ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Date: January 28, 1999
Author/Local: T.Droettboom/6254
RTS No. 00511
CC File No. 1605

TO:	Vancouver City Council
FROM:	General Manager of Community Services
SUBJECT:	Implementation of Confirmed Budget Reductions - Community Services

RECOMMENDATION

A. THAT the following positions be deleted from the Community Services establishment:

i) 0472 Director of Social Planning;
ii) 0481 Administrative Assistant, Social Planning; and
iii) 4112 Planner I, Design Review, Major Projects, Planning.

B. THAT a new position: Director of Community Services, Social Planning, be created.

C. THAT the savings in salaries and benefits resulting from the deletion of the above positions, and totalling $216,110 a year, be allocated as follows:

i) $123,113 to be applied against Community Service's 1999 budget reduction target ($130,000) as established by Council on October 22, 1998; and
ii) $92,997 to fund the new position of Director of Community Services, Social Planning.

D. THAT the remainder of Community Services' budget reduction target be achieved by:

i) reducing the annual training budget for Landscape Architecture Technicians by $5,000; and
ii) reducing the Community Services annual advertising budget by $1,887.

E. THAT the General Manager of Community Services report back on the reassignment of staff among policy functions, ensuring that resources are aligned with current Council priorities.

COUNCIL POLICY

Council approval is required for all changes to the staff establishment.

PURPOSE

This report recommends changes in the Community Services staff establishment and other minor adjustments to effect the $130,000 annual budget reduction which Council directed on October 22, 1998.

BACKGROUND

On October 22, 1998, Council reviewed projections of the 1999 City budget and considered a number of possible expenditure reductions. These were suggested by Departments and Service Groups to deal with the potential revenue shortfall identified at that time. Among other actions, Council directed that Community Services reduce its overall expenditures on policy analysis by $130,000 a year.

DISCUSSION

Three positions have been identfied for deletion, effecting a gross annual savings of $216,110. Of this, $123,113 is proposed to be applied to nearly achieve the budget reduction directed by Council in October, $92,997 will fund a new position in partial compensation for the managerial and policy service gap left by the deletion of one of the three positions. The residual $6,887 required to achieve the entire $130,000 will come from two Community Services non-salary accounts.

The Director of Social Planning position (0472) has been vacant for over three years; the greatest part of the budget for this position has been used to fund an interim Director of Community Services Division position in the Social Planning Department. The remainder has been available to assist other short-term social planning work. With the Director of Social Planning position vacant, the Directors of Community Services, Office of Cultural Affairs, The Gathering Place, and Carnegie Centre have been successfully managing the department's overall affairs, in addition to fulfilling their regular responsibilities. This success in providing the full range of Social Planning services suggests that a Director of Social Planning position is not absolutely required and that resources can be saved or reallocated.

The position of Administrative Assistant (0481) has similarly been vacant for nearly two years. Most of this position's job duties have been assumed by another administrative employee, compensated with supplementary pay for the additional duties. A review of Social Planning's administrative requirements, as part of larger organizational initiatives, will determine how these services are delivered in the long term, but at this time it is clear that the Administrative Assistant position will not be needed. It had been our intent to convert the funding from this position into the direct provision of social planning services.

To partially compensate for the loss of the Director of Social Planning position, we propose to make the interim Director of Community Services Division, Social Planning, permanent. It will, of course, require a lower level of compensation than the Director of Social Planning, resulting in a net savings. We are concerned about the confusion between the "Community Services Division" and the "Community Services Group" and will be proposing name changes as part of a larger organizational review which we will be reporting to Council in the next few weeks.

To complete the current round of budget reductions, we propose to cut a vacant Planner I position (4112) in the Planning Department. We also propose to cut an annual training program for Landscape Architecture Technicians. This program was established to ensure that new landscape staff had the necessary skills for their jobs. Training is no longer required at the level budgeted. A marginal cut in our general advertising budget fills out the budget target.

As reported to Council in October, the net effect of these budget reductions will reduce the capacity of Community Services to undertake work on emerging policy issues. However, this capacity need not necessarily be reduced in the areas from which the positions are deleted. Community Services will undertake a review of policy requirements and reallocate staff resources to areas most closely aligned to Council's priorities. We will report the results of this review to Council. Should Council require additional reductions as a result of the latest round of budget challenges, we will incorporate these into the same repriorization process.

PERSONNEL IMPLICATIONS

As the effected positions are currently vacant, deletion will result in no layoffs of regular, full-time staff. A copy of this report has been provided to CUPE 15.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

The changes proposed in this report will result in immediate annual operating budget reduction of $130,000.

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(c) 1998 City of Vancouver