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TO : CHARLES P. BALCZUN : COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR SUBJECT : TEMPORARY EMPLOYEE FOR PURCHASING DATE : MARCH 21, 1988 Purchasing Manager Gus Ambler requests authorization for the Purchasing Division hire a temporary clerical staff person for the remainder of the 1987-88 fiscal year. Assistant County Administrator Perry Mattes endorses the proposal. Since August 28, 1987, the Purchasing Division has experienced a 66% staff turnover. On that date Purchasing Manager Carolyn Goodrich resigned. Three weeks later Purchasing Specialist Robert Wood resigned. Ms. Goodrich indicated that her reason for so doing was personal in nature. Mr. Wood told us that he had accepted another position. In his exit interview, Mr. Wood cited the need for both better pay and additional staffing. We were able to fill Mr. Wood's position immediately with the transfer of Duane Swan from Building and Grounds to Purchasing. However, it was not until January 11, 1988 that Mr. Ambler assumed his duties. During the interim, the fundamentals of the job were performed first by Budget Officer Joe Baird and then by Mr. Mattes. Mr. Ambler faces the task of upgrading a system which is cumbersome at best. It is one which requires a great deal of redundancy in its approach to buying and paying for requested materials and equipment. It is apparent that he is proceeding apace. However, he must continue to deal with the excessive paperwork of the current system while working to implement a new. system. The workload is excessive for the current staff for the short term. When the reorganization plan becomes fully effective, there should not be a need for staff to perform the clerical duties that are currently necessary to satisfactorily perform the. job. I recommended that we petition the Board of County Commissioners to allow the hiring of a temporary Clerk for the Purchasing Division. This maximum authorization period wouldbe for up to six months. It would not last later than September 30, 1988. There are two ways to address the problem. First, we can advertise the position as a temporary one at 37.5 hours a week. This would require us to pay, in addition to wages of $4.99 per hour, social security (FICA) taxes of 7.51% of salary, worker's compensation, and Florida State Retirement at 13.38% (Retirement must be funded if the length of employment is over four months.) Assuming a regular work week, the position would cost about $227 per week ($187.13 salary, $14.05 FICA, $25.04 retirement, and $.52 worker's compensation). Not factored into the cost is any future liability we might incur because of a claim for benefits under unemployment insurance. The recommended way to fill this need is by using an agency temporary employee. Using this method, we pay the temporary agency a fee for providing us with their employee. That fee typically runs between $7.00 and $7.50 per hour, depending on the individual supplied by the agency. This equates to between $262.50 and $281.25 per week. We do not have to go through a sometimes lengthy selection process; someone is available within a day or two. Also, should the person selected not work out, we 44 Ihh__MAR 2 e 1988 BOOK 71 PAGE 401