Management Services
The Management Department of Manhattan Beach reports a broad range of operational responsibilities that include city council support, public communications, records transparency, contract administration, and homeless outreach coordination. Based on the reported workload, the department appears highly active and service-oriented for a full-service city of approximately 35,000 residents.
The department’s reported annual activity includes 3,136 public records requests completed, 59 city council meetings, 450 agenda items presented to the City Council, 141 resolutions and 14 ordinances processed, 356 contracts administered, and nearly 140 hours of council meeting time. Public engagement indicators were also substantial, including 495 public and electronic comments received, more than 461,000 unique website visitors, 1.5 million webpage views, 36,268 electronic notification subscribers, and 594 electronic bulletins distributed. Resident engagement metrics appear especially strong, with a reported 58.5% average email open rate and 87% resident satisfaction with city services.
These are generally strong operational indicators because they demonstrate workload, public engagement, transparency, and communication effectiveness. In particular, the electronic communication metrics are well above what many comparable municipalities experience. The resident satisfaction level is also very favorable and suggests the department is generally meeting community expectations.
However, most of the current metrics are volume-based rather than true performance indicators. While workload statistics are useful, they do not fully measure efficiency, timeliness, or service quality. The city would benefit from adding performance measures such as:
- Average response time for public records requests
- Percentage of requests completed within statutory deadlines
- Agenda packet preparation timelines
- Time required to process contracts
- Website engagement quality metrics
- Resident inquiry response times
- Homeless housing retention success rates
- Productivity per employee
The homelessness statistics suggest a relatively small unsheltered population compared to many Los Angeles County cities. The reported outcomes of 227 clients assisted, 20 interim housing referrals, 4 treatment referrals, and 16 stable housing placements indicate the city is functioning appropriately as a coordination and referral agency rather than a direct housing provider.
Based on the reported workload and comparison to similar California cities, an appropriate staffing model for the Management Department would generally fall within the following range:
Management Services Department
Budget Most Efficient Maximum Recommended
Assistant City Clerk 1 0 1
City Clerk 1 1 1
City Council Members 5 5 5
City Manager 1 1 1
City Treasurer 1 1 1
Communications 1 1 1
& Civic Engagement
Deputy City Clerk 1 1 1
Deputy City Manager 1 1 1
Digital Communications 1 0 0
& Graphics
Executive Assistant to 1 0 0
City Manager
Marketing and
Communications Coord 1 0 0
Senior Management Analyst 1 1 3
Executive and Admin Support 0 2 4
Communications/ 0 1 2
Public Information
Contract Administration 0 1 1
Homeless Services 0 1 1
Coordination
Total 16 16 23
This results in an estimated total staffing range of approximately 16–23 employees when council and treasurer are included, depending on service expectations, technology utilization, consultant usage, and council priorities. A staffing level materially above this range should be carefully evaluated for potential overlap, excessive administrative layering, or inefficient manual processes.
Several operational improvements could further enhance efficiency without reducing service quality. These include expanded use of digital self-service tools, automated public records management systems, AI-assisted document searches and redaction, streamlined council agenda practices, and centralized contract management software.
Overall, the department appears to be operating at a relatively high service level with strong public engagement and transparency. The next step for long-term organizational improvement is to move beyond activity counts and adopt more outcome-focused productivity and performance measurements.
Finance Department
Finance Department Productivity and Staffing Assessment
Manhattan Beach
The Finance Department reported the following annual activity levels:
- 5,737 business licenses administered
- 91,270 utility bills and notices generated
- 60,939 parking citations processed
- 1,982 short-term rental TOT remittances
- 7,953 invoices paid
- 9,991 purchase card transactions
- 4,003 parking permits issued
- 1,559 animal license renewals
- 12,983 cashiering transactions
- 4,531 accounts payable checks issued
- 763 accounts receivable invoices generated
- 90 purchase orders issued
- 21 requests for proposals completed
Assessment of Productivity Indicators
These are generally good indicators of operational workload and transactional activity. They demonstrate that the department manages a broad range of financial, customer service, and revenue collection responsibilities typical of a full-service municipal finance organization.
