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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFY 2023 (Department of Public Works)DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS FY 2023 BUDGET AND OPERATIONS SYNOPSIS Troy Tanigawa Acting County Engineer 1. FY 2021 to FY 2022 BUDGET COMPARSION Funds: GENERAL FUNDS Department: PUBLIC WORKS FY 2022 FY 2023 $ + / - % + / - Salary and Wages 3,700,184 3,712,086 11,902 0.3% Benefits 2,109,196 2,453,798 344,602 16.3% Utilities 1,242,024 1,392,025 150,001 12.1% Vehicle/Equip, Lease 306,234 266,045 -40,189 -13.1% Operations 1,025,529 1,025,529 0 0.0% 8,383,167 8,849,483 466,316 5.6% FY 2022 Operating Budget • Salary and ■ Benefits Utilities • Vehicle/Eauio Lease Operations FY 2023 Operating Budget • Salary and Benefits Utilities ■ Vehicle/Equip, Lease Operations FY 2022 and FY 2023 4,000,00 0 3,500,00 0 3,000,00 0 o FY 2022 2,500,00 FY 2023 0 2,000,00 0 I� Salary and Benefits Utilities Vehicle/Equip Operations 1 Fund: HIGHWAY FUND Department: PUBLIC WORKS FY 2022 FY 2023 $ + / - % + / - Salary and Wages 5,043,166 5,299,912 256,746 5.1% Benefits 3,067,754 3,581,514 513,760 16.7% Utilities 584,630 584,630 0 0.0% Vehicle/Equip, Lease 1,308,444 1,363,435 54,991 4.2% Operations 3,755,976 3,755,976 0 0.0% 13,759,970 14,585,467 825,497 6.0% FY 2022 Operating Budget ■ Salary and Wages ■ Benefits 27% 37% Utilities vl� ■ Vehicle/Equip, Lease 22% 4%A Operations FY 2023 Operating Budget ■ Salary and Wages ■ Benefits 26% 36% Utilities Iv'j ■ Vehicle/Equip, Lease 4%42S% Operations FY 2022 and FY 2023 Comparison 6,000,000 5,000,000 4,000,000 3,000,000 2,000,000 1,000,000 0 Salary and Wages Benefits Utilities Vehicle/Equip, Operations Lease 0 FY 2022 p FY 2023 2 Fund: G.E. Tax FUND Department: PUBLIC WORKS FY 2022 FY 2023 $ + / - % + / - Salary and Wages 129,841 201,499 71,658 55.2% Benefits 77,317 128,478 51,161 66.2% Utilities 0 0 0 0.0% Vehicle/Equip, Lease 1 1 0 0.0% Operations 17,096,007 15,746,007 -1,350,000 -7.9% 17,303,166 16,075,985 -1,227,181 -7.1% FY 2022 Operating Budget na�.1 ■ Salary and Wages FY 2023 Operating Budget tkw ■ Salary and Wages Benefits Benefits Utilities Utilities ■ Vehicle/Equip, ■ Vehicle/Equip, 99% Lease 98% Lease Operations Operations FY 2022 and FY 2023 Comparison 18,000,000 16,000,000 14,000,000 12,000,000 10,000,000 0 FY 2022 8,000,000 p FY 2023 6,000,000 4,000,000 2,000,000 0 Salary and Wages Benefits Utilities Vehicle/Equip, Operations Lease 3 Fund: BEAUTIFICATION FUND Department: PUBLIC WORKS FY 2022 FY 2023 $ + / - % + / - Salary and Wages 0 0 0 0.0% Benefits 0 0 0 0.0% Utilities 0 0 0 0.0% Vehicle/Equip, Lease 0 0 0 0.0% Operations 402,660 402,660 0 0.0% 402,660 402,660 0 0.0% FY 2022 Operating Budget amwc ■ Salary and Wages Benefits Utilities ■ Vehicle/Equip, Lease 100% Operations FY 2023 Operating Budget Qp,8,dp� ■ Salary and Wages i Benefits Utilities ■ Vehicle/Equip, Lease 100% Operations FY 2022 and FY 2023 Comparison 450,000 400,000 350,000 300,000 250,000 200,000 150,000 100,000 50,000 0 Salary and Wages Benefits Utilities Vehicle/Equip, Operations Lease 0 FY 2022 p FY 2023 4 Fund: SOLID WASTE FUND Department: PUBLIC WORKS FY 2022 FY 2023 $ + / - % + / - Salary and Wages 4,713,023 4,671,947 -41,076 -0.9% Benefits 2,945,318 3,219,887 274,569 9.3% Utilities 92,731 98,231 5,500 5.9% Vehicle/Equip, Lease 2,732,641 3,111,117 378,476 13.9% Operations 11,967,868 12,482,685 514,817 4.3% 22,451,581 23,583,867 1,132,286 5.0% FY 2022 Operating Budget ■ Salary and Wages V■ Benefits 21% Utilities 53% ■ Vehicle/Equip, Lease 1% _ Operations 14,000,000 12,000,000 10,000,000 8,000,000 6,000,000 4,000,000 2,000,000 0 Salary and Wages FY 2023 Operating Budget ■ Salary and Wages ■ Benefits Utilities 53% V 106, ■ Vehicle/Equip, 0% Lease Operations FY 2022 and FY 2023 Comparison Benefits Utilities Vehicle/Equip, Operations Lease 0 FY 2022 9 FY 2023 5 Fund: SEWER FUND Department: PUBLIC WORKS FY 2022 FY 2023 $ + / - % + / - Salary and Wages 2,829,511 2,883,645 54,134 1.9% Benefits 1,736,018 1,885,278 149,260 8.6% Utilities 1,832,000 1,832,000 0 0.0% Vehicle/Equip, Lease 569,181 581,213 12,032 2.1% 0 FY 2022 Operating Budget ■ Salary and Wages ■ Benefits W-..m Utilities ■ Vehicle/Equip, Lease Operations 5% 1 2 21 1 1 nn /.5ZA. 2Qn 2 2% FY 2023 Operating Budget ■ Salary and Wages ■ Benefits 2% Utilities 14% -% ■ Vehicle/Equip, Lease Operations 4% FY 2022 and FY 2023 Comparison 7,000,000 6,000,000 5,000,000 4,000,000 0 FY 2022 3,000,000 