has created and
modified a working environment
for its employees that enhances
worker satisfaction, and
minimizes employee turnover. At
a minimum:
The City conducts climate
surveys that measure employee
satisfaction on such factors as
work environment, quality of
supervision, safety, City -wide
support, and opportunities for
professional development; and
The City conducts exit interviews
with employees who terminate
employment, and compile the
results of these interviews.
The City currently conducts exit
interviews on full -time positions.
Part -time positions have exit
interviews conducted as feasible.
The City does not currently
conduct frequent employee
satisfaction surveys.
The Citywide non - retirement
turnover rate is less than 5% of
total employees and monitors
this data per classification to
identify specific areas for
improvement.
Non - retirement turnover within
the City organization is extremely
low.
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Performance Target Strengths Potential Improvements
Human Resources maintains
clear and effective channels of
communication with City
employees, including:
Providing readily accessible
copies of a useful employee
handbook and information on
City personnel policies and
benefit packages
Communicating City news and
changes in policy to all
employees
Opportunities for employee
feedback on City policies and
practices that affect their areas of
work or expertise, including
employee membership on policy
committees, and /or the
solicitation of employee input on
City policies and programs.
The City has a basic employee
manual covering both
represented and non-
represented employees.
The employee manual has been
updated and implementation is
pending final approval of the first
employee MOU. Following
adoption, all employees should
be provided a copy of the
employee manual and training
should be provided to all staff.
Human Resources has
developed and implemented
strategies to make the City a
satisfying place to work including
such strategies as the following:
Public celebration of professional
achievements.
Social events (e.g., picnics).
Recognition of personal
milestones of employees (e.g.,
anniversaries).
Stress release activities (e.g.,
casual dress days).
The City has undertaken several
efforts to promote City
employment and employee
engagement including an annual
holiday party, employee
recognition programs, etc.
Human Resources provides a
comprehensive staff
development program to achieve
and maintain high levels of
productivity and employee
performance.
The City provides training for
general topics (Sexual
Harassment, Workplace
Violence, etc.) to all employees
periodically.
Staff development related to
specific skills is primarily a
function of the individual
departments.
The City should expand efforts to
make employees aware of
training available to them through
the City's membership in other
organizations (i.e. — risk
management association).
Additionally, the City should more
thoroughly track employee
attendance at training.
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Performance Target Strengths Potential Improvements
Human Resources conducts
needs assessments for the
Citywide training program that
include input from employees
and their supervisors at least
every other year.
A comprehensive training needs
assessment has not been
undertaken.
Human Resources has
established and implemented
Citywide procedures for
assessing the performance of all
personnel that include
performance criteria including
measures and standards related
to outcomes.
Provides written information
regarding the performance
assessment process to all
personnel, including performance
criteria that will be used in the
assessment and the process that
will be used to make the
assessment.
The Human Resources program
oversees the performance
evaluation process. The City has
a comprehensive evaluation tool.
However, the application of the
performance evaluation tool
appears inconsistent among
supervisors.
Human Resources regularly
provides training,
guidance, and
coaching to managers and
supervisors on the procedures
for improving the performance or
disciplining of poorly performing
employees.
Human Resources provides
personal support to individual
managers and supervisors to
address employee issues.
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Performance Target Strengths Potential Improvements
Human Resources uses cost-
containment practices for its
Workers' Compensation Program
to be proactive in attempts to
reduce frequency and cost of
Workers' Compensation claims.
The following metrics are utilized
to manage the Worker's
Compensation practices:
Average Cost per Claim
Annual Cost per FTE
Frequency Rate (per 100
employees)
Percentage of Open Claims
Percentage of Annual Indemnity
Claims
Average Reporting Lag Time
Percentage of Claims by Part of
Body
Average Claim Duration
Percentage of Litigated Claims
WC Costs as Percentage of
Payroll
The City utilizes basic cost-
containment approaches to
address worker's compensation
costs.
The metrics outlined should be
utilized to evaluate, on an on-
going basis, the City's
performance related to workers'
compensation. Ongoing
dialogue and claims reviews
should be conducted with the
City's claims handler to identify
additional efforts that would
further limit the City's liability.
The City has an active safety
committee.
The City does not have a safety
committee for all employees.
Human Resources has a safety
inspection program that
determines corrective actions
necessary based on past
workers' compensation claims
and proactive inspection of high -
risk areas and professions.
On -going safety inspections are
not routinely conducted of all
employee workspaces and public
spaces.
Human Resources periodically
compares its entry -level salaries
with other public agencies, and
adjusts entry -level salaries as
necessary to compete for
qualified applicants.
Human Resources conducts
salary surveys, as part of
maintenance of the classification
system. The current Council
adopted policy has established
salary ranges at the
75th
percentile of market.
The City Council should
periodically review the current
policy regarding where the City of
Rancho Palos Verdes falls in
comparison to their peer
communities in terms of salary
ranges, and total compensation
to ensure continued market
competitiveness. This policy
should be reviewed at least every
three years and modified as
necessary.
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Performance Target Strengths Potential Improvements
Human Resources proactively
reviews the allocation of City
employees to classifications
every three to four years to
ensure that employees are
properly classified.
This is not currently conducted.
The City has a well- defined
compensation and classification
policy and philosophy.
The City has a general
compensation philosophy that
guides decisions regarding pay
rates.
The City does not have a
formalized classification process
based upon a point -count (or
similar system) to guide
decisions regarding classification
of individual positions. Positions
are compared to the local market
for classification purposes.
The current approach has
resulted in some internal- equity
issues among classifications.
There are approximately 125 to
150 full -time municipal
employees for every 1 full -time
HR employee.
There is one full -time HR position
for the City's workforce of
approximately 72 full -time
equivalent employees
Consisting of 58 full -time
positions and many part -time
positions)
The position should be allocated
additional duties, and some
existing duties should be
expanded, to warrant continued
allocation of a full -time position to
Human Resources.
The following section summarizes the key strengths and opportunities for
improvement.
2) Key Operational Strengths.
The City has several current strengths in place related to Human Resources that
should be maintained and built upon in developing a stronger human resources
program. These include:
The City maintains a centralized human resources function with a single
individual responsible for oversight of the recruitment and selection function and
ensuring compliance with applicable personnel rules and regulations.
The City has a very low non - retirement turn -over rate.
The employee has a basic employee manual covering both represented and non -
represented employees.
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The City organization undertakes several efforts to promote employee
engagement including employee recognition programs and an annual holiday
party.
The City provides basic training for all employees on key topics such as Sexual
Harassment, Workplace Violence, etc.
The City has a comprehensive employee evaluation tool and process.
Human Resources provides support to individual managers and supervisors
when workplace or employee, performance, or discipline issues arise.
These strengths provide a strong basis for implementation of the improvement
opportunities noted in the following section.
3) Key Opportunities for Improvement.
From our assessment, the following are the key opportunities for improvement
that should be addressed to improve and develop the Human Resources function within
the City of Rancho Palos Verdes. For each of the opportunities for improvement noted
in our assessment, we have provided in the following table, a recommended action to
improve operations and address the noted deficiency.
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Identified Improvement
Opportunity Discussion Recommendation
The City does not have a
comprehensive HRIS in place.
The lack of a well - developed
human resources information
system limits the ability of the
City to automate personnel
transactions, and to develop
the needed business data to
evaluate personnel activities
and plan for the future.
The Human Resources module in the
ADP system should be carefully
evaluated to ensure that it contains
the features and functionality to
provide a comprehensive HRIS
system for the City.
Limited workforce planning
efforts have been undertaken.
Staff is aware of the future
impact retirements (or other
separations) may have on the
ability of the organization to
continue to provide services in
a seamless manner. Given
the small size of the
organization's staffing
allocation, and the fact that
most positions are single
incumbent, there is a greater
need within the RPV
organization to plan for and
anticipate key personnel
changes that would impact
service delivery.
Over the last
year, the City has had to
address several vacancies in
critical positions and has been
fortunate to find short -term
contract employees to fill these
key positions.
The City should develop a workforce
planning effort that identifies key
positions within the organization,
develop cross - training programs to
develop additional internal staff with
competencies and abilities to fill the
position (at least on a short -term
basis), and develop forward looking
contingency plans for filling these
critical positions when they become
vacant.
The City does not currently
conduct employee satisfaction
surveys or report the results of
exit interviews to City Council.
To further develop the
business intelligence needed
to evaluate operational
practices and the impact of
personnel practices / policies
on employment decisions, the
City should conduct exit
interviews for all departing
employees and conduct an
annual employee climate
survey.
The City should summarize the
results of the currently performed exit
interviews on all departing employees
and provide annually in a report to the
City Council.
The City should conduct an annual
employee climate survey to better
understand from the employee's
perspective the employment climate.
The City's employee manual
should be comprehensively
updated and provided to all
employees.
There have been several
changes in the employment
arena during the last year
including the decision of
employees for representation)
that require an updating of the
employee manual.
The City should implement the
updated employee manual as soon as
practical following adoption of the
MOU. Upon completion, it should be
provided to all employees and training
provided to all employees on the
manual.
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Identified Improvement
Opportunity Discussion Recommendation
The employee evaluation
process should be enhanced
to eliminate the inconsistent
approach utilized among
supervisors.
While the City has an
acceptable performance
evaluation tool in place, it
does not appear to be
consistently utilized across all
departments nor always
completed in a timely manner.
The City should provide refresher
training to all supervisory staff on the
performance evaluation process and
the existing performance evaluation
form to ensure consistent utilization
and rankings across departments and
supervisors.
Additionally, to ensure that all forms
are completed in a timely manner,
each supervisor should be specifically
evaluated by their supervisor on the
timely, accurate and thoroughness of
their evaluations of staff.
The City should develop a core
set of performance measures
to evaluate the effectiveness of
their workers compensation
program.
While the City has few direct
service field employees, it
should develop a core set of
measures including:
Average cost per
claim,
Annual cost per FTE,
Claims by body type,
WC Costs as % of
payroll,
Frequency rate (per
100 employees)
to evaluate and identify actions
needing to be addressed.
Currently liability claims intake
is the responsibility of the City
Clerk's Office. To minimize
potential oversight, enhance
claims processing, and place a
single individual accountable
for this function, these duties
should be transferred to the
Human Resources
Department.
The City should develop a series of
performance metrics to evaluate their
worker's compensation program.
Additionally, the City should centralize
the handling of all accident and
worker's compensation claims by
transferring the responsibility for
claims review from the City Clerk's
Office to the Human Resources
position.
The City does not have a
safety committee in place for
all employees.
While the majority of field
operations (the area of highest
safety risk) are contracted
within the City of Rancho
Palos Verdes, the City should
have a safety program in place
covering all employees.
The City should institute a safety
committee covering all employees.
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Identified Improvement
Opportunity Discussion Recommendation
The City should have a more
aggressive Safety Program.
In addition to the
implementation of a safety
committee, the City should
implement a more
comprehensive safety program
based upon evaluation of prior
claims, facility inspections, and
risk mitigation.
The City should implement a more
comprehensive safety program that
proactively identifies and mitigates
safety risks for the public and
employees.
The City Council should review
the current policy regarding
employee compensation
identifying where in the
marketplace the City of
Rancho Palos Verdes should
fall in terms of salary ranges,
and total compensation.
To effectively recruit staff, and
for City Administrators to
effectively manage
compensation and benefit
programs, the City should
have an adopted
compensation and benefits
policy that outlines the City
Council's guidelines regarding
where RPV should fall in
relation to the marketplace.
The City Council has adopted
the 75th percentile of market
as its policy.
The City Council should periodically
review its adopted compensation
policy for the City of Rancho Palos
Verdes and update as appropriate to
maintain a competitive compensation
system.
Along with this policy, the City should
review the current approach to
position classification to determine if a
more formalized system is needed to
ensure both internal and external
equity of positions.
The City should review
employee's classification every
three to five years to ensure
employees are properly
classified.
Duties of positions change
over time based upon the
evolving needs of the
organization. To ensure
internal and external equity,
the City should have a process
where each position
classification and the duties
performed by each incumbent
is reviewed every three to five
years to ensure that the
position description accurately
reflects the duties performed.
The City should implement a program
on reviewing position descriptions and
duties performed for each position at
least one every five years.
The implementation of these recommendations will provide a stronger and
enhanced human resources program in the City of Rancho Palos Verdes.
4) Organizational and Staffing Recommendations.
The project team evaluated staffing needs in this Department based upon the
existing service levels, comparisons to comparable organizations with which we have
worked, and recognized standards in the industry. The following points summarize the
key issues related to organizational structure and /or staffing levels:
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The overall organizational structure of this Department is appropriate and staffing
levels are in alignment with assigned duties and organizational needs. The only
function that is suitable for potential relocation is the contract Administrative
Analyst II position responsible for emergency preparedness.
This position should
be made permanent. It can either remain in Parks & Recreation or relocated to
the City Manager's Office.
Organizations of this size are just approaching the level where a dedicated
human resources professional is typically required. We are recommending that
the vacant Human Resources Manager position be filled at the currently
authorized level. With the recent employee organization, and the need to
enhance many human resources practices, this position is much needed and will
greatly benefit the organization.
To effectively and fully utilize this position, some duties related to liability claims
administration should be transferred to this position from the City Clerk's Office to
provide a centralized Risk Management function.
The only new position that the project team recommends that the City implement
is a City Attorney position. The City of Rancho Palos Verdes utilizes entirely
contract services for legal services. With average hourly rates ranging from $150
to $300 for these contracted services, the City can increase responsiveness and
save money if a well-qualified municipal attorney can be hired to handle more of
the routine business of the City. A staff attorney who can allocate 1,600 hour
annually to legal services for the City would eliminate approximately $264,000
per year in legal expenses at an estimated $165 per hour. The total costs for
this position would be less than $ 230,000 (including benefits and support costs)
resulting in an annual savings of at least $34,000. However, as important as
salary savings is the increased access and support that a City Attorney can
provide to the organization.
The potential exists for even greater savings from more controlled and effective
use of outside counsel. In addition (while not staff related it would be connected
to this change), the entire legal services contract should be rebid to determine if
effective rates are being achieved since the contract has not been bid since it
was originally established.
Overall, staffing should remain as currently allocated except for making
permanent the contract Administrative Assistant position. The vacant Parks &
Recreation Director position should be filled as soon as practical.
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B. Finance and Information Technology.
The Finance and Information Technology Department is responsible for all
financial functions of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes and the oversight of the
information technology contract and daily support for IT services. The following
sections outline the best management and operational practices assessment of this
Department.
1) Best Practices and Operational Assessment.
For each best practice or performance target, the project team has identified
whether it is a current strength of the organization or an opportunity for improvement.
Performance Target Strengths Potential Improvements
Financial Operations
Financial staff is cross - trained for
critical accounting and financial
purposes.
Given the small size of the
staffing allocation, many financial
staff have been cross - trained to
provide backup to other staff on
critical financial functions so that
they can be accomplished in a
timely manner.
Operating budgets provide
readable, comprehensive
information on budgeted
expenditures, staffing, and
revenue, and the goals and
objectives and performance
measures.
The budget provides
comprehensive information
regarding the City's financial
condition, expenditures, revenue,
and the goals and objectives for
each functional area.
A review of the specific
performance indicators utilized in
the budget and periodic reports
should be reviewed to ensure
they are in alignment with
Council priorities.
The 5 -year capital improvement
plan provides readable and
comprehensive information on
costs, and provides a link to the
operating budget.
The City provides detailed
information, including funding
source, for approved capital
projects for the budget cycle.
Although a separate five -year
Capital Improvement Plan
document is prepared and
approved by City Council
annually, the document has not
been included as an appendix in
the two -year budget document.
This should be included showing
the projected five -year capital
needs of the City.
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Performance Target Strengths Potential Improvements
Operating and capital
expenditures are monitored on
an ongoing basis to assure
actual expenditures do not
exceed the authorized budget.
The City conducts ongoing
budget monitoring and financial
staff conducted periodic reviews
with Department Directors.
The City's two -year budget
enables the City to take a more
comprehensive and forward
looking approach to budgeting
and to make adjustments
annually as needed to address
changing economic conditions.
The City has an established fund
reserve policy.
The City has a fund reserve
policy outlining required targeted
fund reserve levels. The fund
reserve is averaging $9M to
10M over the last five -year
period. With an estimated
annual general fund budget of
24M, the City has established
fund reserves at an acceptable
level.
Account Payable functions are
effective:
All accounts payable
disbursements are supported by
adequate documentation
invoice, receiving report,
purchase order).
Invoices are reviewed and
approved before payment is
made; payments are accurate.
Payables are processed in
sufficient time to obtain
discounts.
Payments can be made
electronically.
The City requires appropriate
documentation to support each
request for payment and require
departmental approval.
Electronic payments should be
implemented for as many
vendors as possible.
Accounts Payable is processed
within 30 days or other time
periods sufficient to obtain
available discounts.
The City targets payment of
accounts payable within 30 days.
No significant issues identified
related to timely payment of
accounts payable.
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Performance Target Strengths Potential Improvements
The City has established cost
recovery goals for certain
functions (i.e. — building
permitting) and has established
fees at a level sufficient for the
designated operation to be self-
funding.
The City has adopted cost
recovery targets for permitting
functions (essentially 100% of
costs).
The City does not routinely
employ cost recovery goals for
other functions — such as Parks
Recreation programs where a
less than full cost recovery policy
was adopted by the Council.
This policy should be reviewed at
least every three years and
modifications made as
appropriate.
Provide information to
departments to help monitor
budget versus actual
expenditures. Financial
performance reviewed
periodically.
Finance staff provides budget
documents and reports to
managers to review budget
performance.
Existence of policy of separation
of data input and
payroll /payables and check
printing and mailing?
The Department has
implemented appropriate
segregation of duties for key
financial processes.
Investment performance is
monitored?
The City's investment portfolio is
monitored on an on -going basis
to ensure compliance with the
adopted investment policy.
An investment policy has been
adopted by the City Council.
The City has an adopted
investment policy consistent with
state requirements.
Accounting policies, procedures
and systems are in place?
The City has various accounting
policies and procedures in place
to ensure expenditures are
conducted in accordance with
accepted accounting practices.
Are automated and integrated
financial packages in place that
eliminate duplicate data entry
among departments for payroll,
accounts payable, accounts
receivable?
The City utilizes SunGard as its
financial information system. A
new system has been selected
for implementation.
Key considerations in the
implementation of the new
system should be the automation
of various financial functions to
support the public and
departments and increase
efficiency of service delivery.
The City complies with GASB 34
and GASB 45.
The City is in compliance with
GASB 34 and 45.
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Performance Target Strengths Potential Improvements
Operating procedures and
supervisory controls are
adequate to ensure that all
activity is recorded accurately.
Procedures and supervisory
controls are appropriate.
The City conducts monthly
reconciliation of bank accounts,
preparation of the Treasurer
Report, and audits financial
transactions in a timely manner.
The City prepares a monthly
Treasurer's Report and
reconciles all bank accounts.
Centralized purchasing
guidelines and processing have
been implemented to control
spending and ensure compliance
with purchasing requirements.
While the City has approved
purchasing policies and
procedures, departments have
flexibility within the purchasing
thresholds, for purchasing
supplies and services.
The City has implemented
electronic purchase requisitions
to streamline the procurement
process, and ensure compliance
with purchasing thresholds.
The City has implemented
electronic purchase requisitions.
The City does not have a fully
automated purchase order
process including electronic POs,
receiving / receipting, and
payments to more fully automate
the procurement function.
The City has an adopted
purchase card / credit card policy
to guide use of assigned city
credit cards.
The City has adopted
procurement cards for some
functions. The City has a
strong preference to limit
procurement cards to emergency
situations / non - routine
purchases.
Payroll
Electronic submittal of
timesheets by departments?
The City utilized both entry and
supervisory approvals within the
ADP system.
Payroll hours are entered based
upon "type of hours" (i.e. —
regular, sick, holiday, overtime,
etc.) to simplify reporting, track
hours by type, and enable
automated reports and FLSA
tracking.
Payroll is entered based upon
type of hours to enable tracking
of leave balances.
Treasurer Functions
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Performance Target Strengths Potential Improvements
Are automated and integrated
financial packages in place that
eliminate duplicate data entry
among departments for payroll,
accounts payable, accounts
receivable?
As previously noted, the City
employs SunGard as the
comprehensive financial
package. Key data is shared
between financial modules —
eliminating duplication of effort.
Effective collection procedures
have been put in place.
The City pursues amounts due
the City from both accounts
receivable and NSF checks.
Responsibility for cash payments
has been centralized.
Cash payments are generally
deposited with the Finance
Department daily, reconciled,
and deposited.
Cash collection is not entirely
centralized but occurs in multiple
locations as a convenience for
the public.
Appropriate internal controls are
in place to secure, track and
safeguard cash.
The City has appropriate internal
controls to ensure cash is
secure, tracked and
safeguarded.
Policies, procedures, and work
practices are in place to assure
the prompt and frequent
reconciliation of all cash.
Cash is reconciled on a daily
basis.
Responsibility for billing has been
centralized.
Billing has been centralized
within the Finance Division.
On -line payments have been
implemented to increase public
access to City Services and
provide 24/7 access to payment
options.
The City has limited on -line
payment opportunities for the
public. This should be expanded
and fully integrated into the
financial system with the
implementation of the
replacement ERP system.
Information Technology
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Performance Target Strengths Potential Improvements
The City has developed a multi-
year technology plan addresses
the subjects below and is
reviewed /updated annually:
Individual departmental and city-
wide technology needs;
Equitable resource allocation,
anticipating growth and
technology advances;
Funding for technology;
Cost - effective acquisition;
Professional development for
technology users;
Technical support needs of
users;
Infrastructure and network
communication including
community access issues; and
Information management and
delivery.
The City has an adopted IT
technology plan.
However, it needs to be updated
especially following the
completion of, review and
adoption of recommendations
from the IT study currently in
progress.
Security standards have been
developed to include diagnostic
tools, monitoring tools, intrusion
detection systems, firewalls,
encryption, secure e-mail, and
anti - virus.
The City has adopted
comprehensive security
standards to protect City systems
and data.
A refreshment program is in
place to replace computer
hardware and PCs.
The City has a PC refreshment
program in place to maintain
desktops / laptops in alignment
with advances in technology and
service needs.
Software is upgraded at
appropriate intervals and
consistently deployed throughout
the organization.
The City has implemented an
approach to software upgrades
to generally maintain a consistent
deployment of software across all
departments.
Support is provided to all users in
handling both hardware and
software operational issues.
IT provides comprehensive
support to all users for both
hardware and software issues.
IT provides a webmaster to
manage the content of the City's
website.
Webmaster functions are
handled by the contracted IT
staff.
The City should provide the
ability for individuals within each
respective department able to
upload documents to their
website directly with the selection
of a subsequent web host
vendor.
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Performance Target Strengths Potential Improvements
IT procures its primary systems
such as financial, payroll,
personnel, property appraisal,
etc.) from vendors; it does not
develop its systems in- house.
Major software systems are
procured from third -party
vendors. Solutions are not
developed in- house.
IT services are appropriate
centralized within the City to
prevent duplication of services,
and ensure a standard approach
to IT infrastructure.
The City has implemented a
centralized IT approach that
provides responsibility for all core
IT services (network, phone,
servers, etc.).
IT services are contracted out
with one dedicated IT staff
member in the Finance
Department.
The Finance Director is currently
spending excessive time on IT
related issues — limiting time
available for core financial
functions. The City should fill the
vacant IT Project Manager
position.
GIS Staff provides training and
assistance to all departments to
utilize and benefit from the
compiled data within the system.
GIS is under development by the
IT staff.
The level of the GIS program
under development should be
reviewed to ensure it is
appropriate for the City's needs.
The contract for IT services is bid
out periodically to ensure cost-
competitiveness.
The City should undertake a
formal bidding process to ensure
that the services currently
provided are being acquired in a
cost - competitive manner.
2) Key Operational Strengths.
The City has several current strengths in place related to Finance and
Information Technology that should be maintained and built upon in developing a
stronger human resources program. These include:
Financial staff have been suitably cross - trained in most areas to provide backup
support and ensure continued operations in the absence of any specific
individual.
The City provides a comprehensive two -year budget document that provides
sufficient detail for the public to understand how funds are allocated, major
programs and services provided, and the cost of providing municipal services.
Capital projects are detailed including funding sources within the budget
document.
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Ongoing budget and financial reviews are conducted to ensure compliance with
the adopted budget, identify early potential deviations so they can be addressed,
and ensure financial policies are being followed.
The use of a two -year budget process enables the City to take a more proactive
review and planning approach than is typically achievable under annual budget
processes.
The City has a good fund reserve policy in place and a healthy fund reserve
balance that exceeds recommended practices.
Appropriate documentation is required from departments to support all request
for payments submitted to the Finance Department.
The City has adopted cost recovery targets in many functional areas (such as
permitting) that enable staff to evaluate fee and charges necessary to support
operations.
Financial duties have been appropriately segregated to ensure financial internal
controls.
The City has an adopted investment policy consistent with state requirements
and investment performance is routinely monitored with periodic reports provided
to elected officials.
The City is in compliance with GASB 34 and 45.
A monthly Treasurer's Report is prepared and bank accounts are reconciled
monthly.