The strongest indicators include:
- Utility billing volume
- Parking citation administration
- Accounts payable activity
- Cashiering transactions
- Business licensing workload
- Procurement and contracting activity
For a city of approximately 35,000 residents, these activity levels appear moderate to moderately high, particularly given Manhattan Beach’s tourism, parking, and coastal business environment.
However, the current data primarily measures volume of work, not actual performance or efficiency.
Recommended Additional Performance Indicators
To better evaluate departmental productivity and effectiveness, the city should also track:
Financial Operations
- Timeliness of annual audit completion
- Number of audit findings
- Budget variance by department
- Monthly financial close timelines
Accounts Payable and Procurement
- Average invoice processing time
- Percentage of electronic payments
- Procurement cycle times
- Competitive bidding percentages
Revenue Collection
- Utility collection rates
- Parking citation collection rates
- TOT compliance rates
- Business license renewal rates
Customer Service
- Counter wait times
- Call response times
- Percentage of online transactions
- Digital payment adoption
Efficiency Metrics
- Transactions processed per employee
- Cost per transaction
- Percentage of automated workflows
Recommended Staffing
Based on the reported workload and typical municipal benchmarks, the recommended staffing range for the Finance Department is approximately:
Recommended Staffing Range: 10–16 Full-Time Employees
Typical Organizational Structure
Finance Department
Budget Most Efficient Maximum Recommended
Account Specialist I/II 4 0 0
Accountant 2 0 0
Accounting Supervisor 1 0 0
Accounting Technician 1 0 0
Budget & Financial Analyst 1 1 2
Executive Assistant 1 0 0
Finance Director 1 1 1
Financial Controller 1 1 1
Financial Services Manager 1 0 0
Grants & Financial Analyst 1 0 0
Lead Account Specialist 1 0 0
Management Analyst 1 0 0
Purchasing Analyst 1 0 0
Purchasing Assistant 1 0 0
Purchasing Supervisor 1 0 0
Revenue Services Supervisor 1 0 0
Senior Accountant 1 0 0
Accounting/AP/AR Staff 0 2 2
Utility Billing Staff 0 2 3
Licensing/Cashiering Staff 0 2 3
Procurement Contracts Staff 0 1 2
Total 21 10 16
Caveats
Staffing requirements can vary significantly depending on:
- Degree of automation
- Use of online payment systems
- Outsourcing of citation collection or utility functions
- Complexity of capital projects
- Level of public counter activity
- Manual versus digital workflows
Departments with modern financial systems and extensive automation may operate effectively at the lower end of the staffing range, while departments with older systems or high manual processing demands may require staffing toward the upper end.
Overall Conclusion
The Finance Department appears to be handling a substantial and diverse operational workload consistent with a well-functioning municipal finance organization. The current indicators provide a solid picture of activity levels but should be supplemented with timeliness, accuracy, collection effectiveness, and automation metrics to fully evaluate productivity and staffing efficiency.
Human Resources and Risk Management
Based on the operational statistics provided for the combined Human Resources and Risk Management Department supporting approximately 354 full-time employees, the department workload appears moderate and generally consistent with a full-service California municipal organization of this size.
