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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend August 25, 2005 One of the developers of the 5,000-home Southeast Plan off North Phoenix Road says the planning process is taking two or three times longer than in previous years. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli City Planning BLUES High turnover at the Medford Planning Department is blamed on a lack of support from administration By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune Thirteen city employees have left the Medford Planning Department in the past five years, with some citing poor management and stress as the key reasons. "I probably would have stayed in the community and continued to work there had I felt support at all levels," said Michael Howard. Howard worked as a city planner for 18 months before taking a job in 2004 as a planning consultant with Satre and Associates in Eugene. Other former planners said they felt a lack of support from city administrators as well as stress from a heavy workload. In the last five years there have been three retirements and 10 resignations in the Planning Department. "That kind of turnover is unusual for here, for Medford, although it is not unusual for the profession," said Doug Detling, human resources director. Advertisement He said when Scott Rogers, an associate planner, retires next week, there will be three vacancies on the 18-person staff. Planning Director Rob Scott said there are many reasons people are leaving. "It’s not any one thing," he said. He said employees have left to live in another city, or to tend to their families and there have been some early retirements by people worried about losing retirement benefits because of changes in the Public Employees Retirement System. Randy Jones, one of the developers of the 1,000-acre Southeast Plan in Medford, said staff levels in the Planning Department have "hugely" affected development plans in Medford. "The process has become way more cumbersome because they’ve lost people through attrition, retirement and health concerns," said Jones. "Start-to-finish used to be a year; now it’s two, three years." Jones said the staffing crunch has put a burden on the remaining planners. "It’s just clogged the system," he said. Several current staff members declined comment on working conditions in the department, but Howard said he found it a difficult place to work. "I did notice there were some definite morale issues which definitely affected me and affected me wanting to stay there," said Howard. He said he took the job in Eugene to return to his hometown, but that wasn’t his sole reason for leaving. He said stress and low morale within the department were attributable to Scott’s distant style of leadership. "He doesn’t have that working director’s mentality," said Howard. "He’s a nice guy, and they (planning staff) try not to offend him." But he would have liked more support. "I think Rob Scott is a weak leader and is subservient to (city manager) Mike Dyal and did not stand up for us," said Howard. Scott said everyone has a different style of doing things. "I have a style that is that of delegating to people. I am not going to do somebody else’s job for them," he said. Eric Zweber, a city planner in Victoria, Minn., left the Medford Planning Department in 2003, in part to return to the Midwest and in part because he didn’t feel suited to Medford City Hall. "I just didn’t think it was a very comfortable place to work," he said. He said the tone was set by Dyal. "I never really thought he was a good leader," said Zweber. "I certainly didn’t feel any support, particularly of the Planning Department." He said he’s been more comfortable with the two city administrators he’s worked for since leaving Medford. "They’re much more supportive of us as staff, as a department as a whole," he said. "They’re more apt to defend you first, then come talk to you after." Dyal said he meets weekly with the planning director, and that the city has filled vacancies, increased staff and decreased work load. "I don’t know what he’s talking about," said Dyal. "Where have I had a need to step in and defend the Planning Department? They’re doing a terrific job." Scott had similar remarks. "Some of these comments are by people who are new and young in the profession and have a lot to learn about city management." Mark Gallagher, the city’s principal planner, said whatever the reason people are leaving, they’re taking volumes of knowledge with them. "It wasn’t that many years ago when almost everyone in the Planning Department had a fair amount of longevity," said Gallagher. "We would only get a new employee about every two years." Gallagher was interim director prior to Scott’s hiring in 2000, and applied for the director position. "It’s almost like (former planning director) Jim Eisenhard was the Pied Piper of planners," Gallagher said. "After he left, a lot of the planners followed." Steve Terry, a city planner who left in January and is now a private planning consultant in Medford, said there is a different tone in the department since Eisenhard left in 2000. "The Planning Department as a unit with Jim’s leadership embraced his vision," he said. Amy Weiser was a senior planner until June. "I left because I was working very long hours and it was a very stressful place to be and it was affecting my family life," said Weiser. She now has a position with Neathamer Surveying Inc. in Medford. Rogers, 54, who is retiring this month after 28 years, said he has good feelings about the department. "It’s not a sour grapes thing," he said. Director Scott said the planning director position can be a lightning rod. "If you’re willing to sit in a chair like this, you’re never going to make everyone happy," he said. "You have to just kind of roll with the punches." Dyal said the demands of the planners’ jobs are considerable. "I know there’s high stress. I don’t know if there’s low morale but there could be because of that," he said. "Morale is also an employee’s responsibility, not just somebody else’s." Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail City Planning BLUES ">[email protected] . Planners, developers seek a solution to delays In response to concerns about delays and increased work load, the Medford Planning Department has proposed to create a position to check plans for building permits. Planning Director Rob Scott met with developers, architects and building consultants Wednesday as part of a series of meetings aimed at reducing the work load problem for city planners and delays for developers. Scott said in 1998 the department handled 177 land development applications. That number rose to 215 in 2000 and 308 in 2004. In the past five years the department has added one clerical position and two planning aides. Scott said the current system in the department needs to be changed. "It just never was designed to handle these numbers of applications," he said. Long-range planners are being pulled off their duties to process permits, he said. The new position would be funded through a building permit surcharge. The proposed surcharge is estimated to be $90 for a 2,000-square-foot-home. For commercial buildings, the costs would be $242 for a $1 million building and $2,266 for a $10 million building, according to city estimates. Scott said other proposed changes include reconfiguring staffing to improve service at the front counter. He also said the department proposal also would assign one planner to each development application. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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