Encourage employees to take advantage of the educational reimbursement program to further their education in areas the city needs. This could reduce the expense for consultant on recurring issues.
The current city staff has excellent skills. Yet the city hires consultants for repetitive functions that add to the cost of operation. I believe that a broader mix of skills and knowledge could reduce the need for so many consultants. The city's educational reimbursement program could be used to enhance staff capabilities in specific areas that serve the city. By focusing on those areas of city needs, the city will benefit as well as the employee. For example, the planning staff could layout park sites, open spaces and amenities. They could draw on residents familiar with such things as trail design and landscape pallets. Public works employees could conduct street condition surveys. Of course, once those skills are in house a cost analysis to compare in house verses consultant needs to be done. Although this is done in some cases, the added skills of the employees could result in more cost effective solutions and the reduction on the current level of expensive consultants. This is especially pertinent for those situations where the same consultant is almost continuously retained. If that skill is continuously needed, perhaps a full time employee would be a better solution.
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