REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Action on Addition of Five Positions Funded by Silicon Valley Power and Two Fire Department Positions Funded by Developer Permit Fees and Related Budget Amendment
Report
COUNCIL PILLAR
Deliver and Enhance High Quality Efficient Services and Infrastructure
Manage Strategically Our Workforce Capacity and Resources
BACKGROUND
Silicon Valley Power (SVP)
The City of Santa Clara’s Electric Utility, Silicon Valley Power (SVP), has provided dependable electric service for 126 years. SVP’s current peak load is about 650 MW (new record this year) and provides nearly 4,110 Gigawatt-hours (GWh) a year to SVP’s customers. As discussed with Council on April 28, 2021, (RTC 21-871) SVP’s load will almost double and $300 million of local projects will need to be constructed. In addition, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) recently approved over $1.0 billion of new transmission projects to the City. Also, as discussed as part of SVP quarterly report on August 16, 2022, staff will soon return to Council to discuss an additional 200MW of future growth and associated new multimillion capital projects to support approved projects and the associated load growth. In addition to all the new growth staff has also presented to Council numerous times on SVP’s new proactive maintenance program which increases reliability but also requires a much higher level of work effort.
Fire Department
Although the overall economy was significantly affected by COVID-19, the City continues to see record levels of building permits and construction. The Fire Department is a key part of the building review process, and staff vacancies and workload has significantly affected permit review and inspection times. Staff continues to review options for expediting permit review times including maximizing voluntary overtime and recently entering two third-party permit review contracts. Even with those efforts the current workload exceeds the staff capacity to meet desirable permit review times.
DISCUSSION
Silicon Valley Power
In order to support the increase in system growth and continued proactive maintenance activities SVP and Finance Department need to increase contract, purchasing, and budgeting support. Since 2020, SVP has issued over 800 contracts with a variety of purposes such as service agreements, power purchase agreements, purchase and sale agreements, leases, pole contacts, interconnection agreements, software agreements, public works bids, substation agreements, and numerous professional service agreements. Over the last three years, staff has continued to review the overall organization to determine opportunities to fill in gaps and enhance services and recommendations were brought to the Council for new positions. A significant amount of work has been completed in formalizing contracts and processes within SVP. Currently, however, nearly 300 contracts are still pending, and new items are continually being added to support the growth and maintenance of the utility. Additional staff capacity is needed to facilitate the current and upcoming workload.
Staff recommends the addition of one Senior Management Analyst and two Management Analyst positions in Silicon Valley Power and one Senior Management Analyst in the Finance Department to provide additional capacity in workgroups to manage and process ongoing contract and procurement requirements. With the new staff, SVP will implement an updated delivery model that assigns, prioritizes and processes contracts groups to improve efficiency and address the backlog. The position in the Finance Department will assist with budget and procurement needs to reduce the existing backlog and work with the Purchasing Division to ensure procurement processes are efficiently designed and implemented going forward.
In addition, one Human Resources Technician position for the Human Resources Department is requested to assist with the ongoing and continuous recruiting efforts for SVP. SVP services are competitive in nature and, generally, harder to recruit for given regional and statewide demand for employees with these skills. With the additional position, there will be three positions funded and dedicated to SVP’s human resource needs. This higher level of effort is needed to tackle SVP’s 22% vacancy rate and difficulty of recruiting for the electric utility.
Fire Department
Staff recommends the addition of a Fire Protection Engineer position and a Permit Technician position to support development-related activity. These positions would be supported by an increase in the fire development fees revenue estimate based on the higher collection trend.
