At the direction of Council, the City released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a staffing study, and two proposals were received. Proposals were reviewed and scored based on criteria including qualifications and experience, company operational information, cost, reputation, capability, resources, and project design and strategy. After evaluation and review of all proposals, the Matrix Consulting Group was identified as the highest-ranking firm and Council approved Resolution 19-R-48 authorizing the City Manager to enter into an agreement with them to conduct a Staffing Study.
The staffing study consisted of review of the City department’s workload and performance measures, and those of comparable governments to assess appropriate staffing needs. It is important to note, however, that there are many variables that impact comparison between cities, including operating budgets, community priorities, level of outsourcing, geography, and departmental organization. Initial actions included of an overall review of positions and respective responsibilities, services and activities.
The study consisted of the following activities performed by Matrix:
- Development of department profiles by reviewing staffing levels, budget size, work flow and use of information technology
- Interview of staff to obtain operational-specific data (both on-site and telephone)
- Comparison of City departments to other like-situated municipalities
- Data compilation, review and analysis
Matrix will be presenting an overview of the study process, methodologies, and their findings and recommendations by department. Below is a summary of the findings and recommendations.
Notable themes that emerged:
- Overall, the City of Schertz is providing high levels of customer service to the public and generally providing services at a level higher than might be expected with current resource allocations.
- There is a strong focus on customer service and responsiveness to the public.
- Some services are provided at levels matching or exceeding relevant industry standards. Where services are not in alignment with these standards, specific staffing recommendations have been proposed to address the staffing requirements.
- There is strong inter-departmental cooperation and coordination in provision of services.
- Generally staffing levels throughout the organizational structure have lagged behind the workload increases that would warrant adding additional staff.
- There is inconsistent use of existing data within the organization and software systems to document and project workloads across all departments. This limits, to some extent, the ability of the organization to effectively plan, manage, and understand emerging service trends.
- There have been historical difficulties in recruiting and retaining individuals for some positions (including key department leadership positions) which has resulted in the organization facing operational impacts and limited implementation of programs or approaches that would be expected to be in place.
- Higher growth rates in recent years has impacted the organization, across multiple departments, and has resulted in service constraints and staffing limitations in providing services to the community.
- Some organizational structure changes have been implemented to address specific operational issues, or to take advantage of specific skills of individuals, that are not in alignment with typical organizational structures seen in other local governments. While these have been effective, they have resulted, in some cases, in a unique structure within the City of Schertz.
Recommended # of Positions and Costs By Year
| |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
| # Positions |
45 |
4 |
2 |
12 |
10.5 |
| Cost |
$1,649,107.00 |
$178,630.00 |
$75,187.00 |
$689,725.00 |
$325,622.00 |
| |
2026 |
2027 |
2028 |
2029 |
2030 |
| # Positions |
1 |
1 |
0 |
15 |
9.5 |
| Cost |
$50,268.00 |
$47,837.00 |
$0.00 |
$1,045,757.00 |
$361,860.00 |
| |
Total |
| # Positions |
100 |
| Cost |
$4,423,993.00 |
Staff understands that implementation of all recommendations within the specified timeframes will not be feasible, but the findings will provide an excellent tool to prioritize staffing and other organizational changes during the budget process. |