Report details changes to cut staff
Some of the recommendations included in the Matrix report are:
City Attorney’s office
“Track case processing and performance and assess the appropriateness of staffing levels once tracking is in place.
Civil Clerk
“Add a clerk position to handle public records requests and to serve as the city’s records manager.
Communications
“Review the need for separate public information officers in other city departments.
Economic Development
“Rely on the state for inspecting and certifying weighing and measuring devices.
“Train inspectors in the building services department to function as combination inspectors for residential and commercial projects.
“Adopt a policy to charge plan review fees on all new single-family developments.
“Revise language in the Municipal Code and de-emphasize the focus on voluntary correction.
“The Arts Department should be relocated to the Parks and Recreation Department.
Finance
“Fill the internal auditor position and develop an effective internal audit plan based on perceived internal control deficiencies within the city.
“Consider centralizing accounting functions in the city, ensuring that department heads have a service level agreement with accounting to meet their needs. Staff reductions of 11–16 citywide may be achievable.
“Negotiate a simpler and more consistent benefit program for Spokane bargaining units and to attempt to reduce the rate of growth for high-growth employee or retiree groups.
“Move forward with a plan to adopt a pooled investment approach.
Fire
“Through negotiations, endeavor to change to a three platoon system based on a 56-hour work week. This could reduce the number of staff needed to meet current on-duty staffing targets by 10–29 people.
“Develop an equipment-replacement fund.
General Administration
“The youth department should be transferred to the parks and recreation department.
Human Resources
“Hire an additional HR specialist.
“Develop a sick-leave monitoring program.
Parks and Recreation
“Develop formal quality standards for parks and facilities, and conduct formal inspections to assess compliance with these standards.
“Reduce aquatics service levels or increase user fees to reduce the program’s cost on the department budget.
“Conduct a feasibility study of fully privatized golf operations via a multiyear contract.
Police
“Keep patrol staffing levels at 129 plus five K-9 officers; however, do not redeploy the weekend traffic unit to patrol. Ten police officer and corporal positions should be eliminated through attrition.
“The 10-hour, 40-minute shift requires greater staff to meet shift coverage needs over a 24-hour day than either an 8-hour or 12-hour shift.
“The Spokane Police Department should increase their issuance of vehicle citations or warnings.
“Explore the feasibility of combining all call taking and dispatching services for police, fire and EMS services in the city and county into a combined communications center.
Public Library
“Consider the creation of an administrative services division to reduce the span of control of the library director, allowing greater focus on external rather than day-to-day operational issues.
Public Works and Utilities – Engineering
“Consolidate engineering positions within the Streets, Solid Waste, Wastewater, and the Water departments.
Public Works and Utilities – Fleet Services
“Eliminate the body shop, including the elimination of two auto body specialists and outsourcing of body repair.
“Vehicle utilization standards should be developed.
Public Works and Utilities – Solid Waste
“Increase route sizes from the current average of 647 stops per day to an average per day of 825 stops.
Public Works and Utilities – Streets
“Eliminate the seven positions allocated to asphalt grinding, overlay and thin overlay. Allocate the cost savings generated to a pavement management program. Outsource chip sealing of the city’s streets.
“Increase the level of service for street sweeping from four times annually to six times annually.
“Eliminate 11 maintenance operator I / II positions.
“Increase parking meter rates.
Public Works and Utilities – Utility Billing
“Collectors should not collect utility billing revenue in the field.
Public Works and Utilities – Water
“Eliminate three of the five staff assigned to the warehouse trucking crew.
Public Works and Utilities – Wastewater Management
“Reduce the number of full-time equivalent positions assigned to sewer cleaning from 19 staff members to 9.
Retirement
“Either increase the contribution percentage or make cost-reducing changes for future employees, or both.