Engineering Department Confidential Account Clerk Position Copyrighted
May 7, 2018
City of Dubuque Consent Items # 24.
ITEM TITLE: Engineering Department Confidential Account Clerk
Position
SUMMARY: City Manager recommending approval to eliminate one of
the two part-time Confidential Account Clerk positions within
the Engineering Department and create a full-time
Confidential Account Clerk position.
SUGGESTED DISPOSITION: Suggested Disposition: Receive and File; Approve
ATTACHMENTS:
Description Type
Engineering Department Confidential Account Clerk City Manager Memo
Position-NNM Memo
Staff Memo Staff Memo
THE CITY OF Dubuque
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TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
SUBJECT: Engineering Department Part-time Confidential Account Clerk Position
FY2019 FTE Reduction
DATE: May 1 , 2018
There are two part-time Confidential Account Clerk positions within the Engineering
Department, one of which is currently vacant.
City Engineer Gus Psihoyos recommends City Council approval to eliminate one of the
two part-time Confidential Account Clerk positions within the Engineering Department
and offer the current part-time Confidential Account Clerk, Ms. Anita Gonyier, a full-time
Confidential Account Clerk position. The net result of combining the two part-time-
positions into one full-time position would result in a reduction of Engineering
Department staff by 0.25 FTEs and a savings of$3,935 (in this case $11 ,147 since the
part-time employee transitioning into the full-time position is married to another full-time
City employee, negating the need for the cost of another health insurance policy).
I concur with the recommendation and respectfully request Mayor and City Council
approval.
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Mic ael C. Van Milligen �� �
MCVM:jh
Attachment
cc: Crenna Brumwell, City Attorney
Teri Goodmann, Assistant City Manager
Cori Burbach, Assistant City Manager
Gus Psihoyos, City Engineer
THE CITY OF Dubuque
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Masterpiece on the lVlississippi w°''Z°'2
2013•2017
TO: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Mana er
FROM: Gus P ih i E ' �
s oyos, C ty ngmeer �: �_,
DATE: April 27, 2018
RE: Engineering Department Part-time Confidential Account Clerk Position
FY2019 FTE Reduction
INTRODUCTION
There are two part-time Confidential Account Clerk positions within the Engineering
Department. One of them is currently vacant. The purpose of this memorandum is to
seek authorization to eliminate the vacant position and assign the duties to the other
part-time Confidential Account Clerk position by converting it into a full-time position
starting in FY2019. The proposed change would reduce the Engineering Department
staff FTEs by 0.25 in FY2019.
BACKGROUND
In June of 2008, the City Council approved a part-time (0.75 FTE) Confidential Account
Clerk position within the Engineering Department to primarily assist the Project
Manager to carry out his duties. This was also reflected in the adopted FY09 budget.
With the adoption of the FY14 budget, a part-time (0.62 FTE) Confidential Account
Cl�rk po�ition wa� approved within the Engineering Department to assist with the
financing associated with the Bee Branch Watershed Flood Mitigation Project. As
reflected in FY18 and the recently adopted FY19 budget for the Engineering
Department, the two part-time Confidential Account Clerk positions were reduced to a
combined total of 1.25 FTEs or 0.625 FTEs for each position.
DISCUSSION
The part-time Confidential Account Clerk, who helped with the day-to-day financing of
the Bee Branch Watershed Flood Mitigation Project, has left the City's employ leaving
the position vacant. The workload assigned to this "Bee Branch" Confidential Account
Clerk (BBCAC) required at least 25 hours per week to perform. But with construction of
the Upper Bee Branch Creek Restoration Project drawing to a close, and with it the
need to manage six individual funding sources becoming less time consuming,
evaluating the need to fill the vacant BBCAC position was appropriate.
In collaboration with Senior Budget Analyst Alexis Steger, who once held the BBCAC
position, the current tasks that would be performed by the BBCAC and the time it
usually takes to accomplish each task is listed in Table 1 below.
Page 1 of 6
Table 1. Current Bee Branch financial &budgeting tasks to be perFormed by the vacant
Confidential Account Clerk and the hours required to complete each task.
