AGENDA #4g
memorandum
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to: |
Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager |
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from: |
Pam Eastwood, Human Resources Director |
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subject: |
Additional Position Proposed for Transportation Department |
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date: |
April 11, 2007 |
The purpose of this memorandum is to request approval of a new position for a Mechanic II in the Transportation Department. Enactment of the attached Ordinance would amend the Town Position Classification and Pay Plan to include the new position.
The historical practice in the Town has been that new positions are proposed only once a year, as a part of the budget development process. Following Council approval of the budget, additional funds have been added to the department budgets where new positions have been approved and action to recruit and fill these positions has commenced.
The request discussed here differs from the historical practice: the additional position proposed is considered immediately critical for effective operations of the Transportation system. The urgency of the need for the position is the reason for requesting this approval now rather than as a part of the new budget year.
The Town of Chapel Hill Transportation System has experienced phenomenal growth in recent years, and currently provides service to nearly 6 million passengers annually. Additional staffing is needed to manage this significant growth in the service demands of the system. The position requested below is essential in accomplishing the expected levels and timeliness of services to citizens.
Mechanic II position – One position is requested, at pay grade 32 with a 40 hour work schedule. With the acquisition of new vehicles and the imminent startup of the air conditioning season, maintaining the bus fleet in good operating condition is a challenge with the current maintenance staffing level. Comparison of the number of mechanics and the number of vehicles in the fleet between the Town and other bus systems of similar size indicates the Town of Chapel Hill Transportation system is significantly below recommended staffing levels for bus mechanics. We believe it is essential to request that one mechanic be added now rather than waiting until the next budget year, as there are 19 additional buses arriving in June.
Efforts last year to keep the air conditioning systems on the buses operating required continuous overtime and weekend work by the maintenance staff; even this was insufficient to achieve the goal consistently. Passenger complaints about non-operating air conditioners on the buses continued throughout the warm season.
The funding to cover the cost for this position through the remainder of the year has been identified in the current Transit maintenance budget. A request for continued funding of this additional Mechanic position for the upcoming budget year has been included in the Transportation Budget for 2007-08.
We recommend that the new position proposed be approved effective April 11, 2007, by approval of the attached Ordinance.