Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Staffing And Efficiency Study topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council approves third‑party operations study to assess staffing and efficiencies
Summary
By a 5–2 vote, council authorized a $48,434 efficiency and staffing study by 64 North Consulting Group (Resolution 25‑R‑3028). Supporters called it an investment to produce data for future budget and staffing decisions; two council members voted no.
Riverside City Council approved Resolution 25‑R‑3028 authorizing the city manager to enter a professional services agreement with 64 North Consulting Group to conduct an operations and staffing study. The contract price discussed in the meeting was $48,434, the lowest of nine proposals received.
City Manager (name not specified) said department heads scored nine proposals and identified this firm as the "lowest and best" based on price, hours and references. "Having looked at...the people that they are assembling to bring to us, I feel pretty confident that we would get a good work product from them," the manager said, explaining the firm’s expertise in fraud, waste and abuse reviews and its proposed approach to staffing and operational baseline work.
Supporters on council framed the study as a data-driven investment to inform staffing levels for police, fire, public service and administration and to provide evidence for future budget decisions or levies. One councilmember noted that a similar investment in a financial system produced measurable returns and better decision-making.
Opponents said the city should prioritize other expenditures or trust the newly hired city manager to accomplish the same work internally. "I will not be supporting this. I feel very strongly that $50,000 should be put in other places in the city," one councilmember said during debate.
Council voted by roll call: Denning — Yes; Brown — Yes; Frey — Yes; Joseph — Yes; Lomach — No; Maxfield — No; Mayor Peter J. Williams — Yes. The resolution passed 5–2.
Next steps: Manager said the firm would provide a baseline report with staffing recommendations and comparisons to peer cities; council did not set a separate deadline but asked staff for deliverables and reference materials. The manager noted he had performed independent due diligence by contacting references in Pearland, Texas; Pinellas County, Fla.; and a New Jersey jurisdiction and had reviewed sample deliverables.
