The City of Goleta has made several organizational changes aimed at addressing its work efforts and challenges with staffing.
The City Council last week unanimously approved a reorganization affecting the City Manager’s Office and the Finance, Neighborhood Services and Public Safety, and Planning and Environmental Review departments, as well as creating a new General Services Department.
“We have a plan before us that makes sense,” City Councilman Roger Aceves said. “This paradigm shift is significant … This is the perfect time as we come out of this recession to evolve and see how we can do our job better in providing services to the city.”
The council also approved reclassifying specific positions at the July 20 regular meeting.
The General Services Department is focused on ensuring that city employees have the space, resources and equipment they need to carry out their primary mission, according to a staff report. Scroll down for the staff report.
Specifically, the department will oversee a comprehensive facilities program related to Goleta’s growing portfolio of buildings, Assistant City Manager Kristine Schmidt said.
Councilman Stuart Kasdin said he likes the idea of a General Services Department.
“It’s a terrific idea to get efficiencies, to concentrate, get some expertise, and free some of the other departments from having to do those sort of activities,” he said.
Schmidt said the recommendations on organizational changes are the result of a “good deal of thought and informed by a number of references and issues,” including the expanding role of the Planning and Environmental Review Department to encompass a new focus on affordable housing and enhanced sustainability.
Recommendations came from brainstorming with staff about municipal operations that need more focused attention, including property management, facilities maintenance, fleet maintenance and information technology.
Additionally, recommendations stemmed from a survey of the structures of more than 50 other California cities and the opportunity to rethink Goleta operations with the retirement of Neighborhood Services and Public Safety director Vyto Adomaitis, who stepped down in February after nearly two decades with the city.
Goleta staff will continue to assess the city’s needs and look for opportunities to make enhancements and “fine-tune things as we go forward,” City Manager Michelle Greene told the City Council.
“We feel this proposed structure reflects the city’s current needs, and gets us farther along in our process of becoming more streamlined and efficient,” she said. “The city is always changing, and these won’t be the end of our recommendations for organizational changes.”
— Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at bholland@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