Cash payments are deposited with Finance Department daily and reconciled and
deposited with the City's financial institution.
The City has an adopted IT Technology plan and a PC refreshment program to
maintain equipment at a level sufficient to effectively perform work activities.
IT services are centralized within the City and provided by a contracted entity.
These strengths provide a strong basis for implementation of the improvement
opportunities noted in the following section.
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3) Key Opportunities for Improvement.
From our assessment, the following are the key opportunities for improvement
that should be addressed to improve and develop the Finance and Information
Technology function within the City of Rancho Palos Verdes. For each of the
opportunities for improvement noted in our assessment, we have provided in the
following table, a recommended action to improve operations and address the noted
deficiency.
Identified Improvement
Opportunity Discussion Recommendation
As part of the annual budget To ensure that staff is A review of the performance
process, the performance monitoring and reporting measures utilized and tracked should
indicators within the budget (and in on performance indicators occur during the next budget cycle to
other reports developed by staff) of importance to elected ensure alignment with Council
should be reviewed to ensure they officials, a review of the priorities.
remain in alignment with Council existing performance
priorities. measures should take
place during the next
budget cycle.
Performance measures
and reports should be
directly tied to and in
alignment with the Council
established priorities.
The five -year CIP document Capital investments are A five -year CIP document should be
should be included within the among the largest included within the budget document.
budget document to provide a expenditures of a
longer -term plan and focus for municipality and typically
major capital expenditures. have a multi -year focus.
To ensure a complete
understanding of identified
needs, the five year
projection and project plan
should be included within
the budget document.
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Identified Improvement
Opportunity Discussion Recommendation
Increased use of electronic
payments with vendors should be
pursued.
The use of electronic
payments can reduce staff
time required in printing
and mailing checks for
payments. Vendors are
increasingly willing and
able to accept electronic
payments. The expanded
use of electronic payments
can further automate
processes within the
Finance Department.
The City should continue to expand
the use of electronic payments with
vendors.
Cost recovery goals for additional
functional areas, such as
Recreation & Parks, should be
developed.
The City should establish
cost - recovery goals for all
major functional program
areas. While not all goals
will be for 100% cost-
recovery, the
establishment of specific
goals by functional areas
provide staff the ability to
evaluate service delivery,
fees and charges for
services, and other
practices to ensure they
are in alignment with the
Council's policy and
priorities.
Cost - recovery goals should be
reviewed at least once every three
years, and the City Council's policy
updated, with a target of achieving
full -cost recovery except where policy
decisions reached to deviate.
A key consideration in the
selection of the new financial
system should be the ability to
implement for electronic
processing for staff,
and enhanced
online functionality.
The implementation of a
new financial system is a
major undertaking for a
municipality and involves
extensive financial outlays
for acquisition and
significant staff time for
implementation. The City
should utilize as a key
consideration the ability of
a new system to not only
meet internal financial
needs but the ability of the
system to further automate
financial practices and to
provide additional online
functionality.
The City should focus during the
implementation phase of the new
ERP system the further automation of
existing financial practices and
enhancements to online functionality.
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Identified Improvement
Opportunity Discussion Recommendation
The City should pursue
implementation of time entry for
payroll at the department level with
appropriate supervisory approvals.
The entry of time at the
Department level provides
the ability of the City to
further automate payroll
processing. Appropriate
supervisory reviews and
approvals should be built
into the system for internal
controls.
The City should pursue the
implementation of additional on-
line payment opportunities as a
convenience to the public.
The public is increasingly
expecting and demanding
the ability to access
government services
online. The City should
expand its ability to provide
services online by
expanding opportunities to
pay for City services online
through credit card
payments.
The City should expand the
availability of online payments via
credit card for public convenience
with the implementation of the
replacement ERP system.
The IT Plan should be updated
based upon the recent IT review
conducted.
The City has recently
completed a targeted IT
audit. The IT Technology
plan should be reviewed
and updated as necessary
to ensure compliance with
the finding of this audit as
approved for
implementation by the City
Council.
The City's IT Technology Plan should
be updated in light of the recently
completed IT review.
IT services contract should be
rebid to ensure that the most cost
competitive prices are being
achieved.
The City should undertake
a comprehensive rebidding
of the IT contract. Prior to
rebidding, the City must
clearly delineate specific
desired service levels to
provide a fair and
competitive bidding
process for all potential
bidders. Given the length
of time that the current
contract has been in place,
there is a definite need to
test the market regarding
the value of the existing
contract.
The City should complete a RFP for
IT services following definition of
desired service levels in each
functional area of IT especially related
to the GIS program under
development to ensure it is in
alignment with City needs.
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Identified Improvement
Opportunity Discussion Recommendation
The ability of staff within individual To enhance service to the Training should be provided to
departments to directly load public and provide quicker designated department
documents to their respective responsiveness to loading representatives so that they can load
webpages should be enhanced. documents to the web,
staff within each
documents directly to their website
without IT support This
Department should be recommendation should be
trained to load reports and implemented after the web hosting is
other documents to their
specific web pages.
transitioned to a subsequent concern.
The City should reallocate The responsibility for The duties currently performed by the
responsibility for air noise from the handling airspace and Finance & IT Department related to
Finance & IT Department to the noise issues related to air the handling of Airspace and Noise
Planning Department. traffic should be issues related to Air Traffic should be
reallocated from the transitioned to the Planning Division
Finance Director to the of Community Development.
Planning Division of the
Community Development
Department. This function
was allocated to this
individual based upon
unique prior experiences
he had in this topic area.
However, the duties are
more closely aligned with
those that are performed in
the Planning Division and
should be transitioned to
planning staff. While this
change cannot be
accomplished immediately
due to historical knowledge
and the need to bring a
new staff person up to
speed, the Finance
Director needs to
reallocate time spent on
this function to a greater
focus on direct Finance
and IT duties over time.
4) Organizational and Staffing Recommendations.
The project team evaluated staffing needs in the Finance and Information
Technology Department based upon the existing service levels, comparisons to
comparable organizations with which we have worked, and recognized standards in the
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industry. The following points summarize the key issues related to organizational
structure and /or staffing levels:
The overall organizational structure of this Department is appropriate based upon
allocated duties and functions.
All currently allocated duties are appropriate with the exception of the Airspace
and Noise duties related to air traffic. The project team recommends that these
duties be reallocated to the Planning Division of Community Development where
there is (1) a greater alignment with core duties, and (2) a need to more
effectively utilize existing staff.
Given the size of the IT contract and the fact that all direct IT services are
contracted, the project team would recommend that the City continue with one
staff position directly allocated to IT functions and that the vacant Sr. IT Analyst
position be reclassified as an IT Coordinator and filled.
Otherwise, current staffing allocations should remain as currently budgeted.
C. City Clerk's Office.
The City Clerk's Office is generally responsible for ensuring all public records are
appropriately maintained, including the administration of the document imaging
program; public records request are timely processed; and agendas and minutes for the
City Council are prepared. The following section summarizes our assessment of the
best management and operational practices of the City Clerk's Office.
1) Best Practices and Operational Assessment.
For each best practice or performance target, the project team has identified
whether it is a current strength of the organization or an opportunity for improvement.
Performance Target Strengths Potential Improvements
Existence of automated indexing
for legal records.
The City has implemented a very
comprehensive records
management system to index
and digitize all City records.
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Performance Target Strengths Potential Improvements
Extent to which records
management program adheres to
state laws and local policies /
procedures.
The City has a detailed and
comprehensive records
management program in
compliance with state
requirements.
The Clerk's Office assists each
department with compliance and
records retention / disposal.
Council agendas are prepared
and distributed in accordance
with adopted procedures and in
compliance with public notice
requirements.
The City's process for
preparation, posting and public
notice for Council meetings is in
compliance with adopted policies
and state public meeting
requirements.
Level / type of minutes generated
from meetings.
The City prepares summary
minutes for Council meetings
outlining individual comments of
speakers and the final actions
taken on each item.
Consideration should be given to
the preparation of action minutes
only to reduce workload
associated with minute
preparation.
Use of technology (such as
document imaging) to automate
critical functions.
The City has implemented a
document - imaging program to
increase speed and access to all
City records.
As this system is more fully
developed, the City should
consider the expansion of
information on the website
Provide secure environment and
location for protection of City
records
The City has a secure location
and environment for the storage
of City records.
Provide timely access to archived
records while maintaining record
integrity
The City has an effective records
management program with an
extensive digitized records
system.
Provides advice to departments
on records retention issues?
The City Clerk serves as the
City's records retention advisor
and assists Departments and
City staff in compliance with
records retention issues.
The following sections summarize the key strengths and opportunities for
improvement.
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2) Key Operational Strengths.
The City has several current strengths in place related to City Clerk's Office that
should be maintained and built upon in developing a stronger program. These include:
A strong public information program that provides access to council agendas,
minutes and staff reports is in place.
The City has a strong document imaging program in place that provides
extensive access to historical documents.
City records are maintained in a secure and safe environment.
These strengths provide a strong basis for implementation of the improvement
opportunities noted in the following section.
3) Key Opportunities for Improvement.
From our assessment, the following are the key opportunities for improvement
that should be addressed to improve and develop the City Clerk function within the City
of Rancho Palos Verdes. For each of the opportunities for improvement noted in our
assessment, we have provided in the following table,
a recommended action to improve
operations and address the noted deficiency.
Identified Improvement
Opportunity Discussion Recommendation
Consideration should be given to The preparation of summary The City should consider a change
eliminating the preparation of minutes consumes a to implement only action minutes
summary minutes and replacing significant amount of time and for City Council meetings,
and the
them with action minutes. effort. Many communities,
especially those with
meetings of other Council -
appointed boards and
meetings that are televised
and where meetings are
archived for future viewing by
the public, have moved to
action minutes only.
commissions.
As the document imaging program With additional investments in The City should explore methods
develops, the City should consider technology, the ability of the of providing additional online
providing greater access via the City to provide additional access to digitized public records
website to the public for access to access to the documents without a need for submitting a
primary government documents
such as contracts, resolutions, etc.
online can be enhanced. public records request.
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The implementation of these recommendations will provide a more efficient and
effective City Clerk's function in Rancho Palos Verdes.
4) Organizational and Staffing Recommendations.
The project team evaluated staffing needs in the City Clerk's Office based upon
the existing service levels, comparisons to comparable organizations with which we
have worked, and recognized standards in the industry. At the present time, the project
team recommends no changes in staffing levels or organizational structure. As noted
earlier, the functions related to liability claims are being recommended for transfer to the
Human Resources Manager position (when the position is permanently filled).
D. Community Development.
The Community Development Department is responsible for all planning, building
permitting and code compliance efforts within the City of Rancho Palos Verdes. The
City has implemented a comprehensive one -stop shop
for permitting functions, which
includes some Public Works permitting activities. The following sections outline the
best practices and operational assessment of the Community Development functions.
1) Best Practices and Operational Assessment.
For each best practice or performance target, the project team has identified
whether it is a current strength of the organization or an opportunity for improvement.
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Performance Target Strengths Potential Improvements
Planning Division
Is the lead responsibility for the
processing of discretionary
permits centralized within the
Planning Division?
The Planning Division is the lead
on all discretionary permits and
coordinates reviews by other
divisions as required.
Are there established turnaround
times for development review
projects (such as special permits)
and these are clearly
communicated to the public (i.e.
on application materials /
website)?
Processing times are dependent
upon date of application
submittal and scheduled planning
commission meetings.
Adopted processing times are
not listed on applications or the
website in a prominent location.
Performance standards for
reviews conducted by Public
Works have not been adopted.
These should be established at
the same level as those for the
Planning and Building
Departments.
Does the department offer a pre -
application conference to handle
any potential issues proactively
and inform the applicant about all
City requirements?
The City conducts pre - application
conferences with applicants to
discuss projects, determine
requirements, and provide
guidance to staff.
Does the department have a
process to ensure that the overall
development review process is
coordinated with other
appropriate City departments?
The City utilizes the permit
tracking system to ensure all
review activities are conducted in
a timely manner and to
coordinate with required
reviewers.
Does the department utilize
automated permit tracking
software?
The City utilizes a permitting
system to track all development
review applications, building
permits, etc.
Consideration is being given to
moving to a new system at the
same time the City's financial
system is adopted; however,
concerns have been identified
regarding the ability of one
system to provide "best in class"
solutions for all City functions.
Does the City offer a one -stop
permit center for discretionary
permits?
The City has a one -stop center
for applications. The Building
and Planning functions are within
the same Department and share
a permit counter. Also within the
permitting center, applicants
make all payments for
applications / permits.
All of Public Works permitting
functions are not consolidated
within the one -stop permitting
center. However, residential
applicants are not required to
submit permits directly to Public
Works — this is handled by staff
in the permitting center.
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Is the zoning ordinance, specific
plan, comprehensive plan up -to-
date?
Zoning ordinance is maintained
in an up -to -date manner through
periodic updates, as needed.
The City made a determination to
update its General Plan internally
with staff to reduce costs. This
has resulted in an extensive
process and time delay in
achieving full update.
Application materials and
enabling ordinances / legislation
is available online for use by
applicants?
Zoning ordinance, general plan
and specific plan are all available
on -line. All application materials
are available online.
Design guidelines have been
adopted to guide development
within the City based upon an
adopted philosophy and "look" for
the community.
The City's compatibility
requirements provide a high level
of discretion and flexibility in
addressing individual design
elements on projects.
The process is very time
consuming given the level of
public involvement and
subjectivity within the
requirements.
An appropriate balance is
maintained on workload
distribution between current
planning, long -range planning,
and special projects.
The Division allocates resources
between current and long -range
planning based upon workload.
Current planning workload
generally takes priority over long -
range planning efforts.
A "planner of the day" approach
is utilized to provide
knowledgeable staff at the
counter for applicants.
The City assigns planners to
counter service each day. This
function is primarily provided by
the more junior staff.
Building Division
An automated permitting system
is utilized. It is internet
accessible.
The City utilizes the same
automated permitting software
for building permits as is used in
Planning.
On -line permitting is not
available.
Adopted plan review time frames
and targets have been adopted
and are prominently noted on
application materials and the
website.
The City utilizes a general 2-
week review period for building
permit applications with a one -
week plan review target for
resubmittals.
A resubmittal fee is in place. The City can charge a
resubmittal fee for excessive
numbers of plan reviews.
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Performance Target Strengths Potential Improvements
Submittals must be accompanied
by a narrative outlining how each
prior comment was addressed in
the resubmittal.
The City requires that a written
narrative outlining the change
that was made to address prior
comments and notation of where
on the plans the change is
addressed.
Plan review performance is
monitored and tracked.
Time periods for plan review are
tracked in the system and
reported on periodic reports
provided to the Department
Director.
Incomplete applications are not
accepted by City staff.
Staff conduct quick
completeness review at time of
application. Incomplete
applications are not accepted.
Building Inspector responds to
inspection requests within one
workday.
All requests for inspection
received by the cut -off time are
handled next business day.
An automated voice - activated
inspection request system (IVR)
is utilized or online inspection
requests can be submitted.
The City does not utilize either an
on -line or IVR system for
scheduling and requesting
inspections.
Combination inspectors are
utilized. The City utilized combination
inspectors.
Building permit plan checking is
accomplished concurrently by all
of the departments /divisions
involved in the process.
Plan checking is generally
conducted concurrently.
Inspectional staff has received
appropriate training and maintain
appropriate certifications for their
specialties.
Staff has appropriate
certifications to perform assigned
functional duties.
Application materials are
available on -line.
Building permit application form
is available online.
Plan review submittal
requirements are clearly outlined
and available online.
The City has a comprehensive
checklist available online for use
by applicants.
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Code Compliance Division
The City has a proactive zoning
Enforcement program / process.
Code Enforcement Officers are
responsible for field enforcement
of zoning (property maintenance,
unpermitted construction, signs,
etc.) compliance issues.
Proactive enforcement is utilized
to target activities based upon
such factors as compliant
volume, risk assessment, and
property condition.
Officers are assigned to a
specific region of the City and
conduct proactive patrol and
enforcement. Code Enforcement
officers are responsible for a
comprehensive range of code
enforcement functions including
noise, light, property
maintenance, zoning, etc.
Code violations complaints are
prioritized and inspections
scheduled accordingly (e.g. —
respond to critical priorities within
8 hours).
All code complaints received are
prioritized upon receipt to ensure
highest priority issues are
addressed first. Immediate
responses are generated for high
priority complaints such as
vacant or abandoned homes,
unfenced swimming pools
access issue or green water),
attractive nuisances.
An administrative enforcement
process is utilized as a first
response that includes citations
and an administrative or
independent hearing officer
before criminal prosecution is
utilized. This includes a range of
tools to encourage voluntary
compliance to accelerate
processing time with a range of
sanctions (fines, costs, and
penalties) tailored to the case,
designed to reduce the reliance
on judicial processes, and
provide stronger penalties for
violators, particularly repeat
offenders, etc.
The City has administrative
citation process that can be
utilized.
The City has implemented a
strong focus on working with
customers to achieve compliance
in lieu of formal enforcement
mechanisms utilizing these as a
measure of last resort.
Majority of cases are addressed
through voluntary compliance.
Alternatives have been
developed and utilized to reduce
the amount of time compliance
officers spend in the office
dealing with paperwork.
Field utilization of laptops is
limited due to connectivity issues
in the community.
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For certain types of cases (i.e.,
weed abatement, property
maintenance, etc.), Code
Enforcement proceeds
immediately to abatement after
The City makes effective
utilization of abatement activities,
where appropriate and
applicable, to immediately
address non - compliance.
1) the issuance of a notice of Examples include graffiti removal
violation and failure to comply and mowing of grass (i.e. —
within ten days and (2) a hearing
by an independent hearing
officer. This includes use of a
civil penalty.
abandoned properties).
Goals, objectives, and General goals and objectives are More defined performance
performance measures have outlined within the City's budget. measures and targets should be
been developed to provide a adopted and utilized internally to
guide for decision - making, link measure and evaluate
departmental actions to the performance of the Code
broad goals of the Mayor and Enforcement function.
City Council, and define what
resources ought to be allocated
to what services.
Fees are charged to help offset Fees and liens are placed
the costs of providing specific against properties for abatement
code enforcement services
appeal fees, administrative fees
for abatement services, for
example).
work conducted.
The following sections summarize the key strengths and opportunities for
improvement in Community Development.
2) Key Operational Strengths.
The City has several current strengths in place related to the Community
Development functions that should be maintained and built upon in developing a more
effective and customer - oriented program. These include:
The majority of permitting functions have been centralized within the Community
Development Department. A single department head oversees all planning,
building and code compliance efforts.
The City conducts pre - application conferences with applicants to discuss
projects, determine requirements, and provide guidance to applicants.
The City utilizes a single permit tracking system for all permitting activities in
planning, and building.
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The Zoning ordinance is maintained in an up -to -date manner and all planning,
zoning and building regulations, along with applicable checklists, are available
online for use by applicants.
Planners are assigned to counter -duty as planner of the day to assist applicants
with their applications.
The City utilizes cross - trained building inspectors who are able to conduct
inspections and plan reviews in multiple- trades.
The City has implemented permit coordinators to assist applicants and conduct
intake and processing activities.
The City makes effective use of its website to make the public aware of pending
planning applications (especially major developments) and provides relevant
background information for the public's review.
The building permitting function performs plan reviews in a timely manner and
have adopted processing times (two weeks initial review, and one week
resubmittal reviews) that represent best practices in the industry.
Code Enforcement officers are responsible for a wide variety of city code
enforcement activities and the City has placed a strong emphasis on code
compliance rather than punitive enforcement activities.
These strengths provide a strong basis for implementation of the improvement
opportunities noted in the following section.
3) Key Opportunities for Improvement.
From our assessment, the following are the key opportunities for improvement
that should be addressed to improve and develop the Community Development function
within the City of Rancho Palos Verdes. For each of the opportunities for improvement
noted in our assessment, we have provided in the following table, a recommended
action to improve operations and address the noted deficiency.
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Identified Improvement
Opportunity Discussion Recommendation
Application processing times are
not listed on the applications or the
City's website. Performance
review targets for Public Works not
adopted.
To effectively communicate
with the public and ensure
a high level of service,
processing times should be
prominently listed on the
City's website for all review
functions (planning,
building and public works).
Applicants should know
when to expect a response
from the City following
submittal of a complete
application. Public Works
should adopt plan review
times consistent with those
adopted by the Community
Development Department.
The City should include plan review /
processing times on applications, and
prominently display these
performance standards on the
website.
Any change in the permitting
software should be done with
concurrence of the Community
Development Department and with
a focus on increasing online
services available to the public.
At the present time the City
is considering acquisition
of a new financial system
and is considering several
enterprise -wide solutions.
Any decision on a system
to acquire should include
concurrence from
Community Development
that they will continue to
have at least the same
functionality as present in
their current system, and
ideally expanded services
such as online permitting,
online application
submittal, status checking
of submitted applications,
online access to plan
review comments, etc.
The City should pursue expansion of
additional on -line services for
Community Development permitting
functions including online submittal of
applications, online permitting for over
the counter permits, online review of
plan review comments, and online
view of application status.
Any decision regarding changing the
City's enterprise wide software
system should take into
considerations the ability of the new
system to maintain or enhance
functionality currently in place within
Community Development with their
existing system.
The City's comprehensive plan
should be given priority for
completion.
The City has made a policy
decision to complete the
updating of the City's
General Plan internally
with existing staff
resources. This has
resulted in an extensive
review and updating
process that has delayed
completion.
The City should consider addition of
some funds to assist full -time staff in
completing the update of the City's
General Plan in a timely manner.
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The City should pursue There are many permits The City should implement on -line
implementation of on -line issued by the Community permitting for over the counter permits
permitting for selected permits.
Development Department that do not require plan reviews to
that do not require plan
review such as water
heater replacements,
reroofs, etc. The City
should pursue
implementation of online
permitting for these permits
to enhance service to the
public.
enhance service to the public.
The City should consider The use of online Staff should pursue implementation of
implementation of on -line inspection requests or an either an IVR or online inspection
inspection requests (or IVR enables the City to requests to expand service to the
alternatively IVR — interactive eliminate the need for public and automate the inspection
voice response system) for the contractors / applicants to request process.
processing of inspection requests. talk with staff to request an
inspection, enables
inspections to be
requested 24/7, and further
automates the process.
The implementation of these recommendations will provide stronger and
enhanced Community Development services in the City of Rancho Palos Verdes.
4) Organizational and Staffing Recommendations.
The project team evaluated staffing needs in the Community Development
Department based upon the existing service levels, comparisons to comparable
organizations with which we have worked, and recognized standards in the industry.
The following points summarize the key issues related to organizational structure and /or
staffing levels:
The overall organizational structure of this Department is appropriate based upon
allocated duties and functions and no change in organizational structure or
reporting requirements is needed.
As previously noted, the project team has recommended the reallocation of
duties related to Air, Space and Noise related to air traffic from the Finance
Department to the Planning Division. Existing planners should be able to
accommodate this work without additional staff requirements.
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Current allocations of planners exceeds that which is typically seen by a
community the size of Rancho Palos Verdes, but this is directly attributable to the
neighborhood compatibility and view restoration ordinances and regulations that
create a level of work not typically found in other communities.
One position of Permit Tech should be reclassified to a Building Inspector to
enable more effective handling of work requirements / activities. While this
position can still perform permitting functions as needed, there are times where a
single Building Inspector is not sufficient to handle workloads.
Other than these specific recommendations, there are no other staffing or
organizational structure changes recommended from the current authorized staffing
levels. Existing vacancies that are authorized in the budget were considered as part of
the staffing complement when evaluating workload and should be filled.
E. Public Works.
The City of Rancho Palos Verdes provides most of the public works services
through contracted services. Internally provided services are principally related to
permitting activities, project development and management, contract management,
grants administration, solid waste management, NPDES, and maintenance functions.
1) Best Practices and Operational Assessment.
For each best practice or performance target related to the Public Works
program, the project team has identified whether it is a current strength of the
organization or an opportunity for improvement.
Performance Target Strengths Potential Improvements
Fleet and Facilities Maintenance
Building maintenance staff has
an effective preventive
maintenance program for its
facilities.
Building maintenance services
are done primarily through
contract services. Each current
contract outlines performance
criteria within it that are monitored
and enforced by City staff.
The current manual work order
system should be converted to
an automated system.
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Performance Target Strengths Potential Improvements
Fleet maintenance and repair
functions have been centralized.
Due to the small size of the fleet,
these services are contracted out.
The City should periodically rebid
fleet services to ensure best
value is being obtained.
The City has an asset
replacement/rehabilitation fund
for both vehicles and facility
assets, which is contributed to
annually base upon useful life
and other protocols.
The City documents fleet and
facility refurbishments costs in the
capital budget.
A long -term facility and fleet
program should be more fully
developed. Of particular note is
the upgrading of the City Hall
complex.
STREET & SIGNAGE MAINTENANCE
Potholes are patched within one
workday of receipt of the
complaint.
There are extremely few potholes
in Rancho Palos Verdes.
Potholes (when they occur) are
patched quickly in accordance
with the City Council's adopted 48
hour repair time frame.
The average pavement condition
index for the City's street
network ranges between 65 and
75.
