HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-11-28 - Personnel-Risk Management Committee Meeting Agenda Packet Yorba Linda
Hater District
AGENDA
YORBA LINDA WATER DISTRICT
PERSONNEL-RISK MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE MEETING
Wednesday, November 28, 2012, 4:00 PM
1717 E Miraloma Ave, Placentia CA 92870
COMMITTEE STAFF
Director Michael J. Beverage, Chair Steve Conklin, Acting General Manager
Director Ric Collett Gina Knight, Human Resources and Risk
Mgr
1. PUBLIC COMMENTS
Any individual wishing to address the committee is requested to identify themselves and state the matter on
which they wish to comment. If the matter is on this agenda, the committee Chair will recognize the individual for
their comment when the item is considered. No action will be taken on matters not listed on this agenda.
Comments are limited to matters of public interest and matters within the jurisdiction of the Water District.
Comments are limited to five minutes.
2. DISCUSSION ITEMS
This portion of the agenda is for matters such as technical presentations, drafts of proposed policies, or similar
items for which staff is seeking the advice and counsel of the Committee members. This portion of the agenda
may also include items for information only.
2.1. Filling the Meter Reader I Vacancy
2.2. Status of Performance Evaluations (Verbal Report)
2.3. On-Line Performance Evaluations (Verbal Report)
2.4. Managers Job Description Comparison (Verbal Report)
2.5. At-Will Employment (Verbal Report)
2.6. Future General Manager's Salary (Verbal Report)
2.7. Future Agenda Items and Staff Tasks
3. ADJOURNMENT
3.1. The next Personnel-Risk Management Committee meeting will be held Monday,
December 10, 2012 at 4:00 p.m.
Items Distributed to the Committee Less Than 72 Hours Prior to the Meeting
Pursuant to Government Code section 54957.5, non-exempt public records that relate to open session agenda items
and are distributed to a majority of the Committee less than seventy-two (72) hours prior to the meeting will be available
for public inspection in the lobby of the District's business office located at 1717 E. Miraloma Avenue, Placentia, CA
92870, during regular business hours. When practical, these public records will also be made available on the District's
internet website accessible at http://www.ylwd.com/.
Accommodations for the Disabled
Any person may make a request for a disability-related modification or accommodation needed for that person to be
able to participate in the public meeting by telephoning the Executive Secretary at 714-701-3020, or writing to Yorba
Linda Water District, P.O. Box 309, Yorba Linda, CA 92885-0309. Requests must specify the nature of the disability and
the type of accommodation requested. A telephone number or other contact information should be included so the
District staff may discuss appropriate arrangements. Persons requesting a disability-related accommodation should
make the request with adequate time before the meeting for the District to provide the requested accommodation.
ITEM NO. 2.1
AGENDA REPORT
Meeting Date: November 28, 2012 Budgeted: Yes
To: Personnel-Risk Management
Committee
From: Steve Conklin, Acting General
Manager
Presented By: Stephen Parker, Finance Dept: Finance
Manager
Prepared By: Stephen Parker, Finance
Manager
Subject: Filling the Meter Reader I Vacancy
DISCUSSION:
Mrs. Knight had a preliminary discussion with the Personnel-Risk Management Committee
regarding filling the Meter Reader I vacancy on October 9, 2012. The Committee requested that
additional information be gathered and that this item be brought back to them at a future meeting for
review and consideration. Information has been gathered to present at this time and is documented
in the attached memo.
STRATEGIC PLAN:
OE 2-C: Engage Employees in Methods of Addressing Inefficiencies
ATTACHMENTS:
.a Description: Type:
Memo - Meter Reader I Vacancy.docx Filling the Meter Reader Reader I Vacancy Backup Material
ElYorba Linda
Water District
Memo
To: Steve Conklin
Date: November 20, 2012
From: Stephen Parker
Subject: Filling the Meter Reader I Vacancy
❑ urgent OX For Review F-] Please Comment ❑ Please Reply
Comments:
In May 2011 a vacancy in the Meter Reading section occurred and staff attempted to
work without filling the Meter Reader I position to determine if technological efficiencies
were advanced enough to allow the reduction of one of the five positions in the section.
Since that point, meter maintenance has fallen far behind. In October 2011, the Meter
Reading Section began outsourcing a number of stuck meters, retrofits and other meter
maintenance to the Operations Department.
The former Customer Service Supervisor indicated repeatedly throughout a 9-month
period that the position was unnecessary and there were opportunity for efficiencies.
While after a few months into the trial, the Finance Manager did not agree, the
Customer Service Supervisor's viewpoint influenced the former GM to some degree,
and accordingly, he continued to leave the position vacant. After more than 9 months
as the supervisor of that section, the Customer Service Supervisor was not able to
identify efficiencies that would make up for the lack of filling the Meter Reader I position.
As the former GM was not convinced that the position was unnecessary, the Meter
Reader I position was left in the budget for the FY 12/13 budget year. Prior to his
departure, the former GM saw that work was well behind in the Meter Reading section,
and gave the Finance Manager authorization to allow any amount of overtime in the
section to attempt to make up the difference.
Despite over 185 hours of overtime in the Meter Reading section since the beginning of
the current fiscal year, there continues to be a backlog of meter maintenance.
A recent review of the outsourced meter maintenance jobs revealed that an average of
3.5 hours has been expended on each. As compared to the above determination, a
review of an employee in the Meter Reading section who completed 64 meter
replacements during 62 hours of overtime in the most recent 7 weeks reveals an
average of less than 1.0 hours per job.
Best practices call for testing meters regularly to determine if they are within AWWA
acceptable ranges. The District currently does not test more than 4 meters per quarter,
which is not sufficient to have a representative sample of the District. In a recent survey
of local agencies, staff was provided with 3 responses of how many meters are tested.
Irvine Ranch Water District, Moulton Niguel Water District and Golden State Water
Company all indicated that they tested 10% of their meters.
Recommendations
Based on the above information, I recommend the District fill the budgeted Meter
Reader I position. This will allow:
1) All meter maintenance that has been temporarily shifted to the Operations
Department will be taken back by the section primarily responsible for the task
(with less time and less expensive employees conducting the work, which will
result in a lower cost to the District).
2) The Meter Reading section to begin the best practice of testing meters regularly,
which will provide valuable information to the District for decisions made in the
future.
3) Operations employees, who currently fill gaps in their schedule with meter
maintenance services, will be freed up to attend to their regularly scheduled
work.