These actions would result in a cost savings to the Department of $854.75 per month or $10,257 annually. Pension cost savings are estimated to be $3,000.  

After a thorough evaluation of the Facilities Maintenance Division-Grounds section in the Public Works Department, it has been determined that an additional Lead Gardener is needed to accommodate the workload of the division. Currently, the entire County is split into five designated routes for grounds maintenance and landscaping. Each route has a number of employees to cover the locations assigned to each route, including a Lead Gardener who is responsible for providing direction to other employees, meeting with Building Wardens to determine work priorities, assigning said priorities to employees, and inspecting the work done at each location. Additionally, Lead Gardeners are working leads, which requires them to perform work alongside the Gardeners at the locations on the route. Currently, with only four Lead Gardeners, two of the routes are covered by one Lead Gardener who is responsible for two routes while also providing direction to other staff members. It has been noted that such arrangement may lead to substandard service for customer departments and work backlog along one or both of the routes. Adding another Lead Gardener would allow each route to have its own Lead Gardener who can provide support to staff and higher level of service to customers.  

If this action is not carried out, the Grounds Section of the Facilities Maintenance Division of the Public Works Department will not have appropriate staffing levels to complete all necessary work and provide appropriate service to customer departments.