The department reported the following annual activity levels:
- 6,260 employment applications processed
- 1,213 personnel action forms processed
- 127 new employees hired
- 110 employee separations
- 46 full-time recruitments administered
- 21 part-time recruitments administered
- 27 trainings/webinars offered
- 356 insurance/contracts reviewed
- 49 workers’ compensation claims filed
- 45 liability claims filed
- 10 unemployment claims processed
Recommended Productivity Indicators
Not all activity statistics are equally valuable for evaluating departmental productivity. The following metrics are considered the strongest indicators of operational workload and efficiency:
Most Meaningful Productivity Measures
- Number of employees supported
- Full-time and part-time recruitments administered
- Personnel action forms processed
- Employee hires and separations
- Workers’ compensation claims managed
- Insurance/contracts reviewed
- Liability claims processed
- Time-to-fill vacancies
- Employee turnover rate
- Workers’ compensation frequency and severity trends
- Claims cost reduction trends
- Compliance and audit performance
Less Meaningful Measures
Some statistics are less useful because they measure activity volume rather than operational effectiveness:
- Raw application totals
- Number of webinars/trainings offered without attendance or outcome data
- Small unemployment claim counts
Staffing Assessment
Based on the reported workload, benchmark comparisons with similar California cities, and the combined HR/Risk structure, the following staffing ranges appear appropriate:
Staffing Model
Recommended Staffing
Lean / Highly Efficient Model 4–5 employees
Typical Full-Service California City 5–6 employees
High-Complexity / High-Service Model 6–7 employees
Most Reasonable Estimated Range
5–6 full-time employees
Human Resources/Risk Department Staffing Model
Budget Most Efficient Maximum Recommended
HR Analyst 1 1 1
HR Assistant 1 1 1
HR Director 1 1 1
HR Manager 1 0 0
HR Technician 2 1 1
Senior HR Analyst 1 0 0
Risk Manager 1 1 1
Benefits/Payroll/ 0 0 1
Safety Specialization
Total 8 5 6
Observations and Caveats
Recruitment and Turnover
The department administers 67 recruitments annually and reports 110 employee separations. This suggests relatively high employee turnover for a workforce of 354 employees and may be a significant driver of HR workload.
Workers’ Compensation Activity
The reported 49 workers’ compensation claims appear somewhat elevated for a city this size, although this may be influenced by:
- Police and fire staffing levels
- Public works exposure
- California reporting requirements
- Conservative claim reporting practices
Risk Management Workload
The volume of liability claims and insurance/contract reviews appears generally normal for a coastal, full-service municipal organization.
Operational Efficiency Factors
Appropriate staffing levels are heavily influenced by:
- Degree of process automation
- HR information systems (HRIS)
- Outsourced claims administration
- Number of bargaining units
- Labor relations complexity
- Public safety staffing levels
- Organizational turnover rates
Cities utilizing modern automated systems and efficient workflows can generally operate successfully at the lower end of the staffing range.
Overall Conclusion
The reported workload does not appear unusually large for a full-service California city. Based on the available information, a combined Human Resources and Risk Management Department staffing level of approximately 5–6 employees appear reasonable and consistent with industry benchmarks.
The most important long-term performance measures should focus not simply on activity volume, but on outcomes such as:
- Reduced employee turnover
- Lower workers’ compensation costs
- Faster recruitment timelines
- Improved retention
- Reduced liability exposure
- Efficient and compliant personnel administration
Parks and Recreation
For a city the size of Manhattan Beach (approximately 35,000 residents), the Parks and Recreation Department workload reflects a relatively active and service-intensive operation. Reported annual activity includes more than 25,000 recreation registrations, over 9,000 youth sports participants, nearly 6,500 Dial-a-Ride trips, extensive volunteer engagement, and responsibility for numerous athletic and recreational facilities including parks, courts, playgrounds, fields, dog runs, and an aquatic facility.
The reported statistics are generally good operational indicators because they reflect actual public usage and service demand. Particularly useful measures include recreation registrations, volunteer hours, youth sports participation, Dial-a-Ride activity, and public art projects completed. These indicators demonstrate community engagement, program utilization, and operational complexity. However, some reported figures such as the number of parks, courts, or playgrounds are primarily inventory measures rather than true productivity metrics. Facility counts alone do not indicate workload, maintenance intensity, or service quality.