p FY 2023 2,000,000 ■ 1,000,000 0 Salary and Wages Benefits Utilities Vehicle/Equip, Operations Lease I 2. MAJOR CHANGES AN Administration and Fiscal VARIANCES IN OPERATIONS BUDGET No major changes to the administration and fiscal's budget. We continue to develop a plan for our reorganization of DPW's operations. Building Division The Building Division's Administrative Section manages the Building Code compliance aspect of facility development and construction. The section prepares appropriate Building Code legislation for adoption to update the County Code as appropriate and also oversees the Building Codes Enforcement Section. Former Chief of Buildings and Construction Manager both retired effective October 1, 2021. The Administration is proceeding with a reorganization of the Building Division. At the time of these retirements, the following projects were not yet completed: Lydgate-Kapa'a Bike/Pedestrian Path, Ahukini-Lydgate Bike/Pedestrian Path, Nawiliwili-Ahukini Bike/Pedestrian Path, Kuna Bay-Anahola Bike/Pedestrian Path, Kapa'a Police Substation, Piikoi Renovation and & Kapule Building IT HVAC Renovation, TIGER Grant TGR-0700(073), Black Pot Beach Park Comfort Station Restoration FEMA#45587, and Ke Hale Makai Police Center. These projects were assigned to CIP Managers for completion. New code adoption requires training for plan review and inspection staff along with design professionals, developers, and contractors. With the advent of COVID-19 pandemic, however, no statewide training in conjunction with HACBO annual conference has been held since 2019. Building Division will look to provide training for staff via webinars as an alternative to in -person venues. Building Code Enforcement Section Program Measures/Evaluation Number of days for permits to be approved by Building Division: FY 2019 FY 2020 FY 2021 Residential 25 24 12.37 Commercial 40 7 17.47 Code Enforcement Inspections FY 2019 FY 2020 FY 2021 Building Code Inspections 4,638 6,306 9,153 Electrical Code Inspections 4,952 4,719 5,511 Plumbing Code Inspections 5,483 5,286 5,512 Total Code Inspections 17,761 18,839 20,176 Code Permits Issued FY 2019 FY 2020 FY 2021 Building Code Permits 1,407 1,429 2,164 Electrical Code Permits 2,020 1,677 2,287 Plumbing Code Permits 1,057 976 997 Sign Code Permits 396 317 102 Photovoltaic/Solar 743 928 1,444 Total Code Permits Issued 5,623 51327 6,994 7 Building Permit Valuations $244,201,413 $305,916,819 $391,309,902 The current budget reflects a significant variance in salary, wages, and benefits. This variance is a result of a reorganization —the transfer of three positions from other Departments and Divisions. This restructuring will provide a framework for greater capability on a Division -level to manage existing inventory of County assets (i.e. roads, easements, etc.), identify necessary maintenance projects and corresponding methods, and prioritize available funding to systematically implement those projects. Leadership will also focus on measures to improve the way business is conducted and accountability including but not limited to: 1) Develop/update legislation such as those to improve management of right of way issues, and 2) Implementation of policies and protocols for project inspection to promote consistent specification enforcement and a level playing field for outsourced services and construction projects. Engineering Division The only major change in Engineering Division's budget for FY2023 is the addition of lease payments for two four -wheel -drive crew cab pickup trucks, replacing existing vehicles 260 and 295 with four-wheel drive crew cab pickup trucks These trucks would be used by two of the Construction Inspectors in Engineering Division. In 2014 there were 7 vehicles in Engineering Division's inventory. During the intervening years, vehicles retired due to age have not been replaced, due to the fact that most staff are not daily drivers so they have been able to use motor pool vehicles. Vehicles 242, 276, 285, and 295 have now been retired at this time, leaving only 3 vehicles available for the Division (down from 7 vehicles). The two 4WD pickup trucks would replace vehicle 295 and vehicle 260, the latter of which would be retired once the new vehicle arrives. One inspector is currently driving a vehicle borrowed from the motor pool on a long-term basis, since vehicle 295 has already been retired. Inspectors need 4WD vehicles because on they drive on project sites with