During the Levelland City Council’s regular meeting Monday, the group was presented possible organizational changes by City Manager James Fisher for approval.
Calling the city employees the backbone of the organization, Fisher highlighted their efforts and explained it is because of those individuals the city can exceed the expectations of the community.
Following his first year, Fisher noticed areas that needed adjustment and some areas that needed changes. With several in depth projects on the horizon for this year, that also increased the importance in moving forward with possible changes.
The first area highlighted was a compensation review of all positions. An RFP (Request For Proposal) has been prepared to solicit information regarding the city positions.
Fisher added that over the past year, there has been key positions filled, but they had to be paid more than the previous employee.
“It is no secret that traditionally a new person will make more than the former incumbent, but I want to make sure we are taking care of our employees,” explained Fisher. “It costs more than dollars when we lose employees and I would like to make sure we are not only competitive dollar wise, but benefit wise as well.”
The second area addressed was the need to look at positions and responsibilities of employees.
“We have several employees that are the only ones in their department and they preform critical tasks for the organization and community on a daily basis,” said Fisher. “We also have numerous employees who are eligible to retire within the next five years and it may take threeto- five (years) to get new employees up to speed, not including the loss of institutional knowledge.”
Fisher suggested crosstraining programs or hiring additional personnel to learn said functions and, or take some of the load off of their daily tasks. He added that separation of duties and responsibilities provides an invaluable opportunity for continuity of operations and instills integrity with accountability.
An additional area of concern falls within the pay scale of the LPD (Levelland Police Department).
“It was discovered in late 2024, the pay scale of the LPD was limited in scope and that might be a factor in the city’s recruitment and retention,” explained Fisher.
He stated the LPD along with HR (Human Resources) have worked together to address the challenges and created a pay scale that is fair, balanced and attractive for current, future employees.
The impact of the adjustment is roughly $130,000 to the budget, but will be absorbed in the Fiscal Year 2025 Annual Budget due to vacancies. Fisher did acknowledge that the amount will become a factor in future budgets.
The fourth area addressed was within the Public Works Department. Currently, Joe Cavazos, assistant city manager serves as the Public Works Director and Kevin Hurn serves as the Assistant Director of Public Works.
With major projects such as the wastewater treatment plant and the water meter replacement project, Fisher explained that he would need Cavazos to serve in the capacity of Captial Projects Manager. While Cavazos is in that role, Hurn would slide into the role of director in public works.
“To manage this change, I am proposing creating two superintendent positions, (Street, Sanitation, Wastewater and Shop and Water) and crew leaders underneath these superintendents,” said Fisher. “The department has probably one of the most critical responsibilities within the city and they are often overlooked.”
Fisher added that the city needs to invest in the personnel within the mentioned departments to ensure they obtain the required state licenses needed for their job to protect the community, infrastructure and resources.
The last area brought to the Council’s attention included a concern for training.
“We have to provide the means for continuous improvement and professional development for the success of our community and organization,” said Fisher. “I am proposing to create an in-house training program called Levell-Up Levelland.”
The program would partner with Leadership Levelland, TML Risk Pool, Texas Rural Water Association, Government Finance Officers Association, National Recreation Parks Association, TML Affiliates and other entities to provide educational opportunities for employees.
Fisher would like to utilize Friday’s for training days, but will be determined by their partners.
The training classes will help employees with training to help community licensing, understanding budgets, financial measurement, conflict management, social media, mental health, operational safety, first aid and others that may be beneficial “Levelland has a lot going on and even more on the horizon. It will take all of us working together to help our community achieve our goals. Our employees are some of the best out there and I believe our investment in them, dollars and resources will not only help them personally and professionally, but us as well.”
Following the presentation a brief discussion was held before the Council approved of the organizational changes. Councilman Max Ledesma was absent from the meeting.