The average pavement condition
index for the City's street network
exceeds this range. The City
Council has adopted a PMI target
of 85 out of 100.
Major road repairs and
reconstruction are contracted
out.
All maintenance and repair work
within Rancho Palos Verdes is
contracted out.
Storm water catch basins, box
culverts, and drainpipes are
cleaned annually.
Storm water catch basins, box
culverts, and drainpipes are
cleaned annually.
Storm water ditches are cleaned
annually.
Storm water ditches are cleaned
annually.
Sign reflectivity is checked once
every two years and regulatory
signs are replaced when their
reflectivity falls below acceptable
standards.
Sign reflectivity is not checked
throughout the City on a
consistent bi- annual basis.
ENGINEERING
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Performance Target Strengths Potential Improvements
Application processing times are
not listed on the applications or
the City's website. Performance
review targets for Public Works
not adopted.
To effectively communicate with
the public and ensure a high level
of service, processing times
should be prominently listed on
the City's website for all review
functions (planning, building and
public works). Applicants should
know when to expect a response
from the City following submittal
of a complete application. Public
Works should adopt plan review
times consistent with those
adopted by the Community
Development Department.
The City should include plan
review / processing times on
applications, and prominently
display these performance
standards on the website.
The Public Works Department
should adopt the same
processing time standards as are
utilized by the Community
Development Department.
Engineering services are
centralized to ensure economies
of scale.
Engineering services are
centralized in the Department of
Public Works. A substantial
portion of engineering work
remains contracted out.
Staffing requirements for all of
the capital projects in the first
year of the five -year capital
improvement program have been
identified.
Annual capital program are
balanced against the availability
of resources to contract for
repairs. Contracts to construct
specific projects are handled
based upon identified projects in
the CIP.
Staffing for design and
inspection of capital projects is
based upon cost of construction
guidelines.
There is no linkage between in-
house staffing based on ASCE
cost of construction guidelines
for planning, design, project
management, etc.) in order to
properly identify the resources
needed internally to effectively
manage and oversee the capital
projects.
A project cost accounting system
is utilized to enable comparisons
of planned versus actual staff
hours for the design and
inspection of capital projects.
Projects are governed by the
capital project budget and internal
procedures utilize a project
budget cost accounting approach.
A project management
procedures manual has been
developed for capital project
management and construction
management.
The Department of Public Works
conforms to and utilizes
standards in the "Greenbook"
Standard Specifications for Public
Works Construction and the
Caltrans Manual.
PARK MAINTENANCE
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Performance Target Strengths Potential Improvements
Staff inspects the condition of the
parks.
Staff inspects the condition of the
staffed parks on a daily basis and
inspects un- staffed parks
periodically. Park maintenance is
primarily a contracted function
and staff monitors maintenance
activities to ensure compliance
with contract requirements.
A more formalized park
inspection program should be
established to identify
maintenance issues.
Quality standards have been
developed for park maintenance.
Rancho Palos Verdes has high
quality expectations with respect
to landscape maintenance
standards and park condition.
The City has not adopted
formalized maintenance
standards with respect to
maintenance metrics." For
example, each park is not
assigned to a maintenance
category (i.e. — A — Best Quality;
B — Average Quality) as
recommended by the National
Parks & Recreation Association.
Levels of service have been
developed that define the
frequency with which
maintenance tasks are to be
performed.
Landscape maintenance
contracts have service frequency
terms and conditions.
The Department maintains and
uses information on the full unit
costs of maintenance activities.
Full unit cost of maintenance
activity is presently not captured
for various work units.
Work activities are scheduled on
a frequency sufficient to maintain
parklands and assets at a pre-
determined level.
The contracted vendors perform
landscape maintenance services
based upon frequency levels.
A computerized maintenance
management system is in place
to handle and schedule
preventive, routine, and
emergency maintenance service
requests.
While a maintenance
management system is not in
place, with the majority of
maintenance work conducted
through contracted services it is
not necessary for the City to
invest in one at this point in time.
The City should consider
implementation of a maintenance
tracking system to address
identified issues and provide
real -time business intelligence
regarding maintenance efforts,
costs, and assessment of
condition.
The following sections summarize the key strengths and opportunities for improvement.
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2) Key Operational Strengths.
The City has several current strengths in place related to the provision of Public
Works services that should be maintained and built upon in developing a stronger and
more effective program. These include:
The majority of direct service provisions (building and road maintenance,
construction projects, fleet maintenance, etc.) are contracted out enabling the
City to leverage market prices, reduce capital investment and limit city staff
resources required to provide services to the public. City staff concentrate their
efforts on public outreach and response.
The City develops an capital program outlining City priorities for capital
investment in the municipal infrastructure.
The City has adopted maintenance standards based upon community desires to
ensure a well- maintained road (though adoption of a target PM!) and
infrastructure network (through the use of capital planning). Most key
deficiencies are identified and planned for in the capital budget.
The City follows general preventive maintenance standards (for items such as
pavement condition, catch basin / culvert cleaning, etc.) that are in accordance
with industry standards.
Engineering services are centralized within Public Works and individual
engineers specialize within the engineering practices.
Engineers are responsible for project management activities to ensure projects
are completed on budget and schedule.
The City has conforms to and utilizes the "Greenbook" Standard Specifications
for Public Works Construction and the Caltrans Manual.
Park maintenance is primarily contracted to private firms for completion. The
maintenance function and required service levels are outlined in the individual
contracts.
The City of Rancho Palos Verdes has high service quality expectations with
respect to landscape maintenance standards and park conditions.
Landscape maintenance contracts have implemented service frequency terms
and conditions that outline the level of service to be provided and how often it
should be performed.
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These strengths provide a strong basis for implementation of the improvement
opportunities noted in the following section.
3) Key Opportunities for Improvement.
From our assessment, the following are the key opportunities for improvement
that should be addressed to improve and develop the Public Works function within the
City of Rancho Palos Verdes. For each of the opportunities for improvement noted in
our assessment, we have provided in the following table, a recommended action to
improve operations and address the noted deficiency.
Identified Improvement
Opportunity Discussion Recommendation
The City should review and
formalize preventive maintenance
The long -term ability of the
City to provide a well-
The City should review and update,
as necessary, the on -going preventive
and inspection activities to ensure maintained infrastructure maintenance guidelines for
sufficient focus is placed on relies on the infrastructure under control. This will
preventive maintenance of the implementation of a provide the ability to more accurately
City's infrastructure. comprehensive and define annual expenditures necessary
managed preventive for maintenance of existing
maintenance program. infrastructure for inclusion in the
The City should review all
routine preventive
annual capital budget.
maintenance activates and The City should consider
determine recommended implementation of a maintenance
maintenance guidelines tracking system to address identified
that are utilized for issues and provide real -time business
developing annual work intelligence regarding maintenance
programs in addition to the efforts, costs, and assessment of
new capital projects
included in the capital
budget.
condition.
The City should rebid fleet While the City has a small The City should rebid the fleet
services at least every five years fleet that it is responsible maintenance contract at least every
to ensure competitive pricing is for maintaining, the service five years.
being achieved. should be rebid, at least
every five years, to ensure
competitive pricing is being
achieved.
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Identified Improvement
Opportunity Discussion Recommendation
A long -term facility needs study The City should begin the The City should begin the planning
should be conducted to determine planning process to process to conduct a comprehensive
the required facility needs of the determine long -term facility long -term facility needs study to
organization. needs within the develop a plan for upgrading or
organization. While all
services are being
provided in an acceptable
fashion with current
facilities, the cost of
upgrading or replacing
existing facilities will
require advance planning
and budgeting. Of greatest
concern is the City Hall
complex which is less than
an ideal facility for both
staff and service provision.
replacing municipal facilities.
The City should adopt ASCE cost Since the majority of The City should utilize cost of
of construction guidelines to engineering and construction standards for
establish staffing levels within the maintenance activities is establishing the size and specialities
Engineering function of Public contract out, the City of City engineering staff. This will
Works. should be staffing its directly link staffing requirements to
internal engineering the number and size of projects under
function based upon level management by City staff to ensure
of effort required to sufficient resources are alloacted to
manage the contracted
services and perform in-
oversee capital projects.
house engineering work. Engineering staff should have
The American Society of established informal "billability
Construction Engineers targets" so that work activities are
provide well - developed charged directly to managed and
guidelines for the designed projects and that time spent
appropriate staffing and on each phase of a project is
expenditures that should
be dedicated to project
management and design
based upon the total dollar
value of the project being
managed / designed. The
reasonable.
City should adopt these
standards for on -going
evaluation of their required
level of staffing internally.
As described in the recommendations above, the project team recommends that
the City adopt specific service levels for each park area in the City park system. The
following table summarizes the service level methodology commonly
utilized for this
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Final Report of the Organizational Assessment
effort and is based upon standards promulgated by the National Parks & Recreation
Association.
Service
Level
Service Level Definition and
Required Maintenance Staffing
A" State -of- the -art maintenance applied to a high quality, diverse landscape.
Turf is lush, free from weeds and cut to a precise level. Plants and trees in
parks are pruned for safety, tree health and ornamental beauty. Hardscapes
are regularly swept and litter is collected 5 -7x per week. Requires one park
maintenance worker per 4 to 6 developed park acres.
B" A reasonably high level of maintenance associated with well - developed park
areas with higher visitation rates. Major difference with Service Level "A" is
turf is not cut on frequent, regular intervals at precise level and plants and
trees in parks are not pruned and trimmed at the same frequency. Litter
control is periodic and hardscape maintenance is less frequent. Requires
one park maintenance worker per 6 to 10 developed park acres
C" The lowest expected service level for fully developed parks or a moderate
level of maintenance associated with park locations of large size, of average
development, and /or visitation. Maintenance is accomplished, usually with
longer service intervals, to keep the park safe and minimally serviceable to
the community. This level requires one park maintenance worker per
approximately 12 to 18 park acres.
D" A minimal service level to parklands or open space with no facilities with the
intent to maintain safe grounds and a "natural" ambience. Generally
inspection services and litter control are conducted, but on an infrequent
basis. Usually such services are conducted as "fill -in" work by staff but
otherwise one park maintenance work can cover several hundred acres of
undeveloped parkland or open space.
The implementation of these recommendations will provide a stronger and
enhanced parks maintenance program in the City of Rancho Palos Verdes. While
Public Works principally oversees the Park Maintenance activities, Recreation and
Parks staff should be involved in the establishment of condition levels to be utilized.
The table on the following page provides an example of how staff resources
should be planned and allocated based upon cost of construction guidelines. The
billability targets
should be based upon a reasonable annual hour total that takes into
consideration the use of leave time (vacation, sick, holiday), training time, and a
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Final Report of the Organizational Assessment
reasonable estimation of time required for administrative functions not related to a
specific capital project.
Typical billability targets for staff are around 1,500 hours annually or 125 hours
per month. This target represents an aggregate for all projects under the control of an
individual employee and can be adjusted to provide a time allocation for staff
accessibility, public outreach and staff support to projects. While achieving comparable
billability targets to those utilized in the private sector is not the overriding goal, these
standards ensure that staff time is fully utilized in a productive manner for capital
projects and is tracked based upon work performed. Depending upon the number and
size of the projects being worked on, some employees may be charging time to a small
number of projects and others to a larger number. What is critical is monitoring the total
time per employee that is spent on direct service provision that can be allocated to a
project and ensuring equitable workloads.
The implementation of these recommendations will address the major
opportunities for improvement noted in the Public Works function.
Matrix Consulting Group Page 88
2-93
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MatrixConsultingGroup
2-94
CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CALIFORNIA
Final Report of the Organizational Assessment
4) Organizational and Staffing Recommendations.
The project team evaluated staffing needs in the Public Works Department based
upon the existing service levels, comparisons to comparable organizations with which
we have worked, and recognized standards in the industry. The following points
summarize the key issues related to organizational structure and /or staffing levels:
The position of Public Works Director should be filled as soon as reasonably
possible.
The current vacancies in the Deputy Director and Assistant Engineer positions
should not be filled until after the new Public Works Director is in place, and the
Department has implemented cost of construction guidelines and reevaluated
staffing requirements for Engineering positions.
Cost of construction guidelines should be adopted for determining in -house
engineering staff requirements. Internal staff resource requirements should be
evaluated every couple years based upon adopted and projected capital
programs.
Other than these changes, no additional changes in staffing levels are
recommended at this time in the currently authorized positions. This level of staffing,
including currently authorized but vacant position, was considered in the evaluation of
staffing requirements. Following the development of detailed capital program and
implementation of cost of construction guidelines, the number of engineering staff
should be reviewed.
F. Recreation and Parks.
The Recreation and Parks Department is responsible for the oversight and
provision of a variety of recreational opportunities within the City of Rancho Palos
Verdes including park resources, the museum /interpretative center, and access to
recreational programs.
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Final Report of the Organizational Assessment
1) Best Practices and Operational Assessment.
For each best practice or performance target related to the Recreation and Parks
program, the project team has identified whether it is a current strength of the
organization or an opportunity for improvement.
Performance Target Strengths Potential Improvements
Parks Maintenance
The City has adopted a cost
recovery goal for Parks &
Recreation.
The City does not have a formal
cost recovery goal for Parks &
Recreation Activities. Cost
recovery targets should be
established for major parks &
recreation functions such as the
Museum, Recreational
programs, etc.
The City provides a
comprehensive level of
recreational programs to meet
community needs.
The City has adopted a targeted
approach to provision of
recreational programs in line with
prior Council policy.
The majority of recreational
programs are provided by private
instructors who rent space from
the City at one of the City
facilities. Payments are made
directly to the provider by
participants. Due to the large
number of community resources
and providers of specialized
recreational activities, there is a
low "unmet" need in relation to
recreation programs.
The City directly provides limited
programs, mainly focused on
special events.
The City Council and Staff
should revisit the existing policy
of limited recreational
programming provision to ensure
staff's approach continues to be
in alignment with Council
Priorities.
Current staffing does not support
direct provision of recreational
programs. If the City were to
expand either direct contract
providers to expand recreational
activities, or expand the number
of programs provided by staff, an
increase in staff allocation would
be required.
The City has a Recreation
Software Program in place to
assist with registration, enable
on -line registrations, and
schedule available rooms /
facilities.
The City does not currently have
in place a software system to
manage recreational programs
or space rentals. Staff has
selected a software program and
implementation is underway.
Critical functionality for improved
efficiency is the ability to utilize
on -line registration and space
scheduling.
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Final Report of the Organizational Assessment
Performance Target Strengths Potential Improvements
The City actively promotes
rentals of existing recreational
buildings / spaces to generate
revenue.
The City rents many of its existing
facilities to outside entities to
generate revenues to offset costs
of service provision. Space at the
museum is utilized for weddings
and similar events.
The following sections summarize the key strengths and opportunities for
improvement.
2) Key Operational Strengths.
The City has several current strengths in place related to Recreation and Parks
services that should be maintained and built upon in enhancing the services provided.
These include:
The City has adopted a targeted approach to provision of recreational services
within the City of Rancho Palos Verdes in accordance with prior Council policy
decision. The majority of recreational programs are provided by private
instructors who often utilize City space / facilities. City provided programs are
typically limited to special events.
The City has a well- defined and utilized rental program to generate additional
revenues from short -term rentals of City facilities and locations.
The City makes extensive use of volunteers, especially docents, to support their
operations.
These strengths provide a strong basis for implementation of the improvement
opportunities noted in the following section.
3) Key Opportunities for Improvement.
From our assessment, the following are the key opportunities for improvement
that should be addressed to improve and develop the Recreation and Parks services
within the City of Rancho Palos Verdes. For each of the opportunities for improvement
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Final Report of the Organizational Assessment
noted in our assessment, we have provided in the following table, a recommended
action to improve operations and address the noted deficiency.
Identified Improvement
Opportunity Discussion Recommendation
The Council should revisit the
existing policy of providing the
majority of recreational program
through private instructors.
While the current approach
has served the City well, the
City Council should have a
working session with staff to
review the current policy of
providing the majority of
recreational services through
contracted providers. This
discussion should evaluate
whether the needs of the
community are still being
served, the level of
programming that should be
provided with staff resources,
and the sufficiency of the
current policy. Current
staffing is based upon this
model and an increase in
direct provision of services
would require staffing
adjustments.
The City Council should conduct a
review of recreational programs, in
conjunction with staff, to determine
whether they wish to remain with
the current approach of primarily
providing services through private
instructors.
The City does not have in place a
software program to manage
recreational programs or space
rentals.
The City is managing current
recreational programs and
space rentals without the
benefit of a specialized
recreational software. This
limits efficiency of operations
and impacts the ability to
provide any on -line
registrations or reservation
services to the public. The
City should pursue
implementation of a
specialized software package
to handle course registrations,
space rentals, and enable on-
line access to recreation
services. Based upon
experience with other entities,
this should be feasible for an
expenditure under $50,000
based upon the current
services and service levels in
Rancho Palos Verdes.
The City should focus
implementation of the selected
software system on automation
and on -line access to recreation
programs and space rentals.
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Final Report of the Organizational Assessment
4) Organizational and Staffing Recommendations.
The project team evaluated staffing needs in the Recreation and Parks
Department based upon the existing service levels, comparisons to comparable
organizations with which we have worked, and recognized standards in the industry.
This department is operating on a very limited staff allocation and the majority of direct
services are either contracted (for maintenance activities and /or recreational
programming) or provided by volunteers. The current authorized staffing complement
should be maintained with the following exceptions:
The interim contract position handling Emergency Management functions should
be converted to a permanent position within the City. Organizationally, it can
either remain within Recreation and Parks or be relocated to the City Manager's
Office.
There is a notable lack of administrative assistant support within this department.
These functions are filled primarily by part -time staff who also support the staffing
of the City Hall reception desk. The City should implement a full -time
Administrative Assistant position to serve each of these functions.
The vacant Recreation and Parks Director position should be filled as soon as
practical.
Additional staff positions are only recommended if the Council were to
make a policy decision to increase City provided
recreational programs.
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6. EVALUATION OF ORGANIZATIONAL
TRANSPARENCY
Over the last several years, there has been an increasing demand from the
public for enhanced levels of transparency for government entities. Local governments
are no exception, and since local governments are typically the closest and most
accessible to residents, the push for greater disclosure of information has focused on
the cities and towns across the county.
While there are no "standards" that define an acceptable level of transparency,
there are several initiatives throughout the country that provide some guidance on the
types of information that should be made readily available by the local government in a
proactive manner to increase transparency. One good example (derived from the
initiative developed by the Illinois Policy Institute in conjunction with the Sunshine
Review) utilizes a ten -point checklist to evaluate local government organizations on their
level of transparency. The Sunshine Project also recommends several additional items
be considered in evaluations of transparency that are not included within the ten -point
checklist of the Illinois Policy Institute.
The following table summarizes
recommended items that should be available on
local government's website, the rationale for the disclosure of this information, and
indicates the project team's assessment of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes' current
level of transparency on this item. This is a combination listing of those items
recommended from both sources.
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Element Description Rationale
1. Elected & Administrative
Officials' Contact Information
The website should
include contact
information (Phone & E-
Mail) of all elected
officials, the top
administrator, and the
head administrator for
each department.
Officials are elected to represent their
constituents. In order to do so effectively
they should be engaged in regular
dialogue and be as accessible as possibly
by providing a variety of ways to be
contacted. Administrative staffs are
knowledgeable resources, provide
constituent services and often enforce
ordinances. Because of these roles it is
imperative for them to be available to
constituents by providing contact
information to the heads of each
department and not just general
information.
2. Meeting Information including
calendar (future meetings) and
minutes and board packets (next
upcoming and prior).
Websites should include
notices about public
meetings of its
governing board, and
minutes of past
meetings. Websites
should have meeting
agendas for future
and /or past meetings,
and board packets so
citizens and elected
officials have equal
access to the
information used to
make legislative
decisions.
Citizens should have the knowledge of
when an elective body meets and what
issues they will be voting on so they can
be an informed and engaged in the
democratic process. Meetings are one of
the few ways the public can engage in true
dialogue with representatives. Given the
reality of busy schedules, governments
should offer an alternative to meeting
attendance by posting meetings, agendas,
board packets, locations and minutes on
their website.
3. Public Records Request Public Record Request
submission & Contact
Information for Public
Record Custodians
While a website with comprehensive
transparency will cut down substantially on
Public Records requests, these requests
provides an important means through
which the public can obtain information
regarding the activities of government
agencies. Governments are required by
law to respond to public record requests
within designated timeframes. A public
body that maintains a website should post
relevant information regarding request
procedures, and who to contact
prominently online.
4. Budgets The website should
include the current -year
budget and the budget
for the prior 4 years. (5-
years total)
Budgets show the big picture of what
goals and priorities the government
established for the year and prior years.
Budgets details also serve as a way for
taxpayers determine how the government
performed in relation to past years.
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Element Description Rationale
5. Financial Audits The website should
include regular audit
information for the past
5- years, specifically the
comprehensive annual
financial report (CAFR)
for the agency's total
performance.
Additionally, websites
should include special
project report results
such as TIF districts
and special construction
projects), audit
schedules and
performance audits for
government programs.
Prior 5- years)
While budgets give the big picture to
constituents, an audit reveals how well the
government performs on their goals. An
audit reveals how closely elected officials
kept their promises, and enable
constituents to hold them accountable.
6. Expenditures The website should
include a Checkbook
Register and Credit
Card expenditures to all
individuals and third-
party vendors. (Prior 5-
years)
Having access to a checkbook register, or
bill list, provides timely and pertinent
information about government operations
to the citizens and taxpayers. Often such
bill lists are voted upon by elected officials
and citizens should have access to the
same information as its leaders. Having
expenditure information online deters
waste and abuse by government
employees, and increases the chances of
rectifying problems once they occur.
7. Salary & Benefits The website should
contain compensation
information for each
individual employee
including Wages,
Salary, Overtime,
Health, Dental, Life,
Pension, etc. (Prior 5-
years)
Salaries & benefits is the biggest expense
area for most bodies of government.
Government employees work for the
citizens & taxpayers. Citizens should have
a right to know how much in compensation
they are paying each of their employees
as well as knowing the number of
employees each body of government has.
8. Contracts The website should
include rules governing
contracts posted online
for the last 5- years;
including bids and
contracts for purchases
over $25,000 and the
vendor's campaign
contributions posted
with contract. Labor
agreements with all
employee groups. (Prior
5- years)
Contracts should be available for review
so the people can evaluate if the contract
was a no bid replacement and /or if the
government chose the best solution for its
constituents.
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Element Description Rationale
9. Lobbying If the unit of government
belongs to any
taxpayer- funded
lobbying associations
that it helps to fund by
paying association or
membership dues, that
information should be
disclosed on the
government unit's
website. Additionally, if
any unit of government
directly contracts with a
lobbying firm that should
be disclosed on a
website as well. (Prior 5-
years)
Almost all government entities have
lobbyists on retainer or are members of an
association that lobbies on their behalf.
This information should be disclosed to
constituents, so they can make sure what
is being lobbied benefits the community.
10. Taxes & Fees Websites should include
detailed information for
any type of tax or fee
that it levies including
sales, property, income,
and miscellaneous
taxes, fees on residents
businesses. A
comprehensive fee
schedule detailing all
taxes is preferred. The
information should be
easy to find.
Citizens should have ready access to tax
fee information. Not only is it important
for citizens to know the costs of
government, readily available information
helps increase collection rates.
11. Municipal Code The website should
include access to the
municipality's
ordinances (the
Municipal Code Book).
12. Building Permits & Zoning
applications.
At the very least
applications should be
available to be
downloaded online. In
addition, constituents
should be able to submit
applications and track
the process online.
The following table summarizes the project team's evaluation of the City of
Rancho Palos Verdes' website and level of transparency against these guidelines.
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Element Evaluation Recommendation
1. Elected & Administrative The City's website has a The City complies with this
Officials' Contact Information prominently displayed top at guideline. The only suggestion for
the top of the screen labeled potential improvement is to provide
contacts that provides access direct email addresses for top
to all necessary information.
administrative staff rather than a
generic email for each department.
Full contact information
including address, phone
numbers and emails are
provided for all elected
officials.
Telephone numbers and an
email address contact are
provided for all top City
administrative positions.
In addition, a contact email
address is provided for each of
the five major commissions
and committees of the City.
2. Meeting Information including The City's website provides A consolidated meeting calendar
calendar (future meetings) and access to the current and that shows for the City all scheduled
minutes and board packets (next historical meeting agendas and meetings would provide easier
upcoming and prior). staff reports associated with access for the public to identify
each action item. Historical
council agendas are listed from
upcoming public meetings.
1996 to the present.
Agendas for each of the 5
major commissions /
committees are also present
and include links to the staff
reports prepared on each
agenda item. At least five (and
in some cases many more)
years of archived agendas are
available.
Minutes are available for at
least five years for each of the
following entities: City Council,
Planning Commission,
Emergency Preparedness
Committee, and the Finance
Advisory Committee.
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Element Evaluation Recommendation
3. Public Records Request The City Clerk's portion of the
website provides extensive
information related to Public
Records Requests including:
contact number for requesting
public records, log showing all
public records requests
received, the subject of the
request, and the action taken
on the request.
A downloadable form or sample
request for public information would
be beneficial for the public.
