Pasadena Water & Power Wants to Add Six New Full-Time Equivalent Positions, Here’s Why

Pasadena Water and Power and the Department of Information Technology are seeking authority to add a total of six new full-time equivalent (FTE) positions in their staffing for fiscal year 2018 to procure and implement a new PWP customer information system.

PWP will present the request to the Municipal Services Committee of the Pasadena City Council on Tuesday, January 23, before the full City Council considers it next week.

The new FTE positions will require an amendment to the fiscal year 2018 operating budgets for PWP and the Information Technology Department.

In an Agenda Report for the Municipal Services Committee and the City Council, PWP General Manager Gurcharan Bawa said the new FTE’s will assist in the multi-year, multimillion-dollar project to upgrade its aging Customer Information System (CIS) that provides billing services for electricity, water, sewer and refuse utilities, as well as several key utility-related taxes.

Last July, the Pasadena City Council authorized the City Manager to execute a contract with TMG Consulting Services to conduct a comprehensive needs analysis as the first phase of a CIS replacement. The completed needs analysis is expected to result in the development of one or more Requests for Proposals. In addition to hardware, software and system interfaces, the CIS replacement will require project management, data conversion, testing, training, change management and other services.

Although some functions would be provided by contractors, many key processes and support will be provided by limited term or permanent City staff, Bawa said.

His report said it is now necessary to begin the recruitment process; the recommended positions represent the initial minimum staffing needed to begin the project.

Required will be a Utility Operations Technology Manager, with an annual salary of $245,815 including benefits, who shall serve as the central point of contact and have overall responsibility for the CIS project and future operations technology projects for PWP; two business systems analysts with an estimated salary and benefits of up to $295,112, one of whom will primarily support the Customer Service Group, and the other to provide project support, working closely with the key system users and subject matter experts; and a Senior Customer Service Representative with an annual salary and benefits up to $86,879, who would provide backfill support for daily operations.

PWP also recommends adding two FTE positions at the DoIT to transition responsibility and technical operations support of the current CIS and allow PWP staff to participate in the replacement project. The additional staff will improve resource redundancies to support the current system that must be maintained over the next three to five years.

The other requirements are a Senior IT Analyst, with an annual salary of $147,556, who shall be the primary Systems Administrator for the CIS and other ancillary applications and reporting systems; and another Business Systems Analyst who shall get a salary of $147,556 and shall be primarily responsible for performing technical analysis and documentation for ongoing business operational needs affecting the operations of the current CIS.

The estimated full-year cost for the recommended FTE’s will be about $923,000, Bawa said.