Municipal services presents staffing, facility and IT priorities; seeks building‑stewardship and transparency work

Municipal Services Director Pam Johns presented a department focus report to the Idaho Falls City Council on Sept. 2 that covered personnel, facilities, information technology, utility billing and the Frontier Center for the Performing Arts.

The presentation outlined the division’s responsibilities — finance administration, utilities, equipment and building maintenance, IT, and the Frontier Center — and noted 78 full‑time positions in the department, including five pre‑hired ERP staff supporting the city’s Workday implementation. Johns said municipal services organized staff career paths (technician/accountant levels) to improve retention and recruit entry‑level workers into professional ladders.

Information technology: Joseph (identified in the presentation as the city’s chief information technology officer) told council IT’s FY budget is roughly $3.6 million and that 14 positions make up the division. Major upcoming projects include the ERP move, a website refresh for the next mayor and council, and replacement of a phone system that has passed vendor support. Joseph said departments are already looking at AI functionality built into new software and that the city needs usage policy guidance: “There’s a lot of programming and setting up that equipment… any new software… lots of new phones in AI,” he said; the mayor and council discussed the need for an AI policy and controls for staff use.

Treasury and utility billing: Mark Hagedorn, city treasurer, said the treasurer’s office oversees treasury operations and utility billing. The presentation described steps to improve staff safety at the customer counter (panic buttons, cameras, and potential lobby reconfiguration) and noted large‑volume month‑to‑month account activity that requires daily reconciliation. Utility billing staff handle many hostile customer interactions tied to disconnects and work to refer customers to community support services when appropriate; staff also highlighted a 24/7 payment kiosk to help customers who cannot visit during business hours.

Equipment and building maintenance: Workshop Superintendent Stan (surname not specified) described an 18‑bay, 20,000 sq. ft. equipment maintenance facility that maintains roughly 863 large vehicles and 350 small pieces of equipment. The city also jointly manages a fuel facility for the county and maintains remote fuel tanks. Stan said technician recruitment is difficult nationwide and the city has instituted apprenticeship and certification programs to grow staff. Building Maintenance Superintendent Alan Muir said his team maintains more than 300 city buildings, is prioritizing a building stewardship plan, and plans projects such as a City Hall basement restroom upgrade and an aquatic center boiler replacement.

Frontier Center and finance: Staff described a $737,000 budget for the Frontier Center, an active booking schedule and benchmarking work for rental rates. Finance staff said modernization (Workday) should reduce manual accounting work, improve fixed asset accounting and make policies and procedures more consistent.

Staffing and next steps: Several presenters stressed workforce pressures for licensed trades and technicians, and staff flagged facility and workspace needs for project staff if the ERP team returns to the main campus. The department asked council to expect future budget requests for a controlled‑access IT position, facility work and potentially an assistant auditorium manager for the Frontier Center.

Ending: Council members thanked staff for the report and praised the budgeting and career‑path initiatives. No formal council action was recorded on the focus report during the Sept. 2 meeting.