Consultants tell Lake Elmo public works staffing has lagged service growth; recommend two operators, one lead and CMMS adoption

Consultants from Raftelis presented an operational assessment of Lake Elmo’s Public Works department on May 20, concluding that workload growth since 2019 has substantially outpaced staffing increases and that the city should prioritize several operational and staffing changes.

Raftelis vice president Scott Parker and project manager Brian Kirsch said the department provides “a high level of service” today, but that the volume of assets and customers has risen sharply. Consultants cited city figures showing a rise from roughly 1,000 water accounts in 2013 to about 3,600 today and major increases in sewer accounts and pipe mileage since 2019. The consultants said those trends create growing operational stress, particularly given the same or similar operator headcount in place since 2019.

Key recommendations presented in the report included: - Add two operators and a second lead operator (recommend filling the lead operator and one operator position in the current budget year, and add another operator in the following year) to reduce span‑of‑control pressure and increase system familiarity. Raftelis said the second lead would permit splitting summer work groups and reduce supervisory stretch. - Designate approximately six utility specialists from the operator ranks to concentrate water and sewer operational expertise and rotate on‑call duties among them; consider modest incentives for the extra responsibility. - Implement Beehive (the city’s current asset management tool) as a full computerized maintenance management system (CMMS), issue field tablets so staff can receive and close work orders in the field, and use CMMS data to document workloads and justify future FTE changes. - Create an annual work plan to schedule recurring seasonal work (valve exercising, jetting, paving, large projects) and to set minimum staffing levels and PTO rules for high‑demand periods. - Consider hiring an administrative assistant to relieve administrative tasks from directors and to support permitting, work‑order administration and recordkeeping. - Move light vehicle maintenance to a contracted certified mechanic or hire a certified mechanic only if workload justifies a full‑time position; Raftelis cautioned about liability and cost issues with in‑house non‑certified maintenance. - Continue developing a parks‑management scope and, before creating a separate parks department, define the role and responsibilities of a parks director or manager. - Strengthen safety culture with standard operating procedures and reporting channels for unsafe activity.

Council discussion focused on how to balance immediate staffing additions with better data collection. Several members said they want objective workload metrics to support hiring decisions; consultants and staff agreed that implementing CMMS work orders and collecting task‑level time data will produce the evidence needed to calibrate future hires. Public Works Director Marty (surname not specified in transcript) told council staff are already beginning to adopt the consultants’ recommendations—Beehive work orders are being rolled out and staff will track tasks and times to build an internal data set.

What happens next: Raftelis recommended the city aim to fill at least two positions in the coming fiscal year (lead operator and one operator) and monitor CMMS data to determine the need for additional hires. The council and staff flagged several follow‑up steps for implementation and budget planning.

Ending: The assessment framed the staffing recommendations as responses to documented growth in accounts and pipe length since 2019 and as contingent on continued CMMS and work‑plan implementation to provide objective workload evidence.