DSD LMC Update
Meeting notes from Tuesday, April 21, 2015:
Staffing update: The FY 2016 budget has been released and was discussed at the City Council Budget Review Committee on May 6, 2016. There is a lot of good news in the budget, as it includes 21 new positions in the Enterprise Fund and 9 in the General Fund for a total of 30. (For details on the specific positions see Proposed FY2016 Budget/Department Detail on the City’s website). After years of cuts, the department is seeking to improve the span of control so decisions can be made more effectively and efficiently as workload is increasing with the recovery of the economy.
Building update: As most of you have heard, Code Enforcement will be moving to another facility soon. In addition, Planning will also be moving in the near future. With space at a minimum, this will help alleviate some of the overcrowded conditions many of you have endured. However, no decision has been made at this time to find another location for the remainder of the staff. Bob Vacchi told the LMC members that there is some interest in finding another facility for DSD but at this time, no permanent location has been identified.
In the meantime, MEA is working on a presentation to the Infrastructure Committee (sometime in June) to address the City Facility Assessment Report findings for COB. During the CIP Budget Hearing on Tuesday, May 5, 2015, Cathleen Higgins spoke about MEA’s commitment to make the COB building a priority when seeking CIP funds (or any other funding methods) to address the significant problems with the building’s HVAC System, elevators, broken windows, water leaks, etc. Cathleen reminded the Council that both employees and the public must endure doing business in a building that desperately needs immediate attention. Bob Vacchi also reiterated his commitment to helping with this issue. He was able to take Cathleen on a tour last month to show her the problems up close that need addressing, as well as some of the improvements that management has made in these past few months. In addition, when the Mayor came for a press conference a few months ago, Bob Vacchi was also able to show Mayor Faulconer some of the building issues himself. Stay tuned for more information on this issue next month!
Important reminder that ramp work on the 3rd Street bridge into COB will begin in June, so the department will be working with all employees and the public to facilitate access into the building during this time.
Next DSD LMC is scheduled for May 19, 2015.