HomeMy WebLinkAbout01(A)- 2024-2028 Personnel Plan
City of Prior Lake | 4646 Dakota Street SE | Prior Lake MN 55372
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
ITEM: 1A
MEETING DATE: May 15, 2023
PREPARED BY: Lori Olson, Assistant City Manager
PRESENTED BY: City Department Heads
AGENDA ITEM: 2024-2028 Personnel Plan
STRATEGIC
PRIORITY:
FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
4. Budget objectives met annually.
BACKGROUND:
Similar to how the City plans its infrastructure and fleet needs through the Capital Improvement
Plan (CIP), the personnel plan is designed to address the staffing needs required to support the
anticipated growth of the city. This plan projects the service levels and related staffing
requirements for the City of Prior Lake through 2028. At tonight's City Council Work Session, city
leaders will review the personnel needs for their respective departments and seek feedback on
the requests.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The financial impact of the Personnel Plan staffing recommendations will be assessed annually
as part of the budget process. Each year, additional positions will be reviewed and requested with
further detail through the City Manager’s budget recommendation.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. 2024-2028 Personnel Plan
PERSONNEL PLAN
2024-2028
2024 – 2028 Personnel Plan / Page 2
INTRODUCTION
Similar to how the City plans its infrastructure and equipment needs through the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), this personnel plan is designed
to address the staffing needs required to support the anticipated demand for City services as Prior Lake grows. The general fund budget is
dominated by personnel costs (69.5% of the total budget in 2022) which explains why planning for personnel is critical for long-range planning
forecasts. This plan projects the anticipated staffing requirements for the City of Prior Lake through 2028. It will be revisited annually to adapt to
the evolving needs and expectations of the community.
The objectives of the plan include:
Informing annual and long-range budget discussions and decisions;
Forecasting future demands for service; and
Identifying the resources required to perform current service levels in the future.
This five-year document will be incorporated into the City’s long-range financial plan and will be updated each year to inform the annual budget
process. Departments will be responsible for providing the metrics to justify the personnel requests and impact on current service levels during
annual budget deliberations. This document focuses only on the need and rationale for each position request. The discussion on how the City will
pay for these positions will be held through the annual budgeting process in consideration with other budget requests like the CIP. The City Council
will determine the addition and timing of any new staff additions.
BACKGROUND
The personnel of the City of Prior Lake provide essential services to 28,086 (2022) residents over approximately nineteen square miles. In addition,
the residents of Spring Lake Township, the City of Credit River, and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) receive public safety
services from the City. Prior Lake has grown at a steady pace of about five hundred residents annually in one of the fastest growing counties in
Minnesota. The Metropolitan Council forecasts Prior Lake’s population will grow to 37,600 residents by 2040.
Cities do not grow solely in terms of population or households as the services -- infrastructure, parks, public safety, and technology, to name a few
that are required to accommodate such growth must expand as well. These services are supported by municipal employees together with the
equipment, supplies and training necessary to execute their functions.
Looking forward, the City will need to consistently add headcount to maintain current service levels as the City continues to grow. The City of Prior
Lake currently operates with just over 116 employees, including the addition of 12 new full-time firefighters in mid-2023. The majority (76%) of
employees work for either Public Works, Police Department, and Fire Department, most of whom are considered essential employees. The City
hires around fifty seasonal and temporary positions each year and employs thirty paid on-call firefighters.
2024 – 2028 Personnel Plan / Page 3
PERSONNEL NEEDS THROUGH 2028
Below is an overview of the projected staffing needs to maintain current service levels through 2028. As you will see, the most significant addition
of resources involves public safety, including the transition to a full-time Fire Department in 2023. Although the City has added 5 sworn officers
over the past few years, the Police Department is still playing catch up from years of under-staffing. Public Works faces the challenge of maintaining
current service delivery expectations or reducing service levels depending on staffing levels. Administration, Finance, and Community
Development have added key positions recently (e.g., City Clerk, IT Specialist, Assistant Finance Director, Building Inspector) and should be
adequately staffed for several years.
On the following pages, each department is profiled with a summary of all current and proposed positions within the department and a rationale
for each new FTE request.