A stronger performance management system would include additional productivity and efficiency measures such as:
- Cost recovery percentage by recreation program
- Registrations per recreation employee
- Acres or athletic fields maintained per maintenance employee
- Facility utilization rates
- Maintenance response times
- Customer satisfaction ratings
- Volunteer hours leveraged per employee
- Dial-a-Ride cost per passenger trip
- Overtime as a percentage of payroll
- Supervisor-to-staff ratios
These metrics provide a clearer picture of operational efficiency and service effectiveness.
Based on benchmarking against comparable California coastal cities with similar recreation amenities and programming levels, estimated staffing would vary significantly depending on whether park maintenance operations are performed in-house or contracted out.
Estimated staffing ranges are as follows:
Service Model Recommended Full-Time Staffing
Primarily In-House Maintenance approximately 35–45 FTE
Mostly Contracted Maintenance approximately 25–35 FTE
Highly Outsourced / Lean Model approximately 20–28 FTE
Parks and Recreation Department Staffing
Budget Most Efficient Maximum Recommended
Administrative Analyst 1 0 0
Adminstrative Assistant 1 0 0
Marketing Specialist 1 0 0
Director 1 0 0
Recreation coordinator 1 0 0
Recreation Supervisor 1 0 0
Senior Management Analyst 1 0 0
Senior Recreation Manager 1 0 0
Senior Recreation Supervisor 4 0 0
Administration 0 4 4
and Management
Recreation Coordinators 0 8 10
Aquatics 0 4 6
Senior/Dial a Ride 0 3 4
Facilities/Custodial 0 3 5
Arts/Cultural 0 1 1
Total 21 23 30
Under a contracted maintenance model, the city would still require staffing for recreation programming, contract oversight, facility operations, aquatics, senior services, Dial-a-Ride coordination, public art management, and limited skilled maintenance support. However, outsourcing landscape and turf maintenance substantially reduces the need for labor-intensive maintenance crews and related supervision.
Several important caveats should also be considered:
- Parks and Recreation departments typically rely heavily on part-time and seasonal employees, including instructors, lifeguards, referees, camp staff, and event personnel. Total headcount may therefore appear much larger than actual full-time staffing.
- Athletic field maintenance often requires higher staffing levels than standard park landscaping because of intensive usage and specialized turf requirements.
- Coastal cities such as Manhattan Beach often maintain higher-than-average service expectations and aesthetic standards, which can justify somewhat higher staffing ratios.
- Extensive volunteer utilization and a 90% online registration rate are positive indicators that may reduce the need for administrative staffing.
- Productivity should ultimately be evaluated based on measurable service outcomes, response times, utilization, cost recovery, and resident satisfaction rather than raw staffing totals alone.
Overall, the department’s reported workload appears consistent with a moderately staffed, service-oriented Parks and Recreation operation typical of affluent coastal California communities.
Police Department
For a city such as Manhattan Beach with approximately 35,000 residents and a compact 4-square-mile service area, police staffing should be based on workload, service expectations, proactive policing goals, and overtime utilization rather than population alone. The department’s reported annual activity levels—16,588 calls for service, 25,460 self-initiated activities, 7,938 traffic stops, 61,029 parking citations, 709 arrests, 2,494 public records requests, and 2,469 volunteer hours—reflect a moderately active full-service municipal police department with significant traffic and parking enforcement responsibilities.
Based on benchmarking with comparable Southern California suburban and coastal agencies, a reasonable staffing model would include approximately 56–63 sworn personnel, 9–13 community service or parking enforcement officers, and 8–18 ancillary or civilian administrative staff depending on whether dispatch services are provided in-house or regionally. Total department staffing would therefore typically range between approximately 75 and 94 employees.
