A Well-Trained & Experienced Workforce

In this space last week there was a review of the mix of education and experience in the City’s senior management team, and an assessment of the educational achievements in the police and fire departments. Let’s take a look at the other City departments and the credentials held by those City employees.

Library

Our City library is a fantastic resource by any measure. The library staff of 18 members includes five professional librarians - persons holding a Master’s Degree in Library Science. There are also five other library employees with bachelor’s degrees, and one with an associate’s degree. The library staff members have many years of experience and hundreds of hours of training in specialized library topics, such as archiving, cataloging, and information searching on the internet through a variety of databases. In addition, three library staff members are fluent in French and two are fluent in Spanish.

Utilities

The City’s Utility Department is responsible for providing drinking water, and wastewater collection, treatment, and disposal. These activities are fundamental to our community and are highly regulated by state and federal agencies. State regulations require that the City have individuals working in these fields who hold state utility licenses, which are issued by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Obtaining such a license requires the passage of an extensive course and a number of years of experience.

The City’s water department employs two individuals with a state license in water plant operations, and three individuals with water distribution system licenses. The City’s wastewater department employs two individuals with wastewater plant operation licenses, and three individuals with wastewater collection system licenses. Employees in this department also have state licenses in other specialized areas, including one employee who is a certified plumber, and another employee who is a certified electrician. In addition to these licenses, training, and experience, one member of the department has a master’s degree, and one staff member has an associate’s degree. Two staff members are fluent in Spanish.

Planning, Zoning, and Development

The City’s Planning, Zoning, and Development Department is responsible for the processing of development requests, the enforcement of zoning code and building regulations, and city compliance with the state Growth Management Act and development related laws. The department has 7 staff members, and in addition to the director’s credentials there is one individual holding a master’s degree, and one staff member with an associate’s degree. The two staff members responsible for building inspection jointly have 42 certifications in state building code areas of specialty. Together, the individuals in this department have many years of experience in both the public and the private sector. Two members of this department are fluent in Spanish.

Finance Department

The Finance Department also carries out a fundamental task in ensuring that all funds are properly accounted for according to generally accepted accounting principles. In addition to the Finance Director’s credentials mentioned in last week’s column, the department has staff members with bachelor’s degrees and one staff member with an associate’ degree. The employees in this department also have many years of experience in both the public and private sector. Two department members are fluent in Spanish.

City Clerk’s Office

The City Clerk’s Office is responsible for recording and maintaining the official records of the City, City Commission agenda production, citizen board membership, records management, elections, and transcribing minutes for the City Commission, as well as other duties. This office has two employees, one with a bachelor’s degree. Both employees have years of experience in the public sector.

Public Services: Parks, Building Maintenance, Cemetery

In addition to the Director’s credentials, this department with 15 staff members has one individual with a bachelor’s degree. This department also has staff members with many years of experience in both the public and private sectors.

Support Services: Streets, Fleet Maintenance, Purchasing, Inventory

This department has 13 staff members and one individual holds a bachelor’s degree. These employees have many years of experience in both the public and private sectors as well as specialized training in their fields.

Information Services; and Human Resources

These two departments have a total of 4 staff members and one employee with a bachelor’s degree, and one employee with an associate’s degree.

The City of Lake Wales is fortunate to have a well-educated, trained, and experienced workforce!

A Well-Educated & Experienced Group

In my presentation of the City’s Annual State of the City Report to the Chamber of Commerce, I noted that I started working in the public sector in 1972. I have worked in a number of different settings since then. I am very happy to say that the people that I work with now – my fellow employees at the City of Lake Wales – are the best group of people I have ever worked with. I am proud to be a Lake Wales city employee and to be associated with this fine group of individuals. They are dedicated to their work, which is sometimes carried out under very difficult circumstances. It is not uncommon to receive a letter or phone call thanking the City for the work of City employees.

In my experience, working for a City or for any agency in the public sector can be a trying experience, and in many ways a different environment than the private sector. I remember when a new employee came to work for the City several years ago after years of working for private companies in various types of construction. He said that on some projects, on a particular high profile project downtown, he felt as if everyone in town was watching him and carefully measuring the pace of progress. I told him that I too had private sector experience, and there are times when City projects attract a lot of attention. But this is to be expected – after all, we are dealing with public funds and doing the public’s business. On the plus side, there is a feeling of accomplishment in doing a good job for the people of our town.

Many Skills Are Required

The operation of a city requires a wide variety of skills and educational credentials. From library-specific college degrees, to fire and police certifications, to state licenses for utility department procedures, to state certifications for building inspection, to accounting certifications, there are many skills required. Our town’s employees have a good mix of education and experience to carry out these widely diverse work tasks.

For example, let’s look at the senior management team for the City staff. This group consists of myself as City Manager, the Assistant City Manager, and 11 department heads. In terms of education, six persons have Master’s Degrees; three persons have Bachelor’s Degrees, and one department head has nearly completed her Bachelor’s Degree. Another team member has an Associate’s Degree.

There is also a healthy mix of experience on this team, with individuals who have worked for the City of Lake Wales for many years, and others who have come to the City recently. Again, in this group of 13 individuals: One person has worked for the City for over 30 years; three people have worked for the City for over 20 years; three people have worked for the City for over 10 years; five people have worked for the City for 5 years or more; and one department head was recently hired here.
Of the six people who have worked for the City less than 10 years, four have over 20 years of experience in their fields, and one has more than 10 years of experience that was brought to the team.

Another interesting question involves where these 13 individuals were living when they came to work for the City. Five were living in the Lake Wales area, three were living elsewhere in our county, four were living elsewhere in Central Florida, and one person who had lived in Florida previously and wished to return was living in another state.

The amount of education and training among other City employees is no less impressive. In the police department alone, there are 8 officers with Associates’ Degrees, 8 officers with Bachelor’s Degrees, 3 with Master’s Degrees, and one department member with a juris doctorate. In the Fire Department there are 14 firefighters with Associates’ Degrees, and one Department member with a Bachelor’s Degree. Many employees have taken advantage of the City’s educational incentive program.

The Police and Fire Departments also emphasize training. Within the past 18 months, six firefighters achieved their paramedic licenses through a City program and are now using their skills for our benefit. The Police Department also provides more training than the state mandated minimum for our officers every year.

We are fortunate to have a well-educated and experienced group of City employees working for the betterment of our town!