HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A study to look over the operations of the Hutchinson Public Works, Engineering, and Parks divisions continues. This comes after the original findings were not entirely what the city was looking for.
“The city has had additional conversations with the consultant so that we can cover several specific aspects that are perhaps unique to our organization,” City Manager Jeff Cantrell said. “We wanted to make sure that was included in the product that goes back to the governing body.”
Cantrell says the firm conducting the study did not fully take into account the city’s operations in several areas, including the airport.
“That did add complexity to the review,” Cantrell said. “That didn’t encompass all of the issues we had, but that was a big part of it.”
Cantrell says the other issues dealt with the flexibility the city has when it schedules employees and the ability to have employees on-call when needed.
“That was one of the areas where it was important to understand the staffing ratios and the profile that we have to maintain,” Cantrell said.
The study was discussed by the city council and other departments before sending the concerns back to the firm. The $80,000 study was made at the request of the council to look at the operations of the three departments to see if there was any room for improvement in operations or efficiencies.
Raftelis Group, the firm conducting the study, met with each department and the department heads during a visit in the summer. Human Resources Director Tom Sanders says the study compared Hutchinson to like-cities to see how those operations are similar and different.
The findings of the study were to be presented to the council in late fall of this year. The plan is now to have the revised report ready for the council in January.
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