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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-12-19 - Board of Directors Meeting Minutes2013 -241 MINUTES OF THE YORBA LINDA WATER DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS SPECIAL MEETING Thursday, December 19, 2013, 2:00 p.m. 1717 E Miraloma Ave, Placentia CA 92870 1. CALL TO ORDER The December 19, 2013 Yorba Linda Water District Board of Directors Special Meeting was called to order by President Melton at 2:00 p.m. The meeting was held in the Board/Training Room at the District's Administration Building located at 1717 East Miraloma Avenue in Placentia, California 92870. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE K] 4. President Melton led the pledge. ROLL CALL DIRECTORS PRESENT Gary T. Melton, President Robert R. Kiley, Vice President Michael J. Beverage Ric Collett Phil Hawkins STAFF PRESENT Steve Conklin, Acting General Manager John DeCriscio, Operations Manager Gina Knight, Human Resources and Risk Manager Delia Lugo, Finance Manager Art Vega, Acting IT Manager Annie Alexander, Executive Secretary ALSO PRESENT Art Kidman, Partner, Kidman Law LLP Daniel Mole, Chair, YLWD Citizens Advisory Committee PUBLIC COMMENTS None. 5. DISCUSSION ITEMS 5.1 Report from YLWD Citizens Advisory Committee Regarding Draft of Organizational Performance Review — Provided by Chair, Daniel Mole Mr. Mole provided a report to the Board regarding comments received from members of the Citizens Advisory Committee related to the content of the study. He noted that Mr. Lindon Baker had submitted several questions which were then forwarded to Koff & Associates for response. He stated that overall the study didn't seem to reveal any issues that the Board wasn't already aware of. Mr. Mole noted that the Board has had to take a more hands on approach in the management of the District due to the absence of a General Manager. He further stated that the District's rates were reasonable, its customers were happy, and that YLWD was a safe organization. 1 2013 -242 The Board then discussed a few of the issues touched on in the study including staffing allocations and roles of the Board and General Manager. Mr. Kidman briefly commented on the responsibilities of the Board and General Manager. He also noted that the General Manager's position was missing from the org chart on page 10 and did not appear in the Human Resources org chart on page 33 even though this position was responsible for the employment of District personnel. Director Kiley noted that copies of the comparator agencies' org charts were not included with the study. Director Beverage commented on the proposed ideal org chart explaining that Koff was recommending the placement of an Administrative Services Director over the Human Resources, Information Technology and Finance Departments in order to increase organizational efficiency. He also commented on Koff's suggestion to centralize the District's purchasing efforts. Mr. Mole stated that he thought that the District may be management heavy compared to the total number of employees. Director Beverage expressed his gratitude for Mr. Mole's leadership and service on the Citizens Advisory Committee. Director Melton also thanked Mr. Mole for his dedication and asked that he please pass on the Board's appreciation to the Committee members. Mr. Mole left the meeting at this time. Mr. Kidman asked if the final draft of the report was to be presented to the Board at a later time for acceptance. Director Beverage explained that the Ad Hoc Committee would be working with Koff regarding additional revisions resulting from the comments being provided at this meeting. 5.2. Final Draft of Organizational Performance Review The Board then determined to invite each of the Department Manager's individually into the meeting to provide their comments regarding their Department's respective section of the study. Engineering Department Mr. Conklin joined the meeting at this time. He stated that he felt the Engineering Department was operating appropriately when fully staffed. At this time, Mr. Conklin is filling both the Acting General Manager and Engineering Manager positions. He noted that alternative plans have been made for the duties assigned to the Engineering Secretary position. He also indicated that one of the positions for Engineering Technician II will continue to remain unfilled. The incumbent in the Project Coordinator position will soon be retiring. Staff determined that the District has a long term need for this position however the title will be renamed to "Associate Engineer" prior to being opened for recruitment. Mr. Conklin then responded to questions from the Board regarding the filling of key positions, the Engineering Department's org chart, and improvements to communications between the Engineering and Operations Departments related to project design and construction. Director Beverage noted that 2 2013 -243 the Project Coordinator's title in the org chart on page 24 would need to be updated to