City staff outline HR budget pressures and multiyear labor bargaining schedule ahead of mayor’s budget

City human-resources and budget staff told the Labor and Workforce Development Committee April 24 that the Bureau of Human Resources faces capacity constraints to implement recent collective-bargaining agreements, administer benefits and complete a backlog of payroll and classification system changes.

Tracy Warren, Human Resources Director, said a large share of the bureau’s external materials and services budget covers the city’s self-funded health plan and vendor payments, and pointed to roughly $2.9 million budgeted for "other services" that includes Summer Works and contracted classification-and-compensation work. Warren said the bureau contracted for outside help because of a large configuration backlog and limited in-house capacity: "We basically had a queue of about 70 ish or so items that needed to be configured in the system," she said.

Warren told committee members Evergreen…