Model Staffing Analysis

Classified Details

Classified ID

644

Description

I. Purpose
The City of Winooski is seeking proposals from qualified consultants to help determine the appropriate level of staffing for the respective departments within the City organization to meet its operational requirements now and into the foreseeable future and help develop strategies that utilize staff in the most effective manner.

II. Background
The community: The City of Winooski is 1.5 square miles with a population of 7,997 (U.S. Census, 2020). It is located in Chittenden County, Vermont, next to Vermont’s largest city, Burlington. Winooski is a vibrant place with a growing economic base. It has the most racially diverse population in the northern New England states with 29 percent of its residents indicating their race as other than white alone. Winooski is a refugee resettlement community and owes much of its ethnic diversity to that fact, with residents hailing from over 20 different countries of origin, and speaking a multitude of languages including (but not limited to) Arabic, Burmese, French, Karen, Nepali, Pashto, Kirundi, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, and Vietnamese. Winooski is a community of people who feel a strong sense of community pride and ownership, and actively engage in continuously building the high quality of life found in the city. 21 percent of Winooski residents live in poverty, among the highest in the county. There are 3,844 housing units, of which 30% are owner-occupied, among the lowest in the state.
The City organization: Winooski is a full-service municipality providing the following services: City Clerk, finance; communications; fire; code enforcement; community services: parks, recreation, senior center, after/out of school programming, library, pool; planning & zoning; housing initiatives; police, dispatch; public works: highway, water, wastewater; and assessing.
The City has approximately 55 regular employees, and an additional 63 part-time non-regular employees. The recently adopted fiscal year 2024-2025 budget is about $11 million.
An 8-year community-driven Strategic Vision and Master Plan set, in 2019, goals for smart growth as the city seeks to be sustainable and to retain access and affordability for residents across the income spectrum and from diverse backgrounds. The goal areas are:
• Economic vitality
• Municipal infrastructure
• Housing
• Safe, Healthy, Connected People
The City is a charter municipality and utilizes the City Council/City Manager form of government. Registered voters elect one Mayor for a three year term and four Councilors for two-year terms each. The City Manager is appointed by the City Council and serves as the chief executive officer of the City and is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the City.

III. Scope
The Consultant will conduct Staffing Model Analysis that will be composed of:
1. Analyzing current conditions*, such as, but not limited to:
a. A review of services offered, how functions operate and are resourced, and policies and procedures;
b. Identifying redundancies and opportunities for efficiencies in workflow processes, staffing, and/or service delivery;
c. Describing periodicity and/or seasonality of workloads by department;
d. Identifying which departments are the most stressed and most at risk for burnout; and
e. Specifying by department where there are deficiencies; while
f. Taking into account actual versus budgeted for staffing levels, i.e. to what degree stress and/or deficiencies may be addressed if a department was fully staffed to the budget.
2. Benchmarking: Describe the gap between a) needs and what is typical in comparable municipalities against those needs (which may require looking outside the State of Vermont) and b) the City of Winooski’s current performance.
3. Recommending improvements to current operations and processes that:
a. Improve operational efficiency, and
b. They are based on national standards where available, and/or good practices from other communities, while
c. Maintaining sufficient staffing to effectively serve Winooskians, and
d. Do not rely on significant increases to the budget.
4. Assessment of trends and future service demands that could affect demands on services, such as changes in the Grand List, economic activity, demographics, and other metrics recommended by the consultant.
5. Recommending future-supportive tools, such as:
a. A staffing matrix for future needs based on standards/good practices, trends and future service demands.
b. Alternative staffing matrices are based on various budget scenarios as advised by the City.
c. A methodology for the annual review and evaluation of the ongoing staffing and compensation needs of the City.
*Available data sources include:
1. Job descriptions
2. Organizational charts from annual reports
3. City plans, prioritizing those identified by department heads as more important
4. Timecards (note some exempt staff have not historically recorded their actual hours worked)
5. Departmental policies and procedures
6. Grand List records
7. Financial audits (especially for revenue and budget history)
8. U.S. Census data (American Community Survey data is not accurate enough for our population size)
9. VLCT Welcoming & Engaging Communities culture survey
10. Some quantitative data available for some departments on service delivery volume
11. Current pay plan rubric
We expect the consultant will gather representative staff input e.g. via survey, interview, and/or focus group, for qualitative data to contextualize what quantitative data is available, and inform where there is no quantitative data available.

IV. Submission instructions
All proposals must include the following information:
A. Completed bid form
B. Resumes showing related experience
Proposals are due by 1:00 PM, Friday, April 5th, 2024. All documents must be submitted on hard copy, in a sealed envelope with, “Proposal: City of Winooski Staffing Model Analysis” written on the outside. Proposals may be hand-delivered, or mailed to, or put in the drop box at 27 West Allen Street, Winooski, Vermont 05404, Attention: Human Resources.

V. Project Timeline
Proposals are due by 1:00 PM on Friday, April 5th, 2024. Proposals will be opened at that time at 27 W Allen St, Winooski VT 05404. This will be public. Participation may be in person, via Zoom, including a call-in only number.
Target award date: Tuesday, April 9th, 2024.
Target final report due date: Monday, June 3rd, 2024.

