Council approves 3-year time-limited position to shore up wastewater plant staffing

The Saint Helena City Council on Aug. 26 authorized recruitment for a wastewater treatment plant operator and approved a three-year time-limited term to maintain continuity in the chief plant operator role while the city conducts a full recruitment process. Council members raised concerns about succession, workforce continuity and the fiscal impact of converting positions.

Acting City Manager Leach told the council the proposed 0.29 FTE appointment responds to recruitment challenges and would preserve institutional knowledge during the plant upgrades: “we had a a really outstanding candidate, mister, Phil Stark,” he said, describing a contract arrangement used to retain services while backfilling operational needs.

Council member Barrick pushed for safeguards to prevent the interim model from becoming permanent and recommended a limited-term approach. Staff and council discussed converting some duties to Operator 1/2 positions and grooming internal staff for future promotion. Leach said the city expects the change to be “net neutral fiscally” for the foreseeable fiscal year, but acknowledged uncertainty about longer-term staffing needs.

The council voted to approve the recruitment and the amendment establishing a three-year TLT for the entry-level operator-in-training position. The motion also preserves the city’s ability to pursue housing or other recruitment incentives to attract a full-time chief operator.

Next steps: staff will proceed with the recruitment under the TLT terms and continue shepherding certification and succession for existing staff identified as promotion candidates.