Restructuring Provides 'Greater Productivity,' City Manager Says

Dunedin Fire Marshal Bill McElligott will receive a paycheck through Oct. 1, even though he was released from his responsibilities on Tuesday.

And his health benefits carry through Dec. 31, City Manager Rob DiSpirito said. 

"Bill's a great employee," DiSpirito said during a phone interview Wednesday. 

However, DiSpirito said, the city departments are strategically reorganizing for efficiency because of an anticipated $1.2 million deficit in the city's 2013 budget.

"It's definitely worse than last year," DiSpirito said of the budget reductions. He said his staff made the decision to reorganize departments instead of making changes that would affect the quality of life for residents, such as closing the library or the , or cutting Parks & Recreation programs.

Draft Budget Includes Eliminating Eight Positions

A draft of the 2013 budget is still being prepared and will likely be ready for release on Friday, or Monday at the latest, DiSpirito said.

McElligott is one of five city employees who the proposed departmental restructuring may affect. Three vacant positions are also planned for elimination. The employees in the other four affected positions have been notified, DiSpirito said, and would remain in their positions until Oct. 1 or later. All individuals to be affected are in middle management positions, and one person works in the city clerk's office, he said.

Structural changes were suggested by the individual department heads, DiSpirito added. 

Fire Marshal Layoff Tied to Chief's Retirement

The decision to earlier than Oct. 1 came at the request of Fire Chief Bud Meyer. Meyer has plans to retire in January 2013. He wrote in a May 20 letter to DiSpirito that he wanted to start reorganizing "as soon as possible" to help ease the transition of the future fire chief.

"I want to make this change now so that there is a solid six months of overlap prior to my retirement," Meyer wrote. "... This will allow me to sit with my staff and start the process of reassigning duties and responsibilities."

He wrote that the change saves the city and the fire department $50,000 a year in wages and also saves the city in pension contributions. 

"We are five years into a recession," DiSpirito said, and Meyer had asked for the past three years to make a personnel change, but DiSpirito said he "held off on doing this" as a "last resort."

Meyer's letter briefly outlines a plan for the fire chief to assume the duties of the fire marshal, which is in line with what other cities are doing, and add a civilian fire inspector. McElligott performed the duties of both a fire marshal and fire inspector, DiSpirito said.

DiSpirito explained that this would allow the fire inspector to be in the field conducting more inspections and not cause him or her to get bogged down with the administrative duties that come along with supervising employees.

"It means greater productivity," he said.