Department 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028
Administration (8) 1 -
Community Development (10.8)
Finance (6.8) 2 - - -
Fire (14) 1 - -
Police (38.42) 1 2 - 1.38 1
Public Works (38.63) 1 - 1 - 1
Total New: 2 2.2 2 2.38 2
Total City Headcount (116.65): 118.65 120.85 122.85 125.23 127.23
2024 – 2028 Personnel Plan / Page 4
DEPARTMENT
PROFILES
2024 – 2028 Personnel Plan / Page 5
ADMINISTRATION
2024: Deputy City Clerk (no FTE impact). The Administrative Assistant is currently doing tasks more in line with the duties of a Deputy City Clerk,
including elections administration, committee work to support the Planning Commission and Economic Development Authority, and City advisory
board administration. In addition, this position will assume the backup City Council agenda preparation and Council minute taking when the City
Clerk is out. Currently, this falls to the Human Resources Coordinator which is no longer part of that position’s job duties. The proposal is to
reclassify the current Administrative Assistant into a Deputy City Clerk to reflect current job duties. The Deputy Clerk would continue to support
the reception area and front desk (and related duties) of City Hall.
In 2024, the Administration budget will need additional funding for a temporary receptionist to cover the front desk for approximately four months
due to the election. Recently, significant changes to elections administration occurred, including absentee ballot voting moving from Scott County
to the City and the addition of a new voting precinct in Prior Lake. During the 2023 legislative session, the State is proposing to replace direct ballot
voting with expanded early voting (18 days) with increased hours at the polls during this time. Managing this increased election workload in
addition to all the other duties of a City Clerk is too much for one person. In the past the only trained backup for election administration was the
Accounting Specialist who is retiring in 2023. Once this occurs, there is no backup or redundancy for administering elections. The Deputy City Clerk
will need to be focused full-time during election season which will require temporary staffing to backfill the reception role in City Hall.
2027: Administrative Assistant. This will be a hybrid position that will support the Fire Department’s administrative needs and the front desk
duties for City Hall. By 2027, the full-time Fire Department will have been functioning for three full years, including implementing a fire safety
inspection program for all commercial buildings and beefing up public education. Administrative support will be required to assist with
scheduling inspections, follow-up paperwork, organizing education events, etc. As for City Hall, we anticipate transitioning the Deputy City Clerk
away from reception area duties into full-time clerk duties. One reason is because a new voting precinct will likely be added by the 2028 election
which will further increase election administration demands. In addition, Prior Lake is likely to see more commercial growth requiring licensing
new applications and renewals) and community events coordination. Finally, the City’s existing records management system is insufficient.
State data practices laws require the City to retain documents and correspondence for certain timeframes depending on the ret ention schedule.
The City currently does not have a process for the consistent review of documents, processes, and training. This position would be responsible
for the City’s record management duties that relate to the collection, storage, use, and dissemination of all City data.
2024 – 2028 Personnel Plan / Page 6
Total FTEs in 2023 – 8
Administration 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028
City Manager 1 1 1 1 1
Assistant City Manager 1 1 1 1 1
City Clerk 1 1 1 1 1
Deputy City Clerk 1 1 1 1 1
HR Coordinator 1 1 1 1 1
Communications Coordinator 1 1 1 1 1
IT Coordinator 1 1 1 1 1
IT Specialist 1 1 1 1 1
Admin Assistant - - - 1* 1
TOTAL: 8 8 8 9 9
2024 – 2028 Personnel Plan / Page 7
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Due to the addition of new FTEs over the past few years, no new personnel additions are anticipated through 2028. A seasonal Development
Services Assistant position was converted to a part-time (0.8 FTE) position in 2022. The financial impact was not significant for the part-time
position as the City previously paid an hourly rate for seasonal assistance and wages and benefit costs associated with this position will be covered
with building permit revenues. One full-time Building Inspector position was added in 2021 thanks to a Building Official Training Grant Program
grant received from the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. This new Building Inspector position was necessary due to the increased
demand for inspections, plan review, and permit issuance. In addition to plan review and assisting customers at the counter, the city issues over
2,800 building permits and conducts 6,000+ building inspections per year. It is common during the busier times of year for each inspector to have
over twenty inspections on their daily calendar. Current staffing levels should meet the demand for services for the foreseeable future.
