HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998-05-19 City Council (11)BUDGET
’98- ’99 City of Palo Alto
City Manager’s Report
TO:HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL
FROM:CITY MANAGER
ATTN.:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
FINANCE COMMITTEE DEP ~ARTMENT: PUBLIC WORKS
MAY 19, 1998 CMR:242:98
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT CIP STATUS REPORT
RECOMMENDATION
This report is supplemental budget information regarding the Public Works Department
Capital Improvement work status. No action is required.
BACKGROUND
The Public Works Department constructs and maintains the City’s infrastructure supported
by the General Fund, excluding park and open space equipment and irrigation. The majority
of the projects are approved as part of the budget process. The others are approved by
Council during the fiscal year. It has been Public Works policy to schedule small projects
to be completed during the same year they are budgeted, and to schedule the start of large
projects needing more than one fiscal year to complete within the year they are budgeted.
In recent years, there has been a backlog in General Fund CapitalImprovement Program CIP
projec~ assigned to the Public Works Department due to an increasing workload without an
increase in staff. In 1994, Hughes-Heiss Associates prepared a Staff Workload and
Utilization Study for the Public Works Engineering Division. The study revealed that FY
1993-94 staffing was sufficient to accomplish the assigned CIP workload, and that staff was
performing within efficiency guidelines. However, the study also revealed that, due to the
amount of CIP projects scheduled in FY 1994-95, an additional 2.6 FTEs would be needed
to keep the projects on schedule. Since the study, staffhas continued to track CIP staffing
requirements and workload. The tracking indicates that, although current staff’mg is
producing at approximately 30 to 40 percent above the Hughes-Heiss estimates, the backlog
has increased.
CMR:242:98 Page 1 of 2
Several steps have been taken to address the imbalance between workload and available
staffing.
[]The FY 1998-99 budget proposes only "need to do" projects.
The FY 1998-99 budget includes $200,000 in additional funds for consulting services
to help reduce the backlog during FY 1998-99.
Public Works staff has increased the use of consultants in a project management
capacity for such large projects as the Downtown Parking Structures.
DISCUSSION
CIP Completion Plan
The attached table, titled, "Public Works Department, FY 1997-2002 Work Plan" presents
the proposed scheduling for all of the active.Public Works General Fund CIPs. The projects
are color coded by Public Works Division and by scheduling status; start(ed), in-progress,
or complete(d). For FYs 1998-99 through 2001-02, the projects are scheduled to minimize
peak loading, not to match existing staff levels.
There are currently 47 active CIPs: 31 projects were budgeted in previous years; 6 are
budgeted and scheduled for this fiscal year; 6 are annual maintenance projects; and 4 are
projects scheduled in the future. Of the 47 active CIPs, 21 projects have been delayed for
various reasons such as approval delays with other agencies, and coordination with other
projects.
ATTACHMENTS
Public Works Department, FY 1997-2002 Work Plan
PREPARED BY: John A. Carl~sqn, Actirlg Assistant Director of Public Works
DEPARTMENT HEAD: RO~s.
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL~
Ci~Manager
CMR:242:98 Page 2 of 2
’~
ca
@, 11/!
}21 ~)
(~
’,i