Council Votes to Outsource Planning Work

By Olin Ericksen
Staff Writer

March 22 -- The City Council Tuesday night approved a staff proposal to outsource nearly $330,000 worth of contracts to help fill an ongoing personnel shortage in the Planning Department.

The steady loss of staff has left 13 of 62 positions -- or about one in five -- unfilled at the Planning and Building and Safety divisions, according to planning officials.

Officials blame the high rate of attrition on area’s high cost of living and competition from other cities, as well as the department’s reputation.

“Some have said that this is a tough place to work,” said Andy Agle, the department’s assistant director. “There are a lot of regulations and a large amount of work.”

To help address longstanding complaints about the planning process, the City recently hired the consulting firm Matrix, and one issue the firm is “looking into is the issue of staff turnover rates,” Agle said.

Under the approved item on Tuesday’s consent calendar, the City will use the funds to provide temporary staffing in the Building and Safety Division “due to staff vacancies in code enforcement, construction inspection and plan check services.”

The $250,000 to contract JAS Pacific Corporation is a direct result of staffing shortages in the Building and Safety Division, where six of the 40 positions are vacant, according to Agle.

The shortages are unfortunate, Agle said, but the planning department would rather have more work and less staff than the other way around.

“Right now, there is a heavy load of permits going through the system,” Agle said.

An additional $80,000 paid to the Bing Yen and Associates firm for “geotechnical and engineering geology services” would be for services the City would normally contract out because the firm has expertise in an area that staff lacks.

In addition to the vacancies in Building and Safety, the planning division has seven of its 22 positions unfilled, excluding support staff, planning officials said.

There are open slots for assistant planner, associate planner, senior planner, principal planner and planning manager, said Senior Planner Jonathan Lait.

Lait would not comment on why he felt there were so many positions open in the Planning Division, and Planning Director Suzanne Frick could not be reached for comment, but a statement she made in November could cast some light on the problem.

Frick blamed attrition on low morale that resulted in part from accusations of corruption leveled by former planning Commissioner Kelly Olsen. Frick responded to the allegations in an open letter she read to the commissioners.

“The mischaracterizations and accusations are damaging the professional reputations of my staff and me,” Frick said. “This is seriously impacting the morale of the Department and my ability to retain outstanding employees.