Recommendation to Add Two Purchasing and Safety Interns Copyrighted
April 6, 2026
City of Dubuque CONSENT ITEMS # 5.
City Council
ITEM TITLE: Recommendation to Add Two Purchasing and Safety Interns
SUMMARY: City Manager recommending approval of two interns to
provide dedicated support to the Safety and Purchasing
functions.
SUGGUESTED Receive and File; Approve
DISPOSITION:
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Purchasing and Saftey Interns_MVM Memo_2026_03_17
2. Purchasing and Safety Interns_Staff Memo_2026_03_17
Page 188 of 2358
Dubuque
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TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
SUBJECT: Recommendation to Add Two Purchasing and Safety Interns
DATE: March 31, 2026
Chief Financial Officer Jennifer Larson recommends that the City Council approve two
interns to provide dedicated support to the Safety and Purchasing functions. These
internships will provide immediate operational benefits by addressing current workload
needs and will also contribute to the long-term objective of enhancing citywide
perFormance and sustainability in both purchasing and safety operations.
Each intern would work 40% of a full-time schedule (0.40 FTE), totaling 0.80 FTE or
1,664 work hours combined for the year. Both interns would be paid at the NB03 step 4
pay rate under the general employee wage plan, which is $20.74 per hour. The total
cost for both interns over a full year would be $40,409. Due to current office capacity,
the interns would not be hired until the Accounting, Payroll, and Budget functions of the
Finance Department moves to 7850 Chavenelle. We expect the hiring dates to be
May/June 2026. Fiscal Year 2026 estimated cost is a maximum of$6,735.
Funding for these positions will come from savings in workers' compensation, which
totals $138,961 for the rest of fiscal year 2026. These intern positions are included in
the Fiscal Year 2027 budget in maintenance level. If City Council does not approve the
request, the cost will be removed from the FY27 budget.
I concur with the recommendation and respectfully request Mayor and City Council
approval.
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Michael C. Van Milligen
Page 189 of 2358
MCVM/jml
Attachment
cc: Crenna Brumwell, City Attorney
Cori Burbach, Assistant City Manager
Shelley Stickfort, Chief Human Resources Officer
Jennifer Larson, Chief Financial Officer
Tony Breitbach, Purchasing and Risk Manager
Dawn March, Purchasing and Safety Coordinator
2
Page 190 of 2358
Dubuque
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TO: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
FROM: Jennifer Larson, Chief Financial Officer
SUBJECT: Recommendation to Add Two Purchasing and Safety Interns
DATE: March 31, 2026
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this memo is to recommend the approval of two intern positions dedicated
to supporting the Safety and Purchasing functions. These internships will provide
immediate operational benefits by addressing current workload needs and will also
contribute to the long-term objective of enhancing citywide perFormance and sustainability
in both purchasing and safety operations.
DISCUSSION
Both the Safety and Purchasing functions are currently facing increased workloads due to
expanded operational needs, stricter regulatory requirements, and ongoing efforts to
improve processes. Although the current staff manages essential duties effectively, their
limited capacity restricts their ability to address outstanding tasks, update documentation,
and make further progress on process enhancements.
The Safety team would benefit from additional support in key areas such as tracking data,
conducting safety audits, maintaining training records, following up on incident reports,
and preparing for compliance reviews. While these activities are crucial, they are also
time-consuming and often take experienced staff away from more strategic
responsibilities.
In the Purchasing team, interns would provide valuable assistance with maintaining vendor
data, analyzing spending, and controlling documentation. These tasks are vital for
effective cost management and strong supplier performance, and they offer excellent
learning opportunities for interns.
Bringing interns on board is a cost-effective way to strengthen both Safety and Purchasing
operations. Interns can handle administrative, analytical, and project-based work at a
lower cost, which allows full-time staff to focus on high-priority, strategic tasks that have a
greater impact.
With the City's safety programs recently completed, the next step is to review and ensure
compliance. This phase usually requires additional staffing or hiring a consultant, but
utilizing interns can achieve these goals at a significantly reduced cost. This strategy
balances operational needs with responsible budgeting and supports long-term planning.
Page 191 of 2358
The Finance Department has successfully used interns for similar roles in the past, and we
expect equally positive results from interns in Safety and Purchasing positions.
BUDGET IMPACT
We are requesting approval to hire two Safety and Purchasing interns. Each intern would
work 40% of a full-time schedule (0.40 FTE), totaling 0.80 FTE or 1,664 work hours
combined for the year. Both interns would be paid at the NB03 step 4 pay rate under the
general employee wage plan, which is $20.74 per hour. The total cost for both interns over a
full year would be $40,409.
Due to current office capacity, the interns would not be hired until the Accounting, Payroll,
and Budget functions of the Finance Department moves to 7850 Chavenelle. We expect the
hiring dates to be May/June 2026. Fiscal Year 2026 estimated cost is a maximum of$6,735.
Funding for these positions will come from savings in workers' compensation, which totals
$138,961 for the rest of fiscal year 2026. These intern positions are included in the Fiscal
Year 2027 budget in maintenance level. If City Council does not approve the request, the
cost will be removed from the FY27 budget.
RECOMMENDATION
We recommend approving the hiring of two interns to support Safety and Purchasing.
These roles will provide essential operational support, helping to manage current
workloads and enabling existing staff to concentrate on strategic improvements. By
bringing on interns, the City will increase productivity, drive ongoing process
enhancements, and promote the long-term sustainability of these critical functions.
cc: Shelley Stickfort, Chief Human Resources Officer
Tony Breitbach, Purchasing and Risk Manager
Dawn March, Purchasing and Safety Coordinator
Page 192 of 2358