ITEM:		CONSENT CALENDAR
2.	AUTHORIZE A CHANGE TO THE ORGANIZATION CHART TO FUND A WATER RESOURCES ENGINEER POSITION AND ELIMINATE FUNDING FOR THE PROJECT MANAGER POSITION
Meeting Date:			September 21, 2015	Budgeted:	Yes
From:			David Stoldt	Program/	N/A
			General Manager	Line Item No.:	N/A
Prepared By:			Cynthia Schmidlin Larry Hampson	Cost Estimate:	None
General Counsel Review: N/A
Committee Recommendation: The Administrative Committee reviewed this item on September 14, 2015 and recommended approval.
CEQA Compliance: N/A

SUMMARY: The District Project Manager position, currently held by Henrietta Stern, is in the Planning and Engineering (P&E) Division and will become vacant in December 2015, when Ms. Stern plans to retire. District management propose to eliminate funding for this position and replace it with a funded Water Resources Engineer position within the P&E division at the same salary range as the Project Manager position.

Due to evolving project commitments, the District needs a journeyman Registered Civil Engineer to assist with projects in both the Water Resources and P&E divisions. As described in Exhibit 2-A the Water Resources Engineer would perform professional engineering duties involving comprehensive watershed management, water supply projects, such as Pure Water Monterey and an expansion of the Aquifer Storage and Recovery project, construction inspection, and hydrologic analysis. Coordination of the District’s Water Distribution System (WDS) permit process, as well as environmental document review and analysis currently performed by the Project Manager position, would also be part of the Water Resources Engineer responsibilities.

RECOMMENDATION: The District Board should authorize a change to the current District Organization Chart, Exhibit 2-B, to show the Project Manager as an unfunded position and to replace the unfunded Senior Water Resources Engineer position with a funded Water Resources Engineer position as shown in Exhibit 2-C. If this item is approved with the Consent Calendar, these changes would become effective January 1, 2016.

DISCUSSION: The duties of the Project Manager position have significantly changed over time. There have been periods with fewer project management responsibilities, but after the adoption of Ordinance 96 in 2001, there was an increase and an emphasis on WDS permit review and approval. The WDS permit process was recently streamlined and simplified by the Board. In considering both existing and future District activities, management determined that responsibility for WDS permit processing can be split between the Water Demand Division and the P&E Division. Water Demand will process WDS permit exemptions, which are now ministerial in nature, whereas P&E will take the lead in processing more complex permits that may require advanced knowledge of the District’s Rules and Regulations that apply to WDS permits, water rights, CEQA analysis, hydrology and hydrogeology, and well production history. A long-term goal is to transition all WDS permit processing to the Water Demand Division.

It is expected the District will need additional engineering expertise to manage and carry out several projects including the Pure Water Monterey Project, an expansion to the ASR Project, the Salinas River and Carmel River Basin Study, a Drought Contingency Plan, a retrofit of the Sleepy Hollow Steelhead Rearing Facility, analysis for the long-term plan for Los Padres Dam, and an updated instream flow study for the Carmel River. In addition, the District must also continue to carry out the Mitigation Program activities, of which several tasks would be assigned to the Water Resources Engineer.

IMPACTS TO STAFF/RESOURCES: The District’s current organization chart includes a funded Project Manager position and an unfunded Senior Water Resources Engineer position. The latter position has been unfunded since 2012, when the Senior Water Resources Engineer at the time (Larry Hampson) transitioned into the District Engineer position and the District elected not to fill the Senior Water Resources Engineer position. It is proposed that the funded Project Manager position remain unfilled and unfunded after the retirement of Henrietta Stern and that the Senior Water Resources Engineer position, placed at Range 43 on the District Salary Schedule, be replaced by a funded Water Resources Engineer position, as described above. The new title and redesigned duties of the Water Resources Engineer better reflect current District requirements.

A survey of the local government agencies listed in the District’s Personnel Compensation Policy, showing salaries for engineer positions with comparative duties, Exhibit 2-D, indicates that placement in Range 43 would be appropriate. The Project Manager position is also placed at Range 43 on the Salary Schedule so that the long-term net effect on salaries will be neutral. Because newly filled positions are normally placed no higher than step 3 (in a five step range) and there will be a short time when neither position is filled, salary and benefits costs in the P&E Division in Fiscal Year 2015-16 may go down from the budgeted amount. Changes to the District’s organization would be effective as of January 1, 2016.

EXHIBITS

2-A Water Resources Engineer Job Description

2-B Current Organization Chart

2-C Proposed Organization Chart

2-D Local Government Agency Salary Survey

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