Memo - Office Assistant FT Proposal
Staff Report
Date of Meeting: August 18, 2020
To: City Council
From: Finance Team
Re: Office Assistant Position to Full-time
Issue: Administrative office staff consists of two full-time employees and two part-time
employees. It has been increasingly difficult to accomplish the ever-increasing number of tasks
and requests for service at the current level of employees and number of work hours. We
would like the Council to give serious consideration to changing the Office Assistant role to a
full-time position at 30 to 32 hours per week effective September 1, 2020. With more
assistance in the office to handle phone calls and permits, it would allow the full-time Clerk
more time to concentrate on her duties in Planning, Permits, Records, Elections which keep her
extremely busy, and the part-time Treasure to concentrate on the increasingly complex
financial duties. It would also give the City Administrator more assistance on various projects
that crop up. Although the City Office doors have been closed to the public, there has been an
increased demand for services during this Pandemic, and things take longer to process when
doing things remotely. The Scandia City Office is understaffed at its current level of employees.
Proposal Details: The position is budgeted for 980 hours in 2020 for a cost of $19,105 with only
Life Insurance as a benefit. The 2021 Budget has budgeted the position for 1664 hours. Total
Compensation with all the proposed benefits would cost $47,177.
The Finance Team is proposing a new health plan through PEIP Advantage HSA that saves the
City $9,480 starting December 1, 2020. That savings would go far in covering the additional cost
of $11,651 of adding another employee with family coverage to the new health insurance plan.
Fiscal Impact: If the full-time position became effective September 1, 2020, the additional cost
of 3 months of health insurance would be $4,598.25 plus $384 HSA contribution. The increase
of adding an employee with family coverage to the plan starting December 1, 2020 is $11,651,
plus HSA contributions of $1,536. The net cost of switching plans and adding an employee is
$2,171 in 2021.
The breakdown of the increase in the total compensation package of $47,464 is: Wages
($11,516), PERA/FICA (1,743), Family Health Insurance ($11,651), HSA ($1,536), Dental ($1,414),
Disability ($500). Life insurance is an existing benefit at $128. Total increase is $28,360
if all new benefits added.
Options:
1. Change Office Assistant position from part-time to full-time effective September 1, 2020.
2. Change Office Assistant position from part-time to full-time effective December 1, 2020.
3. Make no changes to Office Assistant position
Recommendation:
Option 1. Change the Office Assistant position from part-time to full-time up to 32 hours per
week effective September 1, 2020 to allow office staff to be more effective in providing services
to the Scandia community.