Annual
Time to time to
Complete* Complete
Bee Branch Watershed Project Financin Tasks Hours Fre uenc Hours
Master Bee Branch Watershed Funding Workbook
• Purchase Order Expense Tracking 6 Monthly 72
• Update to Master Funding Workbook 4.5 Monthly 54
• Ensure Balance to Available Funds 1.5 Monthly 18
• Update Summary Tab for Funding Sources 1.5 Monthly 18
Master Bee Branch Watershed Expense Workbook
• Run Expense Report, Sort 1.5 Monthly 18
• Transfer Expense Report Charges to Expense Workbook 3 Monthly 36
• Charges to Funding Tabs for Draws 3 Monthly 36
• Draw Information Pulled & Sent to Finance Dept. 3 Monthly 36
State Flood Mitigation Quarterly Request
• Complete State Flood Mitigation Quarterly Report Workbook 1 Quarterly 4
• State Form filled, signed, and submitted 0.5 Quarterly 2
State Flood Mitigation Receipt of Payment
• Dubuque Sales Tax Increment Calculations Worksheet 1.5 Quarterly 6
• Report on State Flood Mitigation Receipts/Projections 1.5 Quarterly 6
Reconcile status of STI Bonds with Finance
• Get balance of 2015A and reconcile to draws 1.5 Monthly 18
• Get payments made to STI covered SRF and bonds, then reconcile
and add to draws 1.5 Monthly 18
State Flood Mitigation Semi-Annual Report
• Complete Prep worksheet after 6-month period ends 36 S-Annually 72
• Insert information into report and reconcile, balance 12 S-Annually 24
EPA Cleanup Grant
• Prepare Draw Requests 1.5 Monthly 18
• Reporting Documents 4.5 Quarterly 18
Year-End Final Budget Reconciliation
• Update final year end charges/Draws/closeout each funding source 15 Annually 15
• Start new Year in all workbooks 15 Annually 15
Update Budget
• Budget Update based on Expenses, Revenues, Interest balance
remaining 6 Annually 6
Prepare for and Attend Meetings
� Monthly Bee Branch Project Update Meeting 2.25 Monthly 27
• Quarterly Bee Branch Budget Update Meeting 3 Quarterly 12
• Quarterly Grant Meeting 1.5 Quarterly 6
• Quarterly Bond/SRF Meetin� 1.5 Quarterl 6
TOTAL HOURS NEEDED TO COMPLETE BEE BRANCH WORK 561
*Time to complete these tasks expected to become 25%-50% less as Anita becomes familiar with each through
repetition.
Page 2 of 6
In addition to the tasks listed, there will be additional work required when the Bee
Branch Railroad Culverts Project moves into construction in 2019, tasks relating to the
preparation of monthly SRF draws following payments to the contractor. And while the
initial contracts associated with the 17th Street/W. Locust Street Improvements Project
and the 22nd Street/Kaufmann Avenue Storm Sewer Improvements Project are being
financed using HUD funding (and managed primarily by the Budget Office), subsequent
contracts will involve sales tax increment financing and stormwater utility financing. The
additional tasks tied to ensuring that the correct expenses are tied to the correct funding
source will fall to the BBCAC. Considering these tasks and the 10+ hours per week
associated with the tasks listed in the table above, it does not seem feasible for the
work to be perFormed by an existing employee. Moreover, the City has been served well
with a single person being knowledgeable and well versed with all of the financial
aspects and general understanding of the various issues related to the Bee Branch
Watershed Flood Mitigation Project. At the same time, the current and anticipated Bee
Branch Watershed Project financing/budgeting tasks that were performed by the
BBCAC staff person does not appear to warrant a 25-hour per week part time
employee.
As stated previously, the part-time Confidential Account Clerk position established to
assist Project Manager Steve Brown was originally approved as a 0.75 FTE position, a
30-hour per week position. It was later reduced to 0.625 FTEs, a 25-hour per week
position. The amount of time spent by Mr. Brown working on unique and challenging
City projects has not decreased. The work associated with managing riverfront and
other leases has not subsided. As a result, the work perFormed by part-time
Confidential Account Clerk who assists Mr. Sampson Brown typically demands more
than 25 hours per week; the work load still supports a 30-hour part-time position.
Ms. Anita Gonyier has been working in the part-time Confidential Account Clerk position
established to assist Froject Vlanager Sfeve Sampson Brown for the past two years.
Over the last several weeks, Ms. Gonyier has, on a temporary basis, been performing
some of the tasks previously perFormed by the now vacant part-time BBCAC position.
Ms. Gonyier has shown the requisite aptitude to perform the tasks and the eagerness to
learn others. She is careful, meticulous, and seeks guidance when appropriate.
Unfortunately, 25 hours per week are not enough for Ms. Gonyier to perform both her
current duties and the additional part-time BBCAC position duties on a permanent
basis. Therefore, consideration was given to eliminating the vacant BBCAC position
and converting the position currently held by Ms. Gonyier from a part-time position to
full-time position and permanently assigning the duties previously performed by the
vacant part-time BBCAC position.
Table 2 below provides a comparison of the estimated hours of a work that could be
performed by Ms. Gonyier as a full-time employee versus the hours required to perform
both her current duties and the and the duties of the vacant BBCAC. It shows that the
work supports a single full-time position and not two part-time positions.