large grassy areas and open dirt areas daily. Pickup trucks are necessary as inspectors sometimes carry materials, testing equipment, and other items that should not be carried within a cabin of a vehicle. The crew cab sizes are necessary to carry project plans (each inspector typically has about 15 projects) and to occasionally carry additional staff to job sites. Roads Division B The focus of Roads Division budget is having the right equipment for our employees to do their job duties. Focusing on the fundamentals and basics. cnlirl Miacrp New automated and modified rear loader refuse collection trucks to replace the aging fleet made up the largest budget request for FY23. Existing fleet has reached their estimated useful life and the cumulative cost to maintain aged trucks and downtime costs including costs such as overtime compensation to complete collection routes, per CBA provisions, causes trash service costs to surpass the cost for a new collection truck. The proposed budget includes one (1) vehicle outright truck purchase at a cost of $445,000 and four (4) others to be leased at a total cost of $264,400 for the first -year payments. Due to increased tonnage, interest rates, airspace usage, and reassessment of funds already set E, aside, our Kekaha landfill financial assurance for FY23 is projected at $1,908,303. This is an increase $505,903 from FY22. This increase is critical to meet the County's obligation for EPA landfill closure requirements when the Kekaha landfill reaches capacity. SRF Loans increased by $204,813 due to the Kekaha landfill phase 2 expansion loan's amortization realization for FY23. $100,000 is requested to conduct new soil testing and create a remediation plan for the Puhi Metals Recycling Facility. Based on current and past year repair and maintenance needs at Kekaha Landfill, an increase of $95,000 is required in our Repairs & Maintenance landfill account to ensure continued operations. The inability to properly repair landfill equipment can lead to closures and loss of airspace due to improper compaction. The total landfill equipment R & M request is $226,000. $86,000 has been requested for household hazardous waste (HHW) bi-annual collection events under a new contract, and to implement a program to manage illegally disposed acetylene tanks. Total cost for HHW is $248,000. There are currently no local businesses in Hawai'i that manage acetylene tanks that have deteriorated (rust and corrosion) in Hawai'i's environment, so this is a high -cost material to manage properly. Due to operational cost increases including shipping and labor, the operator of the Puhi Metals Recycling Facility is requesting an increase of $7,000 per month or an additional $84,000 per year to continue automobile, scrap metal, white goods, and eWaste recycling. Current monthly contract cost is $78,000 to increase to $85,000 in FY23. FY23 would be the fifth year of a 10-year contract for which the price has not changed since the contract started. Puhi Metals is the only certified facility on Kauai to manage metals and eWaste. A $70,000 increase to a total of $100,000 has been requested for Recycling Grant in Aid per our Integrated Solid Waste Management plan to support the following: 1) Permits at Private Composting Facilities for Food Waste; 2) Plastic Processing Innovations on Island; 3) Food Waste to Animal Feed Waste Diversion; 4) Innovative Waste Diversion Proposals. A new landfill smooth drum roller is requested at a cost of $68,600 for the first of a five-year lease agreement. The drum roller will be used to improve working face compaction operations and for road construction and maintenance on -site. The roller paired with the new incoming grader will increase all weather access to the facility. Rental of a roller and grader are still required until the new equipment is released for use on Kaua'i. This process can take a significant amount of time due to manufacturing and shipping requirements. $55,000 has been requested to restock our residential Earth Machine Home Composters (868 units- One 40-foot container) that are provided to residents free of charge. The units are the most economical waste diversion program on Kauai, diverting approximately 1 ton of material per unit per year at an average cost of $5 per ton over the life of the unit The estimated lifespan of the composters is 10 years. Improved storm water BMP's will be installed at the Kekaha landfill at a cost of $50,000. Storm