Associate Engineer. Mr. Conklin left the meeting at this time. Finance Department Mrs. Lugo joined the meeting at this time. She noted that some of the comments made by staff during the interview process may have been interpreted incorrectly in the study. She stated that once fully staffed, the Finance Department would operate sufficiently. At this time the Senior Accountant position is vacant and staff does not see the need to fill the fifth Meter Read I position. She mentioned that all departments would greatly benefit with help of a "floating" clerical position to help with filing and other duties. Mrs. Lugo commented on plans for the upcoming budget process with the expectation that a final draft would be presented to the Board at the end of May 2014. Mrs. Lugo then pointed out that the statement on page 29 regarding significant turnover in Accounting due to the required amount of overtime was inaccurate. Previous staff members in this division actually left due to retirement or for offers of employment with higher compensation. Mrs. Lugo further noted that some of the statements regarding the Cogsdale system on page 30 were also incorrect. Staff has been working with the vendor regarding some issues which aren't considered to be exceedingly problematic or exposing the District to potential risk. Mrs. Lugo then responded to questions from the Board regarding the Cogsdale system, staff training and meter replacement. She then stated that she felt that standard operating procedures needed to be completed for all positions, that centralizing the purchasing function would be highly useful, and that staff would benefit from the formation of a "technology forum." This group could help train personnel on existing technological resources available at the District. Mrs. Lugo left the meeting at this time. A recess was declared at 3:45 a.m. The meeting was reconvened at 3:55 p.m. Human Resources Department Mrs. Knight joined the meeting at this time. She clarified that the Human Resources Clerk position identified in the org chart on page 33 was actually serving as a clerical "floater" in various departments. She also stated that the number of full time employees in the Human Resources departments of several of the comparator agencies were actually higher than as noted in the report. These inaccuracies make it appear as if the District's HR department may be overstaffed. Mrs. Knight then responded to questions from the Board regarding the potential for the HR Department to develop District wide policies and procedures as well as update the current job descriptions. Mrs. Knight left the meeting at this time. 3 2013 -244 Information Technology Department Mr. Vega joined the meeting at this time. Mr. Vega clarified that the use of the term "crash" in reference to a system issue as used in the study was incorrect. He then explained that he had been filling both the Acting IT Manager and Information Systems Administrator positions for quite some time now. The GIS Technician is also currently serving as the Acting GIS Administrator as the former incumbent recently accepted a position with another agency. Staff is working with a vendor to update the District's GIS Master Plan before taking action to fill this vacancy. Staff is also considering the possibility of renaming the job title for this position to GIS Analyst instead of GIS Administrator. Mr. Vega stated that it was very difficult for him to fill both roles he has had to work overtime on a regular basis. He then responded to questions from the Board regarding the Cogsdale system, policies and procedures for the IT Department, the Department's org chart, and the possibility of hiring an in -house electrician. Mr. Vega noted that he would like to consider moving the GIS Division under the IS Administrator and that he was in favor of hiring an in- house electrician that could be shared with the Operations Department. Mr. Vega left the meeting at this time. Operations Department Mr. DeCriscio joined the meeting at this time. Mr. DeCriscio stated that he has been looking into restructuring the Department in order to balance out the staffing ratios between Divisions. This would also facilitate cross - training which is very helpful in the event of an emergency. Mr. DeCriscio noted that the comment regarding staff being required to bring their own tools was inaccurate. He then responded to questions from the Board regarding current staffing levels, meter replacement, and coordination with the Engineering Department. Mr. DeCriscio left the meeting at this time. 5.3. Additional Proposals Requested from Koff & Associates Copies of proposals to conduct a classification study, develop Human Resources policies, and develop a succession plan were included in the agenda packet. No discussion regarding these documents took place at this time. 6. ADJOURNMENT 6.1. The meeting was adjourned at 5:05 p.m. The next Regular Board of Directors Meeting will be held Monday, December 23, 2013 at 8:30 a.m. Annie Alexander Assistant Board Secretary 4