Recommended sworn staffing would generally include:
- 30–34 patrol officers
- 4–5 traffic officers
- 5–6 detectives/investigators
- 2–3 school resource or community officers
- 10–12 supervisory and command personnel
Police Department
Budget Most Efficient Maximum Recommended
Administrtive Assistant 2
Background Investigator 1
Community Services Officer 12
Crime Analyst 1
Executive Assistant 2
Lead Community Services 3
Officer
Lead Police Records 2
Technician
Office Assistant 3
Park Services 1
Enforcement Officer
Police Captain 3
Police Chief 1
Police Lieutenant 5
Police Officer 53
Police Records Manager 1
Police Records Speialist 1
Police records Technician 7
Police sergeant 11
Police Services Officer 6
Police Support 1
Supervisor
Police Technology 1
Specialist
Property and 2
Evidence Officer
Senior Analyst. 1
Patrol 34 38
Traffic/Motor 4 6
Detectives 5 6
School Resource/Community 2 3
Supervisors (Sgt/Lt) 10 12
Command staff 2 3
Parking Enforcement 4 6
Community Services Officer 4 5
Animal control/Code liaison 1 1
Volunteer/Community Outreach 1 1
Records/Public Records 3 4
Dispatch (if in house) 10 14
Evidence/Property 1 2
HR/Training/Admin support 1 2
Crime Analyst 1 1
IT/Systems suport 1 1
Finance/Grants 1 1
Total 119 85 106
Because the department currently operates 12-hour patrol shifts, staffing levels must be sufficient to absorb vacation, training, sick leave, court appearances, and special event coverage. Twelve-hour schedules can improve morale and continuity of operations, but they also increase overtime exposure and fatigue if staffing margins are too thin. For this reason, patrol staffing should be carefully monitored to avoid chronic overtime reliance.
The current productivity indicators are useful but incomplete. Existing indicators that appropriately measure workload and operational activity include:
- Calls for service
- Self-initiated activities
- Traffic stops
- Parking citations
- Arrests
- Public records requests
- Volunteer hours
However, additional performance and efficiency metrics should also be tracked, including:
- Average response time by priority level
- Calls handled per patrol officer
- Officer availability/proactive patrol time
- Clearance rates for investigations
- Traffic collision and DUI trends
- Overtime hours by division
- Sick leave usage
- Vacancy rates
- Use-of-force incidents
- Citizen complaints
- Public records turnaround time
Overtime is one of the most important indicators of operational efficiency and staffing adequacy. For a department of this size, best practice would generally target overtime at approximately 4–6% of total worked hours. Sustained overtime above 8–10% often indicates structural staffing shortages, excessive specialty assignments, inefficient scheduling practices, or overly restrictive minimum staffing policies.
From an organizational perspective, the department should maintain a relatively lean administrative structure. A typical and efficient command model for this size agency would include:
- 1 Chief of Police
- 2 Captains
- 3–4 Lieutenants
- 7–9 Sergeants
Operational efficiency can also be improved through civilianization of functions that do not require sworn authority, including parking enforcement, records management, public records processing, front desk operations, property/evidence management, and certain report-taking activities.
Overall, the recommended operating philosophy for a city the size of Manhattan Beach would be a “lean but proactive” policing model emphasizing strong patrol visibility, community engagement, controlled overtime, efficient deployment practices, and limited administrative layering while maintaining high service expectations and rapid response capability.
Fire Department
The Manhattan Beach Fire Department reported 3,861 annual incidents, including 2,256 EMS/rescue calls, 79 fires, 252 hazardous condition calls, and 1,010 combined false alarm and good intent calls. The department operates from two fire stations and maintains an average response time of 5:02 minutes. Additional annual workload includes 9,250 training hours, 885 in-house plan reviews, 768 construction inspections, 226 state-mandated inspections, and public education outreach to 606 participants.
