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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Statement 1987/01/13 Item 4 COUNCIL AGENDA STATEMENT Item 4 Meeting Date 1/13/87 ITEM TITLE: Resolution /2f7( Establishing position of Office Manager for Mayor and City Council Offic SUBMITTED BY: Deputy City Manager Thomson cli REVIEWED BY: Cit y Mana er4 g (4/5ths Vote: Yes No X ) At its June 9, 1986 deliberations on the FY 1986-87 budget, the City Council appropriated $40,000 for an administrative position in the Office of the Mayor and City Council and directed staff to formulate a recommended job description for the position. The Council discussion included comments that the position should be structured in a manner to help avoid potential conflicts with the City Manager' s role. RECOMMENDATION: That Council adopt the resolution: 1. Establishing the position of Office Manager for the Mayor and City Council Office as a middle management position in the classified service with a salary range of $30,075 to $36,566 2. Approving the classification specification for the new position provided in Attachment "B" 3. Authorizing the purchase of equipment described in this report for the new position, with funds remaining from the $40,000 appropriated for the position BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: Not Applicable DISCUSSION: The need for an additional position serving the Office of the Mayor and City Council stems from the overall increase in activity and workload in the Office. The increased workload is based on a number of factors including: establishing a full-time Mayor' s position in 1982, the significantly increased size of the City, the complexity of the City' s Bayfront and other economic development activities, and an increased emphasis on intergovernmental affairs. Deputy City Manager Sid Morris and Administrative Aide Iracsema Olivo have been providing a significant amount of administrative assistance to the Mayor and Council members, but because of the high level of intergovernmental activity by the Mayor and City Council , an expansion of this assistance is needed to provide even better support and a accessibility. The new Office Manager position is thus recommended to be physically located in the Office of the Mayor and City Council . Page 2, Item 4 Meeting Date 1/13/87 RECOMMENDED OFFICE MANAGER POSITION: Attachment "A" provides a listing of the proposed duties and Attachment "B" provides the class specification for the recommended new position of Office Manager for the Mayor and City Council Office. The duties shown in Attachment "A" can be categorized as follows: (1) general office management functions, including supervision of the clerical staff assigned to the Office; (2) extensions of the coordination and administrative assistance that Deputy City Manager Morris has been performing; and (3) providing a limited degree of back-up support to the clerical staff in terms of functions like copying and compiling documents and phone answering. } The salary level of the Office Manager position is recommended to be pegged at the Senior Administrative Analyst level . Although some of the proposed duties of the new Office Manager position could be viewed as "executive secretary" types of duties, the overall importance and sensitivity of these duties as well as the higher level of the other duties assigned to this position make it more appropriate at the proposed salary level . The back-up support to the clerical staff referenced in item 11 on Attachment "A" does not require typing ability; instead, the intent of that item is for the new position to perform activities such as copying and phone answering instead of the Mayor or a Council member sometimes having to perform those activities. It is also recommended that the Office Manager position be supervised through the City Manager' s Office, with input from the Mayor and City Council on their hiring and performance evaluation. This recommended approach should meet the objectives of providing a higher level of support to an overloaded Mayor and City Council and providing effective access to the City organization while maintaining compatibility with the City Council-City Manager form of government. It is difficult to summarize s this relationship in writing since this position, aside from its formal role in the organization, will be receiving daily, hourly, even minute to minute assignments, primarily from the Mayor, but also from other Council members. This formal/informal role can work, however, as evidenced by the success of the Public Information Coordinator. The difference is that the Office Manager will be working even closer with the Mayor and City Council . LOCATION AND EQUIPMENT: The recent remodeling of the Mayor and City Council Office area did not envision the addition of a position such as the proposed Office Manager. There is, therefore, no ideal arrangement for creating an office area for the new position. After considering various alternatives, staff recommends that the existing storage room in the Mayor and City Council Office area be converted into an office for the new Office Manager position. 1 Salary data prepared for the existing Business Officer Manager class also reveals that it should be at this level . - Page 3, Item • 4 Meeting Date 1/13/87 This will require moving the file cabinets and some of the other items stored in the storage room into other areas of the Mayor and City Council Office, and rearranging the cabinetry in the storage room to make it more usable as an office. The storage room' s dimensions of about 7'4" by 10' make it small but workable for a position such as the Office Manager, and staff considers this the best approach short of undertaking a new remodeling of the Mayor and City Council Office area. To create a work station for the Office Manager, the purchase of the following equipment is recommended: a desk, a desk chair, a side chair, and dictation equipment. It is also recommended that a micro-computer be installed in one of the two work areas that are part of the existing front reception counter. The proposed equipment would include a Compaq 286 micro-computer, a quiet printer, software, and an interface to the City's mainframe computer. Additional costs associated with the micro-computer would include supplies, training, and maintenance. It is also recommended that a transcription unit be purchased for use by the clerical staff at the micro-computer work station, since one of the major purposes of the micro-computer would be for word processing. A word processing capability would be very helpful for producing personalized form letters, such as for applicants to the City's Boards and Commissions, as well as for revising longer documents. In addition, the micro-computer could be used by the new Office Manager and others for accessing information in the Board/Commission, Legislative, ._.... and Monthly Status Report systems currently under development on the mainframe computer. Even without the new Office Manager position, this equipment would be recommended for purchase next year. FISCAL IMPACT: Adequate funds are included in the Mayor and City Council Office' s FY 1986-87 budget to hire the Office Manager and purchase the proposed equipment. Assuming a March 1 hire date, the estimated FY 1986-87 costs are: Salary 10,500 Benefits 2,300 1 Equipment 11,800 Cabinetry 00 $24,800 by the City Council of Chula Vista, California Dated '—/3 -cr (-, .)