After having a few weeks to digest a staffing and organizational study for Iola city employees, City Council members agreed several items demand further exploration.
The study, conducted by Wichita State University, looks at staffing levels and how changes could affect the city budget.
Mondays discussion was the Councils first pertinent response to the study, which identified a number of pressing concerns, including whether the citys contract to provide countywide ambulance service should be revisited. The city has had difficulty in retaining employees within the department, which in turn has led to added stress (and overtime pay) for ambulance crews.
There are a lot of rabbit holes in this report, noted Councilman Aaron Franklin, adding Councils top priority in the coming months should be to settle a new EMS plan.
The citys contract with Allen County expires at the end of 2020, with a six-month notification period necessary if the pact is to be altered.
That gives the city until next July to determine what changes it would like to see if the contract is extended, such as rates or county subsidies.
THE MOST uncomfortable topic will most certainly be the citys organizational structure.
Franklin called it the elephant in the room.
The WSU study said the citys organizational structure is too flat for a city Iolas size, with 14 department head level positions, not counting the city administrator.
The study recommended Iolas electric distribution, gas, water, wastewater and water and wastewater treatment departments be merged into a single public utilities department.
Thats a big deal, and I dont think it can be done overnight, Franklin said. But a decision needs to be made on it. We need to come up with a plan on what this looks like.
Were taking real life scenarios into consideration, he continued, where we have people who are three, four, five years from retirement, and how this is affecting their psyche on a daily basis, wondering if theyre going to be out of a job. This is a sensitive discussion, but I dont think we can escape it.
MEANWHILE, inefficiencies also can be tackled sooner, rather than later, Mayor Jon Wells added.
The study cited myriad inefficiencies, such as hand delivering insufficient fund notices to customers, to how the meter reading process works.
