Flagstaff budget retreat emphasizes pay adjustments, adds one-time positions and plans housing reorganization

At its April 24 budget retreat, Flagstaff City staff presented a personnel-focused plan that includes continued market-based pay adjustments, funding for a limited set of new or one-time positions and an organizational change to move housing into the city managers office.

Sarah Schorn, from Human Resources, told council the citys vacancy rate was 12% and the turnover rate for the prior January—11 period was 12.7%. She said the citys budgeted full-time-equivalent headcount is about 905.2 and that recent recruiting work has reduced time-to-fill metrics.

"Vacancy rate as of today, we're at 12%," Schorn said. She also described changes to recruitment and certification that are intended to relieve service gaps; for example, the city will certify and train lifeguards in-house so applicants no longer must arrive pre-certified.

The budget team recommended one-time and project-based positions in the general fund, including a project IT manager, temporary assistants to the city attorney for a defined project, a temporary fire captain to help with a computer-aided dispatch project, and an additional mechanic for public works. The finance director, Brandy Souda, explained that two temporary library positions operating outside city limits (Forest Lakes/Grand Canyon Forest Lake area) are paid through a county intergovernmental agreement and that the city receives a small administrative payment from the county.

Joanne Key, deputy city manager, said the departure of the community development director created a chance to reorganize. The city will recruit a new director for a reorganized Planning and Development Services department and move housing to report to the city manager, with the intent to create a dedicated housing division within six months. Key said the budget team will budget midyear for the housing move and related salary adjustments.

Why it matters: staffing and pay decisions affect service delivery for programs such as parks and pools, public works and housing implementation. Council members pressed staff on whether additions were offset by reductions elsewhere; staff said the budget adds only a handful of positions this cycle and that total budgeted FTEs would increase modestly.

Decisions: these were budget-team recommendations presented to council as part of the city managers recommended budget. No formal council vote was recorded at the retreat; recommended positions and reorganizations will be considered again during the formal budget adoption process.

Ending: staff said they will continue evaluating classification and pay needs, revisiting 25% of classifications annually, and will return with any material changes as the budget process proceeds.