Title
Adoption of a Resolution Amending the Management and Confidential Employees Association (MCEA) Salary Schedule Establishing the Classification of Senior Transportation Coordinator, Allocating Two Senior Transportation Coordinator Positions, and Eliminating One Transportation Coordinator Position Effective October 3, 2017 and One Part-time Staff for a Total Increase in Staffing of 0.5 Positions. (Human Resources 2510)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Jill Keimach, City Manager
Re: Adoption of a Resolution Amending the Management and Confidential Employees Association (MCEA) Salary Schedule Establishing the Classification of Senior Transportation Coordinator, Allocating Two Senior Transportation Coordinator Positions, and Eliminating One Transportation Coordinator Position Effective October 3, 2017 and One Part-time Staff for a Total Increase in Staffing of 0.5 Positions
BACKGROUND
The Human Resources Department, under governance of the Civil Service Board and City Council, is responsible for administering the City’s classification and compensation systems, which includes on-going maintenance of all classification specifications and salary schedules.
As part of this duty, the Human Resources Department oversees the periodic review of existing job descriptions to ensure they still represent the work being performed by employees assigned to the classification. At the request of the Base Reuse and Transportation Planning Department, Human Resources worked with an outside consultant to determine if the classification of Transportation Coordinator adequately reflected the job responsibilities required to meet the needs of the organization.
Addressing the City’s unique transportation issues and implementing near and long-term solutions to mitigate the City’s traffic congestion is one of the City’s most significant work priorities at this time. As a result, the City created a new transportation planning division within the Base Reuse Department, now called the Base Reuse and Transportation Planning Department, as part of the recent approval of the Fiscal Year 2017-18 and 2018-19 budget. This new Transportation Planning program was established to create a clear and accountable division within City government using existing and newly awarded transportation funding sources that is charged with aggressively and transparently planning and designing multi-modal solutions to the City’s complex transportation challenges.
With the increased responsibility being placed on staff to address the City’s transportation challenges, the classification of Transportation Coordinator no longer represents the duties, responsibilities, and accountability of the position as it functions today and a more senior level classification is needed. As a result, staff recommends the addition of a new classification titled Senior Transportation Coordinator, the allocation of two full time equivalent Senior Transportation Coordinator positions, and the elimination of one full time equivalent Transportation Coordinator position. The total increase in staffing will be a half of a position since the Department will no longer use the part-time staff person in this role once both full-time positions are filled.
It is recommended that this new classification be covered by the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City of Alameda and the Alameda Management and Confidential Employees Association (MCEA) that was adopted on February 24, 2016 and covers the period from December 27, 2015 through December 26, 2018.
DISCUSSION
The newly created Transportation Planning Program oversees Citywide transportation planning efforts with a focus on planning and designing safer multi-modal streets, in close coordination with the Public Works Department, and consistent with the City’s Transportation Element, the Complete Streets Policy, and all specific modal plans. The Transportation Program includes four main sub-programs: Bicycle/Pedestrian, Multi-modal, Paratransit and Special Projects.
This division was functioning informally within the Base Reuse Department even prior to the formal creation of the new Program. The division has been responsible for the following recent transportation planning accomplishments over the last two years; approval of the conceptual plan for the Central Avenue Safety Improvements and award of over $10 million in grants for the complete implementation of the project; award of over $42 million in grants to the City for significant multi-modal transit, bicycle, and pedestrian improvements (inclusive of the Central Avenue project); developing a Transportation Choices plan that outlines numerous near- and long-term projects and actions the City can take to minimize traffic impacts and provide multi-modal options to the Alameda community, which will be ready for City Council consideration this fall; and completing the complex design and real estate transactions related to the Cross Alameda Trail between Main Street and Constitution Way.
There will be significant transportation planning work to implement in the City over the near- and long-term. Over the next two years the Transportation Planning Program will be focusing on designing the numerous projects funded by the $42 million in recent grant awards; finalizing the Transportation Choices Plan; preparing Bicycle and Pedestrian Plans, including a Vision Zero Policy; implementing the Alameda Point transportation demand management plan; preparing a conceptual parking plan for the Main Street Ferry Terminal; completing the design and award of the Cross Alameda Trail; and developing preliminary alignments and plans for additional estuary crossings for bicycles, pedestrians and transit.
The Transportation Planning division is currently staffed with one full-time Transportation Coordinator and one part-time Transportation Planner. The two employees are overseen by the Base Reuse and Transportation Planning Director with administrative support provided from the Department’s Administrative Technician II. The Department is requesting two full-time Senior Transportation Coordinators positions to replace the Transportation Coordinator and part-time Transportation Planner. The overall increase in staffing will be the equivalent of a half of a position since the Department will no longer use the part-time staff in this role once both full time positions are filled.
Given the quantity and complexity of high-profile and complex transportation planning and implementation projects under-way and on the horizon, the division needs two full-time positions that can perform high-level, complex transportation project management work with a significant amount of autonomy and independence.
The salary for the new classification of Senior Transportation Coordinator is recommended to be aligned with the Public Works Project Manager I classification as follows:
|
Senior Transportation Coordinator |
$95,905 |
$100,700 |
$105,735 |
$111,022 |
$116,573 |
The recommendation has been discussed with Management and Confidential Employees Association (MCEA) and it is supportive of what is recommended.
An open, competitive recruitment will be conducted to fill the newly allocated Senior Transportation Coordinator positions.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The creation of these positions will have no financial impact to the recently approved Department budget and will increase the productivity of dedicated transportation staff time by 16 percent not including the work performed outside the 36-hour work week attending City Council, Transportation Commission and other outreach meetings. The total cost of the change is estimated at $17,600 in Fiscal Year 2017-18 and $18,128 in Fiscal Year 2018-19.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
This action is consistent with the Alameda Municipal Code.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it is not a project which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. See CEQA Guidelines, section 15378(b)(5).
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt a Resolution amending the Management and Confidential Employees Association (MCEA) salary schedule establishing the classification of Senior Transportation Coordinator, allocating two Senior Transportation Coordinator positions, and eliminating one Transportation Coordinator position effective October 3, 2017 and one part-time staff for a total Increase in staffing of 0.5 positions.
Respectfully submitted,
Nancy Bronstein, Human Resources Director
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Elena Adair, Finance Director
Exhibit:
1. MCEA Salary Schedule