City hiring ramps up, vacancies reduced

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LOWELL — City Hall has ramped up its hiring efforts thanks to the implementation of an online system, reported Human Resources Director Mary Callery during Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

“We have the applicant tracking system set up now,” Callery said. “We don’t take paper applications anymore — it’s all done through the system, which has brought in a lot more people applying.”

That system, known as MUNIS, is an enterprise resource planning technology that manages financials, human resources, asset management and revenues for municipal governments.

Tyler Technologies, the software and services company that designed the integrative database, states that the program “leverages the latest technologies to integrate data and increase efficiency and productivity across an organization.”

Until recently, the hiring procedure for new City of Lowell employees was a paper-and-personnel-intensive operation, requiring hard-copy submissions of documentation, with paper copies manually distributed to department heads for review.

That labor-intensive process was outlined by Callery in a motion response to Councilors Corey Robinson and Erik Gitschier last January. At that time, there were 65 vacancies across all departments (excluding police and fire) such as parking enforcement officers, librarians, cybersecurity and various other administrative and maintenance positions.

By February, based on Gitschier’s motion to explore an applicant tracking system, Chief Information Officer Mirán Fernandez engaged the departments of management information systems and human resources to automate the city’s applicant and hiring processes, writing that “the implementation of this (MUNIS) technology would have the effect of creating efficiencies and thus positively impacting HR’s available to time.”

Gitschier submitted yet another motion in May, requesting updates on open positions within the city workforce, which Callery addressed in her presentation. She noted that roughly 32 of the 65 vacancies had been filled, with nine pending hires, using the new system.

“Forty vacant positions were posted or are currently posted since June 6,” she said. “Nineteen have been filled/hired and 21 are either still being reviewed for a candidate selection or have been re-posted,” she said.

Bottom line, said City Manger Tim Golden, the new technology has improved not only the applicant process, but also expanded the applicant pool from which managers can select a candidate.

“We have had an uptick in folks who have been applying in just the few months that I’ve been here,” Golden said, who was sworn into the position in April. “In some cases, we weren’t getting anybody. We’re at the point where we have some jobs that we’ve posted that we have the choice between five, six and seven people. We’re definitely seeing an increase, especially with the online application process.”

Robinson praised the online applicant system, and asked about outreach to the community applicants and publicity on available positions.

Callery responded that “we plan to do outreach. We’re on the website, Facebook, LinkedIn and diversity sites.”

After streets and roadways, and trash and recycling issues, staffing up departments and upgrading internal technology systems have been a focus of the councilors.

Since the new council took their seats in the chambers in January, members have filed more than a dozen motions requesting vacancy updates and hiring initiatives.

There are vacancies in the other key departments. The much-heralded Chief DEI Officer position has been vacant since Ferdousi Faruque left in April, Planning and Development Director Christine McCall left for the private sector in August, and the executive director of the water utility position has been vacant for nearly six years.

At the same time, the city has been successful in hiring Director of Elections Greg Pappas, who started just in time to oversee the Sept. 6 primary election. Allison Carter was hired in August to be the director of economic development, which is good news to businesses still reeling from the financial impact of COVID-19 disruptions. Elizabeth Oltman was hired as a transportation engineer, which should help offset the more than 50 motions filed since January regarding traffic, roadways and calming issues in the city.

Golden said that the long-vacant homeless director position was close to being filled, which should help center efforts between various public, private and nonprofit agencies to address the community-wide issue.

And on Friday, Golden announced that “Paul St. Cyr will be appointed as the city’s permanent Department of Public Works Commissioner, effective Oct. 11. Mr. St. Cyr was unanimously recommended by the interview committee from five applicants.”

St. Cyr previously served in senior facilities management in the Lowell School Department. Interim Commissioner Mark Byrne will transition to a special assistant role, which will include assisting with winter protocols, HVAC projects, continuing to work with the Lowell High School project team and participate with the School Building Committee.

In another area of technological upgrades that should help to bring the city into compliance with general business practice, the council heard City Auditor Kelly Oakes’s report recommending a transition to a bi-weekly payroll system.

The planned transition will occur in January 2023 for all city employees.

“I’m very happy with the way things are going,” Golden said.

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