09-11-2012 CC RPT 19 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Disposition of Unfunded Positions.Page 2 with a population over 100,000 have unfunded positions, which illustrates that the concept of retaining authorized, unfunded positions is common among California cities. However, when asked what percentage of positions was unfunded, the average response was 6.8% for all agencies surveyed and only 4.5% for those with a population over 100,000. This contrasts with Riverside's current percentage of 12.3% unfunded positions. Anecdotal information received also indicated that most cities had targeted critical positions for retention as unfunded so that the positions remain in the budget and visible. This facilitates quick identification of areas in need of additional staff resources once additional revenue is available. The following table outlines the current authorized and funded position counts in each City Department: Department Authorized Funded Unfunded Positions Positions Positions City Council 14.00 13.00 1.00 Community Development Department 135.85 91.00 44.85 Finance Department 55.00 46.50 8.50 Fire Department 255.46 235.00 20.46 General Services Department 78.30 62.74 15.56 Human Resources Department 42.75 25.00 17.75 Information Technology Department 9.00 8.00 1.00 Office of the City Attorney 26.50 25.00 1.50 Office of the City Clerk 10.00 8.00 2.00 Office of the City Manager 28.50 23.50 5.00 Office of the Mayor 6.00 6.00 0.00 Parks, Recreation, and Community Services Department 222.77 179.42 43.35 Police Department 596.75 532.00 64.75 Public Works Department 419.11 368.48 50.63 Riverside Airport 9.50 9.50 0.00 Riverside Metropolitan Museum 23.25 14.00 9.25 Riverside Public Library 105.46 59.92 45.54 Riverside Public Utilities 648.65 648.65 0.00 Total 2,686.85 2,355.71 331.14 As requested by the City Council in June at the public hearing to adopt the 2012/13 Annual Budget, City staff have carefully reviewed the adopted budget and position authorizations for each Department with an eye toward reducing the number of unfunded positions to a more reasonable level. Care has been taken to leave positions in place that are needed as the economy continues to improve to address City Council priorities and to augment staffing in key areas such as public safety, parks, and libraries. As a result of this analysis, it is recommended that the total number of authorized positions citywide be reduced from 2,686.85 to 2,457.71, a reduction of 229.14 authorized positions. This would reduce the number of unfunded positions from 331.14 to 102.00, which would decrease the percentage of unfunded positions from 12.3% to 4.2%. As a result of these reductions, the number of unfunded positions would be slightly below the average for comparably sized cities in California and would more accurately reflect the City's short-term intentions regarding future augmentation of departmental staffing. As needs arise in the future, authorization to increase the number of authorized positions beyond those retained as unfunded can be obtained from the City Council as part of future years' budget process. 19-2