TITLE
Recommendation to authorize City Manager to execute agreements with Willdan Engineering, of Industry, CA; CSG Consultants, Inc., of San Mateo, CA; Interwest Consulting Group, of Huntington Beach, CA; HR Green California, Inc., of Orange, CA; and Jason Addison Smith Consulting Services, Inc., dba JAS Pacific, of Upland, CA, for as-needed plan review and inspection services in an aggregate total not to exceed $450,000 per year for a two-year period, with two consecutive one-year renewal options at the discretion of the City Manager, and any necessary amendments thereto. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
City Council approval is requested to enter into agreements with multiple firms to provide as-needed, temporary plan review and inspection services. In recent years, the Building and Safety Bureau (Building Bureau) of the Department of Development Services (Department) has been experiencing workforce shortages due to protected medical leaves, transitional duty assignments, and periodic vacancies due to retirements. During Fiscal Year 2014 (FY 14), the Department had nine inspectors and one plan checker out on medical leave or temporary duty assignments due to work restrictions. Overall, the Building Bureau lost the services of approximately 2.1 Full Time Equivalents (FTEs), or nearly 7.5 percent of its inspectors and plan checkers, during FY 14. The Building Bureau also has four unfilled vacancies due to recent retirements. The Department has started the recruitment to fill these positions, however, the hiring process can be lengthy.
Pursuant to federal and state law, personnel on protected medical leave and personnel being provided a reasonable accommodation under the law, such as a temporary duty assignment or an intermittent work schedule, must be placed in their same or equivalent position when they return to work. The Department has tried different methods to hold positions open for staff while striving to maintain the service levels expected by the
Departmen...
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