BUDGET WORKING PAPER

TO:                  Mayor and Town Council

FROM:            W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

SUBJECT:      Internship Program

DATE:            April 24, 2006

PURPOSE

The purpose of this budget working paper is to describe the Internship Program that is included in the Manager’s recommended budget. 

BACKGROUND

At its January 12, 2006 work planning session, the Council after brief discussion endorsed the establishment of an undergraduate internship program in Town service as recommended by a Council Member.

The Town has employed graduate, undergraduate and high school interns for many years in a variety of manners.

• The Town Manager and Parks and Recreation Department each offer one graduate internship in fall, spring and summer.
• Undergraduate internships are offered in fall, spring, and summer by the Planning Department (3), Public Works Department (2) and the Engineering Department (1).
• The Inspections Department offers one apprenticeship training position involving a two-to-three year commitment to the apprentice.
• High school internships are offered by the Planning Department (one in fall and spring, two in summer), by the Information Technology Department (two summer), the Housing Department (1) and the Parks and Recreation Department (5).
• The Police Department Summer Employment Program provides employment opportunities for 35 high school students.
• The Town Manager, Parks and Recreation Department, Library and Police Department regularly offer volunteer internships in fall, spring and summer.
• The Town Attorney has had undergraduate and graduate interns intermittently over the past several years.

Internships produce work of value to the Town and, at the same time, provide valuable work experiences to students.  Internships also are useful in attracting students to careers of service in local government.

DISCUSSION

Six Town departments already offer graduate or undergraduate internships. Expanding the internship program to all departments could result in creation of additional internship opportunities in the following departments:

• Town Clerk
• Finance
• Fire
• Housing
• Human Resources
• Information Technology
• Inspections
• Library
• Police
• Transportation

Undergraduate internships customarily are limited to about 12-15 hours of work per week for about 10-12 weeks during the fall and/or spring semesters, with some flexibility for both the employing departments and the students.  We believe this arrangement would be reasonable for the Town’s program.

Stipends offered with internships vary considerably based on such factors as whether the student is post-graduate, graduate, or undergraduate; whether funding is from another agency, by grant for a special purpose, or from local sources; and the specific tasks involved in an assignment.  For the Town’s undergraduate internship program, we think that a stipend of $1,000 per semester would be fair and sufficient to attract capable candidates.

Estimated costs for stipends would total $20,000; of this amount $16,000 would be in the General Fund, $2,000 in the Housing Fund and $2,000 in the Transportation Fund.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill would be the primary source for intern candidates, but candidates from other institutions would be welcome for consideration.

RECOMMENDATION

We recommend that the additional internships be funded in the 2006-07 budget.