Troy personnel committee moves to add full-time project manager as capital workload grows

The Troy City Council Personnel Committee agreed March 31 to move forward with hiring a permanent project manager to handle an expanded slate of capital projects.

Committee acting chair Bob Phillips said the request responds to a growing workload and more complex projects across the city. "We're here to talk about a request to employ additional project manager for the city," Phillips said.

Staff described a steady increase in the number and complexity of capital projects, from roughly the 70s five years ago to about 111 items now on the city's project list. "We've got more projects, either in the pipeline or coming up in the future," the staff member said, listing examples including downtown streetscapes, the two‑phase West Main Street project, the Adams Street roundabout, a water and sewer master plan and a police firing range partnership with Martin Marietta. The staff member said Downtown Streetscapes is expected to be "at least a 2 year project" and that West Main Street could be a "2 and 2, 2 and a half year construction project," depending on scope and utility coordination.

The committee heard that the city has relied on outside project managers in some cases but that retaining project managers through outside engineering firms has grown more difficult as firms consolidate and become busier. The staff member said the proposed hire would reduce reliance on outside managers, though occasional outside assistance may still be needed when staff are on leave or during vacancies.

On the job classification and cost, staff recommended assigning the new position to Grade 9 because Grade 8 does not, in staff judgment, adequately reflect the supervisory responsibilities the project manager would carry. The staff member gave an approximate salary range for the relevant grades, saying it was "between 85 and maybe maxes at, hundred and 9 maybe. Hundred and 5, hundred and 9, somewhere in that range," and asked that funding for the remainder of 2025 be split four ways among the water, sewer, stormwater and general fund budgets.

Committee members asked about supervision and required certifications. Staff said the project manager would supervise engineering technician staff but that existing technicians, including Jill Rhodes, could remain at their current certifications. "She wouldn't have to increase it in order to manage this other engineer as well," the staff member said, referring to Rhodes. Rhodes, who staff identified in discussion as a civil engineer, said the hire would make the office workload more manageable and that she expected to continue site visits.

When asked how to proceed, the staff member moved to "move forward as acts recommended. We're gonna move forward with emergency as, requested." The meeting record shows the committee agreed to proceed; no roll-call vote was recorded in the transcript.

Next steps discussed in the meeting include setting the position at Grade 9 and proceeding with funding for the remainder of 2025 as proposed; the item will move through the council's budget and staffing procedures for final approval.

The Personnel Committee adjourned and continued with its next agenda item on streets and sidewalks.