FBCC considers city's current and future staffing needs

Submitted by Suanne Z. Thamm

Reporter - News Analyst

During a 3-hour workshop on February 9, 2016, city department heads had an opportunity to explain their current organizational structure to the Fernandina Beach City Commission (FBCC) and identify needs for more staffing to allow them to address commission-identified needs and goals surfaced during the recent FBCC Workshop on Goals. Every department except the Airport participated.

Following an introduction by City Manager Dale Martin, Commissioners engaged in a robust back-and-forth among themselves and with department heads in attempting to better understand why certain activities are being conducted in-house as opposed to being outsourced. Department heads explained how in some instances staff cutbacks made during the recession needed to be restored to meet needs of increased growth and tourism.

Commissioners’ comments during the workshop, which was not televised, appeared to challenge current thinking about the best, most effective way to provide services that the citizens demand at a cost they are willing to pay. Commissioner Tim Poynter remarked, “The whole city needs to be thinking differently about how to get the biggest bang for the buck.”

Poynter challenged department heads to tell the commission what they need, as opposed to requesting what they think the FBCC would be willing to approve. In response to concerns raised by some department heads that current procedures are not necessarily ideal but have been based on what the FBCC would be willing to support, Poynter tried to be reassuring. He indicated that staff needed to be aware that the commission would be more politically supportive than previously. He acknowledged that the city can’t keep running a growing city with existing or lower staffing levels. “Don’t second guess us,” Poynter said. “Tell us what you need. It’s up to us to make the case to the citizens. But we have to make the right case.”

Mayor Johnny Miller expressed support for Poynter’s willingness to consider staffing increases.

Both Police Chief James Hurley and Fire Rescue Chief Ty Silcox identified needs for increased staffing to maintain minimum staffing requirements. Hurley said that the number of sworn Police officers has dropped from 35 to 30 over the past few years, mostly through attrition. His budget has been flat for 10 years. He cited the aging of the workforce and Police Auxiliary and the need to provide for succession planning as well. Chief Silcox, who runs three shifts in Fire and Rescue, said that he needs two more firefighters in order to meet national standards that require 10 firefighters per shift.

In representing the Community Development Department, department director Adrienne Burke reminded commissioners that this department is also classed as a public safety division, because the Building side of the department is responsible for ensuring that structures are safely built and modified. Commissioners appeared to support adding a building inspector to speed the process. But the biggest FBCC concern in that department is code enforcement.

Commissioner Roy Smith said that the code enforcement system is broken. “We don’t fine anyone,” he said, adding that he sees code violations of longstanding throughout the city that never seem to be addressed.

Burke explained the complex existing system that calls for notification and hearings before the city can take action. She said that the city could change the existing ordinance to allow for citations and fines earlier in the process, but that the parameters of code enforcement are laid out by the state. She explained that currently with only one code enforcement official, the city cannot implement a more proactive program. She also said that the existing system reflected the will of previous commissions in trying to avoid citations and fines in favor of working with violators to correct problems.

Commissioners reassured Burke that they were in support of both a more proactive code enforcement and introducing citations and fines earlier in the process. Vice Mayor Robin Lentz asked that a revised ordinance be brought to the commission so that changes can be made to the current operation.

Throughout discussions of the city’s public safety, maintenance and recreation activities, commissioners became aware of the impact of special events on city operations. Commissioner Len Kreger expressed concern that pulling staff off maintenance and infrastructure work to support special events was not a good use of staff time and undermined core mission work of the city. He suggested that overtime, paid by event sponsors, might be one solution to the problem.

Because of the complexity of special events and the overlap between departments, the FBCC will hold a special workshop on this topic in the future.

Kreger, Smith and Poynter all pointed to outsourcing projects and bidding certain activities as possible solutions to maintaining service levels without increasing staffing levels. Utilities Department Director John Mandrick advised commissioners that he does so regularly, citing recent sewer line projects as an example. Commissioners questioned why more of this is not done, looking at activities ranging from the Old Town sewer project to grass mowing and janitorial services.

When department directors pushed back, claiming that internal labor was cheaper than contract labor, Vice Mayor Lentz and other commissioners asked whether department heads were basing their opinions on true costs or just hourly wages. Commissioners asked for more study of these options.

Parks and Recreation Department Head Nan Voit was the only manager to call for a transfer of staff from another department. She asked that the responsibility for maintaining parks, and the associated staff, be returned to her department from the Maintenance Department. Commissioners did not seem receptive to this request, in light of the fact that the transfer would deprive Maintenance of workers who handle other responsibilities in addition to parks.

Voit also suggested a reorganization of her department that was not reflected in the organization chart currently before the commission.

Commissioner Roy Smith expressed concern over the number of recreation programs currently offered. He said that according to her own department’s statistics, 2 of every 3 participants in the programs are county residents. He said, “City residents are tired of paying for county recreation users.”

Voit countered by telling commissioners that her department does not lose money on paying programs, adding that many of the programs would not have sufficient enrollment if they did not admit non-city residents. Smith remarked, “Then maybe we don’t need the programs.”

There was no current need for staffing changes identified for the City Attorney, the City Clerk, the Golf Course or the Marina. Other departments requested in some cases converting part-time positions to full time positions to keep up with workloads.

City Manager Dale Martin spoke last and asked the FBCC to consider both short and long term issues. Among short-term opportunities he cited were the addition of a full time airport manager and an engineer/projects officer, in addition to meeting public safety needs. He also asked commissioners to consider needs for infrastructure maintenance and contractual services.

Longer term challenges included dealing with the political environment and more nuanced staffing issues. Martin reinforced the need expressed by some departments to create career opportunities for junior staff while also beginning succession planning where key retirements are anticipated in the near future. He also cited the aging of the city’s volunteer cadre. “When employees quit or retire,” Martin said, “we lose people with knowledge of the Fernandina culture.”

Martin presented a slide containing the city’s mission statement and asked for input from commissioners.

“If this is not what you want, change it,” Martin said. “If it is what you want, let’s live up to it.”