Total FTEs in 2023 – 10.8
Community Development 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028
Comm Development Director 1 1 1 1 1
Building Official 1 1 1 1 1
Building Inspector 3 3 3 3 3
Code Enforcement Officer 1 1 1 1 1
Planner 2 2 2 2 2
Development Services Assistant 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.8
TOTAL: 10.8 10.8 10.8 10.8 10.8
2024 – 2028 Personnel Plan / Page 8
FINANCE
2024: Financial Analyst. This was a new position added for 2023 (mid-year) to support all aspects of financial planning and management, including
capital project expenditure monitoring, debt management, grant reporting, and increasing government accounting standards. The 2024 budget
will include an incremental increase for a full year of personnel costs for this position.
2025: Assistant Finance Director. This position was budgeted at .8 FTE in 2023. The Assistant Finance Director should transition to a full-time
position in 2025.
Total FTEs in 2023 – 6.8
Finance 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028
Finance Director 1 1 1 1 1
Asst Finance Director .8 1* 1 1 1
Sr Financial Analyst/Sr Accountant 1 1 1 1 1
Financial Analyst 1 1 1 1 1
Account Specialist 1 1 1 1 1
Utility Billing Clerk 2 2 2 2 2
TOTAL: 6.8 7 7 7 7
2024 – 2028 Personnel Plan / Page 9
FIRE
2024: Full-Time Department. The transition to a full-time Prior Lake Fire Department (PLFD) occurred in 2023 when the City successfully hired 3
full-time Captains and 9 full-time Firefighters. (Paid-on-call firefighters are still used by the department for large calls, training, and to backfill full-
time schedule vacancies.) The first full budget year for the new department is 2024. The City made the decision to transition to a full-time
department for the following reasons:
Recruitment and retention of paid-on-call firefighters
Development of a life safety and fire code compliance program
Creation of pre-plans for structures with high hazard targets
Implementation of a fire education program
Medical response
2026: Fire Marshal. One of the first initiatives the full-time PLFD will focus on is building a pre-plan and inspection program. Conducting the
inventory and building a database of all commercial buildings in Prior Lake will likely take two years. This is a significant task that requires dedicated
management. The proposed Fire Marshall will hold State certification (currently, the Fire Chief is the City’s Fire Marshal, but he does not hold the
certification). The Fire Marshal will manage the pre-plan and fire inspection programs for multi-family, commercial, and educational properties in
the PLFD service area and have the authority to enforce state law, local statute, and fire code violations. The Fire Marshal will also be tasked with
creating a preliminary fire investigation program to better secure evidence and site preservation of fire scenes and to lead the follow-up required
by the State Fire Marshall investigator. The Fire Marshal will also oversee and manage a training program for FT and POC staff related to
inspections, pre-planning, and investigations.
2027: Administrative Assistant. See Administration section on page 5.
Total FTEs in 2023 (partial year) - 14
Fire 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028
Fire Chief 1 1 1 1 1
Assistant Fire Chief 1 1 1 1 1
Fire Marshall - - 1* 1 1
Full-time Fire Captain 3 3 3 3 3
Full-time Firefighter 9 9 9 9 9
TOTAL: 14 14 15 15 15
2024 – 2028 Personnel Plan / Page 10
POLICE
2024-2028: The Prior Lake Police Department (PLPD) continues to strive for excellent service delivery to our citizens. This is done while considering
the internal impact rising workload demands have and seeking the critical and healthy balance of affording staff the ability to take time off. The
PLPD is unique in that it provides services to two communities - Prior Lake and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) - as well as
one of the largest tribal-owned gaming enterprises in the Country. This government-to-government agreement works well operationally but
requires significant and increasing resources. Annually, the SMSC generously provides local government aid to support the department. The City
will continue to monitor and assess the of policing the tribal nation and gaming enterprises and how that impacts staffing levels for PLPD. We
believe PLPD will continue to provide police service the SMSC into the foreseeable future. As a local example the City of Shakopee today has a
population of 40,000 and 50 licensed police officers. Savage has 32,000 residents and will have 38 officers in 2023. Neither of these cities supports
the SMSC as a primary serviced department like PLPD does.
