BOARD AGENDA MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT:
Title
Approve the Addition of Seventeen Full-Time Santa Clara Valley Water (Valley Water) District Employee Positions. (Previously Listed as Item 8.2)
End
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Approve the addition of seventeen (17) Valley Water Full-Time Employee (FTE) positions, including sixteen (16) classified positions and one (1) unclassified position.
Body
SUMMARY:
To help strengthen critical core business functions, bolster support for major existing and upcoming projects, and foster leadership development and a more robust succession pipeline, Valley Water’s executive leadership recommends the addition of seventeen (17) full-time employees to be added to the organization during FY20.
With several “mega-projects” in the pipeline, with project budgets of over $500 million, Valley Water needs to ensure it is planning for the future and adequately resourced. This organization needs the increased technical and operations staff as well as strengthened biological support to develop multi-benefit projects that are both safe and uphold environmental protections. We also need new staff to perform due diligence on existing projects as well as leverage external resources to find additional opportunities that can benefit Valley Water.
These additional positions also support the Board of Directors’ goal regarding succession planning. Over 27% of current Valley Water employees, approximately 225 staff members, are eligible to retire with health benefits. Over time, there will be an increasing demand to fill positions created by these upcoming retirements. Filling this request for additional positions will deepen the bench and Valley Water remains committed to offering training and leadership development opportunities to all staff. In addition, as we create more needed positions, we will rely less on external consultant services. Adding these positions is a forward-thinking investment in our own Valley Water employees.
List of Requested Positions
The seventeen (17) proposed FTE positions fill gaps across all Valley Water business areas. The positions requested include:
Water Utility Enterprise: Two (2) Positions
• One (1) Senior Management Analyst, Business Planning and Analysis
• One (1) Assistant Operating Officer, Treated Water Division
Watersheds: Nine (9) Positions
• One (1) Assistant Engineer, Dam Safety and Project Delivery
• One (1) Associate Engineer, Dam Safety and Project Delivery
• One (1) Assistant Engineer, Pacheco Project Delivery
• One (1) Associate Engineer, Pacheco Project Delivery
• One (1) Senior Water Resource Specialist, Environmental Mitigation and Monitoring
• Two (2) Assistant Biologist I’s, Environmental Mitigation and Monitoring
• One (1) Associate Water Resource Specialist, Environmental Planning
• One (1) Senior Engineer, Water Resources Planning and Policy
Information Technology and Administrative Services: Two (2) Positions
• One (1) Facilities Maintenance Technician I/II, Facilities Management
• One (1) Program Administrator, Purchasing and Contracts
Financial Planning and Management Services: One (1) Position
• One (1) Program Administrator, Revenue and Grants Management
External Affairs: Two (2) Positions
• One (1) Public Information Representative II, Office of Civic Engagement
• One (1) Management Analyst I, Office of Civic Engagement
Office of Talent and Inclusion: One (1) Position
• One (1) Management Analyst II, Benefits and Wellness Program
A detailed rationale, justification and position description for each requested employee are found in the Staff Memorandum in Attachment 1.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Staff estimates an annual cost impact of $3.5 million. Due to the necessary lead time to recruit and hire these positions, staff anticipates that any cost impact for FY20 would be minimal and would be offset by salary savings. The impact for FY21 will be incorporated into the FY21 budget.
Over the long term, staff estimates the following impacts to Valley Water’s core funds:
• For the Watershed and Stream Stewardship Fund, staff estimates that adding these positions would result in an $8 million decrease to the FY29 reserve balance, which is about $15M above minimum reserve levels per policy in that year.
• For the Safe Clean Water Fund, staff estimates a $2 million decrease to the FY28 (year 15 of the 15-year program) reserve balance, which would still mean a small surplus at the end of the program.
• For the Water Utility Enterprise funds, staff believes that the incremental cost can be absorbed without increasing the current 10-year water charge projection, all else being equal.
These estimated impacts assume that for those positions that would charge a capital project, the cost of the labor resource is already incorporated into the cost estimate for that capital project (and work would now be carried out by an in-house resource instead of an external resource). Therefore, the incremental cost impact to each core fund noted above is driven only by those positions that would charge to core fund or administrative operations projects. It should also be noted that staff is currently engaged in the annual process to update long term financial projections for each fund. Preliminary results will be provided to the Board in January 2020.
CEQA:
The recommended action does not constitute a project under CEQA because it does not have a potential for resulting in direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: Staff Memo
UNCLASSIFIED MANAGER:
Manager
Norma Camacho, 408-630-2084