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REPORT <br /> To the Honorable Mayor an <br /> From the City Manager1 <br /> <br />July 1,2002 <br />Subject <br />Water System Operator Certifications Incentive Program <br />Recommendation <br />By Motion, approve the Water System Operator Certifications Incentive Program, <br />contingent on final City Council adoption of the Fiscal Year 2002/2003 budget <br />Background <br />On January 1, 2002, the California Department of Health Services (DOHS) adopted the <br />"Drinking Water Treatment and Distribution Operator Certification Regulations", requiring <br />all drinking water distribution systems to be operated and maintained by state-certified <br />"distribution system operators". <br />The State has established a 5-tier rating system, based on population served and <br />complexity of distribution systems, and has determined that Redwood City is a "D4" <br />certification level system. Thus City employees shall be required to gain certifications up to <br />the D4 level within a three-year period beginning 1/01/2002. During this period, the State <br />will issue "interim certificates" to City-designated system operators, and those individuals <br />must successfully pass the state examination and be issued a permanent certificate by <br />12/31/2005. <br />The certification level for various City job classifications and the corresponding level of <br />responsibility is as follows: <br /> <br />Required DOHS Redwood City Job Classifications <br />Certifications <br />D5 Not Required <br />D4 PW Superintendents / PW Supervisors / Snr. Engineer <br />D3 Utilities Specialists / CSS Specialist. / Assoc. Engineer <br />D2 Lead PWMW / Maint. Electrician / PWMW III <br />D1 I PWMW I / PWMW il/Ut. Locator / CS. Technician <br />The City of Redwood City Water Enterprise Fund has a clear business need to ensure that <br />personnel assigned to the water system are certified as soon as possible and that there are <br />adequate numbers of other PWS employees certified and available to fill vacancies as they <br />may occur. Further, the City must ensure that adequate numbers of employees are able to <br />reach higher levels of certification than required at the end of the 3-year interim period for <br />the purpose of temporary upgrading and/or promotion to higher job classifications that may <br />be available in the water division. <br />To accelerate certification of employees at their required level as well as get employees <br />Page 1 of 3 <br /> <br /> <br />