Page 3 of 6
'fable 2.Ability of full-time employee to support the Project i�[anager and the Bee Branch V1�'atershed Flood
i�iitigation Project
Full-Time Position Da s Hours
Fiscal Year Working Days 261 2088
Less Holidays 11 88
Less Vacation/Casual Day 11 88
Less Sick/Famil Sick 10 80
Available Hours to Complete ALL Work 1832
Less Hours Assi ned Assistin Pro'ect Mana er 1315
Hours Available for Bee Branch Duties 517
Total Hours Required to Complete BBCAC Duties (from Table 1) 561*
Hours Surplus (Deficit) (44)
*As stated previously, it is expected that the time to complete the BBCAC tasks should become 25%-50%
less through familiarity with each through repetition.
While changing Ms. Gonyier from a part-time employee to a full-time employee would
result in an increase of 0.35 FTEs, coupled with the elimination of the now vacant part-
time BBCAC position (0.6�5 FT�s), the net result would be reduction of Engineering
Department staff by 0.25 FTEs.
RECOMMENDATION
I recommend eliminating one of the two part-time Confidential Account Clerk positions
within the Engineering Department (currently vacant) and offering Ms. Anita Gonyier a
full-time Confidential Account Clerk position in order for her to assume the duties of the
now vacant part-time "Bee Branch" Confidential Account Clerk position thereby
reducing the Engineering Department staff by 0.25 FTEs.
BUDGETIMPACT
The proposed change to the FY2019 budget would result in the elimination of the two
part-time Confidential Account Clerk positions and the creation of a full-time
Confidential Account Clerk position. The cost savings associated with eliminating the
two part-time positions in FY2019 is shown in Table 3 below.
Table 3. FY2019 cost savings associated with the elimination of the two part-time Coufidential Account Clerk
positions within the Engineering Department.
General Sanitary Stormwater
Fund Fund Fund Total
Anita Gonyier ($ 15,684.00) ($ 6,722.00) ($ 5,602.00) ($ 28,008.00)
Vacant BBCAC $ 28,008.00 $ 28,008.00)
Total FY19 Savings ($ 15,684.00 ($ 6,722.00) $ 33,610.00) ($ 56,016.00)
Page 4 of 6
The cost of adding a full-time Confidential Account Clerk position is outlined in Table 4
below. Finally, Table 5 provides the impact to the FY19 budget that would result by
eliminating the two part-time positions and creating a full-time position.
Table 4. Funding required to convert 1[s.Gonyier to a full-time Confidential Accou��t Clerk position in FY19.
General Sanitary Stormwater
Fund Fund Fund Total
35% 15% 50% 100%
Anita Gonyier $ 15,684.00 $ 6,722.00 $ 5,602.00 $ 28,008.00
Additional Hours $ - $ - $ 16,804.00 $ 16,804.00
Parks Health Cost Reduction* $ (7,155.00) $ (7,155.00)
Anita Gonyier Health/Life Ins* $ 2,524.00 $ 1,082.00 $ 3,606.00 $ 7,212.00
Total FY19 Cost $ 11,053.00 $ 7,804.00 _ $ 26,012.00 $ 44,869.00
*Gonyier's husband works in the Parks Department as a FT Maintenance Worker. Health contract would
be 50% Engineering &50% Parks (splitting 1 contract).
'1'able 5.Net result to the FY19 budget of eliminating the part-time positions and creating a full-time position
General Sanitary Stormwater
Fund Fund __ Fund Total
FY19 costs associated with a full- $ 11,053.00 $ 7,804.00 $ 26,012.00 $ 44,869.00
time Confidential Account Clerk
FY19 savings realized by ($ 15,684.00) ($ 6,722.00) ($ 33,610.00) ($ 56,016.00)
eliminating the two part-time
Confidential Account Clerk
FY2019 Budget
Increase or Decrease) ($ 4,631.00 $ 1,082.00 $ 7,598.00) $ 11,147.00
As reflected above, eliminating the part-time BBCAC position within the Engineering
Department (currently vacant) and offering Ms. Anita Gonyier a full-time Confidential
Account Clerk position would result in a reduction in the General Fund and Stormwater
Fund and a slight increase in the Sanitary Sewer Fund. If this position was ever
occupied by a person who does not have � spousP �s a full-time rity employee, the
savings would have been $3,935.
REQUESTED ACTION
I respectfully request authorization to offer Ms. Anita Gonyier a full-time position as a
Confidential Account Clerk within the Engineering Department starting in FY19.
Prepared by Deron Muehring, Civil Engineer
Cc: Jenny Larson, Budget Director
Alexis Steger, Senior Budget Analyst
Randy Peck, Personnel Manager
Bob Schiesl, Assistant City Engineer
Page 5 of 6
Steve Brown, Project Manager
Deron Muehring, Civil Engineer
Page 6 0(6