water releases are not allowed at the Kekaha landfill. Any release could carry a fine of up to $25,000 per day. E $25,000 is requested for the purchase of an excavator sifting bucket for use at the Paua landfill cover soil collection site. The bucket is used to sift soil from rocks and other large material buried at the site. Wastewater Division The major changes in Wastewater Division's budget for are as follows: $50,000.00 increase in overtime for our electrician standby. Numerous emergency call outs require electricians to be present to assist with motor controls, motors, and electrical failures. An available electrician for emergencies will save time and reduce emergency repair costs. $200,000.00 Additional Consultant Services to cover various, emergency and nonemergency DOH compliance testing and reporting requirements (UIC testing, Outfall compliance, Spills, etc.). So far this fiscal year this contract was used to set up permit renewals for injection wells at three of our plants. We have set up on call CM services for emergency work and traffic control services for closures that happen for a week or longer. We also have used this contract for designs to repair our 'Ele'ele Plant generator exhaust and design to install an effluent pump at the Wailua Treatment Plant. Currently $200,000.00 has been funded for Wastewater with the Roads Division who contracted an open-ended consultant service with Bowers+Kubota. The $200,000.00 will be reflected as additional funding under Consultant Services for FY 2022-23. $120,000.00 addition in Consultant Services to address rising costs for: • $25,000.00 for Emergency generator maintenance and repairs, • $50,000.00 increase for disposal fees ($50K) to Hartung for effluent directed to the Waimea isolation ditch, • $45,000.00 increase for elevator inspection fees ($45K) for our 20 SPS that needs to be done to meet compliance $31,000.00 addition to the current R&M Equipment budget to maintain essential treatment process equipment at Lihue: $40,000.00 to replace the Aqua Disk filters at Lihue WWTP $44,000.00 addition to replace the second blower at Lihue WWTP Deduct $53,000.00 for equipment replaced in FY 21 Deduct $400,000.00 from Contractual Repairs — SCADA Service contract executed in FY 21 $250,000.00 increase to Loans for: • $150,000.00 — 1st Year of 20-year SRF loan for Waimea WWTP R-1 Storage Tank and Distribution System • $100,000.00 — Vt Year of 20-year SRF loan for Wailua SPS 1 Rehabilitation $9,230.00 increase to various training, travel accounts to restore PRE-Covid training. $124,000.00 increase to Other Supplies to adjust for rising supplies and additional required laboratory testing equipment and costs. • $25,000.00 Additional laboratory supplies • $49,000.00 Additional costs for Chlorine for both Lihue and Waimea WWTP 1C • $20,000.00 Additional hygiene supplies (covid and additional DOH requirements) • $30,000.00 Additional laboratory equipment and testing supplies. $3,000.00 increase to Collective Bargaining line item for additional PPE equipment required by collective bargaining agreement Net Add $12,032.00 from Leased Account 3. OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES Administration and Fiscal Attracting qualified candidates for division leadership positions is very challenging. Compensation remains a significant factor. Building Division Following the 2020 retirement of the Office Manager, this position was eliminated from Building Division. As a result, our Code Enforcement and Permit Operations Clerk has taken on the duties of Office Manager in addition to her regularly assigned tasks. We've had challenges filling two clerical vacancies due to lack of qualified applicants. The Building Division Board of Appeals is authorized to have seven individuals but there are currently no members. Requests for alternative methods, materials and construction that are not part of the current codes are reviewed on a case -by -case basis by the Acting County Engineer. When pandemic restrictions ease, we look to working with Boards and Commissions to fill these vacancies. The Hawai'i Insurance Bureau completed the Building Code Effectiveness Grading Schedule (BCEGS) survey on January 27, 2022 and rated the County of Kaua'i at 9 for 1- and 2-family residential properties and 9 for commercial and industrial properties on a scale from 1 to 10 (best to worst). Areas of weakness identified were as follows: a. A key task to improving a BCEGS grade