4. Budgets The City has posted both the
budget in brief and the full
municipal budget online.
In addition, the City has
available online key financial
management policies
including: Long -term financial
planning, long -term capital
planning, investment
management, and reserve
policy.
The City also had a midyear
financial report showing budget
amendments and updates.
Links to the prior City budgets (at
least five years) should be
maintained on the website so that
the public can view historical
budgets.
5. Financial Audits The current and prior nine
comprehensive annual
financial reports (CAFRs) are
available online.
The City is in compliance with this
guideline and no action is
necessary.
6. Expenditures The Finance Department
website contains copies of the
monthly cash balance report
and the improvement authority
monthly cash balance report.
No reports outlining current
expenditures (i.e. — checkbook
registers and /or credit card
expenditures) was identified /
located.
The City should provide access to
adopted contracts to provide a more
comprehensive and timely access
to information regarding the
financial condition of the City and
where funds are being spent.
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Element Evaluation Recommendation
7. Salary & Benefits The City of Rancho Palos
Verdes provides a link to
salary and benefit information
available through the
California's State Controller's
Office as part of the
Government Compensation in
California effort. Currently only
2009 and 2010 reports are
available on the Controller's
website. The City has
provided a link to the 2011
report on its own website since
this will not be posted by the
State until late in 2012.
The City is in compliance with this
guideline and no action is
necessary.
8. Contracts No comprehensive listing of
contracts entered into by the
City is readily accessible from
the City's website. Given the
extensive number of services
provided through contract
services in Rancho Palos
Verdes, this information should
be readily available and
disclosed to the public
A master listing of contracts should
be provided on the City's website.
This should include all contracts
entered into, the effective date of
the contract, the expiration date of
the contract, a summary of the
service covered (to be provided)
under the contract terms, and the
annual and total price of the
contract.
9. Lobbying No information regarding
lobbying contracts or activities
is available on the website.
To comply with this guideline, the
City should provide information
regarding any lobbying activities
that it is undertaking as well as
information on any lobbyists or firms
contracted to represent the City's
interest.
10. Taxes & Fees The Finance Department
provides links to all fee
schedules that are in effect
including: Planning Permit,
Building and Safety Permits,
Public Works Permits,
Business License, Massage
and Film Permit, City Clerk
Fees and Recreation and Park
Fees.
The City has developed a fairly
comprehensive listing of all fees in
a single location for the ease of
residents. A more prominent link to
this information from the website's
homepage may make it easier to
locate for the public.
Some fee listings (such as
encroachment fees) are listed only
the Public Works Department
section of the website. This should
be included in the comprehensive
listing provided on the Finance
page.
11. Municipal Code The City Clerk's website
provides access to the City of
Rancho Palos Verdes'
municipal code.
The City is in compliance with this
guideline and no action is
necessary.
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CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CALIFORNIA
Final Report of the Organizational Assessment
Element Evaluation Recommendation
12. Building Permits & Zoning The City makes available on Permit applications should be
applications. the Community Development
converted to fillable forms for ease
pages of the website, relevant of completion by applicants.
information regarding adopted
Longer -term, applications should be
policies, procedures and available to be submitted online for
regulations. Additionally, a minor permits (those not requiring
listing of "recently submitted
applications" is available
plans to be submitted).
showing all applications Status of submitted applications is
received over the last four not available on -line at this time due
years for planning applications. to the computer system being
utilized.
The website also lists status of
approved projects that are
under operation, under
development, and approved
but not yet under development.
These links provide detailed
information regarding each
project.
All permit applications are
available online enabling
individuals to download
necessary applications.
Our evaluation of the transparency of the City's website indicates an extremely
high level of information dissemination to the public. In addition to the items listed
above, the City makes available a broad range of additional information regarding
municipal programs, services, and activities that is not addressed above. The City of
Rancho Palos Verdes has a very highly developed website that is designed to provide
extensive information to the public and would compare favorably to most municipal
websites — and would be viewed as highly transparent in this comparison. While the
City has a highly effective website for information dissemination, as noted in the table
above, there are a few areas where the City should seek to provide additional
information (or realign how some information is presented) to improve access by the
public.
Matrix Consulting Group Page 102
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CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CALIFORNIA
Final Report of the Organizational Assessment
The implementation of these recommendations, in conjunction with the current
efforts that are already in place to provide transparency, will place the City of Rancho
Palos Verdes in the top -tier of communities that embrace and demonstrate
transparency of operations.
Matrix Consulting Group Page 103
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MEMORANDUM
TO:
HO PALOS VERDES
HONORABLE MAYOR & CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS
FROM: COUNCILWOMAN SUSAN BROOKS AND
COUNCILMAN JERRY DUHOVIC U"-
DATE: ' JULYI7,2012 e:Acro-b,
SUBJECT: CONSIDERATION OF PERFORMANCE AUDIT
PROPOSALS (Supports City Council Goal "Improve
Organizational Efficiency")
RECOMMENDATION
Authorize the Mayor to sign a professional services agreement with Matrix Consulting
Group at a total cost of $44,000. Additionally, the Council is asked to maintain the full
50,000 budget allocation for this audit, to allow for any expanded work that the Council
may wish to authorize.
This task supports and is in accordance with approved 2012 City Council Goals and
Priorities.
BACKGROUND
On March 20th, the City Council adopted goals and priorities for 2012. Under the
general heading of "Government Efficiency, Fiscal Control and Transparency" is a more
focused goal to "Improve Organizational Efficiency, which in turn specifies "[conducting]
a performance audit of City staffing and programs." This item is introduced for the City
Council's discussion and consideration in furtherance of this goal.
At Council's direction, Councilwoman Brooks solicited three proposals from qualified
firms that specialize in conducting an assessment of municipal agencies. The firms
responding included Koff & Associates and Matrix Consulting Group.
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MEMORANDUM: Consideration of Performance Audit Proposals
July 17, 2012
Page 2
DISCUSSION
Initially, Councilwoman Brooks brought forward a recommendation to undertake a
Performance Audit" to assess the City's staff workload, productivity and resources as a
follow up to the Council Teambuilding and Goal Setting exercises. By authorizing an
external evaluation in conjunction with the assessment completed by Management
Partners in February 2008,
the Council should have sufficient data to assess the
adequacy and appropriateness of the City's staffing, policies, procedures, resources
and productivity.
on July 3, 2012, the Mayor and Council appointed an Ad Hoc Subcommittee consisting
of Council Members Brooks and Duhovic to bring forward proposals for an
organizational performance audit of City staffing and programs. Of the three proposals
received, two were selected by the Subcommittee for Council's consideration: Koff &
Associates and Matrix Consulting Group. Both proposals address the goal of providing
a thorough assessment of operations, resources and finance, including a critique of City
Management and community relations. The two proposals are attached to this report.
On May 15, the City Council agreed to reserve $
50,000 in the FY 12 -13 operating
budget for this audit as a potentially valuable exercise that would contribute to Council
Goal #5 Government Efficiency, Fiscal Control and Transparency. The cost bids
received for this assignment by the two final candidates are as follows:
Koff & Associates of Emeryville, CA $29,960
Matrix Consulting Group of Palo Alto, CA $49,500 and revised to $44,000
Upon review of the proposals by the Subcommittee,
Councilwoman Brooks and
Councilman Duhovic agree that the proposal from Matrix Consulting Group would best
meet the desired goals of the Council. Matrix is a well - known and well-respected firm
both locally throughout the Los Angeles region, as well as earning an excellent national
reputation. Having conducted over 50 organizational studies of cities and counties,
Matrix is well - positioned to assess our organization's strengths and areas needing
improvement.
The methodology to be utilized and the deliverables specified by Matrix is a
demonstration of the firm's superior expertise. It calls for an in -depth examination of
services, staffing and workflow with an emphasis on opportunities for greater
efficiencies and cost savings along with enhanced goal achievement.
The Council Subcommittee has successfully negotiated a reduction in the initial
proposed contract price submitted by Matrix from the original $49,500 to the agreed
upon $44,000 without any reduction in services specified.
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MEMORANDUM: Consideration of Performance Audit Proposals
July 17, 2012
Page 3
CONCLUSION
The City Council is asked to authorize the engagement of Matrix Consulting Group to
conduct a citywide Management and Staffing performance audit in accordance with the
proposal attached at a cost of $44,000, while maintaining the budgetary allocation of
50,000 to cover any additional work that the Council may wish to authorize.
ATTACHMENTS:
City of Rancho Palos Verdes Professional/Technical Services Agreement
Proposal to Conduct a Citywide Management and Staffing Study, Matrix Consulting
Group
Proposal for an Organizational Performance Review, Koff & Associates
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CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES
PROFESSIONAL/TECHNICAL SERVICES AGREEMENT
THIS AGREEMENT ( "Agreement ") is made and entered into this 17th day of July, 2012
by and between the City of Rancho Palos Verdes (hereinafter referred to as the "CITY ")
and Matrix Consulting Group (hereafter referred to as "CONSULTANT ").
IN CONSIDERATION of the covenants hereinafter set forth, the parties hereto agree
as follows:
ARTICLE I
SCOPE OF SERVICES
1.1 Project Description,
The Project is described as follows:
Perform an organizational efficiency study for the CITY to assess Staff workload,
productivity and resources .
1.2 Description of Services
CONSULTANT shall:
Perform an organizational efficiency assessment of the City, as described in
CONSULTANT's Proposal, which is attached hereto as Exhibit "A" and incorporated
herein by this reference.
1.3 Schedule of Work
Upon receipt of written Notice to Proceed from the CITY, CONSULTANT
shall perform with due diligence the services requested by the CITY. Time is of the
essence in this Agreement. CONSULTANT shall not be responsible for delay, nor shall
CONSULTANT be responsible for damages or be in default or deemed to be in default by
reason of strikes, lockouts, accidents, or acts of God, or the failure of CITY to furnish timely
information or to approve or disapprove CONSULTANT's work promptly, or delay or faulty
performance by CITY, other consultants /contractors, or governmental agencies, or any
other delays beyond CONSULTANT's control or without CONSULTANT's fault.
ARTICLE 2
COMPENSATION
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2.1 Fee
CITY agrees to compensate CONSULTANT an amount not to exceed forty -
four thousand dollars ($44,000) for services as described in Article 1.
2.2 Payment Address
All payments due CONSULTANT shall be paid to:
Matrix Consulting Group
721 Colorado Ave
Suite 101
Palo Alto, CA 94303
2.3 Terms of Compensation
CONSULTANT shall submit monthly invoices for the percentage of work
completed in the previous month. CITY agrees to authorize payment for all undisputed
invoice amounts within thirty (30) days of receipt of each invoice. CITY agrees to use its
best efforts to notify CONSULTANT of any disputed invoice amounts or claimed
completion percentages within ten (10) days of the receipt of each invoice. However,
CITY's failure to timely notify CONSULTANT of a disputed amount or claimed completion
percentage shall not be deemed a waiver of CITY's right to challenge such amount or
percentage.
Additionally, in the event CITY fails to pay any undisputed amounts due
CONSULTANT within forty -five (45) days after invoices are received by CITY then CITY
agrees that CONSULTANT shall have the right to consider said default a total breach of
this Agreement and be terminated by CONSULTANT without liability to CONSULTANT
upon ten (10) working days advance written notice.
2.4 Additional Services
CITY may request additional specified work under this Agreement. All such
work must be authorized in writing by the CITY's City Manager prior to commencement.
CONSULTANT shall perform such services, and CITY shall pay for such additional
services in accordance with CONSULTANT's Schedule of Hourly Rates, which is within
Exhibit "A." The schedule of hourly rates shall be in effect through the end of this
Agreement.
2.5 Term of Agreement
This Agreement shall commence on July 17, 2012, and shall terminate on
June 30, 2013, unless sooner terminated pursuant to Article 4 of this Agreement.
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ARTICLE 3
INDEMNIFICATION AND INSURANCE
3.1 Indemnification
CONSULTANT shall defend, indemnify, and hold the CITY, its officials,
officers, employees, agents and independent contractors serving in the role of CITY
officials, and volunteers (collectively "Indemnitees ") free and harmless from any and all
claims, demands, causes of action, costs, expenses, liabilities, losses, damages or
injuries, in law or equity, to property or persons, including wrongful death (collectively
Claims "), in any manner arising out of or incident to any acts or omissions of
CONSULTANT, its officials, officers, employees or agents in connection with the
performance of this Agreement, including without limitation the payment of all
consequential damages, attorneys' fees, and other related costs and expenses, except
for such Claims arising out of the sole negligence or willful misconduct of the
Indemnitees. With respect to any and all such Claims, CONSULTANT shall defend
Indemnitees at CONSULTANT's own cost, expense, and risk and shall pay and satisfy
any judgment, award, or decree that may be rendered against Indemnitees.
CONSULTANT shall reimburse Indemnitees for any and all legal expenses and costs
incurred by each of them in connection therewith or in enforcing the indemnity herein
provided. CONSULTANT's obligation to indemnify shall not be restricted to insurance
proceeds, if any, received by CONSULTANT or Indemnitees. All duties of
CONSULTANT under this Section shall survive termination of this Agreement.
3.2 General Liability
CONSULTANT shall at all times during the term of the Agreement carry,
maintain, and keep in full force and effect, a policy or policies of Commercial General
Liability Insurance, with minimum limits of one million dollars ($1 ,000,000) for each
occurrence and two million dollars ($2,000,000) general aggregate for bodily injury,
death,
loss or property damage for products or completed operations and any and all other
activities undertaken by CONSULTANT in the performance of this Agreement. Said policy
or policies shall be issued by an insurer admitted to do business in the State of California
and rated in A.M. Best's Insurance Guide with a rating of A :VII or better.
3.3 Professional Liability
CONSULTANT shall at all times during the term of this Agreement, carry,
maintain, and keep in full force and effect a policy or policies of professional liability
insurance with a minimum limit of one million dollars ($1 ,000,000) perclaim and aggregate
for errors and/or omissions of CONSULTANT in the performance of this Agreement. Said
policy or policies shall be issued by an insurer admitted to do business in the State of
California and rated in Best's Insurance Guide with a rating of ANTI or better. If a "claims
made" policy is provided, such policy shall be maintained in effect from the date of
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performance of work or services on the CITY's behalf until three (3) years after the date of
work or services are accepted as completed. Coverage for the post - completion period may
be provided by renewal or replacement of the policy for each of the three (3) years or by a
three -year extended reporting period endorsement, which reinstates all limits for the
extended reporting period. If any such policy and/or policies have a retroactive date, that
date shall be no later than the date of first performance of work or services on behalf of the
CITY. Renewal or replacement policies shall not allow for any advancement of such
retroactive date.
3.4 Automobile Liability
CONSULTANT shall at all times during the term of this Agreement obtain,
maintain, and keep in full force and effect, a policy or policies of Automobile Liability
Insurance, with minimum of one million dollars ($1 ,000,000) per claim and occurrence and
two million dollars ($2,000,000) in the aggregate for bodily injuries or death of one person
and five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) for property damage arising from one
incident.
3.5 Worker's Compensation
CONSULTANT agrees to maintain in force at all times during the
performance of work under this Agreement worker's compensation insurance as required
by the law. CONSULTANT shall require any subcontractor similarly to provide such
compensation insurance for their respective employees.
3.6 Notice of Cancellation
a) All insurance policies shall provide that the insurance coverage shall
not be cancelled by the insurance carrier without thirty (
30) days prior written notice to
CITY, or ten (10) days notice if cancellation is due to nonpayment of premium.
CONSULTANT agrees that it will not cancel or reduce said insurance coverage.
b) CONSULTANT agrees that if it does not keep the aforesaid insurance
in full force and effect, CITY may either immediately terminate this Agreement or, if
insurance is available at a reasonable cost, CITY may take out the necessary insurance
and pay, at CONSULTANT's expense, the premium thereon.
3.7 Certificate of Insurance
At all times during the term of this Agreement, CONSULTANT shall maintain
on file with the CITY Clerk a certificate of insurance showing that the aforesaid policies are
in effect in the required amounts. The commercial general liability policy shall contain
endorsements naming the CITY, its officers, agents and employees as additional insureds.
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3.8 Primary Coverage
The insurance provided by CONSULTANT shall be primary to any coverage
available to CITY. The insurance policies (other than workers compensation and
professional liability) shall include provisions for waiver of subrogation.
ARTICLE 4
TERMINATION
4.1 Termination of Agreement
a) This Agreement may be terminated at any time, with or without cause,
by the CITY upon thirty (30) days prior written notice or by CONSULTANT upon ninety (90)
days prior written notice. Notice shall be deemed served if completed in compliance with
Section 6.14.
b) In the event of termination or cancellation of this Agreement by
CONSULTANT or CITY, due to no fault or failure of performance by CONSULTANT,
CONSULTANT shall be paid compensation for all services performed by CONSULTANT,
in an amount to be determined as follows: for work satisfactorily done in accordance with
all of the terms and provisions of this Agreement, CONSULTANT shall be paid an amount
equal to the percentage of services performed prior to the effective date of termination or
cancellation in accordance with the work items; provided, in no event shall the amount of
money paid under the foregoing provisions of this paragraph exceed the amount which
would have been paid to CONSULTANT for the full performance of the services described
in this Agreement.
ARTICLE 5
OWNERSHIP OF DOCUMENTS
5.1 Ownership of Documents and Work Product
All final documents, plans, specifications, reports, information, data, exhibits,
photographs, images, video files and media created or developed by CONSULTANT
pursuant to this Agreement ( "Written Products ") shall be and remain the property of the
CITY without restriction or limitation upon its use, duplication or dissemination by the CITY.
All Written Products shall be considered "works made for hire," and all Written Products
and any and all intellectual property rights arising from their creation, including, but not
limited to, all copyrights and other proprietary rights, shall be and remain the property of the
CITY without restriction or limitation upon their use, duplication or dissemination by the
CITY. CONSULTANT shall not obtain or attempt to obtain copyright protection as to any
Written Products.
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CONSULTANT hereby assigns to the CITY all ownership and any and all
intellectual property rights to the Written Products that are not otherwise vested in the CITY
pursuant to the paragraph directly above this one.
CONSULTANT warrants and represents that it has secured all necessary
licenses, consents or approvals to use any instrumentality, thing or component as to which
any intellectual property right exists, including computer software, used in the rendering of
the services and the production of all Written Products produced under this Agreement,
and that the CITY has full legal title to and the right to reproduce the Written Products.
CONSULTANT shall defend, indemnify and hold the CITY, and its elected officials, officers,
employees, servants, attorneys, designated volunteers, and agents serving as independent
contractors in the role of CITY officials, harmless from any loss, claim or liability in anyway
related to a claim that CITY's use of any of the Written Products is violating federal, state
or local laws, or any contractual provisions, or any laws relating to trade names, licenses,
franchises, copyrights, patents or other means of protecting intellectual property rights
and/or interests in products or inventions. CONSULTANT shall bear all costs arising from
the use of patented, copyrighted, trade secret or trademarked documents, materials,
equipment, devices or processes in connection with its provision of the services and
Written Products produced under this Agreement. In the event the use of any of the
Written Products or other deliverables hereunder by the CITY is held to constitute an
infringement and the use of any of the same is enjoined, CONSULTANT, at its expense,
shall: (a) secure for CITY the right to continue using the Written Products and other
deliverables by suspension of any injunction, or by procuring a license or licenses for CITY;
or (b) modify the Written Products and other deliverables so that they become non -
infringing while remaining in compliance with the requirements of this Agreement. This
covenant shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
Upon termination, abandonment or suspension of the Project, the
CONSULTANT shall deliver to the CITY all Written Products and other deliverables related
to the Project without additional cost or expense to the CITY. If CONSULTANT prepares a
document on a computer, CONSULTANT shall provide CITY with said document both in a
printed format and in an electronic format that is acceptable to the CITY.
ARTICLE 6
GENERAL PROVISIONS
6.1 Representation
The CITY representative shall be the City Manager or his or her designee,
and Richard Brady, President shall be CONSULTANT's designated representative. These
individuals shall be the primary contact persons for the parties regarding performance of
this Agreement.
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6.2 Fair Employment Practices /Equal Opportunity Acts
In the performance of this Agreement, CONSULTANT shall comply with all
applicable provisions of the California Fair Employment Practices Act (California
Government Code Sections 12940-48), the applicable equal employment provisions of the
Civil Rights Act of 1 964 (42 U.S.C. 200e- 217), and the Americans with Disabilities Act of
1 992 (42 U.S.C. § 11 200, et seq.).
6.3 Personnel
CONSULTANT represents that it has, or shall secure at its own expense, all
personnel required to perform CONSULTANT's services under this Agreement.
CONSULTANT shall make reasonable efforts to maintain the continuity of CONSULTANT's
staff who are assigned to perform the services hereunder and shall obtain the approval of
the Director of Public Works of all proposed staff members who will perform such services.
CONSULTANT may associate with or employ associates or sub - consultants in the
performance of its services under this Agreement, but at all times shall CONSULTANT be
responsible for its associates or sub - consultants' services.
6.4 CONSULTANT's Representations
CONSULTANT represents, covenants and agrees that: a) CONSULTANT is
licensed, qualified, and capable of furnishing the labor, materials, and expertise necessary
to perform the services in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth in this
Agreement; b) there are no obligations, commitments, or impediments of any kind that will
limit or prevent CONSULTANT's full performance under this Agreement; c) to the extent
required by the standard of practice, CONSULTANT has investigated and considered the
scope of services performed, has carefully considered how the services should be
performed, and understands the facilities, difficulties and restrictions attending
performance of the services under this Agreement.
6.5 Conflicts of Interest
CONSULTANT agrees not to accept any employment or representation
during the term of this Agreement or within twelve ('12) months after completion of the work
under this Agreement which is or may likely make CONSULTANT "financially interested"
as provided in California Government Code Sections 1090 and 87100) in any decisions
made by CITY on any matter in connection with which CONSULTANT has been retained
pursuant to this Agreement.
6.6 Legal Action
a) Should either party to this Agreement bring legal action against the
other, the validity, interpretation, and performance of this Agreement shall be controlled by
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and construed under the laws of the State of California, excluding California's choice of law
rules. Venue for any such action relating to this Agreement shall be in the Los Angeles
County Superior Court.
b) If any legal action or other proceeding, including action for declaratory
relief, is brought for the enforcement of this Agreement or because of an alleged dispute,
breach, default or misrepresentation in connection with this Agreement, the prevailing party
shall be entitled to recover reasonable attorneys' fees, experts' fees, and other costs, in
addition to any other relief to which the party may be entitled.
c) Should any legal action about a project between CITY and a party
other than CONSULTANT require the testimony of CONSULTANT when there is no
allegation that CONSULTANT was negligent, CITY shall compensate CONSULTANT for its
testimony and preparation to testify at the hourly rates in effect at the time of such
testimony.
6.7 Assignment
Neither this Agreement nor any part thereof shall be assigned by
CONSULTANT without the prior written consent of the CITY. Any such purported
assignment without written consent shall be null and void, and CONSULTANT shall hold
harmless, defend and indemnify the CITY and its officers, officials, employees, agents and
representatives with respect to any claim, demand or action arising from any unauthorized
assignment.
Notwithstanding the above, CONSULTANT may use the services of persons
and entities not in CONSULTANT's direct employ, when it is appropriate and customary to
do so. CONSULTANT's use of subconsultants for additional services shall not be
unreasonably restricted by the CITY provided CONSULTANT notifies the CITY in advance.
6.8 ,Independent Contractor
CONSULTANT is and shall at all times remain, as to the
CITY, a wholly
independent contractor. Neither the CITY nor any of its agents shall have control over the
conduct of CONSULTANT or any of the CONSULTANT's employees, except as herein set
forth, and CONSULTANT is free to dispose of all portions of its time and activities which it
is not obligated to devote to the CITY in such a manner and to such persons, firms, or
corporations as the CONSULTANT wishes except as expressly provided in this Agreement.
CONSULTANT shall have no power to incur any debt,
obligation, or liability on behalf of the
CITY or otherwise act on behalf of the CITY as an agent. CONSULTANT shall not, at any
time or in any manner,
represent that it or any of its agents, servants or employees, are in
any manner agents,
servants or employees of CITY. CONSULTANT agrees to pay all
required taxes on amounts paid to CONSULTANT under this Agreement, and to indemnify
and hold the CITY harmless from any and all taxes, assessments, penalties, and interest
asserted against the CITY by reason of the independent contractor relationship created by
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this Agreement. CONSULTANT shall fully comply with the workers' compensation law
regarding CONSULTANT and its employees. CONSULTANT further agrees to indemnify
and hold the CITY harmless from any failure of CONSULTANT to comply with applicable
workers' compensation laws. The CITY shall have the right to offset against the amount of
any fees due to CONSULTANT under this Agreement any amount due to the CITY from
CONSULTANT as a result of its failure to promptly pay to the CITY any reimbursement or
indemnification arising under this Article.
6.9 Titles
The titles used in this Agreement are for general reference only and are not
part of the Agreement.
6.10 Entire Agreement
This Agreement, including any other documents incorporated herein by
specific reference, represents the entire and integrated agreement between CITY and
CONSULTANT and supersedes all prior negotiations, representations or agreements,
either written or oral. This Agreement may be modified or amended, or provisions or
breach may be waived, only by subsequent written agreement signed by both parties.
