Anilrgowda

VISTA ---- Several city staffers will get promotions and others will work longer hours for extra pay under a proposed management plan for capital projects that will be funded by Proposition L, a half-cent sales tax increase approved by voters last month.

At Tuesday's City Council meeting, City Manager Rita Geldert will outline how key city staffers in the next four years will oversee construction of several ambitious projects, including two new fire stations, a city park, a City Hall and a stage house at the Moonlight Amphitheatre.
The council will meet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 600 Eucalyptus Ave.

Under Geldert's proposal, two more city employees would be hired, four staffers would get promotions and nine would work extra hours for "project management pay." Outside consulting firms would also be brought in to help city staff.

The City Council will receive a report on the plan and may vote on a budget adjustment for some of the personnel changes, though not all the changes require council approval, according to a city report.

Prop. L was billed by city officials and supporters as a revenue tool that would boost the city's general fund by roughly $6 million a year to pay for key civic and public safety projects. Critics of the measure complained that the money would not be tied to those plans and could be diverted to other uses.

The higher sales tax rate ---- 8.25 percent ---- will take effect April 1.

The proposition was widely supported by city employees, including some of whom who will be making more money under Geldert's plan. Several city workers made contributions to Vistans for Civic Pride and Safety, the political action committee that lobbied for the tax increase.

Four city employees will get promotions under the management plan and their combined raises will total about $70,000 per year. The promotions would take effect the first pay period of 2007, for the following staff members:

- Community Development Director Robin Putnam would serve as overall the program manager for the capital improvement projects for four years.

- City Planner John Conley would take over as acting director of community development.

- The assistant to the City Manager Patrick Johnson would be promoted to deputy city manager and spearhead the City Hall project.

- Senior Management Analyst Aly Zimmermann would be promoted to assistant to the city manager and oversee construction of the fire stations.

Nine high-level employees, from the finance manager to the fire chief, would spend between 5 percent to 15 percent more time at work, pulling in "project management pay" while they are assigned to specific projects. This pay would be separate from base salary and not be subject to increases in the cost of living, Geldert said.

"They're going to get a couple hundred dollars a month more," Geldert said of the nine employees.

Geldert said that during the next four years, the city would pay about $637,000 in salary increases and project management pay.

In addition, Vista recently hired a principal construction engineer for $82,766 a year who will start in January. And early next year, Geldert plans to backfill Conley's position by hiring a principal planner for $6,042 to $7,344 a month. Those two positions would remain filled after the four-year program is over, she said.

A city report estimates that Geldert's overall staffing plan, combining in-house personnel and outside consultants, would cost $4.9 million over the course of four years ---- about $2.55 million less than a plan relying exclusively on independent firms.

Geldert said she has been developing the plan during the last few weeks while researching how some neighboring cities had handled management duties for major projects. Because of the rising cost of construction, she said, she has placed a priority on time management.

"The primary reason we want this blending of talents is because the internal folks are much more sensitive to time schedules, how to make decisions so things don't get delayed," Geldert said. "They have easy access to myself and the council."

Mayor Morris Vance said Monday that he supports Geldert's plan and was confident that existing staffers could handle the added responsibilities. During the campaign, he said, incumbents regularly heard from constituents that the city relies too much on outside consultants, so now, "we're trying not to hire so many."

Vance said it's not uncommon for cities to use in-house staff for project management.

"That's exactly what I did when I was working for the city of Carson some 35 years ago (as assistant city manager)," Vance said. "That was pretty much my full-time job, getting the City Hall built."

Vista officials estimate the half-cent sales tax hike will bring in an extra $6 million the first year, followed by annual increases of 3 percent.