Short-staffed village gets creative with training

The Village of Grafton will reorganize its utility staff in 2022 to better cover vacancies and incentivize employees to cross train in other functions.

A re-examination of the utility structure was prompted after the utility clerk position was vacated in June 2021, creating a gap in services and spreading other village staff members thin as they covered the duties.

The village agreed to hire City Water LLC in October to operate the billing services, but Public Works Director Amber Thomas said the company does not manage customer service aspects of the vacant position.

To handle those duties, the village created an office assistant role it has been struggling to fill.

Thomas said an individual was hired to handle the customer service side of the position but did not remain on the job for long. While a job listing for the position has been active for months, the role remains vacant.

“It’s been a good five months that we have not had someone on the customer service side of utility,” she said.

While village staff members will continue to try to fill the position, Thomas presented reorganization plans to the Finance Committee during a Dec. 6 meeting which she said will better manage village staff  needs.

 One plan is to offer sewer and water employees pay incentives to further their education and obtain additional Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources certifications that allow them to operate in various utility functions.

“Right now we don’t have any system to compensate them for additional classes and tests,” Thomas said.

 Under the reorganization, staff members will be awarded a 25 cent per hour pay increase for every additional certification they receive.

If employees secure six to 11 certifications, they will have the chance to become an advanced utility operator, which comes with a higher pay grade and additional compensation.

Under the reorganization plan, $3,640 was budgeted for pay increases this year and $8,320 in 2022.

Thomas said while some employees will take advantage of the opportunity, she does not expect all will want the additional responsibility that comes with the pay increase.

“Some staff are interested in furthering their education and some staff are perfectly happy with what they are doing on a daily basis,” she said.

Another aspect of the plan is to cross train whoever fills the office assistant position to handle Department of Public Works administrative duties so they are able to serve in multiple capacities.

 “It’s really important that as we move forward we train all of our staff appropriately so when there is a loss or a timeframe where we are short staffed, we have others to step into each role,” Thomas said.

The reorganization was unanimously approved by the Finance Committee.