(5)AR 042109 Employment Agreement

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ITEM #5 CITY OF COLTON AGENDA REPORT FOR CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF APRIL 21, 2009 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT/OFFICE MANAGER ADELFA FL SUBJECT: APPROVE EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT FOR OFFICE SPECIALIST/RECEPTIONIST SERVICES FROM APRIL 2009 - JUNE 2010 NOT TO EXCEED $42,160 DATE: APRIL 14, 2009 BACKGROUND The Office Specialist/Receptionist position is budgeted under the City Manager budget and supervised by the Executive Assistant/Council Office Manager. Although this position was authorized by Council as part of the budget, it has remained vacant during the current fiscal year. Instead, this position has been filled under contract which is now about to expire. DISCUSSION/ ANALYSIS As part of the 2008-09 budget, the City Council authorized the filling of an Office Specialist I at a cost of approximately $57,000 including salary and benefits. A recruitment was conducted, the top candidate was hired and departed within a month. The City pursued the recruitment of other candidates and was not successful in producing a suitable candidate. As a result, Ms. Nicole Lopez was appointed to handle the duties of this position. While attending Cal State San Bernardino, Ms. Lopez began working for the City as an Intern in the. Public Works Department, then transferred to the City Manager's Office. After receiving her BA Degree in business, Ms. Lopez worked as a contracted P/T Administrative Analyst in the City Manager's Office. Due to the departure of both the F/T Office Specialist and the P/T Sr. Office Specialist in the Council and City Manager Offices, the City Manager along with the Executive Assistant/Council Office Manager decided to combine these two positions to save on salary costs. The combined cost to fund both of these positions with benefits is $6,400 per month or $77,100 per fiscal year. The cost to fund the contracted position is $2,947 per month or $35,360 per fiscal year. As result, the City contracted with Ms. Nichole Lopez for an approximate salary savings of $3,453 per month or $41,740 per fiscal year. These savings will continue to end of contract. Ms. Lopez has proven to be extremely efficient and unbelievably reliable in managing a combination of various and demanding tasks. This position handles internal/external customer issues, greets and directs customers, handles incoming calls and processes mail. This position also provides support on many other laborious and non -routine tasks from the City Council, City Managers, Economic Development and City Clerks Offices. Ms. Lopez is a customer -friendly employee with a diligent work ethic and is also pursuing her Master's Degree at Cal State San Bernardino. She has never missed a day of work and efficiently interacts with the general public and staff, while maintaining a current database of city-wide service requests. In addition, Ms. Lopez assists the Council Office when full-time staff is on vacation. Due to the important role the Office Specialist/Receptionist position plays, it is in the best interest to renew this contract with Ms. Lopez through the end of the 2009-10 fiscal year—with city salary savings of $3,453 per month or $41,740 per fiscal to the end of contract. CMC Section 3.08.140 provides that the City Manager, for contracts up to $100,000, may dispense with public bidding for Professional Services Agreements when it is in the best interests of the City and its administrative