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Council debates staffing, virtual inspections and pay updates; staff to implement compensation plan and evaluate virtual inspection options
Summary
Councilors questioned staffing levels, proposed reductions to some inspection positions and urged expanded use of virtual inspections and AI; city staff said a compensation implementation will take effect Jan. 1, 2026, and that operational studies will continue before any midyear budget amendment.
Councilors at the Sept. 25 budget hearing debated whether to reduce certain open positions and increase operational efficiency through virtual inspections and targeted AI projects, but staff urged caution and said they will implement a compensation plan Jan. 1, 2026, continue pilot work on AI and virtual inspections and return with recommended staffing actions if needed.
What council discussed: Council member Rich Wigger (identified during the hearing) proposed using technology, virtual inspections and trusted‑vendor programs to allow modest reductions in building inspector and code compliance headcount. He suggested a modest 5% reduction in inspector FTEs and proposed reallocating some funding toward AI pilots and management support for police workplace culture.
Staff response: Jim Zervis, the city’s chief financial officer and deputy city manager, said the city is already piloting AI in public works and can fund limited initiatives within existing budgets; he recommended not cutting the downtown code compliance inspector paid for by CRA because downtown enforcement duties are ongoing. George S. Brown and Brandon Shadd (development services director) said the city already performs some virtual inspections and will expand where appropriate but that many inspections require in‑person verification for safety and code compliance. Brandon Shadd also noted that virtual inspections can miss underlying conditions and that staff frequently discovers additional code or safety issues during on‑site visits.
Vacancies and recruitment: staff provided context for vacancies: as of Aug. 30 the city had roughly 250 vacant positions in the report cited at the hearing, of which about 114 were part‑time positions (which are budgeted by dollar amounts rather than FTEs), and about 136 were vacant full‑time positions out of an approximate total of 1,703 positions (roughly an 8% vacancy rate). Staff said roughly 103 of the full‑time vacancies had active recruitments underway. City leaders said a phased pay and compensation implementation will begin Jan. 1, 2026; if position‑level changes create a midyear cost impact staff will return with required budget amendments.
Outcome and next steps: council did not approve immediate reductions to the positions discussed. Staff will continue the pay and compensation implementation and examine virtual inspection and AI pilots, and return with any required budget amendments at midyear. Councilors requested additional operational detail and data to justify future headcount changes rather than removing positions at adoption time.