VI. Questions
Questions are to be addressed to Jesse Acri, Human Resources Director, at jacri@winooskivt.gov, with “Staffing Analysis RFP Question(s)” in the subject line. Those without this subject line may be missed. All questions and answers will be posted to the City’s website at https://www.winooskivt.gov/bids.
VII. Selection Process and Evaluation Criteria
The City intends to “short-list” firms responding to this RFP and may interview one or more firms to better assess their qualifications. The City will negotiate a scope of services and a fee proposal with the selected firm. The City will evaluate and select the firm based on qualifications, experience and performance with similar projects, communities, references, ability to provide timely services, opportunities and constraints, and cost. The selected firm must be able to meet all municipal, state and federal affirmative action and equal employment opportunity practices and guidelines.

VIII. RFP Administration
As the City determines appropriate, it will issue addenda to supplement this RFP. Addenda will be posted on our website at https://www.winooskivt.gov/bids.
All submissions will become the property of the City of Winooski.
This RFP solicitation is issued by the City of Winooski. As the City’s best interests may require, the City reserves the right to terminate, modify or suspend the process, reject any or all submittals, modify the terms and conditions of this selection process and/or waive informalities in any submission, all as the best interests of the City may appear. The administrator for this selection process is responsible for coordination of the procedures and rules specified in this RFP, managing this process and all other matters related to this process. The RFP administrator will serve as the primary intermediary between the proposers and the City.
The City reserves the right to issue contracts to multiple vendors.
The City will not accept any unsolicited information, in any form whatsoever, from bidders after the proposal due date.
A. General Conditions
Submission of a Proposal indicates the Respondent agrees to the terms, conditions, and other provisions contained in this document and any other proposal documents, unless the Respondent clearly and specifically presents in its Proposal any exceptions to the terms, conditions, and other provisions contained in the proposal documents. Exceptions presented in a Proposal shall not be incorporated into a contract between the City and the selected Respondent unless and until the City agrees to accept such exceptions. No oral statements or any person shall modify or otherwise change or affect terms, conditions, or specifications stated in the Proposal documents or the resulting contract.
B. No Contract
By submitting a Proposal and participating in the process as outlined in these proposal documents, respondents expressly agree that no contract of any kind is formed, or arises from, these proposal documents, prior to the signing of a formal written contract.
C. Respondents Expenses
Respondents are solely responsible for their own expenses in preparing and submitting proposals, and for any meetings, negotiations or discussions with the City or its representatives and consultants, relating to or arising from these Proposal documents. The City and its representatives, agents, consultants and advisors will not be liable to any Respondent for any claims, whether for cost, expenses, losses or damages, or loss of anticipated profits, or for any other matter whatsoever, incurred by the Respondent in preparing and submitting a Proposal, or participating in negotiations for a Contract, or other activity related to or arising out of these Proposal documents. All supporting documentation and manuals submitted with a Proposal will become the property of the City of Winooski unless otherwise requested by the Respondent at the time of submission.
D. Conflict of Interest
Respondents shall disclose any potential conflicts of interest and existing business relationships they may have with the City. If requested by the City, respondents should provide all pertinent information regarding ownership of their company within two (2) days of the City’s request.
E. Solicitation of Council Members
Respondents and their agents shall not contact any member of the City Council or City staff with respect to these Proposal documents at any time prior to the award of a contract or the termination of these Proposal documents. The City may reject the Proposal of any Respondent that makes such contact.
F. Independent Contractor
It is expressly agreed and understood that the vendor selected is, in all respects, an independent contractor, and that the vendor is in no respect an agent, servant, or employee of the City; however, in certain respects, the vendor is bound to follow the directions of the City’s appointed designee. To that end, the Respondent shall determine the method, details, and means of doing the work. However, all work shall conform to all applicable federal, state, county, and local requirements. The contractor is assumed to be familiar with all federal, state, and local laws, ordinances, rules and regulations that in any manner affect the work. Ignorance on the part of the Contractor will in no way relieve it from responsibility. The parties agree that the Respondent or its Principal is an employee of the City or any of its departments, agencies, or related entities. The parties also agree that neither the Respondent nor its Principal are entitled to any employee benefits from the City including but not limited to worker’s compensation benefits, health insurance, dental insurance, life insurance, or any other benefit plan offered by the City. The Respondent agrees to execute any certifications or other documents and provide any certificates of insurance required by the City and understands this contract is conditioned on its doing so, if requested. The Respondent understands and agrees that it is responsible for the payment of all taxes on the above sums and that the City will not withhold or pay for Social Security, Medicare, or other taxes or benefits or be responsible for any unemployment benefits.
G. Indemnification
The Contractor will act in an independent capacity and not as an officer or employee of the City. The Contractor shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless the City and its officers, agents and employees from liability and any claims, suits, expenses, losses, judgments, and damages arising as a result of the Contractor’s negligent acts and/or omissions in the performance of this contract, including acts or omissions of the City or its officers, agents or employees in connection with said contract.

Title

Model Staffing Analysis

Salary Range

to

Application Deadline

04/10/2024

Location

Winooski, VT

Application URL

https://www.winooskivt.gov/ 

Contact Information

Name

Acri, Jesse

Phone Number

(802) 655-6410

Email

jacri@winooskivt.gov 

Best Method of Contact

EMAIL