6.11 Construction
In the event of any asserted ambiguity in, or dispute regarding the
interpretation of any matter herein, the interpretation of this Agreement shall not be
resolved by any rules of interpretation providing for interpretation against the party who
causes the uncertainty to exist or against the party who drafted the Agreement or who
drafted that portion of the Agreement.
6.12 Non - Waiver of Terms, Rights and Remedies
Waiver by either party of any one or more of the conditions of performance under
this Agreement shall not be a waiver of any other condition of performance under this
Agreement. In no event shall the making by the CITY of any payment to CONSULTANT
constitute or be construed as a waiver by the CITY of any breach of covenant, or any
default which may then exist on the part of CONSULTANT, and the making of any such
payment by the CITY shall in no way impair or prejudice any right or remedy available to
the CITY with regard to such breach or default.
6.13 Severability
If any term or portion of this Agreement is held to be invalid, illegal, or otherwise
unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions of this
Agreement shall continue in full force and effect.
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6.14 Notice
Except as otherwise required by law, any notice or other communication authorized
or required by this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed received on (a) the
day of delivery if delivered by hand or overnight courier service during CONSULTANT's or
CITY's regular business hours or (b) on the third business day following deposit in the
United States mail, postage prepaid, to the addresses listed below, or at such other
address as one party may notify the other:
To CITY:
Responsible Person: Carolyn Lehr, City Manager
City of Rancho Palos Verdes
30940 Hawthorne Blvd,
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275
To CONSULTANT:
Responsible Person: Richard Brady, President
Matrix Consulting Group
721 Colorado Ave
Suite 101
Palo Alto, CA 94303
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of
the date and year first above written.
Dated: MATRIX CONSULTING GROUP
CONSULTANT ")
By:
Printed Name:
Title:
By:
Printed Name:
Title:
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Dated: CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES
CITY ")
By:
Mayor
ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
By: By:
City Clerk City Attorney
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Exhibit "A ":
Consultant's Proposal, including Schedule of Hourly Rates
Exhibit "A"
R6876-0001\1347726v1 idoc
2-123
Proposal to Conduct a Citywide Management
and Staffing Study
CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES,
CALIFORNIA
consult' 9 up
2-124
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Proposal Section Page
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 1
A. FIRM BACKGROUND AND EXPERIENCE '1
B. PROJECT TEAM 7
C. PROJECT APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY
9
D. REFERENCES 19
E. PROJECT COST AND SCHEDULE 22
APPENDIX RESUMES 23
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matrix
consulting group
May 21, 2012
Councilperson Susan Brooks
City of Rancho Palos Verdes
30940 Hawthorne Boulevard
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275
Dear Ms. Brooks:
The Matrix Consulting Group is pleased to submit this proposal to Conduct a
Citywide Management and Staffing Study for the City of Rancho Palos Verdes. Our
proposal is based on our telephone conversation last week, review of the previously
conducted Management Partners report, our background research on the City and our
extensive experience conducting hundreds of similar government organizational studies
in California and across the country.
The team we have assembled for this assignment has consulting experience
encompassing over 600 projects just within the past 10 years of Matrix CG, in addition
to experience as government managers. Our depth can be summarized by:
We were formed in 2002 by senior consultants who have worked to together in
this and other firms for up to 30 years conducting organizational, management
and operations analysis for government.
Our team has conducted over 50 organization -wide studies of cities and counties
around the country. This has included such agencies as:
Albany, New York
Avon, Connecticut
Augusta, Georgia
Barstow, California
Brattleboro, Vermont
Burlington, Massachusetts
Chatham County, Georgia
Deltona, Florida
Franklin Township, New Jersey
Fort Morgan, Colorado
Goodyear, Arizona
Hanford, California
Irvine, California
Johnson County,
Kansas
Lathrop, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Gatos, California
Monroe County, Michigan
Monrovia, California
Montpelier, Vermont
Orland Park, Illinois
Palo Alto, California
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth, Virginia
Poway, California
Prescott Valley, Arizona
Raymore, Missouri
Roseville, California
San Clemente, California
San Rafael, California
Spokane, Washington
Sunnyvale, California
Venice, Florida
Walnut Creek, California
Waltham, Massachusetts
Wayland, Massachusetts
721 Colorado Avenue, Suite 101 Palo Alto, CA 94303 850.858.0507 550.858.0509 fax
California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Texas, Washington
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We are currently completing citywide studies for Rancho Mirage (CA) and
Albuquerque (NM).
The quality of the firm is also attested to by the noteworthiness of our recent
clients -- we are currently conducting a maintenance study for the United Nations and
recently completed an organizational study of the Washington State Ferries System.
As President of the firm, 1 am authorized to submit this proposal, negotiate on
behalf of the firm, and execute any contracts necessary.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at either the
address on the letterhead, via e-mail at rbradyC matrixcg.net or at 650.858.0507. 1
would welcome the opportunity to further discuss our experience and qualifications with
you.
Matrix Consulting Group
Richard Brady
President
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CITY OF RANCHO PA L oS VERDES, CALIFORNIA
Proposal to Conduct a Citywide Management and Staffing Study
A. FIRM BACKGROUND AND EXPERIENCE
This section of our proposal provides background information regarding our firm
and our prior consulting experience that is relevant to this engagement.
1. INFORMATION ABOUT THE MATRIX CONSULTING GROUP
The Matrix Consulting Group was formed in 2002 by senior consultants who
desired to work in a firm where senior people actually conducted project work and
provided direct service to municipal clients in a low overhead environment. Our only
business focus is the provision of organization and management analytical services to
local government. Our firm's history and composition is summarized below:
We were founded in 2002. However, the principals and senior staff of our firm
have worked together in this and other consulting organizations as one team for
between 10 and 30 years.
Our only market and service focus is management, staffing and operations
analysis of local government.
Our firm maintains offices in California (where we are incorporated and
headquartered), Illinois, Texas, Massachusetts and Washington. This project
would be managed from our office in California.
We currently have 10 full time and 3 part time staff.
We are proud of our track record in providing analytical assistance to local
governments around the country. This track record is bolstered by our rate of
successful implementation, which exceeds 80% of recommendations made.
As one of the leading public sector management consulting firms in the country, we
are well positioned to assist the City of Rancho Palos Verdes on this engagement. The
following sections outline other aspects of our approach that are important to note.
2. OUR MANAGEMENT STUDIES PHILOSOPHY
Our market niche is based on providing detailed analysis through extensive data
collection, input and interaction with our clients. The cornerstone of our philosophy in
conducting organization and management studies is summarized in the following points:
A principal of the firm is always involved in every aspect of each of our studies.
This includes interviews of staff, data collection, report writing, client meetings
and public presentations. For this project we would commit the President of the
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CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CALIFORNIA
Proposal to Conduct a Citywide Management and Staffing Study
company who has over 30 years of experience in every local government
function. He would be actively involved in managing the project team.
Our projects are approached with a firm grounding in formal analytical
methodologies. Our clients receive detailed analysis of their specific issues. All
impacts are identified and analyzed in detail to ensure that recommendations are
implemented and our clients (and the public they serve) can understand the
reasons for recommended changes. This is achieved by:
Use of frequent and substantive project management techniques, which
are explained in the next subsection.
Extensive input of staff through interviews and surveys; extensive input
from other stakeholders (e.g., elected officials as well as community
representatives).
Detailed data collection and analysis derived from primary sources.
Extensive internal reviews at the departmental and steering committee
levels of facts, findings, conclusions and recommendations as studies
proceed.
Detailed implementation plans, which clearly describe the priority of each
recommendation, who should be responsible for change management, the
timing for implementation and performance measures to monitor progress.
This philosophy and approach has provided our clients with valuable assistance
and advice in dealing with important public policy issues. It also provides a high -level of
buy -in from all affected stakeholders, as they have multiple opportunities for
participation in the study and have the opportunity to be apprised of our progress
throughout the term of the engagement. As noted above, it has also resulted in very
high levels of implementation of our recommendations.
3. PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND CONTROLS
We believe very strongly in the science of our craft. As a result, we utilize formal
project management techniques in our studies. These techniques include:
Alt project work activities are defined in advance and tied to each project team
member, deliverables, the schedule and the budget.
The project manager briefs project team members of their roles and
expectations. This is accomplished in writing and in person.
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CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CALIFORNIA
Proposal to Conduct a Citywide Management and Staffing Study
i
The project manager and lead analysts develop general and project specific data
collection plans and interview guides for all of our staff in each departmental
function.
Internal (project team) and external (client) expectations and results are
managed on a weekly basis. Formal project schedules and accountability
reporting mechanisms are used to report this.
The project manager designs and personally reviews all interim and final
products before they are delivered to the client.
We have frequent client review meetings to discuss the quality and direction of
the project through interim deliverables. We commit to monthly formal
reviews,
including project steering committee meetings as well as ongoing status reports.
These project management approaches have resulted in all of our projects being
delivered at a high level of quality, on time and on budget.
4. SUMMARY OF EXPERIENCE FOR THE MATRIX CONSULTING GROUP
Our experience encompasses a wide variety of organization -wide studies that
included organizational analysis and the review and development of performance
measures for governmental services. Many of these studies also included evaluations
of shared services 1 intergovernmental cooperation in the provision of municipal
services. We have conducted over 50 organization -wide studies in our careers. The
following table provides a sampling of these studies:
Albany, New York
Alexandria, Louisiana
Avon, Connecticut
Augusta, Georgia
Barstow, California
Brattleboro, Vermont
Burlington, Massachusetts
Chatham County,
Georgia
Deltona, Florida
Franklin Township, New Jersey
Fort Morgan, Colorado
Goodyear, Arizona
Lathrop, California
Lawrence, Massachusetts
Johnson County,
Kansas
Orland Park, Illinois
Orleans, Massachusetts
Monroe County, Michigan
Montpelier, Vermont
Monrovia, California
Palo Alto, California
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth, Virginia
Poway, California
Prescott Valley, Arizona
Raymore, Missouri
Roseville, California
San Clemente, California
San Rafael, California
Spokane, Washington
Sunnyvale, California
Walnut Creek, California
Waltham, Massachusetts
Wayland, Massachusetts
As the list shows, we have extensive experience analyzing municipal services
throughout the nation. Additionally, we are currently engaged by the cities of Rancho
Mirage (CA) and Albuquerque (NM) to conduct city -wide organizational and operational
reviews.
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CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CALIFORNIA
Proposal to Conduct a Citywide Management and Staffing Study
5. ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE OF THE MATRIX CONSULTING GROUP.
In addition to our experience conducting organization -wide analysis, we have
conducted over 600 studies of individual departments for every local government
function. Almost all of these studies included an evaluation and 1 or recommendations
regarding appropriate service levels, organizational structures and performance
measures. Examples in just the past several years include:
Client Project Name
Albemarle, Virginia Fire Department Master Plan
Alexandria, Virginia Performance Audit of the Fleet Services
Alexandria, Virginia Performance Audit of the Parks and Recreation Department
Alexandria, Virginia Technical Assistance in the Development of an MMS RFP
Amesbury, Massachusetts Effectiveness and Efficiency Study of the Fire Department
Arlington County, Virginia Site Plan Review Study
Arlington, Texas Police Study
Athens, Texas Fire Department Management Study
Augusta, Maine Fire Consulting Services
Aurora, Colorado Police Department Organization Study
Avon, Connecticut Feasibility of Town - School Administrative Function Consolidation
Baldwin - Wallace College, Ohio Fire Regionalization Project
Bayonne, New Jersey Fire and Police Management Studies
Beverly Hills,
California PW and Transportation Department Management Study
Beverly Hills, California Management Study of the Community Development Department
Beverly Hills, California 311 Feasibility Study
Burlingame, California Fire Regionalization Study
Campbell, California Review of Fire Services Contract
Canandaigua, New York Provision of Fire Consultant Services
Charleston County, South Carolina Performance Audit of the RoadWise Program
Charlotte, North Carolina Proposal Policy and Compliance Review Services
Chesapeake, Virginia Assessment of Staffing, Deployment and OT
College Park, Maryland Assessment of Police Services and Alternatives
Columbus, Ohio Court Clerk Management Audit
Colusa, California Fire Department Master Plan
Corvallis, Oregon Staffing Allocation Study for the Corvallis Police Department
Cotati, California Police Department Master Plan
Coventry, Connecticut Fire Department Strategic Plan
CPS Sacramento, California Human Resources Management Audit
Marin County, California Community Development Agency Management Study
Dayton, Ohio Building Permitting and Inspections Review
Deltona, Florida Citywide Efficiency
Denton, Texas Management Study of Water and Wastewater Utilities
Dubuque, Iowa Fire Station Location Study
East Palo Alto, California Community Development Organizational Review
El Paso, Texas Analysis of Fleet Assigned to Environmental Services
El Paso, Texas Consultant Services for the Fire Department
Evans, Colorado Water Fund Assessment
Falmouth, Massachusetts Department of Public Works Organizational Review
Fort Lauderdale, Florida Staffing and Organizational Study
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Client Project Name
Franklin, Tennessee Audit of Water Management Department
Franklin, Tennessee Operations Analysis of the Fleet Maintenance Division
Galt, California Police Department Staffing Study
Georgetown, South Carolina Fire and EMS Study and Capital Plan
Gilroy, California Police Department Staffing Study
Glendale, California Development Services Management Study
Glenview, Illinois Station Location and Deployment Study
Gloucester, Massachusetts Management Audit of the Department of Public Works
Grants Pass, Oregon Public Safety Strategic Plan
Gwinnett County,
Georgia Development Review Study
Hanford, California Fire Station Location Study
Hanover County,
Virginia Community Development Customer Service Review
Haverhill, Massachusetts Public Works Organizational Study
Hermiston, Oregon Water Department management Study
Hermosa Beach, California Fire Department Master Plan
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina Revenue and Collections Study
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina Performance Audit of the Development Permitting Processes
Huntington Beach, California Communications Consolidation Study
Indio Sun, LLC, California Fire Impact Assessment
Jackson County /Medford, Oregon Consolidated 91 1 Dispatch Feasibility Study
Jacksonville, Florida Sheriffs Office Management Study
Johnson County, Kansas Organizational Study
Jupiter, Florida Fire Contract Review
Kettering, Ohio Management Study of the Fire Department
Killington, Vermont Fire Study
Lake Worth, Florida Utilities Department Management Study
Lawrence, Kansas Development Services Assessment
Lee's Summit, Missouri Codes Administration Management Study
Little Rock, Arkansas Management Audit — Code Enforcement Program
Los Angeles, California T/A for Code Enforcement 1 Building Inspection Audit
Los Angeles, California Wastewater Study
Lowell, Massachusetts Management Study of the Police Department
Marshall University, West Virginia Procurement Compliance and Management Audit
Mason, Ohio Organizational, Effectiveness and Efficiency Study
Matanuska Borough, Alaska Road Network Maintenance Analysis
Middleborough, Massachusetts Organizational Study of Fire Department Ambulance Services
Milwaukee, Wisconsin Best Practices Review DPW Capital Project Management
Milwaukee, Wisconsin Patrol Deployment Study
Monroe County, Michigan County-wide Organizational Audit
Monterey County,
California Communications Department Implementation Study
Moorpark, California Organizational Study of the Finance Department
Moorpark, California Wastewater Assumption Study
North Kingstown, Rhode Island Fire Department Needs Analysis
Oakland, City, California Public Works Agency Management Study
Oceanside, California Development Services Productivity Assessment
Omaha, Nebraska Police and Fire Department Efficiency Study
Orange County, Florida Sheriffs Department Management Study
Orland Park, Illinois Organizational Staffing Analysis Study
Oro Valley, Arizona Building and Safety Division Management Study
Parkland, Florida Fire Station Location Study
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CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CALIFORNIA
Proposal to Conduct a Citywide Management and Staffing Study
Client Project Name
Plano, Texas Emergency Medical Service Systems Analysis
Pueblo, Colorado Station Location and Deployment Study
Raymore, Missouri Police Department Management Study
Red Bluff, California Fire Facility Feasibility Study
Richmond, Virginia Legislative Staffing Study
Ridgewood, New Jersey Police Department Performance Audit
Ridgewood, New Jersey Fire Department Performance Audit
Roseville, California Citywide Study
Sacramento Flood Control, CA
w SAFCA Management Study
Sacramento, California Fire Department Master Plan
Salem, Oregon Planning Division Audit
Salt Lake City, Utah Performance Audit of the IMS Department
Salt Lake City, Utah Justice Court Study
San Francisco, California Planning Department Management Study
San Mateo County LAFCO, CA Municipal Services Review
San Mateo County, California Dispatcher Recruitment and Retention Study
San Mateo, California Public Works Department Management Study
Seminole County, Florida Fire 1 Rescue 1 EMS Comprehensive System Study
Southlake, Texas Management Study of the Community Services Department
Spokane, Washington City -wide Management Audit
Spokane, Washington Technical Assistance for Development of an RFP for a CMMS
Springfield Control Board, MA BID Survey and Assessment
Springfield Control Board, MA Inspectional Services Assessment
St. Petersburg, Florida Police Study
Sunnyvale, California Optimum Staffing Study of the DPW
Sunnyvale, California Finance Staffing Study
Tiburon, California Organizational Assessment of Public Works
Union City, California Public Works Organizational Study
Union City, California Fleet Services Classification Study
University of Missouri, Kansas City
w
Organization Study
Washington County, New York Public Works Study
Washoe County, Nevada Emergency 911 Review and Audit Report
West Virginia University Purchasing Performance Audit
Wilbraham, Massachusetts Comprehensive Public Safety Staffing Study
Collectively, these studies demonstrate the depth of our firm's experience in
conducting detailed studies of all governmental functions, and represent our project
team's ability to provide a comprehensive evaluation of each function and development
of specific recommendations for each of the departments under review. We would be
happy to provide a more detailed listing of our prior studies upon request.
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CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CALIFORNIA
Proposal to Conduct a Citywide Management and Staffing Study
B. PROJECT TEAM
In this section we provide an overview of the specific project team
members who we are proposing to utilize to conduct this engagement for the City of
Rancho Palos Verdes. The following table outlines the project team members,
assigned roles, and general areas of expertise.
Team Member Project Role Specific Areas of Expertise
Richard Brady Project Manager 1
Analyst
Organizational Structure, City Manager's Office and City
Clerk
e
Alan Pennington Project Analyst Finance and IT, Human Resources, Community
Development.
Greg Mathews Project Analyst Public Works, Recreation and Parks.
Richard Brady, the President of the Matrix Consulting Group,
would function as
the overall project manager and principal contact for this assignment. He would also
participate in the assessments in each of the functional areas in order to better facilitate
his management of the team and its direction. Mr. Brady would lead a team consisting
of senior members of the firm who have specific expertise, experience and background
relevant to the services requested by the City of Rancho Palos Verdes.
Summaries of the experience of our proposed project team are provided below,
with more detailed resumes presented in the Appendix to this proposal.
r RICHARD BRADY is the Matrix Consulting Group's President. His experience
encompasses over 30 years in the analysis of every local government service in
hundreds of jurisdictions in California and throughout the Country. This
experience includes organization -wide management audits and individual
organizational and staffing studies of every local government service. Mr. Brady
most recently was the firm's Project Manager and/or Lead Analyst on the
Citywide Management Audits for Spokane (WA), Goodyear (AZ), Brattleboro
VT), Waltham (MA), Wayland (MA), Lathrop (CA), Walnut Creek (CA), San
Clemente (CA), Palo Alto (CA), Poway (CA), Pasadena (CA), San Rafael (CA),
Prescott Valley (AZ), Albany (NY), Venice (FL), North Miami Beach (FL),
Alexandria (LA), Upper Merion Township (PA) and Farmington Hills (Ml ); as well
as Countywide Management Audits for Monroe County (MI), Beaufort County
SC), Chatham County (
GA), Augusta - Richmond County (GA), Hall County (GA);
Alachua County (
FL) and Culpeper County (
Virginia). He received his B.A. from
California State University, Hayward and his Masters and Doctoral degrees from
Oxford University, U.K. Mr. Brady would serve as project manager, oversight
of all analysis, and lead for evaluation of the City Manager's Office and the
City Clerk's Office and organizational structure evaluations.
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CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CALIFORNIA
Proposal to Conduct a Citywide Management and Staffing Study
ALAN PENNINGTON -- Mr. Pennington is a Vice President with the Matrix
Consulting Group and is based in our Illinois office. He has over 15 years of
experience as a top manager in the public sector in Illinois and Maine before
joining Matrix. These top management positions included Assistant City Manager,
Assistant Human Resources Director and Labor Relations Manager. His
administrative services study experience
includes Charlotte, NC (Procurement); Mt.
Franklin Township, NJ (organizational study); Highland Park, Illinois (Human
Resources); Hilton Head Island, SC (Finance); Johnson County, KS (organizational
Study); Lebanon, PA (organizational study); Orland Park, IL (village wide
assessment); Peoria County, IL (Administrative Services); Santa Clara Valley Water
District, CA (Procurement); Springfield, MA (Finance, Procurement, City Clerk);
Raymore, MO (Citywide Study and Strategic Planning); Reno - Washoe County, NV
Shared Services); Salt Lake City,
UT (Human Resources); Sunnyvale, CA (Finance)
and West Virginia University (Procurement). Mr. Pennington's other management
studies experience includes: Avon (CT), Nashville- Davidson County (TN), Los
Angeles (CA), Springfield (MA), Jacksonville (FL), Orange County (FL), Columbus
OH), Milwaukee (WI), Alexandria (VA), and Little Rock (AK). Mr. Pennington has
taught collective bargaining and economics at Bradley University and Eureka College
and is trained in the deployment of Six Sigma for governmental agencies. Mr
Pennington is a member of the following professional associations: IPMA -HR, ASTD,
APA, and ICC. Mr. Pennington has a BA (Public Management) and M. P.A. from
the University of Maine. Mr. Pennington would lead our analysis of Finance
and Information Technology, Human Resources and Community
Development.
GREG MATHEWS is a Vice President with the firm and has over twenty years of
public sector experience, performing as both a senior management consultant
and executive manager. As Deputy Director of Auditing for the Los Angeles City
Controller's Office, he managed the day -to -day functions of the Performance
Auditing, Follow -up and Management Assessment sections. For over six years
Mr. Mathews has provided public sector consulting services to cities, counties
and special districts throughout the Western United States, and has completed
comprehensive management studies encompassing over 100 local governments.
Mr. Mathews has participated as lead consultant in over forty consulting
engagements, with emphasis in the public works and community development.
His public works and community development experience includes recent
assignments for Roseville (CA), Salem (OR), Glendale (CA), Boise (ID), Marion
County (OR), Boise (ID), Spokane (WA), Goodyear (AZ), Sunnyvale (CA),
Upland (CA), Matanuska Borough (AK), and Monrovia (CA). Mr. Mathews
received his B.A. from the University of California at Davis and his M.A. degree
from the University of Southern California. Mr. Mathews would Lead our
analysis of Public Works and Recreation and Parks.
As noted above, we have attached more detailed resumes in the Appendix.
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CITY OF RANCHO PALLS VERDES, CALIFORNIA
Proposal to Conduct a Citywide Management and Staffing Study
C. PROJECT APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY
This section of our proposal provides a brief summary of our understanding
of
the project's objectives, our proposed approaches and methodologies for the project.
1. OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE SERVICES REQUESTED
We understand that the City of Rancho Palos Verde, is seeking assistance to
provide evaluation, analysis and recommendations to address the following issues:
Determination of the City's current organization and staffing needs in each of the
operating departments, excluding contracted public safety services;
Development of recommendations to address operations and management of
services internally and to the public.
Providing a set of `best management practices' for the city to utilize as
performance metrics now and into the future.
The overall goal of this project, then, is to provide recommendations that the
Council and City Manager can utilize to meet on -going service needs in a sustainable
way.
The City currently has five departments apart from the City Manager's Office.
