How to resolve AdBlock issue? LAKEPORT, Calif. – Earlier this month the Lakeport City Council gave its approval to adding new position classifications and heard plans for an assistant city manager job to be added to the coming fiscal year budget.
City Clerk/Administrative Services Director Kelly Buendia went to the council June 4 with several items, including new classification series for police lieutenant, police chief and a city clerk position, and an update on plans for the assistant city manager position.
The salary and benefits changes to the police and clerk positions’ salaries, all of which are included in the 2019-20 budget, are estimated to cost $79,485 for the coming fiscal year, according to Buendia’s written report. Finance Director Nick Walker later clarified for Lake County News that the assistant city manager position was not included in the dollar amount cited in the staff report.
The discussion begins at the 58:44 mark in the video above.
Buendia said a statewide police shortage has made staffing police positions problematic. The city has raised salaries to remain competitive but has still had challenges.
Similar to a model implemented by the Clearlake Police Department, Buendia said that in order for Lakeport Police to be competitive with other agencies, Chief Brad Rasmussen wanted to establish a lieutenant/captain position.
With Lt. Jason Ferguson now being considered for a new job out of county, the goal is to move one person up into the lieutenant job and then recruit for another lieutenant/captain, Buendia said.
At the same time, she said staff proposed to increase the police chief salary to match that of the city of Clearlake.
The police lieutenant salary range will increase from $6,230 to $7,696 per month to $6,965 to $8,466 per month. The new police captain salary range is $7,679 to $9,334 monthly. The police chief’s job will go from $7,537 to $9,309 each month to $10,833 monthly, based on the staff report. The new salary ranges become effective July 2.
Councilman George Spurr asked if the department would need another officer if the lieutenant promotion from within occurred.
“There would be no additional bodies in our budget, so it would just be a restructuring,” said Rasmussen.
City Manager Margaret Silveira said that new position is part of succession planning.
Buendia said the city also wanted to add the deputy city clerk III/records supervisor position. The proposal provides a promotional opportunity for existing staff into a professional level position. Buendia said it’s a crucial staff member performing above the scope of their current position.
The person filling that new position would act in a leadership role, implementing a new management system, training other staff, assisting IT staff and helping consultants. Buendia said the position is on par with the police record supervisor and planning associate in the level of technical expertise required.
The last position, up for discussion only and not a vote, was the assistant city manager, included in the city’s goals for succession planning, with a stipend included, Buendia said.
Buendia said Silveira is now asking for a full-time assistant city manager for half of the new fiscal year. It’s budgeted but would need to be brought back for approval of the job classification.
Spurr asked if staff was planning to ask for a full-time assistant city manager “down the road.” Buendia said yes, explaining during the discussion that it would be an additional position added to the budget.
“This is all about succession planning,” said Silveira.
Councilman Kenny Parlet said he was starting to be concerned about Lakeport’s salary comparisons to other areas and its impact on the budget. “We need to keep our eye on the ball,” he said, pointing to a city budget deficit.
Councilwoman Stacey Mattina was supportive of the plan, explaining that if people can go “over the hill” and make $40,000 more a year, there is nothing the city can do.
“We've had such trouble over the years attracting new talent,” she said, adding that she was more nervous about adding new positions that increasing pay for existing positions.
Silveira said the new assistant city manager position would only be in effect for about a year and a half. When she’s ready to retire, the city will have an individual ready to assume the top job and that assistant city manager job would be eliminated.
Parlet said he supported succession planning but voiced concern about a “hodge podge” of salary increases. He said they needed to be good fiduciaries.
Silveira agreed, explaining that the new position had been brought up in the context of the council’s goal setting work. She said city staff always has been told that the city can’t compete with salaries paid in Mendocino, Napa or Sonoma counties, but that they can try to stay competitive within the county, noting that the city has lost employees to the county of Lake and the city of Clearlake.
She said the cost of bringing new talent in is more expensive than keeping it, and it’s also a “nightmare” looking at CalPERS retirement issues. If city revenues start changing, she said they will need to look at next steps, noting they should analyze that each year.
During public comment, Suzanne Lyons, a former city councilmember, said the council used to hire three staff members – city manager, city clerk and city attorney. Several years ago the council gave up the right to hire the city clerk.
She said the current council is now deciding for other city councils who will be the next city manager, and she said she wondered about that decision.
Mayor Time Barnes said the city would still post the city manager job and if a vastly more qualified candidate came in, that person would get it. But that didn’t mean the city can't have someone in the best possible position.
Lyons, pointing to a budget deficit, said they are telling another city council that they are hiring the future city manager. “Think about what you're saying.”
“Maybe we shouldn't be picking the city manager now at this time,” said Michael Froio, a city planning commissioner.
He said he was glad to hear Parlet being fiscally conservative, adding that the city has a lot of needs and he wouldn’t want the money to go into that new assistant city manager position now.
Councilwoman Mireya Turner moved to approve the new police lieutenant and captain classification series, with Mattina seconding and the council approving 5-0.
Spurr then moved to approve the deputy city clerk position, a motion seconded by Turner and also getting a unanimous vote.
Buendia said the matter of the assistant city manager position was only informational, with no vote required.
Walker told Lake County News that while the cost of the half-time assistant city manager position is not explicitly stated anywhere in the 2019-20 budget, the amount estimated for this added position is $77,490.
Editor’s note: Additional quotes from Finance Director Nick Walker have been added to explain the total costs for the positions.
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