In 2023, the PLPD is focusing on developing a deep and data-driven analysis of overall staffing needs as well as evaluating processes at all levels
and how current “work as done” can be made more effective and efficient while placing top priority on our employees’ overall wellbeing. This may
include outside consultation to objectively evaluate how processes and people are currently set for performance.
When discussing personnel needs below, paramount focus is placed on facilitating our employee’s ability to have benefit allotted time. This
provides for physical and emotional balance which is critical for the success of the individual and in turn the organization when it comes not only
to retention of our most valuable and important asset but to productive and effective service delivery as well. At any given time 10% of a workforce
is absent, whether due to regular time off, injury, family matters, etc. This requires a staffing level at least 10% above anticipated minimum need.
Complicating all staffing matters is the uncertainty of the market of qualified individuals to fill these positions and volat ility of the “lateral”
movement of especially police officers today. In Minnesota, experienced officers, including members of our own department, are being actively
recruited to other agencies through incentives and other matters. The ability for our organization to create the healthiest and foundationally
successful environment is required for retaining our very best. Above minimally adequate staffing is important for retention.
The immediate need for the PLPD is the addition of sworn staff at the Sergeant level and in-line officers. Currently the department has 24-hour
leadership coverage at the Sergeant’s level with one Sergeant to cover each shift on each side of our schedule. This lean sta ffing level leaves no
room for even one Sergeant to be absent without mandated shift coverage, often resulting in 12-14 hour shifts for multiple days in a row or current
Sergeants having to cancel days off to make their shift day weeks 6 to 7 days in a row at a minimum. This has direct, predict able negative effects
on everything from decision-making to physical and emotional wellbeing. To manage the Sergeant’s shift load, coverage at times is handled by a
Commander which then leaves that administrative role without dedicated focus as critically needed. At the line -officer levels, the need is in
facilitating the ability for staff to not only be off for needed and unforeseen reasons but for the accomplishment of the Department’s top strategic
priority which is a well-trained organization. In FY2022, PLPD’s overtime spend was over $330,000. Overwhelmingly this was due to mandated and
needed shift coverage for patrol. This coverage allowed for time off, sick/injury and open position coverage as well as for staff to attend critical
skill area training (e.g., de-escalation, crisis intervention, leadership development and other State mandated trainings). Investment in training
provides the greatest mitigation of liabilities ahead of police and citizen encounters and events.
2024 – 2028 Personnel Plan / Page 11
PLPD has two investigators which allows for only the most serious incidents to be investigated. Nearly all property crimes are followed up on by
patrol officers, rather than dedicated investigators. This system is inefficient and does not provide the level of service our citizens deserve because
the investigating patrol officer may not be available during regular business hours to conduct the work. These lower-level incidents are often the
most significant law enforcement contact our residents have. These crimes we currently treat with less attention than most la w enforcement
agencies because we do not have the personnel to do so. The request for additional police officers moving forward would help address this service
gap and allow PLPD to add an additional investigator.
PLPD continues to evaluate the efficacy of part-time status for our records personnel and the increasing workload on the records staff as a whole.
As the city continues to grow and our incoming service demands rise, the demand on civilian staff is rising to levels that are difficult to keep pace
with as we look ahead. Technological advances such as our body worn camera (BWC) and in-car camera (ICC) platforms are creating heavy draws
on our civilian staff, especially data requests and redaction needs. Additionally, Federal and State law and policy changes continue to drive data
analysis and export. Each of these adds hours each week that cause our records staff to have to pause other work. Complicating this is that many
of the needs at the records level are extremely time sensitive with criminal charging and state law deadlines that must be met. Additional civilian
staffing will allow us to strive to meet current and future needs while also exploring the applicability of non-traditional civilian assistance to areas
such as investigations and crime analysis in support of the patrol and investigative division.