Public Safety functions —
police and fire services—are currently contracted out and fall
outside of the scope of this study. The following chart summarizes the departmental
structure and current staffing levels allocated to each:
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CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CALIFORNIA
Proposal to Conduct a Citywide Management and Staffing Study
CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES
ORGANIZATIONAL CHART
CITIZENS OF
RANCHO PALOS VERDES
MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
COMMISSIONS & COMMITTEES
Planning Commission
Traffic Safety Commission
Finance Advisory Committee
COMMISSIONS & COMMITTEES
Emergency Preparedness Committee
Oversight Committee for the Water Quality & Flood
Protection Program
CITY MANAGER
City Manager (1)
Deputy City Manager (1)
Executive Staff Assistant (1)
Sr. Administrative Analyst (1)
Human Resources Manager (1)
CITY CLERK
City Clerk (1)
Deputy City Clerk (1)
Deputy City Clerk (contract) (1)
Administrative Analyst II (1)
RECREATION & PARKS
Parks & Recreation Director (1)
Administrative Analyst II (1)
Administrative Analyst II (contract) (1)
Recreation Services Manager (1)
Recreation Program Supervisor (2)
Recreation Leader (part-time) (1 7)
Recreation Leader II (part-time) (1O)
Recreation Specialist (part -time) (2)
Staff Assistant I (part -time) (2)
Administrative Intern (part -time) (1)
CITY ATTORNEY
Richards, Watson & Gershon
FINANCE & INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY
Finance & IT Director (1)
Finance & IT Deputy Director (1)
Senior Administrative Analyst (2)
Senior IT Analyst (1)
Senior Accountant (1)
Accountant (1)
Account Tech (1)
Account Clerk (1)
Staff Assistant I (part-time) (1)
PUBLIC SAFETY
L.A. County Sheriff
L.A. County Fire
L.A. County Animal Control
Emergency Preparedness
PUBLIC WORKS
Public Works Director (1)
Public Works Deputy Director (1)
Senior Engineer (3)
Facilities Maintenance Manager (1)
Associate Engineer (3)
Assistant Engineer (1)
Senior Administrative Analyst (2)
Maintenance Worker ll (2)
Permit Clerk (1)
Administrative Staff Assistant (1)
Staff Assistant 1 (part-time) (1)
Public Works Intern (part -time) (1)
X
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Community Development Director (1)
Community De, Deputy Director (2)
Senior Planner (2)
Associate Planner (3)
Assistant Planner (2)
Planning Tech (1)
Building Official (1)
Building Inspector II (2)
Permit Tech (2)
Administrative Staff Assistant (1)
Code Enforcement Officer (2)
Staff Assistant I (part -time) (1)
In total, the City has approximately 59 full -time authorized positions and 36 part -
time positions within its organizational structure. Police, Fire, City Attorney and many
infrastructure maintenance functions are currently contracted out. With the exception of
the City Attorney (who is appointed by the City Council), the remainder of the
department directors are appointed by the City Manager.
2. OUR PROPOSED PROJECT APPROACH
In the task plan, which follows, is provided our proposed description of the work
we would undertake to provide the services for this Management and Staffing Study for
the City of Rancho Palos Verdes.
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CITY OF RANCHO PA L OS VERDES, CALIFORNIA
Proposal to Conduct a Citywide Management and Staffing Study
Task 1 Conduct Initial Interviews to Identify Trends and Plans Which Impact
Operational, Organizational and Management Needs.
To realistically evaluate the departments included in the study, it is important that
the project team develop a sense of where the City of Rancho Palos Verdes is going;
which key issues impact and shape service requirements; community composition and
service constituencies; and service delivery philosophies. To develop this perspective,
we plan to conduct a series of initial interviews with the City Council, top City and
departmental management, and other key stakeholders to identify factors impacting
operations. Specific issues addressed during the initial interviews would include the
following:
Basic service delivery goals and objectives of the City Council in relevant operating and service areas
of the organization such as responsiveness to citizen complaints about infrastructure repairs,
development management, response times for public services, financial controls, human resources
needs, etc.
Identification of key problems impacting service needs to which the City of Rancho Palos Verdes must
respond. This would include exploring such areas as infrastructure and capital renewal; and the scope
and responsiveness of community services programming.
Attitudes toward existing service levels with specific focus on areas of common or high priority concern
to interviewees.
Short term issues which need to be addressed (such as loss of redevelopment financing).
Review of prior organizational changes in structures and operations and the impact those have had on
service delivery.
These initial interviews will provide an opportunity to identify and isolate factors
and constraints which could have impact on current or near -term City and department
operations. Following these initial interviews, we would develop a weekly project
schedule, employee briefing package, and identify high -level issues 1 concerns that will
shape the study.
Deliverables: The products of this task will be a project schedule and employee
briefing package so that everyone in the City knows the goals of the study, the
schedule, the team conducting the study and their opportunities for input into the
process. Identification of key issues, constraints, and concerns regarding
municipal operations.
Task 2 Develop an Understanding of the Operations, Organization and
Management of Functions in the City of Rancho Palos Verdes.
It is important that the project team understand,
in detail, how each department is
staffed, organized, operated and managed. Additionally, it is important that the project
team understand basic service delivery targets;
current service levels, and where there
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CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CALIFORNIA
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may be overlaps and gaps. To develop this understanding, we will accomplish the
following work steps - among others:
Conduct individual interviews with each department head, other managers (e.g., division heads),
selected employees and employee representatives. During these interviews, we would focus heavily
on understanding the existing plans of organization as well as key organizational issues facing each
department. Given the size of the City's workforce, a large percentage of staff would be interviewed
either individually or by functional area.
Develop descriptions of the staffing and responsibilities for staff in each function. Document trends in
staffing.
Develop an understanding of the scope of the programs and services for each function — number of
PC's supported by Information Technology, miles of road, number of signalized intersections, number
of employees supported through Human Resources, extent of preventive maintenance functions
performed on buildings and infrastructure, the scope and utilization of recreational services, Economic
Development efforts underway,
etc.
Document workloads and service levels for each departmental function — frequency of road
resurfacing, traffic controller maintenance, records maintained by City Clerk, vehicles maintained,
number and length of recruitments, number of calls for service for animal control and code
enforcement, number of permitting applications received and processed, etc.
Review the major equipment and capital items provided to support service provision — such as,
inventory of vehicles and equipment assigned to each department as well as the utilization of these
items (e.g., mileage 1 hours).
Develop an understanding of key performance indicators,
service expectations, and constraints for
each department.
Develop an understanding of the major management systems to plan and schedule, monitor and adjust
approaches to providing services.
Document the major software and technology employed throughout the City and develop an
understanding of the current levels of utilization.
Review major documents to gain an understanding of the operational practices of the City and to
understand the financial and legal constraints the City is operating under. These documents would
include the current and recent budgets, policy documents, work rules and personnel manuals, prior
employee agreements 1 MOUs (and the recently imposed MOU), job descriptions, regularly generated
management reports, available operational statistics, mission statements and any available
performance indicators.
Deliverable: The products produced in Task 2 would be summary profiles of each
department's organization, staffing and operations and classification of existing
services by various categories. These interim documents would be structured to
provide a baseline summary to document our understanding of existing services
and for utilization in later tasks for further analysis of operational and structural
opportunities.
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Proposal to Conduct a Citywide Management and Staffing Study
Task 3 Conduct a Survey of Employee Attitudes Toward Current Staffing,
Services, Organization and Management Issues.
It is often beneficial, when organizational climates allow, for the project team to
develop input regarding current operational and organizational issues from all staff not
just policy makers and management staff. The use of an employee survey would allow
every full -time and part -time employee the opportunity to provide confidential input into
this process. To provide a major avenue for employee input at the outset of the project,
we would propose to prepare and administer an employee questionnaire, which would
be designed to:
Document attitudes toward the types, levels and quality of services provided.
Document attitudes toward the balance of work and staffing.
Elicit attitudes toward organizational elements such as coordination of staff and services, internal
management of o erations, schedulin and de Io ment, and the like.
Document perceptions regarding key management issues such as planning of work to be performed,
internal communications and the like.
Obtain employee views about opportunities to restructure services, reduce costs, etc.
Enable employees to provide input regarding service overlaps or duplication, or ineffective working
relationships, between City departments.
Questionnaires would be structured to document the attitudes toward issues and
systems which are organization -wide, and also attitudes toward issues which are unique
to each operating department included within the scope of this study. Questionnaires
would be confidential, conducted through an on -line survey tool, with responses coming
directly to us.
Deliverable: The product of this task would be a narrative and analytical summary
of response patterns on an organizational and departmental basis resulting from
the employee survey.
Task 4 Conduct a "Best Management Practices" Assessment of Current
Operations and Service Levels in the Context of Standards of
Efficiency and Effectiveness.
Our project team will utilize "best management practices" to evaluate staffing,
productivity, processes, use of technology, management planning, as well as many
other dimensions of organizational performance, for each department under review. As
a result, we propose to accomplish the following:
The project team would develop a detailed list of "best management practices"
for use in a diagnostic appraisal of each service function. This diagnostic
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appraisal would be developed to identify those areas in which the City was
meeting targeted service delivery objectives or standards of service efficiency or
effectiveness.
The project team would evaluate the operations, management and services in
each service area and identify issues associated with current practices and
regulations.
Each service area diagnostic element would consist of the following:
A definition of the service level, efficiency or deployment target selected in
each functional service area.
A description of the current performance of staff providing each service.
Identification of those areas in which the current delivery approach,
practice or service level met or exceeded the target(s) selected and
require no further study.
Identification of those areas in which service levels, approaches or
practices represented improvement opportunities for the City.
Evaluation of the exiting performance measures utilized, and development of
recommended performance measures.
Deliverable: The product associated with this task would be a diagnostic
assessment report which identifies areas where the City meets standards of
efficiency and effectiveness and identifies improvement opportunities within each
functional area.
Task 5 Analyze Organization, Operations and Staffing in Each Department
and Identification of Potential Cost Savings.
In this important work task, opportunities for improving the organizational
structure, management, operations and staffing will be analyzed. This task will include
such approaches and methodologies as the following:
Evaluate the organizational structure in each department. We will evaluate organizational structure
in terms of gaps or overlaps in function, spans of control and appropriate organizational location.
Is the organization structure too "tiered" or too "flat" from the management staffing perspective?
Are functions placed too high or too low in regard to their importance in meeting operating and
service objectives?
Are spans of control too broad or too limited?
Are there any overlapping or duplicated functions?
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Evaluate staff deployment compared to service levels and facility characteristics. This analysis
will evaluate staff utilization by comparing existing staffing levels against recognized industry- specific
targets for staff allocation in each functional area. We will develop a matrix outlining staffing allocation
tables outlining reasonable service level expectations that can be achieves with varying staff levels.
This will provide critical data that the elected officials can utilize when making staffing levels ensuring
they are cognizant of service impacts to be expected.
Evaluation of the adequacy of major work practices. The analysis will focus on identification of
opportunities to streamline work practices to increase utilization levels and/or reduce staffing
requirements. Through the analysis of major work practices, the consulting team will determine if:
Crew sizes of various units are appropriate to the type and volume of work performed.
Ways exist to reduce travel time and unproductive staff usage.
Equipment is available to reduce labor-intensive work tasks.
The frequency of various work tasks now performed is unnecessary or can be reduced.
Some work tasks can be eliminated.
Skill, mix for positions can be improved.
Use of part -time staff for maintenance of facilities can be increased, and the extent of utilization of
full -time staff reduced to reflect the seasonal nature of work practices and service provided.
Evaluation of work planning and scheduling. Analysis will focus on systems and processes used to
plan and control work focusing on:
Evaluation of the overall maintenance management programs employed to support field operations
to include maintenance frequencies, maintenance standards, staff assignment to maintenance tasks,
and systems and procedures employed to monitor performance of both scheduled and unscheduled
maintenance programs.
Adequacy of supervisory training related to planning and scheduling work.
Appropriateness of work schedules in place and options for alternative scheduling.
Availability of materials and supplies to support planning of work and maintenance activities.
Evaluation of the use of contract services to provide services. Analysis will focus on a number of
elements including:
The extent to which contractors are utilized for maintenance of facilities, fleet, and other municipal
services.
Estimating the cost of service contracting based on the experience of other municipalities that have
implemented service contracts in each service area analyzed.
Compare those costs with the cost of in -house services.
Identify the impact of contracting on service levels and service responsiveness.
Identify the impact of service contracting on City capabilities to respond to emergency situations
including disasters as well as emergency response to unscheduled service problems
Analyze the effectiveness of managing operations in the City:
Departmental operations require
effective management to ensure that staff are appropriately scheduled, deployed as well as utilized. The
project team will evaluate this in terms of the following:
How do managers plan, schedule and control the work to be done in each of the City's organizational
units?
Do managers have accurate and timely measures of the performance of each unit?
How are goals, objectives and service level targets developed?
How productive are management personnel in performing their duties? How is this productivity
evaluated?
How is `customer service' defined, promoted and supported?
Does the City Council receive the information that they need to provide an on -going assessment of
departmental performance?
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Identification of cost saving alternatives for the City: Each department's operations will be
evaluated to determine potential costs saving that can be achieved through various methods. In
determining potential cost reductions, the project team will evaluate a variety of alternatives include:
Those achievable through greater efficiency or altering existing operating practices;
Those available through alternative staffing approaches;
Appropriate alternatives for providing services through outsourcing, shared services, etc., and
Those realized through a change in service level.
Evaluation of Alternative Organizational Structures: In addition to evaluating specific staffing levels
within each functional area, the project team will evaluate alternative approaches to structuring the
municipal departments to determine if a more effective or efficient (both in terms of cost and service
delivery) structure could be implemented. The project team will provide a summary matrix outlining the
advantages, disadvantages, and costs associated with each alternative as compared to the current
structure.
Analysis of these components will result in the development of detailed
recommendations regarding:
Specific staffing required given acceptable utilization levels, both in terms of
immediate needs and longer -term (i.e., next five years) based upon expected
service demands.
Specific positions that can be eliminated or adjusted if reasonable utilization
levels are obtained.
Specific steps that need to be taken to reach reasonable utilization levels include:
Specific changes in existing work methods and practices.
Adjustments in existing planning and scheduling techniques.
Where appropriate, specific steps that could be taken to adjust existing
operating systems with positive impact on staff utilization levels and
staffing requirements.
Opportunities to outsource appropriate services presently provided in-
house, and the potential cost impact of contracting out these services.
Opportunities to explore internal consolidation or cooperation.
Deliverable: The result of this task would be a detailed analysis of the operational
choices in service delivery, service levels and the staffing needs in each
department.
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Proposal to Conduct a Citywide Management and Staffing Study
Task 6 Prepare a Draft and Final Report and Provide Plans for Implementing
Identified Improvement Opportunities and Cost Reductions.
Upon the conclusion of the assessment, we will prepare a detailed report which
summarizes the results of each of the previous work tasks described above. This report
includes the following:
A description of the methodology by which we conducted the study, including our approach,
interviews,
survey methodology,
and the methods by which we obtained review and feedback from the City.
A detailed evaluation of department and management staffing.
A detailed analysis of the most appropriate allocation of functions within the City, as well as the
proposed structure of organization and identification of alternatives that could be considered. Specific
identification of underutilized or duplicative services would be noted with recommendations on how to
effectively transition.
A detailed analysis of major work processes, and recommendations for improvement in methods of
service delivery.
Identification and evaluation of key performance measures including gaps between target and actual.
Identification of any services currently provided by the City which appear to be candidates for shared
services approaches, or outsourcing.
Specific cost savings by department that can realized from alternative service delivery approaches,
staffing reductions, or changes in service levels.
Implementation plans covering all recommended improvements consisting of specific work steps;
suggested responsibility for implementation; timing and sequencing for the accomplishment of each
work step; as well as an "order of magnitude" of cost and/or savings associated with implementation.
The report will include an executive summary, a detailed findings and
conclusions section, detailed recommendations for each department, and an
implementation schedule with associated costs 1 cost savings. The plan should include
the following elements:
Specific actionable recommendations broken down into tasks;
Milestones and timeline for implementation;
Anticipated significant challenges to implementation;
Designated responsible manager;
Priority for implementation;
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Estimates of up -front and operational costs or savings (and projects over the next
five years); and
Metric noting how to identify when implementation is completed.
The analysis would be reviewed in draft form with top City officials and
departmental staff as well as with the project review committee. Once this review is
completed, the project team will review all comments received, edit and finalize the
report and present the final report to the City in a public meeting.
Deliverable: The result of this task would be the draft and final report and
implementation plan, together with all of the technical documents developed
during the study process. We would present the final report to the City at a
public ,meeting, on request.
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D. REFERENCES
The client references provided below represent just a sampling of prior
experience that project team members of the Matrix Consulting Group have in providing
organization -wide consulting services. All of these are recent studies completed by the
firm that have similarities in scope and complexity to the study being requested by the
City of Rancho Palos Verdes.
Client and Project
Title
Year Completed)
Project Summary Reference
Sunnyvale, California The Matrix Consulting Group conducted a Gary Luebbers
2005 -2009) Citywide Optimum Staffing Study on a serial
basis since 2005 (Public Safety in 2005, Public
City Manager
Serial Efficiency,
Effectiveness and
Works in 2006, Finance in 2007 and remaining
departments this year). The Public Safety study
408.730.7475
Optimum Staffing analyzed opportunities to reduce field patrol
Studies costs by changing an inefficient 11.5 hour
schedule to a 12 hour one (savings of $1.1 M
per year while maintaining existing service
levels). The Public Works study identified $1 M
in net cost savings mainly through changes in
crew sizes and PM intervals. The Finance study
recommended changes in the City's budget and
performance management system. The study
just completed examined Community
Development (push more permits to the counter
from the Planning Commission; consolidate
development functions); Community Services
reduction in parks managers); Human
Resources (reduction of staff from 21 to 14 while
making staff more responsive); information
Technology (more off the shelf applications) and
Library (reduction in management). In this final
study, over $750,000 in savings have been
identified.
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Client and Project
Title
Year Completed)
Project Summary Reference
Roseville, California
2011)
In this study the Matrix project team conducted a
comprehensive staffing, organization and
management analysis for this suburban
Sacramento area city. Key recommendations
included flattening the management organization
of public works and utilities, centralizing
engineering and public relations, improving the
internal service delivery of human resources and
information technology, re- establishing a path
toward community policing to foster greater
accountability in the field together with higher
utilization in proactive activities and, finally,
refocusing the libraries'
resources in its three
facilities. This study excluded the Fire
Department.
Chris Robles
Community
Development Manager
916.774.5421
Orland Park, Illinois
2011)
Organizational
Staffing Analysis
This study focused on evaluating staffing levels
and organizational structures for the Village of
Orland Park. The Village had implemented
significant staff reductions in the prior years —
mainly through attrition and retirements. They
asked the Matrix Consulting Group to provide
recommendations for reallocation of staff,
revised organizational structures, and
operational improvements to enable them to
maintain high -level core services with the
existing total staffing allocations. We provided
alternative organizational structures and
recommendations for reallocation of positions
focused on enhancing core services within
existing financial constraints. During the two
months since the report was finalized, the Village
has proceeded to implement many of the
recommended staffing and organizational
changes.
Paul Grimes
Village Manager
708.403.61 55
Ellen Baer
Asst. Village Manager
708.403.6155
Montpelier, Vermont
2011)
City -wide
Organizational Review
For this engagement, the Matrix Consulting
Group conducted a city -wide organizational and
operational review of all city departments.
Specific areas of review included evaluation of
alternative organizational structures, staffing
levels required for efficient and effective
operations, policy or procedure changes and
reallocation of duties to improve service delivery,
and development of performance targets for key
functions.
William Fraser
City Manager
802.223.9502
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CITY OF RANCHO PAL OS VERDES, CALIFORNIA
Proposal to Conduct a Citywide Management and Staffing Study
Client and Project
Title
Year Completed)
Project Summary Reference
Johnson County, In this study, the Matrix Consulting Group Hannes Zacharias
Kansas (2011) evaluated this 3,900 employee organization with
a focus on evaluating: (1) alternative
County Manager
organizational structures; (2) opportunities for 913.715.0725
Organizational more efficient provision of services; (3)
Structure Assessment elimination of duplicated services in the
and Optimization organization; and (4) review of "internal support"
Study functions and operating procedures for
efficiencies. Select recommendations included:
reorganization to reduce number of Departments
by 24% from 38 to 29; consolidation of internal
service functions (facilities, IT, HR) currently
provided in a decentralized (or partially
decentralized) approach to allow operating
departments to focus on their core services
rather than internal support functions; to improve
services to operating departments while
reducing costs, and increasing managerial spans
of control. All recommendations were developed
in a manner that maintained or increased
existing service levels. Long -term cost- savings
were estimated at over $2M.
Raymore, Missouri In this study, we conducted a comprehensive Eric Berlin
2010) organizational assessment of the City of City Manager
Raymore. Key recommendations included
Organizational Review altering work practices and crew sizes to
increase efficiency (especially in Public Works),
enhanced use of existing technology, and
reassignment of work to more fully utilize staff
positions. Following the completion of this
engagement, the Matrix Consulting Group
provided facilitation services to the City as part
of the City Council's annual strategic plan review
and refinement.
816.892.3002
We would encourage you contact to contact these references to discuss the
quality, thoroughness, and timeliness of the Matrix Consulting Group's work products.
We would be happy to provide additional references, including those for department
specific studies, upon request.
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CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CALIFORNIA
Proposal to Conduct a Citywide Management and Staffing Study
E. PROJECT COST AND SCHEDULE
This section of our proposal provides details regarding our proposed budget and
schedule to conduct the Management and Staffing Study for the City of Rancho Palos
Verdes.
1. PROPOSED PROJECT COST.
The Matrix Consulting Group is proposing to conduct this Study, in accordance
with the services requested by the City and at the level of detail outlined in our proposed
project approach, for a total not to exceed cost of $49,500, as outlined in the following
budget;
Project TaskI
Project
Manager
Analysty Total Hours
1. Initial Interviews 8 0 8
2. Profile 16 64 80
3. Employee Survey 0 8 8
4. Best Practices 8 32 40
5. Alternatives 24 32 56
6. Draft / Final Report 24 32 56
TOTAL STAFF HOURS 80 168 248
HOURLY BILLING RATE 200 175
Professional Fees 16,000 29,400 45,400
Travel Expenses 4,100
TOTAL PROJECT COST 0
evozb
Lkt-i CXX:' VEIL
VEC8064- —
r- IT1000 teaMED 1V
We would be pleased to enter into a fixed price contract on this engagement. ,p,asibeisr
We typically invoice on a monthly basis for actual time and expenses incurred.
2. PROPOSED PROJECT SCHEDULE.
The following table provides our proposed project schedule for this engagement.
As shown, we are proposing a twelve (12) week schedule for this engagement.
Matrix Consulting Group Page 22
Project Week
1 1 2 3 4 5 6' 7 8 9 10 11 12
1. Initial Interviews
2. Profile
3. Employee Survey
4. Best Practices
5. Alternatives
6. Draft I Final Report
v
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APPENDIX - RESUMES
Detailed resumes for all of our project team members are located on the
following pages.
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RICHARD P. BRADY
PRESIDENT, MATRIX CONSULTING GROUP
Background: Richard Brady provides organization, staffing and management analytical services to
Local government. In his extensive career, he has conducted over 400 projects for over 300 Local and
state government client agencies. Richard Brady has been a management consultant to local
government for 30 years. Prior to creating his own consulting practice of Matrix Consulting Group, Mr.
Brady was MAXIMUS's Vice President for providing management auditing services nationwide.
Before
that, he was the managing partner of the consulting firm of Hughes, Heiss & Associates.
Agency -Wide Studies: Conducted studies of entire city and county organizations.
Scopes of work
included organizational structure and allocation of functions, management spans of control, service and
staffing levels, operational requirements as well as policies and procedures,
Albany; New York
Alachua County, Florida
Alexandria, Louisiana
Allegan County,
Michigan
Augusta, Georgia
Beaufort County, South Carolina
Brattleboro, Vermont
Burke County, North Carolina
Burlington, Massachusetts
Culpeper County,
Virginia
Florence County, South Carolina
Gainesville, Georgia
Hall County, Georgia
Irvine, California
Lathrop, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Gatos, California
Monroe County, Michigan
North Miami Beach, Florida
Palo Alto, California
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth, Virginia
Prescott Valley, Arizona
San Antonio, Texas
San Clemente, California
San Luis Obispo, California
Sunnyvale, California
Upper Merlon Twp, Pennsylvania
Waltham, Massachusetts
Wayland, Massachusetts
West Boylston, Massachusetts
Whitman, Massachusetts
Administrative Services: Conducted studies of internal service functions, including human resources,
information technology, purchasing and risk management. Focuses included comparison to best
management practices and peer agencies, customer services approaches, support systems, etc.
Edmond (OK) — IT
Franklin County (OH) — Purchasing
Irvine (CA) — Human Resources
Newport Beach -- Risk Management
Salt Lake City (UT) -- IT
Santa Rosa (CA) -- Purchasing
Sonoma County (
CA) - Purchasing
Washington D.C. -- Purchasing
Law Enforcement: Mr. Brady is a nationally recognized expert in the analysis of law enforcement,. He
has conducted police and sheriff's office studies which focused on service delivery strategies,
patrol
deployments, scheduling and levels of proactivity, case management, records management systems
and business practices, policies and procedures, crime prevention programs.