is to adopt the latest building code. The County of Kaua'i currently enforces the 2012 IBC/IRC, but optimal would be the 2021 code editions. The latest codes for electrical, plumbing and 1- and 2- family residential codes are also important. b. Training expenditures for Building Departments should be at least 2% of operating budget, with incentives available for those employees who seek additional training. c. Code enforcement certifications from building associations such as International Code Council (ICC) should be required for each employee within their field of work. d. Current staffing of two building plans examiners is insufficient. A premium is placed on building plan reviews as an efficient method to enforce code. e. In order to improve our services, current code editions must be adopted and code enforcement staffing needs to increase. Training and personnel certification were also identified as areas that need to be addressed. The aforementioned DPW reorganization will be the initial step to address the staffing issue. 11 An increase in permits issued with staff shortages resulted in a lack of personnel to investigate, report and issue code enforcement notices of violation. As the priority has been to support permit processing and inspection for County issued permits, additional staff hours are needed to manage this important component of Building Division. Engineering Division Engineering Division continues to have staffing shortages, affecting Division operations and project management. Fortunately, we were able to hire two junior Civil Engineers between October 2021 and January 2022. This has reduced staffing challenges and there are currently no vacant positions. However, two of the three incumbents in Section Chief (Civil Engineer VI) positions are temporarily assigned to other positions, as follows: • The Project Management Section Chief is temporarily assigned to be the Acting County Engineer. A Civil Engineer V in Engineering Division is temporarily assigned to be Project Management Section Chief. • The Construction Section Chief is temporarily assigned to be Wastewater Division Chief. There are no available staff to be temporarily assigned to be Construction Section Chief at this time. The consequences of these temporary assignments are as follows: • The Engineering Division Chief must take over many of the Construction Section Chief duties including managing staff, making even minor construction management decisions, and more. He must also assist as the Project Management Section Chief as he learns his new role. These additional duties make it extremely difficult to keep up with normal duties, resulting in delays to County projects, outgoing letters for reviews of private development projects, and more. • The Acting Project Management Section Chief must spend time managing the section. This gives him less time to manage his projects, so some of his less urgent projects are on hold. • The Civil Engineer III in Construction Section must take on some of the duties of the Construction Section Chief related to private development. This makes him less available to manage County projects. Projects that would have been assigned to him remain on hold. • Our Regulatory Section is currently fully staffed, but due to the shortage in project managers, the Regulatory Section Chief and one other Regulatory staff member have been asked to assist with design and project management of County projects. As a result, reviews of private plans are delayed. • When the Chief of Buildings retired from Building Division, three of his projects related to Ke Ala Hele Makalae were transitioned to Engineering Division. While Engineering Division is the correct place for these projects to be managed, because these projects are all in or approaching the construction phase they require a lot of staff time to manage. Therefore, all project management staff are being pulled away from other, less urgent projects. Engineering Division must be fully staffed to adequately manage all County projects and keep them on schedule. Roads Division B Roads Division continues to face the ever-growing challenges of maintaining road safety by keeping vegetation in check without using herbicides. Over the years, the reduction of spraying directly increased the need for mechanical and manual labor to keep up with the quick growing vegetation like Guinea grass. Maintaining sufficient staffing levels is a constant challenge. 