Porterville council approves consolidation of planning and engineering; 19 positions at risk amid plan to outsource technical work

The Porterville City Council voted 4-1 on March 17 to approve a proposed reorganization consolidating the Community Development, Engineering and Project Management departments into a single Planning and Engineering Department and authorizing a new service-delivery model that relies on outside consultants for many technical functions.

City Manager Richard Tree told the council the model is aimed at “fixing how development services are delivered” by aligning staff to workload, improving responsiveness and establishing a clear point of accountability. Tree said the proposal is intended to be “net 0 initially,” and that the city will begin a meet-and-confer process with affected bargaining units before final personnel actions are taken.

Opponents — including many City of Porterville employees who spoke during the public comment period — said the plan will strip institutional knowledge from the city and harm response times and local relationships. “All we ask is that we feel heard, respected, and represented by the leaders entrusted with serving us,” said Rosa Lopez, who identified herself as a city employee. Assistant engineer Leo Hernandez described tools and workflow changes his team has implemented and warned the council that outsourcing risks losing local expertise gained over decades.

Council discussion repeatedly referenced the city’s fiscal challenges and the need to grow the tax base. Vice Mayor AJ McCurvey, who moved to adopt the reorganization, said the city must change course to address deficits and speed development, while acknowledging the human toll of the proposal. “We have to be careful not to hurt good people,” McCurvey said, and he urged staff to follow law and personnel rules in implementing changes.

Councilman Raymond Beltran voiced procedural concerns and asked for more comparative data about cities that have used similar models; he urged additional analysis and expressed worry about losing long-standing capabilities such as GIS. Several speakers from the floor gave specific examples of work they perform — Rachel Ginsberg, the city’s GIS supervisor, said her data supports police and fire dispatch and “provides a centralized database that reduces duplicating data used by all departments.”

Mayor Meister and other supporters emphasized that the change will be phased and that the city will seek to place affected staff where possible. The council recorded a 4-1 vote in favor of the consolidation; a formal motion included authorization for staff to implement the organizational change and to complete meet-and-confer with affected labor units.

The decision sets in motion a series of next steps: staff said it will initiate meet-and-confer discussions, evaluate internal placement opportunities for impacted employees consistent with personnel policies, and review developer fees so charges better reflect the cost of service. Opponents said the council should publish more detailed cost comparisons and a transition timeline before outsourcing plan review and inspections to outside firms.

The council’s action does not immediately terminate positions; staff said the process will follow labor agreements and personnel rules. Councilmembers also noted they can revisit the approach if the results do not meet expectations.

The council meeting drew an unusually large public turnout, with dozens of residents and city employees speaking during oral communications about the proposal. The council emphasized the meeting was a step in a longer process that includes additional staff analysis and labor negotiations.