MONROE - The city's Salary and Personnel Committee is looking at a change up in its organizational chart, which is meeting with some resistance from aldermen and employees.
Nobody denied that the current organizational chart, with as many as 13 departments falling under the oversight of the city administrator, needs some overhauling.
But some alders are concerned a proposed reorganization may mean increased wages, more government workers and an increase in the annual budgets. They also said they are getting calls from employees with a variety of other concerns.
A new concept being proposed by City Administrator Phil Rath, which places about seven major clusters of departments under his direct supervision, could mean increased responsibilities for some management positions.
Committee members voted unanimously to approve the concept of reorganizing departments, allowing Rath to proceed with investigating the costs associated with the new design, but they fell short of approving the new plan.
Reid Stangel, who made the motion, also asked for "a lot of information and a lot of input from employees" as planning continues.
Rath wanted approval of the new organizational chart before he invested his time and energy into working out the details of the plan. But some committee members and other alders who attended the meeting wanted more financial information and more input from employees before approval.
"It's easier to fix problems before approval than after," Alderman Tom Miller told Rath.
According to Rath, the layout could change as planning evolves, and new job descriptions and attached wages would need committee review and recommendation, before coming before the Common Council for approval.
One cluster, Community Development, combines oversight of the senior center, IT, economic development and the airport under one director, the assistant city administrator.
The parks department, under the Public Works cluster, would assume building maintenance.
Paul Klinzing, director of the parks and forestry department, said his department's workload has been growing tremendously in the past 10 years and more people are using the parks' facilities.
"We have more than we can do now," he added.
Klinzing said he is willing to try to undertake building maintenance, but it would have to come as the department is able to handle the added responsibilities, perhaps by late fall or early winter. Building maintenance workers would also have to be cross-trained to be used in any city building.
For now, the committee voted unanimously to move a part-time position from the street department to the park department, which Klinzing said "will certainly help us."
The street department was approved to fill two vacant positions that are funded in the 2014 budget.
These will be added to the additional workers who no longer are required on the sanitation routes, picking up trash and recycling, according to Tom Boll director of the street department. The new garbage system needs only one person on a truck to pick up trash. Occasionally, residents will see a second person who is along for training, Boll added.
The additional labor will allow the street department to catch up and stay ahead on projects that have been put off or falling behind, Boll added. Some of the cost for the positions will be paid out of the stormwater budget, which is funded by the city's water billing, not under the city's general, tax-levy budget.
The two positions had remained vacant for about two years, in the city's an effort to determine whether the laborers were needed.
Nobody denied that the current organizational chart, with as many as 13 departments falling under the oversight of the city administrator, needs some overhauling.
But some alders are concerned a proposed reorganization may mean increased wages, more government workers and an increase in the annual budgets. They also said they are getting calls from employees with a variety of other concerns.
A new concept being proposed by City Administrator Phil Rath, which places about seven major clusters of departments under his direct supervision, could mean increased responsibilities for some management positions.
Committee members voted unanimously to approve the concept of reorganizing departments, allowing Rath to proceed with investigating the costs associated with the new design, but they fell short of approving the new plan.
Reid Stangel, who made the motion, also asked for "a lot of information and a lot of input from employees" as planning continues.
Rath wanted approval of the new organizational chart before he invested his time and energy into working out the details of the plan. But some committee members and other alders who attended the meeting wanted more financial information and more input from employees before approval.
"It's easier to fix problems before approval than after," Alderman Tom Miller told Rath.
According to Rath, the layout could change as planning evolves, and new job descriptions and attached wages would need committee review and recommendation, before coming before the Common Council for approval.
One cluster, Community Development, combines oversight of the senior center, IT, economic development and the airport under one director, the assistant city administrator.
The parks department, under the Public Works cluster, would assume building maintenance.
Paul Klinzing, director of the parks and forestry department, said his department's workload has been growing tremendously in the past 10 years and more people are using the parks' facilities.
"We have more than we can do now," he added.
Klinzing said he is willing to try to undertake building maintenance, but it would have to come as the department is able to handle the added responsibilities, perhaps by late fall or early winter. Building maintenance workers would also have to be cross-trained to be used in any city building.
For now, the committee voted unanimously to move a part-time position from the street department to the park department, which Klinzing said "will certainly help us."
The street department was approved to fill two vacant positions that are funded in the 2014 budget.
These will be added to the additional workers who no longer are required on the sanitation routes, picking up trash and recycling, according to Tom Boll director of the street department. The new garbage system needs only one person on a truck to pick up trash. Occasionally, residents will see a second person who is along for training, Boll added.
The additional labor will allow the street department to catch up and stay ahead on projects that have been put off or falling behind, Boll added. Some of the cost for the positions will be paid out of the stormwater budget, which is funded by the city's water billing, not under the city's general, tax-levy budget.
The two positions had remained vacant for about two years, in the city's an effort to determine whether the laborers were needed.