12 Cnlirl \A/acta Equipment breakdowns have been a challenge for all operational arms of the division including Kekaha Landfill, Transfer Stations, and Refuse Collection. The new equipment purchases and sufficient funding for equipment repairs are essential for maintaining operational efficiencies and employee morale as well as decrease the need for overtime to catch up or cover for services affected by equipment failures. Solid Waste has open positions for Division Chief and a Solid Waste Engineer. • There has not been a permanent Division Chief for longer than 9 months since January of 2017. With the position open and in flux for so long, Allison Fraley and Keola Aki have assumed administrative duties of the Chief, making it extremely difficult to keep up assigned duties under their PDs. This has resulted in delay is planned projects and programs, procurements, and has limited the ability expand diversion programs. Operations has suffered without the guidance of a permanent Division Chief to prioritize and organize the needs of the three operational arms. • Solid Waste has attempted to hire the vacant Civil Engineer position at various levels successfully since 2018. The recommendation is to convert the position to a Principal Project Manager (PPM) to support ongoing administrative needs. It is anticipated that a PPM position would be much easier to fill. Engineering tasks will be managed through existing professional contracts. In December of 2019, the County terminated Waste Management's Contract and took over operations at Kekaha Landfill. When this decision was made, the Division proposed that the County hire two landfill mechanics, a clerk, and an on site Engineer. While we have Geosyntec performing Engineering tasks, the other proposed positions are critical for efficient operations at the landfill. Mechanic and clerical work are primarily accomplished by private vendors or service contractors but is not optimal. Certified and or qualified professionals on -staff would increase efficiency and reduce time required to complete tasks. Wastewater Division Wastewater Division major challenges are to keep up with complex process wastewater facilities and equipment over 40 years old: • Implement Much Needed Deferred Maintenance Projects to Avoid Consent Decrees • Prepare for Future Growth and Wastewater Needs • Strive for Financial Sustainability • Provide Reliable Service Wastewater Division challenges continue to justify and reinstate strategic staff positions to reduce outsourcing and administrative overtime: • Operations require the reinstatement of two positions to increase productivity, efficiency, reduce operational costs and support our objective to eliminate potential environmental pollution. Adding two strategic positions will allow more coverage during off hours and 13 provide a buddy system where mutual partners share in heavy work and safety when working in the hazardous conditions that these wastewater employees are constantly exposed to. • Wastewater Division needs a permanent Office Executive Administrator to assist with the numerous monthly, annual and special compliance reports as well as compliance reporting requirements for emergency wastewater spills. This position would also be tasked with managing the daily operation of the Wastewater Division office including primary office procurement to stock materials and supplies. 4. TOP 3 OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS FROM FY 2022 Solid Waste Division • Extensive National Pollutant Discharge Elimination (NPDES) improvements were made in- house at all Transfer Stations in FY22. These improvements were an important stopgap measure to ensure compliance under current NPDES permit requirements. New permanent storm water diversion improvements are scheduled to be constructed in FY23. The improved construction at the Transfer Stations will permanently improve storm water diversion and guarantee future compliance with NPDES permits. • The Solid Waste Division is still able to operate a 7-day a week operation at a high level of service for residents and businesses of Kaua'i in spite of extensive equipment downtime explained in our budget requests. • Landfill staff continue to work in support of each other to promote a close-knit work environment highlighted by community events such as the Kekaha Landfill winter celebration that saw hundreds of visitors to the landfill providing a west side event unlike any other on the island. 14