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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 10171989 - 1.57 1-057 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Contra FROM; Phil Batchelor, County Administrator Costa n. s DATE: October 17, 1989 County np.,, :�P STA COUN� SUBJECT: TURNOVER OF CIVIL ENGINEER AND PLANNER STAFF SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATION: Accept report on Civil Engineer turnover in the Public Works Department and Planner turnover in the Community Development Department. FINANCIAL IMPACT: Higher on-the-job training costs, less efficient work by inexperienced Civil Engineers, and reliance on more expensive consulting engineers are all costs resulting from a high turnover rate of Civil Engineers in the Public Works Department. Due to excessive turnover among Civil Engineers, an inordinate amount of time must be spent on training which drives up the cost of projects. Unable . to retain experienced engineers, costs increase because projects rely on inexperienced Civil Engineers and a large number of consulting engineers. Consulting engineers charge about three times the hourly rate paid in-house journey level engineers. Similarly, the Community Development Department must spend time training new Planners to reach the level of expertise lost when a Planner resigns mid-project. The resulting project slowdown increases costs for both the County and private developers. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S): ACTION OF BOARD ON APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED _X OTHER x Refer :to Resolution No , 89./694 adopted October 17 ? 1989- with 2 , 2 VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE X UNANIMOUS(ABSENT ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DITE SHOWN. CC: Public Works ATTESTED UCT 17 1989 Community Development PHIL BATCHELOR,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF County Administrator SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR BY M382 (10/88) DEPUTY -2- BACKGROUND: In fiscal year 1988-89 , the Community Development Department experienced a turnover of 4 planners from a total of twenty-seven planning positions. One of the individuals transferred to another County department and the remaining three accepted positions with other agencies. Reasons for the job change include better salary and benefits, and job location , in a more affordable area. The County provides Planners with extensive work experience at an accelerated pace. Unfortunately the County is unable to offer sufficient and timely promotional opportunities and pay increases commensurate with the level of experience and tense environment in which County Planners must perform. For the last fifteen months the Public Works Department has experienced a turnover rate of almost 30o among its Civil Engineers. Out of a total of thirty-five allocated Civil Engineer positions, ten Engineers have resigned and four are vacant. This excessive turnover has greatly inhibited Public Works ' ability to complete projects in a timely and efficient manner. Of the thirty-one Engineers employed, twenty-five of them have less than three and one-half years experience with the Public Works Department and only four of these have any significant experience prior to employment with the County. Last April, the Public Works Department tried to hire experienced Engineers and received almost no response. The primary problem with recruiting and retaining experienced Engineers is the great demand for Engineers in Contra Costa County and the San Francisco Bay Area. Measure C and the Countywide Area of Benefit alone are providing $8 million to $10 million worth of new funding for road projects each year. About 20 percent of that money, or $1 . 5 million to $2 million, will be spent on engineering. At an annual average cost of $75, 000 per Engineer, this new work creates a demand for 20 to 30 additional engineering and technical positions. Sacramento, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Alameda Counties, all neighbors competing in the same labor market, have passed sales tax measures giving them extra dollars for road projects, which require extra engineering staff or consultants. All of the cities in these counties also share in the sales tax and therefore need more engineering. Since many of the local sales tax projects are located on State and Federal highways and freeways, Caltrans also has become a major competitor for engineering talent, and since none of these agencies have enough in-house staff to do the work, the consultants are thriving and strongly competing for experienced engineers. Lastly, there is strong market competition from special districts, like EBMUD, Central San, and Contra Costa Water District The extra engineering to be done by Contra Costa County is often assigned to consultants, because the inexperienced existing County staff cannot absorb such large numbers of new, untrained staff . The Department would be unable to give them the appropriate training, direction and supervision. Unfortunately, consultants demand almost as much in-house supervisory time as does inexperienced in-house staff. A general rule of thumb is that the contracting agency must spend one hour of in-house supervisory time for every three to four staff-hours the consultant devotes to a project. Public Works Engineers who resign are given exit interviews to help determine why they are leaving and what can be done to retain the remaining staff. Among the reason given: 1. Dollars - Most of the Engineers who have resigned have accepted positions that pay at least ten percent, and offer as much as thirty percent, more base salary. 2. Social Security - There is little the County can do about it at this time, but many, if not most of the agencies competing for experienced Engineers are not in the Social Security System. This means 7 1/2a more salary for the employee and the like -3- amount that the agency must pay into the System can be redirected to additional base salary. 3 . Tier II Retirement - Considering all resigning Engineers have been young and a long way from retirement, this response has been surprising. The Tier II retirement plan is considered inadequate and inferior to most other public agencies. 4. Management - Many resigning Engineers have gone to management positions despite their brief training and experience. The high demand for Engineering personnel has provided advancement opportunities for people who would not have been considered qualified ten years ago. 5. Cost of Housing - Most people want to own their own home. This is difficult if not impossible for most young Engineers, even if they have a spouse working. Several of the Engineers who resigned took jobs in Solano, Sacramento or San Joaquin Counties where they could afford to buy a house. 6. Supervision - Several Engineers have complained that the workload of their Engineering supervisors prohibits the close supervision, direction, and training that they desire. a