MEMORANDUM

Form revised: May 6, 2011

2012 BUDGET LEGISLATION FISCAL NOTE

Department:

Contact Person/Phone:

CBO Analyst/Phone:

Civil Service Commission

Public Safety Civil Service Commission

Mike Katz / 684-5211

Legislation Title: AN ORDINANCE relating to civil service; combining the staff of the Civil Service Commission and Public Safety Civil Service Commission and amending sections 4.04.250, 4.08.050, and 4.08.070 of the Seattle Municipal Code.

Summary of the Legislation:

The proposed Council Bill combines the administrative personnel currently working for the Civil Service Commission and Public Safety Civil Service Commission. The Bill restructures the separate administrative support staff for the two commissions into one combined unit. Each commission is staffed by an Executive Director at the Strategic Advisor level with the Civil Service Commission also utilizing an Administrative Staff Assistant. This Council Bill creates one entity which services both commissions. The new entity will have a single Strategic Advisor who will serve as Executive Director for both commissions. Additionally, each commission will have a dedicated administrative assistant. The Executive Director is jointly appointed, and subject to removal, by both commissions and subject to approval by the City Council.

Background:

The Civil Service Commission provides fair and impartial hearings of alleged violations of the City’s personnel rules. Employees may file appeals with the Commission regarding all final disciplinary actions and alleged violations of the Personnel Ordinance, as well as related rules and policies. The Commission may issue orders to remedy violations and may also make recommendations to the Mayor and City Council regarding the administration of the personnel system.

The mission and purpose of the Public Safety Civil Service Commission is to implement, administer, and direct a civil service system for sworn personnel of the Seattle Police Department and uniformed personnel of the Seattle Fire Department. The Commission provides sworn police and uniformed fire employees with a quasi-judicial process for hearings on appeals concerning disciplinary actions, examination and testing, and other related issues.

The administrative work of the Civil Service Commission is performed by a part-time Strategic Advisor, acting as Executive Director, and an Administrative Staff Assistant. The Executive Director handles the workload that is related to financial management and work that is policy-oriented while the Administrative Staff Assistant performs work that is more administrative in nature. This structure allows for alignment of job tasks with job titles and pay rates. This is not seen in the Public Safety Civil Service Commission as all administrative support is performed by a Strategic Advisor who executes the duties of the Executive Director as well as performing the more administrative work.

The Public Safety Civil Service Commission has seen a marked decrease in the number of appeals it has heard. As such, there are fewer cases which require work from the Executive Director. Based on input from the Chairs of both the Civil Service Commission and the Public Safety Civil Service Commission, it became clear that the workloads of these two bodies could be handled with less staff if the administrative structures were consolidated into a single unit. The new unit will be overseen by a Strategic Advisor which serves as Executive Director for both Commissions and will be supported by 1.6 FTE staff assistants. This results in the reduction of .20 FTE and saves $51,018.

The savings is realized from reducing 1.8 FTE Strategic Advisor and replacing that with 1.0 FTE Strategic Advisor and 0.6 FTE Administrative Staff Assistant. This not only reduces the total FTE count, but also moves a portion of the work previously performed by a Strategic Advisor to an Administrative Staff Assistant. This better aligns job responsibilities with job titles and pay rates.

Previously, the Executive Director would be appointed by their respective commission. As Executive Director for both commissions, the incumbent in this position will be jointly appointed by the Civil Service Commission and the Public Safety Civil Service Commission, and subject to removal, by both commissions. The Executive Director’s appointment is subject to Council approval. If there is a tied vote regarding appointment or removal, the Mayor is tasked with casting the deciding vote.

__X_ This legislation has financial implications

Other Implications:

a) Does the legislation have indirect financial implications, or long-term implications?

Yes. This legislation reduces the cost of providing administrative support services for the Civil Service Commission and the Public Safety Civil Service Commission on an ongoing basis.

b) What is the financial cost of not implementing this legislation?

Not implementing this legislation would require an additional $51,018 in personnel costs for 2012. Additionally, there would be no ongoing savings.

c) Does this legislation affect any departments besides the originating department?

Yes. Both the Civil Service Commission and Public Safety Civil Service Commission are unfunded with the monies being directed to the new organizational entity, Civil Service Commissions.

d) What are the possible alternatives to the legislation that could achieve the same or similar objectives?

One alternative is to reduce the Executive Director for the Public Safety Civil Service Commission to 0.5 FTE. While that would produce a similar amount in savings, it does not address the issue of properly aligning work with the most appropriate job title.

e) Is the legislation subject to public hearing requirements? No.

f) Other Issues: None

Please list attachments to the fiscal note below:

Attachment A: Table 1: Historical Appropriations for CSC, PSCSC and Civil Service Commissions

Table 1: Historical Appropriations for CSC, PSCSC and Civil Service Commissions

	2011 Budget	2012 Proposed	2013 Estimated
Civil Service Commission	$233,080	$0	$0
Public Safety Civil Service Commission	$148,986	$0	$0
Civil Service Commissions	$0	$329,227	$335,821
TOTAL	$382,066	$329,227	$335,821