The proposal to transfer the city’s water and sewer utilities to the Kitsap Public Utility District could slash monthly water bills by as much as half.
More on that HERE.
The move would also likely mean the city would let go several – possibly even 21 – employees who work directly and indirectly with utilities.
Below is a breakdown of the full-time employee (FTE) equivalents working in city departments. For example, a .25 FTE is equal to a quarter-time employee, or a quarter of one employee’s work time.
WATER
Executive: .25
Finance: 1.39
Planning: .23
Public Works: 6.17
Information Technology: .47
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Total: 8.51
SEWER
Executive: .25
Finance: 1.25
Planning: .24
Public Works: 10.41
Information Technology: .62
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Total: 12.77
Of course the biggest hit would be in the public works department, which carries out the hands-on operations and maintenance of the water and sewer utilities.
Interim Public Works Director Lance Newkirk said the true number of job cuts may not be as high as the combined 21.28 FTEs.
The city will have to consider several factors, including how much of its own oversight it wants over the utilities if they are transferred to another entity, he said.
It’s also likely that some non-public works employees who currently spend a small portion of their time working on utilities-related tasks may simply be reassigned to other duties.
Tristan, was this breakdown provided to you or did you actually see the list of employees and the time each spends on each of the 3 utilities?
MMA, the city finance department has a table showing how much staff time is used to operate and maintain the water and sewer utilities. Hope that answers your question.
-Tristan