Recommended Staffing Range
For a full-service suburban/coastal department serving approximately 35,000 residents across 4 square miles, the recommended staffing model would generally include:
Function Recommended Staffing
Suppression / EMS Operations 42–46 sworn personnel
Fire Prevention / Inspection 2–4 sworn or civilian personnel
Training / Safety 1–2 personnel
Administration / Command Staff 3–4 personnel
Civilian Administrative Support 2–4 personnel
Total Recommended Staffing 48–56 sworn plus 2–4 civilian staff
Fire Department
Budget Most Efficient Maximum Recommended
Administrative Analyst 1
Emergency Preparedness 1
Administrator
Fire Captain/Paramedic 6
Fire Chief 1
Fire Deputy Chief 1
Fire Division Chief 3
Fire Engineer/Paramedic 6
Fire Inspector 1
Fire Marshal 1
Firefighter/Paramedic 18
Senior Fire Inspector 1
Senior Management 1
Analyst
Suppression/EMS 42 46
Operations
Training/Safety 1 2
Chief Officers/Admin 3 4
Fire Prevention 1 2
Technician
Permit/Records 0.5 1
Support
Total 41 47.5 56
This assumes:
- Two fully staffed engine companies
- Minimum daily staffing of 3–4 firefighters per apparatus
- Battalion chief coverage
- Vacation and sick leave relief staffing
- Adequate training and prevention capacity
Productivity Standards and Benchmarks
The department’s current metrics generally reflect a well-functioning suburban fire agency. Recommended operational benchmarks include:
Indicator Recommended Standard
Average Response Time Under 5–6 minutes
Overtime Utilization Under 8–10% of worked hours
Training Hours 200–300 hours annually per firefighter
Inspection Completion 90–100% annually
Plan Review Turnaround 5–15 business days
Unit Hour Utilization (UHU) 0.20–0.35 suburban target
Simultaneous Incident Reliability Maintain available coverage during
concurrent calls
Appropriate Productivity Indicators
The department is already tracking several strong indicators, including:
- Total calls for service
- EMS/rescue incidents
- Response times
- Training hours
- Construction inspections
- State-mandated inspections
- Plan reviews
However, several additional indicators would provide a more complete picture of operational efficiency and staffing needs:
Recommended Additional Metrics
- Unit Hour Utilization (actual workload by apparatus)
- Concurrent call frequency
- EMS transport and ALS utilization rates
- Overtime percentage by division
- Average inspection and plan review turnaround times
- Staffing vacancies
- Sick leave usage
- False alarm reduction trends
- Public education programs delivered (not just attendance)
Caveats and Operational Considerations
Fire department staffing should not be evaluated solely on annual call volume. Unlike many municipal departments, fire agencies must maintain continuous emergency readiness regardless of workload fluctuations. Minimum staffing levels are driven by:
- Immediate emergency response capability
- Firefighter safety standards
- Simultaneous incident coverage
- EMS reliability
- Disaster preparedness
- Mandatory training requirements
Additionally, Manhattan Beach’s coastal location, dense residential development, visitor activity, and mutual aid responsibilities can increase operational complexity beyond what raw call totals suggest.
While the department’s current workload appears moderate overall, maintaining rapid response times and safe staffing levels requires sufficient personnel to avoid excessive overtime, burnout, and service degradation.
public Works
The Manhattan Beach Public Works Department reports a substantial operational workload for a city of approximately 35,000 residents and only four square miles in size. Despite the small geographic area, the city maintains an unusually dense and infrastructure-intensive environment due to its coastal location, aging utility systems, high visitor activity, and continual redevelopment pressures.
Reported annual workload indicators include:
- 29,041 phone calls received
- 19,433 private development and utility inspections
- 1,864 plan checks
- 580 right-of-way and excavation permits
- 51 active capital improvement projects
- 80 City Council agenda items
The department also maintains significant infrastructure assets, including:
- 110 miles of water mains
- 82 miles of wastewater pipelines
- 120 miles of paved streets
- 17,000 street signs
- 13,700 water meters
- 299 fleet vehicles/equipment/generators
- extensive stormwater infrastructure, parking systems, and public facilities
Operational response standards appear above average for comparable California cities:
- Graffiti removal within 1 business day
- Pothole repair within 2 business days
- 100% of sewer lines cleaned twice annually
These are strong service indicators and suggest a proactive maintenance philosophy.
