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Atherton’s financial picture has improved dramatically since the town decided to outsource the jobs of many of its employees to contractors in 2011, and at its Wednesday, Sept. 17, meeting the City Council will decide whether it’s time to replace at least two of those contractors with town employees.
When the council meets at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at 94 Ashfield Road, its members will also hear an update on the status of talks with Caltrans over the town’s proposal to study what might happen if El Camino Real were narrowed to four lanes. The council may also decide on a contract for managing the town tennis courts.
With regard to outsourcing, the council may decide whether two town positions city arborist and code enforcement officer (currently part-time contract jobs) should become full-time jobs held by town employees.
In reports to the council about the two positions, City Manager George Rodericks says that the town is currently being audited by the state’s public employees’ retirement system, known as CalPERS.
The audit could show that some workers the town has been treating as contractors must be reclassified as employees, with the town responsible for paying their pension and other benefits.
The town now uses contractors for planning services, legal services, business license administration, arborist services, building department services, public works management, and for street, park and building maintenance.
Most of those positions shouldn’t be affected by the audit, Mr. Rodericks predicted, especially those that are part-time and require specialized expertise such as the town attorney, community services director and planning director. The positions most likely to be affected, the said, are the town maintenance crews, who work full-time for the town.
Even if those four or five workers must be reclassified as town employees, Mr. Rodericks said, he does not think CalPERS will make the town retroactively pay benefits for them, so the results of the audit should not be a major liability for the town. The town may not hear back from CalPERS until the end of the year, he said.
Mr. Rodericks has recommended the town hire a full-time arborist to replace the current contract arborist, who works 20 or fewer hours each week, because the town needs more tree-related services.
A staff report from Public Works Superintendent Steve Tyler and Assistant to the City Manager Theresa DellaSanta said the town solicited bids from arborists willing to work on contract 40 hours a week and received only one bid, for $197,600 annually. The town also advertised for a full-time arborist, which resulted in 21 applications, and researched salaries. The salary plus benefits would range from $130,000 to $150,000 a year, depending on years of experience, the report said.
Mr. Rodericks and Chief of Police Ed Flint have also recommended the town replace the current code enforcement contractor with a full-time employee who would be a code enforcement and community services officer within the town’s police department.
The report says that the town has more than 20 hours a week of code enforcement work, and that the police department could use assistance as well.
A report from Chief Flint and Mr. Rodericks says that the town is currently spending $112,000 annually for 20 hours a week of code enforcement services. A full-time code enforcement/community services officer would cost the town between $98,000 and $113,000 for salary and benefits, depending on length of service, they reported.
The report says that if the officer were not needed full-time for code enforcement, he or she could help with “relief dispatching, fleet management, backup court officer duties,” and assisting with the town administration front counter when needed.
The council will also consider a contract with the company Player Capital Tennis, to manage the town’s tennis courts and facilities in Holbrook-Palmer Park. Player Capital has offered to pay the town $40,000 a year in trade for having exclusive rights to teach and hold tennis camps on the town courts.
The town receives only about $1,500 a year from Alan Margot, the tennis pro it currently contracts with.
Sounds great…extra money, so spend it! What happened to providing parcel tax relief that was PROMISED during the campaign to renew the parcel tax? (“If it’s not needed, we won’t charge it.”). The opposition group, which was prevented from publishing a rebuttal, predicted correctly that this promise would never come to be realized, and also was correct in that the parcel tax was not needed.
“What happened to providing parcel tax relief”
Poor, poor town. I shed tears for the po’ folk in Atherton.
Dear, dear yup.
How about spending your time fixing the blight in Menlo Park before you go slamming Atherton.
I shed tears every time I drive ECR near Safeway.
Atherton has a code enforcement person ???
Who knew.
Certainly NOT by the garbage cans put out too soon or left out too late, the construction that begins before 8am and ends after 5pm. and oh yes, the noisy, polluting leaf blowers that blow more dirt than leaves.
But we MUST have spotless driveways. Every week…
With all the wealth in Atherton, the city cheats the low-paid maintenance crews out of benefits! Try doing their job for a day & living where they live. Let them eat cake, eh, Atherton?
“yup’s comment suggests it’s okay for citizens of Atherton to get overcharged since they can afford it”
Nope: Yup’s comment reflects the hilarity of reading of Athertonian’s and their incessant moaning and whining about hiring working folk to take care of their needs.
Poor, poor town.
As I drive around Atherton, I see campaign signs from a sitting council member up for re-election. It says “Expect More”. I find myself asking expect more of what?
Let’s see .. NEPOTISM? Didn’t this candidate appoint his wife to the Atherton Planning Commission? Should we expect more of that?
And now we find out that the biggest change he advocated .. firing the Town’s public works and building employees .. has led to an audit by a state agency? How long have we know about that? Seems like a rather matter of fact announcement.
Atherton saved a bunch of money on the backs of a few working class employees. Two of the three council members who screwed these guys over are off the council. One remains. Yes indeed .. expect more if you don’t vote for someone else!