The table below illustrates the consistent, incremental growth in our staffing needs. Costs associated with additional police officers and civilian
staff include squad cars, workstations, and IT support. The police facility we occupy was built with growth in mind, and we are well situated with
our physical location but there will be other needs as we grow.
Total FTEs in 2023 – 38.42
Police 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028
Police Chief 1 1 1 1 1
Commander 2 2 2 2 2
Sergeant 6 7* 7 7 7
Patrol Officer/Investigator 24* 25* 25 26* 27*
Records Supervisor 1 1 1 1 1
Records Specialist 3.62 3.62 3.62 4* 4
Community Service Officer .8 .8 .8 .8 .8
Evidence Room Technician 1 1 1 1 1
TOTAL: 39.42 41.42 41.42 42.8 43.8
2024 – 2028 Personnel Plan / Page 12
PUBLIC WORKS
2024: GIS Coordinator (No FTE Impact). The City’s GIS system is a critical and heavily relied upon tool for day-to-day operations within the Public
Works Department and provides support to other departments within the City. The responsibilities for the maintenance and operation of the GIS
system are currently a part of the Public Works Technician position job duties. As the City continues to grow, our reliance o n a strong and well-
maintained GIS system has increased to continue to provide effective services. The dedication of a full-time position to the maintenance and
continued development of the GIS system to keep pace with growth and the associated infrastructure system is recommended to maintain current
service levels. The current Public Works Technician position would be reclassified into the GIS Coordinator position.
2024: Recreation Programmer. The addition of a full-time recreation programmer is necessary to maintain service levels in a growing community
with continually increasing demands for recreation programs. Since 2019, recreation program participation has increased 120%, with programs
continuing to be at maximum capacity, along with increasing waitlists for many programs. (e.g. In 2023, youth camps for ages 6-11 are full at 600
participants with more than 300 additional youth on waitlists.) In addition, there is a need for additional support for Club Prior to meet the growing
demands of the community’s seniors, along with support for the continually increasing administrative tasks associated with recreation programs
and facility rentals.
2026: Public Works Supervisor. In 2023, the vacant Public Works Supervisor (Utilities) position was converted to a full-time Maintenance Worker
position. This conversion was made after an unsuccessful internal and external recruitment for the supervisor position, and with the intent that in
2023 and 2024 we will focus on growth and development opportunities for team members with the intent of reincorporating a Pub lic Works
Supervisor (Utilities) position into the department in 2026.
2028: Facilities Maintenance Manager. With the departure of the Maintenance Superintendent in 2023, and subsequent reclassification of this
position to Assistant Public Works Director, combined with the city’s continuing demand for facility support, there is a need for additional resources
and expertise focused on facility maintenance and capital facilities projects. Based on the current proposal to consider the addition of this position
in 2028, adjustments to the long-range capital facility plan may be necessary, including large pending projects at City Hall and the Police
Department.
2024 – 2028 Personnel Plan / Page 13
Total FTEs in 2023 – 38.63
Maintenance Superintendent position transitioned to Assistant Public Works Director in 2023.
Public Works Supervisor (Utilities) position transitioned to Maintenance Worker in 2022.
PW Technician position proposed to transition to GIS Coordinator position in 2024.
Public Works 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028
PW Director/City Engineer 1 1 1 1 1
Assistant Public Works Director * 1 1 1 1 1
Supervisor 1 1 2* 2 2
Facility Maintenance Manager - - - - 1*
Mechanics 3 3 3 3 3
Maintenance Worker/Operator** 22 22 22 22 22
Facilities Maintenance 1 1 1 1 1
PW Coordinator 1 1 1 1 1
GIS Coordinator*** 1 1 1 1 1
PW Specialist 1 1 1 1 1
Asst City Engineer 1 1 1 1 1
Engineering Tech 2 2 2 2 2
Water Resource Engineer 1 1 1 1 1
Parks & Recreation Manager 1 1 1 1 1
Recreation Supervisor 1 1 1 1 1
Recreation Programmer 1.63* 1.63 1.63 1.63 1.63
TOTAL: 39.63 39.63 40.63 40.63 41.63
2024 – 2028 Personnel Plan / Page 14
ATTACHMENT B: Org Chart