The human resource function at the City is significant to the long-term vision and mission of the City. As evidence of this, the City of Sparks' human capital is the largest general fund investment the City makes to deliver services to the community, comprising approximately 77.8% of general fund budget expenditures.  

The functions of Human Resources are varied across several disciplines, examples include:

Benefits and wellness program management, including a self-insured group health plan

Worker’s compensation self-insured program

Employee relations

Recruiting and civil service testing

Basic compliance training

Labor relations

Classification and compensation

Policy administration

Human Resources information systems (HRIS) and coordination with payroll functions

Committees and commissions

Oversight of pandemic response policies related to employment

In administering these functions, Human Resources must stay current with federal, state and local laws and case law, civil service rules and regulations, 15 contracts and resolutions for groups, plus individual contracts for executives, City Administrative Rules, and department policies and procedures.

Prior to the COVID pandemic, and national spotlight on change within organizations to promote equality, Human Resources spent approximately 72% of staff time dedicated to maintaining daily operations. This left 28% capacity for things that are more project based, or that happen on a recurring but not daily basis. Examples include labor negotiations, development of new policies, training, non-police recruiting, initiatives, response to crises or unexpected events, and the development of data analytics to help drive informed decisions.

There are other new pressures that are pushing the organization to seek more Human Resources time and expertise. For example, in FY20, the City hired 54 new employees to full time regular positions and forty-two left City employment. In addition 37 employees were promoted in FY20.  This resulted in an especially high number of both new city staff and new leadership. This trend is expected to grow. In an organization that relies upon institutional knowledge, this is a major challenge as well as an exciting opportunity. Furthermore, recent crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the public demand for greater equality and diversification have put additional responsibility on Human Resources to partner with departments for effective solutions and responses, which are dominating the small capacity for other-than daily operations in Human Resources. With new leaders in the organization and new employees, it is natural to expect greater support requirements in employee relations as supervisors and managers develop into their leadership roles, and new employees explore what it means to be a City employee.  Additionally, the national spotlight on the “Me Too” movement and on discrimination and diversity more broadly have created increased scrutiny and require more employee relations resources. To assist in solving these complex matters, there is an increased need of investment on HRIS systems and policy and procedures oversight to ensure consistency and quality in operations. This delivers more data to decision makers.

o operate with Human Resource expertise for the increasing demands outlined above, staff is recommending that Council add a Human Resources Analyst I/II to assist with employee relations and the human resources information systems (HRIS). 

To effectuate this change, an addition of a position in the Management Services complement is recommended. 

Current Complement – Human Resources

Proposed Complement

The estimated General Fund costs for this complement change are $105,660 for FY21, $108,603 for FY22 and $112,844 for FY23 (see attached financial impact statement provided by the Financial Services Department).

1. City Council may approve the complement changes as presented.

2.City Council may reject the complement changes and provide direction to the City Manager.

I move to approve the complement changes in Management Services effective the pay period following approval.