The Fire Protection Engineer (FPE) position provides plan reviews required for land development, new building construction, interior remodel projects, fire suppression systems and fire alarms systems. The FPE position is essential to address the volume of development submittals and construction review complexity and will free up other staff to focus on State mandated and fee-based inspections. The Permit Technician will allow for a new approach for permit intake. The new position will be located at the Fire Department customer counter and will be reviewing permit applications, documents, and plan submittal's for permits to ensure accuracy, completeness, and compliance with pertinent laws. This will allow staff to identify any errors at initial intake reducing current delays by identifying areas of concerns immediately with the customers.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The proposed staffing changes are not a project subject to CEQA review under section 15378(b)(5) as they are organizational or administrative activities that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes to the environment,
FISCAL IMPACT
The annual cost of the seven recommended positions totals $1.36 million, of which $974,000 would be funded by the Electric Utility Fund and $388,000 would be funded by fire development fees. In FY 2022/23, it is assumed that the positions would be funded for two-thirds of the year, with a cost of $650,000 for the five-SVP supported positions and $258,000 for the two fire positions.
A budget amendment to appropriate funds for new positions in the Electric Utility, Finance, Human Resources, and Fire Departments is detailed below, including the offsetting funding sources.
Budget
FY 2022/23
|
|
Current |
Increase/ (Decrease) |
Revised |
|
|
|
Electric Utility Fund (091) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Expenditures |
|
|
|
|
Electric Department - Salaries & Benefits |
$59,419,893 |
$407,000 |
$59,826,893 |
|
Operating Transfer Out to General Fund |
$986,573 |
$243,000 |
$1,229,573 |
|
Ending Fund Balance |
$33,046,275 |
($650,000) |
$32,396,275 |
|
General Fund (001) |
|
|
|
|
Revenues |
|
|
|
|
Transfer In from Electric Utility Fund |
$986,573 |
$243,000 |
$1,229,573 |
|
Fire Permit Fees |
$3,100,000 |
$258,000 |
$3,358,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Expenditures |
|
|
|
|
Finance Department - Salaries & Benefits |
$12,585,950 |
$147,000 |
$12,732,950 |
|
Human Resources Department - Salaries & Benefits |
$3,175,995 |
$96,000 |
$3,271,995 |
|
Fire Department - Salaries & Benefits |
$57,256,610 |
$258,000 |
$57,514,610 |
The cost of these positions will be factored into the regular biannual budget process.
COORDINATION
This report has been coordinated with the Human Resources Department, Finance Department and City Attorney’s Office.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council agenda on the City’s official-notice bulletin board outside City Hall Council Chambers. A complete agenda packet is available on the City’s website and in the City Clerk’s Office at least 72 hours prior to a Regular Meeting and 24 hours prior to a Special Meeting. A hard copy of any agenda report may be requested by contacting the City Clerk’s Office at (408) 615-2220, email clerk@santaclaraca.gov <mailto:clerk@santaclaraca.gov>.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
1. Approve the addition of one Senior Management Analyst and two Management Analyst positions in the Electric Utility Department;
2. Approve the addition of one Senior Management Analyst position in the Finance Department;
3. Approve the addition of one Human Resources Technician position in the Human Resources Department;
4. Approve the addition of one Fire Protection Engineer position and one Permit Technician position in the Fire Department; and
5. Approve the following FY 2022/23 budget amendments:
a. In the Electric Utility Fund, increase the Electric Department Salaries and Benefits appropriation by $407,000, increase the Transfer to the General Fund by $243,000 and reduce the unrestricted ending fund balance by $650,000 (five affirmative Council votes required for the use of unused balances);
b. In the General Fund, increase the Finance Department Salaries and Benefits appropriation by $147,000, increase the Human Resources Salaries and Benefits appropriation by $96,000, and increase the transfer from the Electric Utility Fund by $243,000 (five affirmative Council votes required to appropriate additional revenue); and
c. In the General Fund, increase the Fire Department Salaries and Benefits appropriation by $258,000 and increase the Fire Permits revenue estimate by $258,000 (five affirmative Council votes required to appropriate additional revenue).
Staff
Reviewed by: Manuel Pineda, Chief Electric Utility Officer
Reviewed by: Ruben Torres, Fire Chief
Approved by: Rajeev Batra, City Manager