Alaska Anchorage Nebraska Omaha
Arizona Goodyear, Prescott Valley Nevada Las Vegas Metro Police Department
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RICHARD P. BRADY
PRESIDENT, MATRIX CONSULTING GROUP
California Alameda County, Anaheim, Butte
County, Citrus Heights, Contra Costa County,
Galt, Gilroy, Glendale, Kern County, Los Angeles,
Los Angeles County, Los Gatos, Lynwood,
Monrovia, Napa, Ontario, Orange County,
Palmdale, Palo Alto, Pittsburg, Poway, San Jose,
Pasadena, San Bernardino, San Bernardino
County, San Rafael, Santa Ana, Santa Monica,
Sunnyvale
New Hampshire Portsmouth
New York Albany, Carthage, Endicott, Vestal and
Briarcliff Manor
North Carolina Burke County and Durham
Michigan Alpena and Detroit
Ohio Fairborn
Oregon Clackamas County and Grants Pass
Pennsylvania York
Colorado Aurora
Florida Alachua County,
Jacksonville, Jupiter,
North Miami Beach, Orange County, Pasco
County, Pinellas County, Port Richey and Venice
South Carolina Beaufort County, Charleston
County, Hilton Head Island, Spartanburg County
Tennessee Nashville - Davidson County and Knox
County
Georgia Americus, Augusta- Richmond County,
Fulton County, Hall County, Chatham County,
Americus and Gainesville
Louisiana Alexandria
Massachusetts Beverly, Boston, Lawrence,
Milford, Mansfield, Burlington, Pelham, Wayland,
Westwood, Whitman
Texas Arlington, Terrell, El Paso, Grand Prairie
and Southlake
Utah Salt Lake City
Vermont Brattleboro
Virginia Leesburg and Loudoun County
Washington Spokane, Kirkland and Snohomish
County
Minnesota Anoka County
Missouri Des Peres and Raymore
Wisconsin Sun Prairie, Milwaukee
Fire and Emergency Medical Services: Mr. Brady is also a nationally recognized expert in the
analysis of fire and emergency medical services. Projects have included evaluations of deployment,
station locations, response policies, company staffing, non -call utilization, fire prevention and
education, training, hazardous materials management, fire management and administration.
Alachua County, Florida
Albany, New York
Americus, Georgia
Augusta, Georgia
Bellingham, Washington
Brattleboro, Vermont
Bremerton, Washington
Broward County, Florida
Burlington, Massachusetts
Charlotte County, Florida
Cupertino, California
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Lansing, Michigan
Newark, California
Norwalk, Connecticut
Omaha, Nebraska
Palo Alto, California
Peoria, Illinois
Reno, Nevada
Salt Lake City,
Utah
San Rafael, California
Sarasota County, Florida
Tallahassee, Florida
Venice, Florida
Parks and Recreation: Evaluated parks and recreational functions for local government. Scopes of
work included how services meet community needs, the utilization of programs and facilities, the depth
of recreational programs, public - private partnerships, technology, parks preventive maintenance and
coordination of services with other service providers.
Davie, Florida
Davis, California
Cranford, New Jersey
Howard County, Maryland
Santa Barbara, California
Campbell, California
EDUCATION
Mr. Brady received his BA degree from California State University at Hayward and his MA and PhD
degrees from Oxford University, U.K.
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ALAN D. PENNINGTON
VICE PRESIDENT, MATRIX CONSULTING GROUP
Background: Alan Pennington is a Vice President with the Matrix Consulting Group based in the St.
Louis regional office. He has been employed by the Matrix Consulting Group since 2005. Prior to that
he served for over 15 years in public sector positions in Maine and Illinois. He served in Peoria, Illinois
from 1992 -- 2005), in various positions including Assistant City Manager, Assistant Human Resources
Director, and Labor Relations Manager. Mr. Pennington has conducted operational studies and
analysis, budget preparation, implementation of performance measurement systems, direct supervision
of an emergency communications center, equal opportunity unit and a labor negotiator.
Agency -Wide Studies: Participated on project teams conducting evaluations of entire city
organizations. Work scope included evaluation of service levels and policies and procedures, staffing
levels, evaluation of spans of control, and reviewing alternatives options for overall organizational
structure.
Fort Morgan, Colorado
Franklin Township, New Jersey
Johnson County, Kansas
Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania
Orland Park, Illinois
Orleans, Massachusetts
Raymore, Missouri
Roseville, California
Administrative Services: Conducted studies of administrative support services including Human
Resources, Finances, Procurement, and City Clerk. Study scope of work included performance
measurement, customer service (internal and external), technology utilization, staffing evaluations,
policy and procedure review, and comparison to best management practices.
Avon (CT) - HR, Finance, Maintenance
Charlotte (NC) - Procurement
CPS Consultants (CA) — Organizational, HR
Highland Park (IL) -- HR
Marshall University (WV) - Procurement
Matanuska (AK) - School Site Selection
Peoria County (IL) - HR, Procurement, Finance
Portsmouth (NH) - Labor Relations, Overtime
Portsmouth (NH) - Labor Relations, Overtime
RenolWashoe County (NV) — Procurement
Salt Lake City (
UT) - Human Resources
Santa Clara Valley Water (CA) - Procurement
Springfield (MA) - City Clerk
Springfield (MA) - Finance, Procurement
Sunnyvale (CA) -- Finance, Procurement
West Virginia University (WV) - Procurement
Community Development (Planning, Building, Code Enforcement): Evaluated the development
review and permitting processes. Conducted assessment of staffing, operations, process mapping,
technology utilization, performance level assessment, and customer service.
Cupertino, California
Dayton, Ohio
Gwinnett County,
Georgia
Hanover County, Virginia
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Johnson City, Tennessee
Lawrence, Kansas
Lee's Summit, Missouri (Codes Administration)
Lee's Summit, Missouri (Planning)
Little Rock, Arkansas
Manatee County,
Florida
San Jose, California
Springfield, Massachusetts
Sunrise, Florida
Town of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
West Palm Beach, Florida
Parks and Recreation: Evaluated parks and recreational functions including scope of services
provided, utilization of facilities, public - private partnerships, preventive maintenance and long -range
planning, and technology utilization.
Los Angeles, California
Orleans, Massachusetts
Southlake, Texas
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ALAN D. PENNINGTON (continued)
VICE PRESIDENT, MATRIX CONSULTING GROUP
Public Works and Utilities: Conducted studies of full service public works departments including
maintenance, fleet, traffic, engineering, and roads. Studies have focused on evaluation of maintenance
management, crew sizes and staff utilization, technology, organizational structure, standard operating
procedures, levels of performance management, and feasibility of shares services with neighboring
governmental units.
Alexandria, Virginia
Charleston County, South Carolina
Franklin, Tennessee (Water/Wastewater)
Franklin, Tennessee (Fleet Management)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Nashville - Davidson County, Tennessee
Orleans, Massachusetts
Washington County,
New York
Courts: Conducted evaluation of the Court Clerk Administrative Operations. Areas evaluated
including Court Clerk utilization, training and allocation, technology, finances, human resources,
revenue collection, and policies and procedures related to support the Court and Judges.
Franklin County, Ohio (Municipal Court Clerk) Nashville- Davidson, Tennessee (Juvenile Ct.
Clerk)
Public Safety: Mr. Pennington has conducted a variety of studies related to public safety areas
covering the range of Police and Fire Services. On larger studies, Mr. Pennington has focused on
evaluation and assessment of the Administrative Services (Human Resources, Finance, Records
Administration, etc.).
Des Peres, Missouri (Public Safety)
Jacksonville, Florida Sheriff (Admin. Services)
Omaha, Nebraska (Collective Bargaining)
Orange County Sheriff, Florida (Admin. Services)
Raymore, Missouri (Police)
West Des Moines, Iowa (Fire)
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS:
American Association of Code Enforcement (AACE)
American Planning Association (APA)
International Code Council (ICC)
International Public Management Association for Human Resources
American Society for Training and Development
EDUCATION:
BA, University of Maine — Public Management; 1990.
MPA, University of Maine -- Public Administration, 1992.
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GREG MATHEWS
VICE PRESIDENT, MATRIX CONSULTING GROUP
Background: Greg Mathews is a Vice President with the Matrix Consulting Group. Mr. Mathews has
over twenty years of public sector experience, performing as both a senior management consultant and
executive manager. As Deputy Director of Auditing for the Los Angeles City Controller's Office, he
managed the day -to -day functions of the Performance Auditing, Follow -up and Management
Assessment sections. He supervised ten professional auditing staff and was responsible for the project
management of numerous performance audits. For over eight years Mr. Mathews has provided public
sector consulting services to cities, counties and special districts throughout the Western and Mid-
Western United States. He has analyzed Department operations and recommended enhancements
related to organizational performance, personnel productivity, process improvement and strategic
W planning with particular emphasis in the public safety, public works and public utilities fields.
Agency -Wide Studies: Conducted studies of entire city and county organizations.
Scopes of work
included organizational structure and allocation of functions, management spans of control, service and
staffing levels, operational requirements as well as policies and procedures review.
Spokane (WA)
Barstow (CA)
Carlsbad (CA)
San Rafael (CA) _
Goodyear (AZ)
Douglas (AZ)
Monroe County (MI)
Matanuska - Susitna Borough (AK)
Administrative: Conducted various administrative based studies including development review
planning), County Clerk, and LAFCO for local government. Studies included evaluations of the
organization of these functions, overlaps and duplications of functions, staff utilization, technology
usage, fees for service and cost recovery mechanisms.
Glendale (CA)
Clackamas County (OR)
Salem (OR)
Public Works and Public Utilities: Conducted studies of fleets, roads, parks, traffic and other
infrastructure maintenance to include engineering services. Study scopes included the effectiveness of
maintenance management, feasibility studies, technology used, crew sizes, fleet utilization and
specifications, staff utilization and the level of service to the community served. Mr. Mathews has been
a guest lecturer at the Association of Local Government Auditors (
ALGA) related to fleet maintenance
practices.
Sunnyvale (CA)
Marion County (OR)
Chino Valley Public Agency Cooperative (CA)
Monrovia (CA)
Santa Barbara (CA)
Carlsbad Municipal Water District (CA)
El Centro (CA)
San Diego County (CA)
Modesto (CA)
San Mateo County (CA)
Matanuska- Susitna Borough (AK)
Goodyear (AZ)
Indian Wells (CA)
Sacramento Flood Control Agency
Upland (CA)
Banning (CA)
Douglas (AZ)
Barstow (CA)
Denton (TX)
Napa County (CA)
Matrix Consulting Group Page 28
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CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CALIFORNIA
Proposal to Conduct a Citywide Management and Staffing Study
GREG MATHEWS (continued)
VICE PRESIDENT, MATRIX CONSULTING GROUP
Public Safety: Conducted numerous and extensive studies of public safety operations with particular
emphasis in the law enforcement and Public Safety Answering Point (dispatch) fields. Scope of work
included organizational review, staffing utilization based upon workloads, efficiency and effectiveness
analysis, and feasibility studies.
Burbank (CA)
Reno, Sparks and Washoe County (NV)
Laguna Beach (CA)
Laguna Nigel (CA)
Lake Forest (CA)
Omaha (NE)
Orange County (CA)
Milwaukee (WI)
San Juan Capistrano (CA)
Los Angeles (CA)
San Rafael (CA)
Monterey County (CA)
Jackson County (OR)
University of Missouri (KS)
Placer County (CA)
Chino Valley Independent Fire District (CA)
Glendale (CA)
Simi Valley (CA)
Santa Monica (CA)
Long Beach (CA)
Mission Viejo (CA)
Orange County (FL)
San Clemente (CA)
South Pasadena (CA)
Alameda County (CA)
Pasadena (CA)
Aurora (CO)
Corvallis (OR)
Beverly Hills (CA)
San Mateo County (CA)
EDUCATION:
BA, University of California, Davis
MPA, University of Southern California
Matrix Consulting Group Page 29
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K.OFF & ASSOCIATE& INC.
Human Resource Consulting Since 1984
PROPOSAL
For An
ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW
OF THE
CITY OF RANCHO PAILS VERDES
Submitted by:
KOFF & ASSOCIATES, INC.
6400 Hollis Street, Suite 5
Emeryville, CA 94608
510.658.KOFF (5633) - voice
800.514.5195 - toll free
510.652.5633 - fax
E -mail: gkrammer @koffassociates.com
Contact Person
Georg Krammer
Chief Executive Officer
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K FF & ASSOCIATES. INC,
Human Resource C :'orisu lting Since 1984
June 2, 2012
Ms. Susan Brooks
Councilwoman
City of Rancho Palos Verdes
30940 Hawthorne Blvd.
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275
Dear Ms Brooks:
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to your request for proposals. We are most interested
in assisting you with this important study and are committed to giving this project the highest
priority. Meeting your needs is our number one goal.
Koff & Associates, Inc., a California corporation, is a woman -owned experienced public- sector
consulting firm that has been conducting similar studies for cities, counties, special districts
community services, water, wastewater, education, library, fire, air quality management,
housing, transportation, solid waste, hospital, and higher education districts), and courts for over
twenty -eight years. Koff & Associates has achieved a reputation for working successfully with
management, employees, and union representatives. We believe in a high level of dialogue and
input from employees and management and our proposal speaks to that level of effort. That
extra effort has resulted in close to 100% implementation of all of our organizational studies.
Koff & Associates is a small firm that accepts only as much work as our own staff can handle.
This assures a high level of quality control, excellent communication between clients and our
office, commitment to meeting timelines and budgets, and a consistent high - caliber work
product. We encourage you to contact our references.
As Chief Executive Officer of the firm, I would assume the role of Project Director and be
responsible for the successful completion of this project. I can be reached at the Emeryville
address and phone number listed below. My e -mail address is: gkrammer@akoffassociates.com.
Please call if you have any questions or wish additional information. We look forward to the
opportunity to provide professional service to your City.
Sincerely,
Georg S. Krammer
Chief Executive Officer
6400 -Hollis Street. Suite 5, Emeryville;, CA 946()8 TEL 510 - 658 -K0FF ($ 33) FAX 51()652-K .. OF (563 3)
www.KofiAssociates.com
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OFF & ASSOCIATES. INC.
Duman Resource Consulting Since 1984
PROPOSAL
For An
ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW
OF THE
CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page No.
1. Understanding of the Project 1
2. Study Objectives 2
3. Statement of Qualifications & Relevant Professional Experience 3
4. Project Team 4
5. References 8
6. Work Plan and Methodology 10
7. Expectations of City Support 16
8. Project Schedule 16
9. Proposed Project Cost 17
10. Insurance Requirements 18
6400 H ollis Street. Suite 5 Emeryville, CA 94608 TEL 5/ irk()- s58KO i F (5633) FAX 5.! f) ~65.2 - K.OF' (56i X3)
Y 1Y Yti.K.oA E.A.ssoc iates.cor
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K.OFF & ASSOCIATES. INC.
Human Resource Consulting Since 1984
UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROJECT
The City of Rancho Palos Verdes desires consulting assistance to conduct an
organizational review of the entire City in order to identify areas where the City might be
able to operate more efficiently and effectively. The City seeks to take under advisement
the consultant's recommendations and initiate changes that will result in improvements to
organizational effectiveness, customer service, fiscal responsibility, and strategic
planning for the future. The City is particularly interested in an evaluation of staffing
levels, organizational structure, and technological improvements in order to ensure that
the City can meet current and future customer service demands and service delivery
expectations. Additionally, the City seeks an evaluation of all operations for efficiencies.
The City is comprised of seven (7) departments, including 1) City Manager, 2) City
Clerk, 3) Finance and Information Technology City, 4) Community Development, 5)
Building/Safety Inspection, 6) Public Works, and 7) Recreation & Parks.
The study's purpose is to initially conduct an analysis of the City's organizational
structure to ensure operational efficiency. This will include studying reporting
relationships, span of control, staffing levels, outsourcing and in- sourcing opportunities,
and comparing the City's organizational structure to that of other comparable cities. The
final work product will be an integrated organizational structure that will allow for
potential future City growth, career growth, and effective customer service delivery.
A second level of effort will be to analyze operational efficiencies, including studying
available resources, deficiencies, and redundancies. The process includes orientation and
briefing sessions with employees, management, and employees; the completion of a
position assessment questionnaire by employees; interviews /focus group meetings with a
representative sample of employees in each assignment/classification within the City; and
interviews with supervisors and managers to obtain additional information.
A third level of effort includes the identification of best management practices and
performance measures, including the use of computer and automation technologies. This
will be a major component of the information gathering process when surveying
comparable cities to the City of Rancho Palos Verdes and the use of resources, best
practices, and performance measures throughout those cities.
Finally, the study will look at options and make recommendations for improved
efficiencies and customer service, including the potential integration of functions
between the City's departments, identification of synergies, a review of staffing ratios,
and various aspects of customer service provision by the City. The study will also
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June 2, 2012
include a trend analysis regarding the results of a comprehensive survey to identify
industry best practices within the above - mentioned comparator agencies.
The study includes a significant number of meetings with the City's project team,
management, staff, and employees, as well as the City Council. We have expertise in
labor /management relations and understand the importance of active participation by all
stakeholders to ensure a successful outcome. The meetings and "stakeholder touch -
points" that we recommend ensure understanding of the project parameters, enhance
accurate intake and output of information and improve a collaborative and interactive
approach that will result in greater buy -in for the study recommendations. This
interactive approach, although time - consuming, has resulted in almost 100%
implementation success of Koff & Associates' studies.
STUDY OBJECTIVES
Operational Objectives
To carefully analyze the scope and level of duties and responsibilities, processes and
assignments, requirements for successful work performance (including required
competencies), and other factors of the City's assignments /positions/ classifications;
To conduct a comprehensive position assessment, including review of existing
documentation, position assessment questionnaire completion, employee
interviews /focus groups, management interviews, analysis of existing positions
and working situations, and other professional methods, as appropriate;
To identify organizational and workload issues during interviews
with employees/
focus groups including consideration of technology and automation potential and
improvements as well as the addition of other operational tools;
To recommend changes in staffing levels, i.e., additions or reductions, as well as,
outsourcing opportunities of certain functional areas of assignment; and
To provide for growth and flexibility of assignment, where feasible, as well as
adequate career paths that will foster career service within the City and provide a
clearly designed organizational structure, reporting relationships, and logical
classification series /job families that are reflective of industry best practices.
Best Management Practices and Performance Measures Objectives
To review and make recommendations regarding a pool of comparator agencies
that are not only similar in size, resources, and service provision to the City of
Rancho Palos Verdes, but also reflect the high level of forward thinking and
ingenuity, diversity, customer service, and community engagement that the City is
looking to model itself after;
To collect accurate organizational and operational data from the approved group
of comparator agencies and to ensure that this information is analyzed in a
manner that is clear and comprehensible to your City Council, management, and
employees;
6400 Hollis Street, Suite 5, Emeryville, CA 94608 TEL. 510 - 658 -K()FF (5633) FAX 5110- 652 -KOFF (56:33)
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To collect information from each of the comparator agencies regarding
organizational structure, position allocations, work assignments, resources used
including human, financial, and technology resources), operational and customer
service data;
To recommend best management practices that are reflective of industry
knowledge, the approved group of comparator cities, and professional
associations, such as SHRM, ASCE, and ITE;
To recommend strategies to incorporate industry and market best practices into
day to day operations which will include an analysis of centralized versus
decentralized operations in the achievement of best practices;
To identify opportunities to leverage departmental efforts to improve overall
synergy throughout the City;
To identify a performance measurement system(s) utilized in conjunction with
best management practices and develop appropriate measurement criteria based
on organizational goals; and
To identify performance measurement tools for each major operation incorporating
financial, human resources, operational, and customer specific goals.
Overall Objectives
To review and understand all current departmental documentation, policies,
procedures, practices, organizational charts, budgetary and financial data, and
related information so that our recommendations can be operationally
incorporated with a minimum of disruption;
To review, analyze, and make recommendations that will enhance organizational
effectiveness and improve customer service, such as organizational restructuring,
outsourcing, technology, and any changes deemed necessary in current staffing
levels;
To conduct a start -up meeting with the Project Team to finalize study plans and
timetables; conduct briefing and orientation sessions with employees,
management, and employees in order to educate and explain the scope of the
study and describe what are and are not reasonable study expectations and goals;
To work collaboratively and effectively with the City and its stakeholders while at
the same time maintaining control and objectivity in the conduct of the study;
To ensure sufficient documentation of the study processes and methodologies so
that the City can integrate, maintain, and administer the plans after the initial
implementation in a competent and fair manner; and
To provide effective ongoing communications throughout the duration of the project.
STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS
Koff & Associates, Inc. is a majority woman - owned, State - registered small business,
public sector human resources consulting firm that was founded in 1984 and has been
assisting cities, counties, and special districts for over 28 years. We are familiar with the
various organizational structures, agency missions, operational and budgetary
requirements, and staffing expectations.
6400 Hollis Street. Suite 5, Emeryville, CA 94((08 TEL 51(0.658 -K( F (5633) FAX 51 Ow652 ..OFF (56 33)
www.KofiAssociates.com
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We have extensive experience working in both union and non -union environments
including serving as the management representative in negotiation meetings), working
with City Councils, Boards of Supervisors, Merit Boards, Joint Power Authorities, and
Boards of Directors.
The firm's areas of focus are organizational, classification, and compensation studies and
industry /market surveys (approximately 70% of our workload); development of strategic
management tools; performance management; best practices policy /procedure
development and employee handbooks; executive search and staff recruitments; human
resources audits; and serving as off-site HR Director for our smaller public agencies that
need the expertise of an HR Director but do not need a full -time, on -site professional.
Without exception, all of our organizational, classification, and compensation studies
have successfully met all of our intended commitments; communications were successful
with employees, supervisors, management, and union representatives; and we were able
to assist each agency in successfully implementing our recommendations.
All studies
were brought to completion within stipulated time limits and proposed budgets.
The firm's growing list of clients is indicative of its reputation as being a quality
organization that can be relied upon for producing comprehensive, sound, and cost -
effective recommendations and solutions. Koff & Associates, Inc. has a reputation for
being "hands -on" with the ability and expertise to implement its ideas and
recommendations through completion in both union and non -union environments.
Koff & Associates, Inc. relies on our stellar reputation and on the recommendations and
referrals of current clients to attract new clients. Our work speaks for itself and our
primary goal is to provide professional and technical consulting assistance with integrity,
honesty, and a commitment to excellence. We invite you to contact anyone on the Client
List as a referral.
PROJECT TEAM
Organizational/project chart and professional qualifications of K &A staff are:
Organizational/Project Chart
Kathy Crotty,
Administrative
Assistant
Georg Krammer, CEO
Catherine Kaneko, President
Principals of K &A)
Gail Koff,
Managing Director
Mike Harary,
Project Manager
Milana Targan,
Project Manager
Alyssa
Uchimura,
Project Manager
Anne Hayes,
Associate
6400 FIolU is Street~ Site 5_ I m er vi.11e, CA 94608 "F L 51 t)rit58 K.OFi I= (5 ,33) FAX: 5100- 652 -TOFF (5633)
W.K.offA ssoc iates.con
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All members of our team have worked on multiple comprehensive organizational studies
and are well acquainted with the wide array of public sector organizational structures,
classification plans, and compensation structures, as well as the challenges and issues that
arise when conducting studies like this.
Georg S. Krammer, M.B.A., S.P.H.R.
Chief Executive officer
Georg brings fifteen (15) years of management -level human resources experience to Koff
Associates with an emphasis in organizational development; classification and
compensation design; market salary studies; executive and staff recruitment; performance
management; and employee relations, in the public sector, large corporations and small,
minority -owned businesses.
After obtaining a Master of Arts in English and Russian and teaching credentials at the
University of Vienna, Austria, Georg came to the United States to further his education
and experience and attained his Master of Business Administration from the University of
San Francisco. After starting his HR career in Wells Fargo's college recruiting
department, he moved on to HR management positions in the banking and high -tech
consulting industries. With his experience as a well- rounded senior HR generalist, his
education in business and teaching, and his vast experience with public sector HR
programs and functions, Georg's contribution to K &A's variety of projects greatly
complements our consulting team. Georg joined K &A in 2000 and has been the arm's
Chief Executive Officer since 2005.
Georg is assigned as the Project Director for these services to ensure close coordination
of client needs throughout the project. Georg will be involved with all steps of the
process, will attend all meetings with the City, and will be the primary point of contact
for the entire study.
Catherine Kaneko, C.P.A., P.H.R.
President
Catherine brings over twenty (20) years of management level human resources
experience to Koff & Associates, Inc., both as a human resources director and as a
management consultant in the hi -tech industry as well as the public sector. She has
extensive experience in compensation including equity plans and performance incentive
programs, survey design and reporting, recruitment in both the public and private sector;
staffing; classification and job analysis; compensation and job evaluation techniques,
employee relations, retention strategies, infrastructure development; coaching; policy and
procedure development; mergers and acquisitions; change management and employee
training.
With a Bachelor in Business Administration, Catherine started her career as a Certified
Public Accountant (CPA) in an international accounting /consulting firm. She
transitioned into Human Resources within the firm to become the Human Resources
Director of the San Francisco office. She then moved into the hi -tech industry where she
6400 Boll is Street, Suite 5, }:;m.eryvi.I.Ie, CA 94608 TEL 5 1 00- 658- K.OFF (56133) FAX 5 .I t)w6524(()F (56 3)
www.K.ofiAssociates.com
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served in leadership positions for high- growth, startup, and organizations in transition.
Her primary focus in recent years has been in classification, compensation, and
recruitment services in the public sector.
Catherine's experience provides a broad knowledge of human resource management
within diverse organizations. Her background provides her a strong ability to understand
the big picture, identify problems and solutions, and effectively implement them. Her
skill set complements our current consultant base with additional levels of service areas.
Catherine joined K&A in 2000 and has been the firm's President since 2005.
Catherine will provide consultant support throughout the study, including development of
assessment strategies and process, development of recommendations, and implementation
strategies.
Gail Koff
Managing Director
Gail Koff, Principal of Koff & Associates, Inc. for 21 years and now the Managing
Director, has over thirty -five (35) years of human resource management experience, most
of which have been serving the needs of public agencies. Gail's prior experience, after
receiving her degree from Boston University, includes serving as the Personnel Director
for one of California's largest sanitary districts, Central Contra Costa Sanitary District as
well as the Personnel Director for the California College of Arts and Crafts.