Recommended Staffing Range
Based on the reported workload, infrastructure inventory, and typical benchmarks for full-service California municipalities, an efficient staffing range for Public Works is estimated at:
Approximate functional allocation:
Function Estimated FTE
Administration / Management 4–6
Engineering / CIP 8–14
Water Utility Operations 8–12
Wastewater / Stormwater 6–10
Streets / Signs / Parking 8–14
Fleet Maintenance 2–5
Facilities Maintenance 3–6
Inspection Staff 4–8
Administrative Support 3–5
Public Works Dept
Budget Most Efficient Maximum Recommended
Administrative Analyst 1
Administrative Assistant 2
Associate Engineer 3
Building Maintenance 3
Technician
City Engineer 1
Cross-Connection Control 1
Specialist
Electrician 2
Environmental 1
Compliance Technician
Equipment Maintenance 1
Supervisor
Equipment Mechanic I/II 3
Executive Assistant 1
Field operations Manager 1
Field Operations Supervisor 1
Facilities Supervisor 1
Lead Maintenance Worker 3
Lead Sewer Maintenance 1
Worker
Lead Water System 2
Operator
Lead Water Treatment 1
Operator
Maintenance Assistant 1
Maintenance Supervisor 1
Maintenance Worker I/II 10
Management Analyst 2
Parking Services Technician 2
Principal Civil Engineer 3
Project Coordinator 1
Public Works Director 1
Public Works Inspector 2
Senior Civil Engineer 4
Senior Engineering 1
Technician
Senior Management 2
Analyst
Sewer Maintenance 6
Worker
Solid Waste Administrator 1
Urban Forester 1
Utilities manager 1
Wastewater Supervisor 1
Water Compliance 1
Supervisor
Water Meter Technician 1
Water Superintendent 1
Water System Operator I/II 4
Water System Operator III 1
Water Treatment Operator 2
Administrative Management 4 6
Engineering CIP 8 14
Water Utility 8 12
Wastewater/Stormwater 6 10
Streets/Signs/Parking 8 14
Fleet Maintenance 3 6
Facilities Maintenance 3 6
Public Works Inspection 4 8
Administrative Support 3 5
Total 79 47 81
Actual staffing requirements depend heavily on:
- consultant utilization,
- outsourced maintenance contracts,
- fleet outsourcing,
- level of automation,
- and desired service levels.
Appropriate Productivity Standards
The current indicators are generally appropriate but primarily measure workload volume rather than true efficiency or infrastructure condition. Additional best-practice metrics should include:
Infrastructure Condition
- Pavement Condition Index (PCI)
- Water main break frequency
- Sewer overflow incidents
- Fleet replacement backlog
- Deferred maintenance liability
Operational Efficiency
- Cost per lane mile maintained
- Cost per utility customer served
- Average permit turnaround time
- Capital project delivery on-budget and on-schedule
- Preventive vs emergency maintenance ratios
Service Quality
- Customer satisfaction metrics
- Emergency response times
- Utility outage frequency
- Flooding and stormwater incident tracking
Caveats and Considerations
Several important caveats should be considered when evaluating staffing levels and productivity:
- Coastal Cities Require Higher Maintenance Levels
Salt air, tourism, and high public expectations typically increase maintenance demands compared to inland cities. - Development Activity Significantly Impacts Staffing Needs
The engineering and inspection workload appears high relative to city size and may justify additional technical staffing. - Response Standards Drive Personnel Requirements
Aggressive service expectations such as next-day graffiti removal and rapid pothole repair require sufficient field staffing and standby capacity. - Infrastructure Age Matters
Older underground utilities often require disproportionately more maintenance staffing. - Management Layering Should Be Reviewed Carefully
In many California cities, staffing growth occurs more rapidly in management and administrative classifications than in direct field operations.