She has spent twenty -one (21) years in her own firm providing consulting assistance to
cities, counties and special districts (housing, transit, water, wastewater, hospital, school,
community service, air quality management, fire, etc.). She specializes in strategic
development; labor /management issues; classification and job analysis; compensation
design and pay for performance strategies; executive search; employee handbooks and
policy direction; performance management; and organizational efficiency issues.
Gail is familiar with the unique problems of public agencies and has worked extensively
with publicly elected City Councils, Boards, Commissions, numerous unions, and
management and employee groups.
Gail works closely with the staff throughout the entire process to ensure success. She is
actively engaged throughout the study's progress to ensure quality control, timeliness,
and meeting client expectations.
Alyssa Uchimura
Project Manager
Alyssa earned her bachelor's degree in Psychology with a minor in Sociology -
Organization Studies from the University of California, Davis and is currently working
on her PhD in Organizational Psychology from Alliant International University. She
brings with her over six (6) years of human resources experience in compensation data
gathering and analysis, classification analysis and development, performance
6400 Hollis Street, Suite 5.1:m. ryvi.11e, CA 94608 TEL 510- 658 - .OFF (5633) FAX 51 t)- 652MK.(: FT (56 33)
www.KotiAssociates.com
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management, affirmative action program development, and recruitment. Alyssa also has
experience in designing and conducting quantitative and qualitative research studies.
Since joining the firm, Alyssa has worked on over sixty (60) organizational, classification,
compensation, recruitment, and other special human resources projects. She has worked
on classification and/or compensation projects for numerous clients, such as the Cities of
Orange, Menifee, Poway, Palo Alto, Campbell, Piedmont, El Cerrito, Emeryville, Napa,
Santa Rosa, Monterey, Tracy, Madera, Ione, Newman, Patterson, Tigard (DR), and the
Towns of Danville and Apple Valley, as well as, the Berkeley Unified School District,
California School Boards Association, Housing Authority of the County of San
Bernardino, San Diego Housing Commission, San Francisco Housing Authority, Dublin
San Ramon Services District, South Tahoe Public Utility District, Truckee Donner
Recreation and Park District, Orange County Sanitation District, South Coast Water
District, Ventura Regional Sanitation District, and the County of Tehama. She has also
participated in several recruitment efforts for various positions ranging from entry -level to
executive management. Alyssa has participated in various special projects like conducting
exit interviews, retirement benefits studies, and human resources audits.
Alyssa will provide consultant support throughout the study, including classification
analysis, interviews with employees and management, internal job analysis, development
of classification descriptions, recommendations, and implementation strategies.
Mike Harary
Project Manager
Mike Harary brings over twenty -five (25) years of HR experience "to the table,"
currently serving as the Assistant Human Resources Director for the City of Orange and
working of our team on a part -time basis. For the past 15 years, Mike has been involved
in all aspects of HR for Orange, including serving as Chief Negotiator for the City. Mike
manages the City's recruitment and selection, employee benefits, labor relations,
classification and compensation, and general Human Resources functions.
Prior to Orange, Mike worked for the City of La Mirada for almost 10 years, working his
way up from Personnel Intern to Personnel Analyst. Mike possesses a Bachelor's Degree
in Business Administration emphasizing in Human Resources Management from
California State University, Long Beach, and a Masters of Business Administration also
from Cal State Long Beach.
Mike has played a key role in developing and implementing Ca1PACS, a regional,
internet- based, comprehensive salary and benefits survey website for local agencies. For
his efforts in this successful venture, Mike received the 2005 "Moving Forward Award"
by the California Public Employers Labor Relations Association (Cal- PELRA). Mike
also served as the President of the Orange County Employee Relations Committee.
Mike will provide consultant support throughout the study, including focus groups with
employees and management, market survey, development of recommendations, and
implementation strategies.
6400 Hollis Street, Site 5, Emeryville, CA 946038 TEL 5 f0- (58 -KC]FF (563.3) FAX 51 O 652 -K.t) ' (5633)
mAvw, K.o#Y :A ssociates. com
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Anne Hayes
Firm Associate
Anne is the newest member to our team and earned a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics
and Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Before joining Koff & Associates, she worked in the private sector for more than 10
years, with 5 years in a management role. She transitioned to a non-profit organization,
which specialized in providing labor relations representation to public sector employers,
where she gained extensive experience in data gathering and analysis, specifically in the
areas of classification, compensation and benefit analysis for public sector agencies.
Kathy Crotty
Administrative Assistant
Kathy is our resident data entry, office administrative, and technical "guru." She will be
heavily involved with the technical aspects of the project and assist our professional staff
at each phase of the project.
REFERENCES
The following is a list of references from our most recent studies.
City of San Gabriel
Organizational assessment study, currently in
the process of completion.
Contact: Marcella Marlow
Assistant City Manager
626) 308 -2802
425 S. Mission Drive
San Gabriel, CA 91776
City of Palo Alto
Various projects since 2009.
Contact: Ms. Sandra Blanch
Assistant Director, Human Resources
650) 329-2376
250 Hamilton Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94301
Orange County Sanitation District
Various district -wide organizational,
classification and total compensation studies for
all employee groups, since 2008.
Contact: Richard Spencer
Human Resource Supervisor
714) 593-7164
1 0844 Ellis Avenue
Fountain Valley, CA 92707
Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District
District -wide organizationa, classification and
compensation study completed in 2011.
Contact: Mr. Steve Abbors
General Manager
650) 691 -1200 Fax (650) 691 -0485
330 Distel Circle
Los Altos, CA 94022
6400 Hollis Street. Suite 5, Em.eryvi.11e, CA 946()8 TEL 51 i) -658 C)F " (5633) FAX: 51 i)- 652 -K.i)F (56 Y3)
vAvw,K.of)`A ssoc iat :s.com
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Town of Windsor
Town -wide organizational, classification and
total compensation study, completed in 2011.
Contact: Ms. Amy Cortese
Human Resources Manager
707) 83 8-5379 Fax (707) 838-5981
9291 Old Redwood Hwy, Bldg. 300
Windsor, CA 95492
City of Perris
Several organizational, classification, and
compensation studies over the last three years.
Last organizational study completed in January
2010.
Contact: Ms. Isabel Lugo
Human Resources and Risk Manager
951) 943 -6100
101 North "D" Street
Perris, CA 92570
City of Orange
Comprehensive classification study, completed
in 2009.
Total compensation study, currently on hold.
Contact: Mr. Steven Pham
Human Resources Director
714) 744 -7257
300 E. Chapman Avenue
Orange, CA 92866
City of Pismo Beach
Comprehensive classification and total
compensation study, completed in 2009.
Contact: Ms. Debra Garcia
Human Resources Officer
805) 773 -7928
760 Mattie Road
Pismo Beach, CA 93449
City of Poway
Comprehensive classification and total
compensation study, completed in 2008.
Contact: Ms. Tina White
Assistant City Manager
858) 668 -4413
13325 Civic Center Drive
Poway, CA 92064
City of La Canada Flintridge
Classification and total compensation study,
completed in 2009.
Contact: Mr. Kevin Chun
Director of Administrative Services
818) 790 -8880
1327 Foothill Boulevard
La Canada Flintridge, CA 91011
City of Tulare
Comprehensive classification and total
compensation study, completed in 2008.
Classification and total compensation study for
Police and Fire, completed in 2009.
Contact: Ms. Margee Fallert
Administrative Services Director
559) 684 -4203
411 East Kern Avenue
Tulare, CA 93274
City of Tigard, Oregon
Comprehensive classification and total
compensation study, completed in 2008.
Contact: Ms. Sandy Zodrow
Human Resources Director
503) 718 -2408
13125 SW Hall Blvd.
Tigard, OR 97223
6400 Hollis Street. Suite 5. Emeryville, CA 94608 TEL. 51 i)- 58 KC)FF (5633) FAX: 5.1 t - 652- K.OFF (56 33)
www, K.o#tA ssociates. eom
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Dublin San Ramon Services District
Classification and compensation study
completed October 2008. We have also
completed numerous recruitments.
Contact: Ms. Mary Gordon
Organizational Services Manager
925) 875-2291
7051 Dublin Blvd.
Dublin, CA 94568
WORK PLAN AND METHODOLOGY
This section of the proposal identifies the actual work scope. We believe that our
detailed explanation of methodology and work tasks clearly identifies our approach and
comprehensiveness.
We have found that, often times, our proposals address a very high level of time
commitment, which sometimes results in a higher proposal cost. We believe that our
methodology and implementation success rate is attributable to the significantly greater
level of contact we have with the City Council, employees, and management. The time
we commit to working with the employees (Project Team meetings, orientation, meetings
with employees and managers via interviews /focus groups, meetings that include
employees, etc.) results in a significantly greater buy -in throughout the process and with
the final study results and recommendations.
Our firm has never had a formal appeal to any of our studies in over 28 years. It has been
our experience that the money and time invested in stakeholder touch- points throughout
the study are money and time saved during implementation. Numerous times our firm
has been hired after an agency has gone through an unsuccessful study with another
consultant, whose results were rejected or appealed and whose implementation was very
controversial. The result was a divided organization with hostility and animosity
between employees /employee representation and management. Every time our firm was
hired after such a bad experience, study stakeholders were amazed at our open and all-
inclusive process, our efforts to elicit equal stakeholder input, and our development of
recommendations that were accepted as fair and reasonable and understood by
employees, management, union representation, and the governing body.
In these economic times, the tendency may be to select the firm with the lowest cost
proposal but it has been our experience that ultimately the price can be much higher
considering the additional time and lost goodwill that can result from utilizing a less
involved process.
Our clients always provide us feedback that our process was professional,
comprehensive, understandable, timely, and inclusive. Employees, although not
necessarily always happy with our recommendations, have always indicated that we
listened to their issues and concerns and were available for discussion, as required.
Although time consuming, we also drive the process to ensure that timelines are met and
schedules are maintained.
6400 H Holl is Street. Suite 5. Em.er vi.l.le, CA 946(08 TEL 5 I () -(58 K()FF (5633) FAX 510- 652 -KO ' (5633
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A. INITIAL DOCUMENTATION REVIEW/MEETING WITH PROJECT TEAM
This phase includes identifying the key client project team, contract administrator, and
reporting relationships. Our team will meet with the client team to create the specific
work plan and work schedule; reaffirm the primary objectives; determine deadline dates;
determine who will be responsible for coordinating /scheduling communications with
employees and management; and develop a timetable for conducting the same. Also
included will be the gathering of written documentation including assembling the current
organizational charts, class descriptions, operational budgets, documentation on current
operational practices, information regarding in -house and outsourced/contracted services,
and any other relevant documentation.
This initial step will also include a discussion of our methodology and the components of
the survey instrument that will be used when comparing the City of Rancho Palos Verdes
to other, comparable cities. We recommend meeting with City management as well as an
employee focus group to discuss the major elements of the study and which areas
organizational, operational, etc.) will be studied. We will respond to any questions.
B. DETERMINE COMPARATOR AGENCIES
The selection of comparator agencies is considered a critical step in the study process.
Using the following factors to identify appropriate comparators, we will receive approval
before proceeding with the survey. The factors that we review when selecting and
recommending appropriate comparator agencies include:
Organizational type and structure — While various agencies may provide
overlapping services and employ some staff having similar duties and responsibilities,
the role of each agency is somewhat unique, particularly in regard to its relationship
to the citizens it serves and level of service expectation. During this iterative process,
previous comparator agencies that have been utilized and the advantages and
disadvantages of including them and/or others will be discussed.
Similarity of population served, agency demographics, agency staff, and
operational and capital improvement budgets — These elements provide guidelines in
relation to resources required (staff and funding) and available for the provision of
agency /departmental services. They also speak to the diversity of the community that
they serve and the common issues that the city might face to best serve that
community.
Scope of services provided — While having an agency that provides all of the services
at the same level of citizen expectation is ideal for comparators, as long as the
majority of services are provided in a similar manner, sufficient data should be
available for analysis.
6400 Hollis Street. Suite 5, Emeryville. CA 946008 TEL 5 I ()- 658 -KC)FF (5 .33) FAX 5 .[ 0-652 K O F F (56 33)
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C. DEVELOPMENT OF POSITION ASSESSMENT AND SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRES
The study will contain two major surveys: 1) an analysis of current roles, duties,
responsibilities, and processes within the City and 2) a study of organizational and
operational best practices of cities that are comparable.
For both surveys, we will develop a survey instrumentlquestionnaire to ensure that the
right questions are asked. The internal City survey will be structured similar to a position
assessment questionnaire and include questions regarding roles,
duties, responsibilities;
processes, and time /frequency; and competencies, knowledge, skills, and abilities
required to perform jobs successfully.
The industry /market study will include questions regarding organizational structure,
ratios of staffing, and other resources to assignments and expected work products, best
management practices, and performance measures.
It is our recommendation to review the two survey instruments /questionnaires in a
collaborative manner including management and employees. Again, the more
stakeholder buy -in that can be obtained at the front -end regarding the structure and
process of the study, the more successful the final outcome of the study will be.
D. ORIENTATION MEETINGS WITH EMPLOYEES AND DISTRIBUTION OF POSITION
ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRES
We will facilitate several orientation meetings with employees (within the same
timeframe, for cost containment purposes) and distribute the Position Assessment
Questionnaires for purposes of the internal survey. While this meeting may not be
mandatory, it is highly recommended, as it forms the beginning of the educational
process that continues throughout the study. Project processes will be explained,
expectations will be clarified, and elements that are not a part of the study will also be
covered. Questions will be answered and hints for completing the questionnaire will be
given. The questionnaires shall be handed out with the incumbents' current class
descriptions attached so employees can use them as a tool for completing the
questionnaires.
We recommend that employees complete separate questionnaires but giving employees in
the same classification the option of collaborating on completing a questionnaire
together, if the employees feel that their daily assignments are similar enough. However,
one critical piece we hope to determine through this process is whether certain
employees' duties and tasks have changed compared to their peers in the same
classification. If so, we want to be able to analyze those separately. While we realize
that individual questionnaires per employee will be a time- consuming process, our goal is
to analyze the questionnaires and identify trends regarding processes, efficiencies,
staffing, and what works and what doesn't work within each functional area of
assignment. Although, based on the limited budget for this project, we recommend
6400 Hollis Street. Suite 5, Emeryville, CA 946()8 TEL 51 O 658 -K.OFF (563:3) FAX 51 0 -65 -TOFF (56 33)
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having only a representative sample of employees per classification complete
questionnaires, not every single. City employee.
Employees complete the questionnaire, send it to their supervisor/ manager for review,
comment, and signature, and then send it to our office for analysis.
E. INDUSTRY /MARKET DATA COLLECTION
Our firm does not collect market data by merely sending out a written questionnaire. We
find that such questionnaires are often delegated to the individual in the department with
the least experience in the organization and given a low priority. We conduct all of the
data collection and analysis ourselves to ensure validity of the data and quality control.
Typically, we collect organizational charts, classification descriptions, employee
allocation lists, policies and procedures, performance measurement plans, and other
information via websites or in person, by telephone, email, or facsimile. With this prior
knowledge and our experience in the public human resources field, our professional staff
will then schedule appointments preferably in person, with knowledgeable individuals to
answer specific questions. We find that the information collected using these methods
has a very high validity rate and is generally substantiated before management,
employees, employee representation, as well as governing bodies.
Alternatively, for cost containment purposes, City staff could assist with the collection of
or collect all of this data internally, so that consultant dollars are being conserved.
The goal of the industry /market survey is to obtain information on the following:
Organizational structure, reporting relationships, span of control, and staffing
levels;
Operational requirements, infrastructure, services and ratios of staffing;
Outsourcing and in- sourcing practices per functional area of assignment;
Resources available, including human, financial, technological resources;
Computer and automation technologies used to improve operating efficiencies
and/or customer service, including an evaluation of existing systems (i.e., pros
and cons);
Best management practices and standards; and
Performance measures and measurement tools per functional area of assignment;
F. DATA AND TREND ANALYSIS
Surveying ten to twelve (10 -12) comparator agencies should yield sufficient data and
information to identify industry /market trends. Especially including cities in the study
that are known to be on the cutting edge of providing the highest quality municipal
services provision will uncover trends for best management practices that will be
invaluable to the City.
6400 Hollis Street. Suite 5, Emeryville, CA 94608 TEL. 51 x)-65 -KOF F (5633) FA . 51() 652- K1)FF (56 33)
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We will analyze the data and trends from the market survey and incorporate those into
our recommendations for organizational and operational changes for the City.
G. POSITION ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE REVIEW AND EMPLOYEE/
SUPERVISORY/MANAGEMENT FOCUS GROUPS/INTERVIEWS
Upon receipt of the questionnaires, they will be reviewed and analyzed along with other
documentation, including any information regarding time keeping, efficiency
measurements, and process descriptions. This will also include any trends identified
from the market survey. As mentioned above, the goal is to identify certain trends
regarding processes, efficiencies, staffing, and what works and what doesn't work within
each functional area of assignment.
3ased on those trends, we would then design which types of focus groups will be needed
to delve into those trends and obtain more information. The assumption is that some
individual employee interviews may be needed to clarify certain information that was
contained, or perhaps we found to be missing, in the position assessment questionnaires.
Focus group meetings /interviews will also be held with supervisory and management
staff, who will clarify their own responsibilities as well as confirm the information we
have received in the focus groups /interviews with their staff. Some focus groups may
include both employees and management, depending on what the goal for that particular
focus group is.
The goal of the focus groups /interviews and the review additional documentation is to
identify /determine the following:
Assignments, responsibilities, duties, and tasks;
Process efficiencies, time spent, and frequency of the above;
Competencies, knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform the above;
Reporting relationships and span of control;
Staffing ratios to work productivity goals;
Available resources, including deficiencies and redundancies; and
Equipment, computer and automation technologies used.
H. DEVELOPMENT OF RECOMMENDATIONS
Depending on the results of the internal and external assessments, we will develop
specific recommendations for organizational and operational changes for the City.
Recommendations will include the following (as appropriate) :
Organizational restructuring, including re- assigning reporting relationships,
streamlining classification series /progressions, and re- organizing functional areas
of assignment;
6400 Hollisis Street. Suite 5, Emeryville, CA 946()8 TEL 51 13-658 K F (5 s33) FAX 5 W- 652 -K.OFF (5633)
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Staffing levels, including ratios of "rank -and -file" staff to supervisory and
management staff;
Outsourcing and in- sourcing opportunities, including areas of assignment at the
divisional, functional, and specific task levels;
Process efficiencies, including redundancies and deficiencies, as well as,
assignments of functions and tasks;
Equipment and computer and automated technologies: while we are not
management information systems or information technology experts, we will
report the results of the market survey and identify any trends in this area,
including feedback regarding the successfulness of current and/or newly
implemented systems used by the comparator agencies;
Best management practices, including trends observed in the identified survey
market, as well as, a transition roadmap from current practices to industry best
practices, as appropriate;
Performance measures, including best management practices of how to measure
organizational goals, departmental goals, and work productivity goals and how
individual performance measures for all City staff should relate to those;
Integration of operating divisions, including where each division's functions may
show synergies that could be exploited to better integrate each division's
functions, as well as strategies to overcome the obstacles associated with
decentralized vs. centralized operations; and
Customer service: this will most likely include trends observed from the market
study based on the goals as identified in Section F above.
It should be noted that the development of recommendations will be as collaborative a
process with City management as the City wishes. We are most receptive to City input,
especially when it comes to the organizational and operational realities of addressing
potential City deficiencies and recommending new policies /procedures /rules /practices,
etc.
Our suggested plans for changes will be prioritized based on importance /urgency. Draft
recommendations and implementation plans will be discussed with the management team
prior to developing an Interim Report.
I. PREPARATION OF DRAFT FINAL AND FINAL REPORT AND DELIVERABLES
A Draft Interim Report of the Organizational Review will be completed and submitted to
the City for review and comments. The report will provide detailed internal and external
survey findings, documentation, and recommendations. The report will include a set of
all survey instruments and documentation, data and trend analysis results, as well as
recommendations.
Once all of the City's questions /concerns are addressed and discussed, a Final
Organizational Review Report will be created and submitted in bound format.
6400 -Hollis Street, Site 5, Emeryville, CA 946008 TEL 51() 358 -K.O.' F (5633) FAX 51 t - 652- K.()FF (5633)
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J. PRESENTATION TO THE PROJECT TEAM AND /OR CITY MANAGER/COUNCIL
In addition to ongoing periodic meetings and communication with the Project Team,
management, employees, and other stakeholders throughout the various phases of the
study, as well as continuous status reports per email and conference calls, our proposal
includes one final presentation to the City Council, if desired.
EXPECTATIONS OF CITY SUPPORT
In order to conduct this study in the most timely and cost- effective manner, we expect
support in the following areas:
Timely provision of written documentation, such as current organizational charts,
employee allocation lists, class specifications, budget documents, operational
procedures and records, work assignments and schedules, requests for audits, etc.;
Assistance in the notification and scheduling of orientation and other meetings with
management and employees, and the provision of adequate space for employee focus
groups /interviews;
Assistance in the compilation of current class descriptions with the Position
Assessment Questionnaire; collecting and forwarding questionnaires; and in ensuring
that materials are completed and returned in a timely manner;
Assistance in scheduling Project Team, management, employee audit, and other
meetings; and
Meeting agreed to timelines.
PROJECT SCHEDULE
Our professional experience is that an organizational study for this size
organization/department and the desired scope of work will take approximately four (4)
months to complete, allowing for adequate Position Assessment Questionnaire
completion, time for focus groups and interviews, market survey data collection and
analysis, development of recommendations, review steps by the City, the development of
final reports, and presentations.
The following is a suggested timeline if a contraqt is awarded by mid -June:
6400 Hollis is Street, Suite 5, I..m. eryviI1e, CA 946()8 TEL 5I () -658 K.C)FF (5633) FAX. 5.t 0-652 -TOFF (5633)
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Completion Date
Organizational and Management Review 2012
A. Document Review /Kick - off/Project Team Meeting(s) By June 29
B. Determination of Comparator Agencies By July 13
C. Development of Survey Questionnaires By July 13
D.
W
Employee Orientation Meetings By July 27
E. Survey Market Data Collection (10 -12 comparators) By August 17
F. Data and Trend Analysis By August 31
G. Employee & Management Focus Groups /Interviews By September 14
6400 Hollisis Street, Suite 5, I..m. eryviI1e, CA 946()8 TEL 5I () -658 K.C)FF (5633) FAX. 5.t 0-652 -TOFF (5633)
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H. Development of Recommendations By September 28
I. Final Reports and Recommendations By October 12
J. Final Presentation As Scheduled
A.
Additional meetings with executive management and City Council
16
13. Determination of Comparator Agencies 8
PROPOSED PROJECT COSTS
We want to emphasize that we provide an all- inclusive lump -sum cost amount for the
entire study and do not believe in under - pricing the effort or change orders along the way,
unless the City requests an obvious and identifiable additional level of effort. However,
we're also aware that budgets are often limited and that public agencies must be
economically conservative.
As mentioned in the scope of work, we recommend an informal employee review and
appeals process but are providing two cost options below in case the City decides against
undergoing this step of the process.
6400 Hollis Street, Site 5, I-F ervvflle, CA 94608 TEL 51(0- ,58- .CO iF (5633) FAX: Si Ow652- K.OFI= (5633)
www. K.ofTA ssoc iates. com
Hours
Organizational and Management Review
A. Document Review/Kick - off/Project Team Meeting(s) 16
13. Determination of Comparator Agencies 8
C. Development of Survey Questionnaires
20
D. Employee Orientation Meetings 16
E. Employee & Management Focus Groups /Interviews 40
F. Survey Market Data Collection (10 -12 comparators) 60
G. Data and Trend Analysis 24
H. Development of Recommendations 30
I. Final Reports and Recommendations 20
J. Final Presentation 8
Additional meetings with executive management and City Council 10
Total Professional Hours 252
Combined professional and clerical composite rate: $105/Hour 26,460
Expenses: 3,500
Expenses include but are not limited to duplicating and binding
documents and reports, phone, supplies, FAX, postage, mileage,
hotels, air fare, per diem, etc.
TOTAL LUMP SUM FOR PROJECT: 29,960
Additional consulting will be honored at composite rate of $105/hr.
6400 Hollis Street, Site 5, I-F ervvflle, CA 94608 TEL 51(0- ,58- .CO iF (5633) FAX: Si Ow652- K.OFI= (5633)
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INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS
We will submit support of this level of coverage and to endorse the City with our General
Liability insurance coverage upon award of contract if desired:
Workers' Compensation:
Automobile Insurance:
Errors and Omissions:
General Liability:
This proposal is valid for 90 days.
Respectfully Submitted,
By: KOFF & ASSOCIATES, INC.
State of California
Statutory Limits
1 Million per accident
1 Million per occurrence
1 Million per occurrence
Georg S. Krammer
Chief Executive Officer
June 2, 2012
Date
6400 Hollis Street. Suite 5, Emeryville, jville, CA 94608 TEL 510- 658 -KOO ' ° (5633) FAX: 510-652-KOFF (563 3)
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