Overall Assessment
The department appears operationally active and service-oriented with generally strong responsiveness standards. The next step toward best-practice performance management would be expanding from measuring “amount of work completed” to measuring:
- infrastructure condition,
- long-term asset preservation,
- cost efficiency,
- and service outcomes.
Those measures provide the clearest indication of whether staffing and spending levels are sustainable over time.
Community Development Department
The Manhattan Beach Community Development Department reports significant annual activity for a city of approximately 35,000 residents and only 4 square miles in size. The workload reflects the unique characteristics of the community, including high property values, frequent residential redevelopment, complex coastal regulations, and elevated customer service expectations.
Reported Annual Activity
The department reported:
- 520 residential permits
- 70 commercial permits
- 226 electrical permits
- 82 mechanical permits
- 180 solar permits
- 229 reroof permits
- 402 right-of-way/street use permits
- 258 temporary parking permits
- 16,558 building inspections
- 334 planning applications
- 986 new code enforcement cases
- 943 code enforcement cases closed
- 3,890 counter customers served
- 372 Public Records Act responses
- 454 building record reports
- 260 traffic requests processed
- 40,482 pages digitized
The department also reports strong customer service performance standards:
- Discretionary application completeness reviews within 30 days
- Major plan checks completed within 6 weeks
- Minor plan checks completed within 2 business days
- All inspections requested by 3:00 PM completed the next business day
Compared with other California coastal and Los Angeles-area cities, these service levels are generally above average, particularly the next-day inspection commitment and rapid turnaround for minor plan checks.
Recommended Staffing Range
Based on benchmark staffing levels for similarly situated California coastal cities, an appropriate staffing range would likely be:
Function Recommended FTE
Community Development Director 1
Deputy Director / Building Official 1
Plan Check / Senior Plan Examiners 2–3
Building Inspectors 4–5
Permit Technicians / Counter Staff 3–4
Planning Manager 1
Planners 3–5
Code Enforcement Officers 2
Engineering / ROW Staff 1–2
Administrative Support / Records 2–3
Total Estimated Staffing Approximately 21–29 FTE
Community Development Department
Budget Most Efficient Maximum Recommended
Administrative Analyst 2
Administrative Assistant 3 2 3
Assistant Planner 1
Associate Planner 4
Building Inspector 2 4 5
Building Official 1 1 1
Code Enforcement 4 2 2
Officer i/ii
Code Enforcement 1
Supervisor
Director 1 1 1
Deputy/Assistant Director 1 1
GIS/Records/Digital Tech
Environmental Programs 1
Administrator
Executive Assistant 1
Office Assistant 1
Permits Technician 4 3 4
Plan Check/Senior 2 3
Plan Examiner
Plan Check Engineer 1
Engineering/ROW Staff 1 2
Planning Manager 1 1 1
Planning Technician 1
Plans Examiner 1
Planners 2 3
Associate/Assistant Planners 1 2
Principal Building Inspector 1
Senior Building Inspector 1
Senior Business Services 1
Analyst
Senior Management analyst 1
Senior Permits Technician 1
Senior Plan Check Engineer 1
Senior Planner 2
Traffic Engineer 1
Total 39 21 28
The higher end of the range would typically reflect:
- extensive in-house services,
- higher customer service expectations,
- more discretionary planning review,
- and lower reliance on outside consultants.
Recommended Productivity Standards
While activity counts are useful, best-practice Community Development departments also track efficiency and outcome measures.
Recommended Performance Indicators
- Average permit turnaround times
- Percentage of permits issued over the counter
- Average inspections completed per inspector per day
- Percentage of next-day inspections achieved
- First-cycle plan approval rates
- Cost recovery percentage by division
- Average code enforcement case closure time
- Online permit submission percentage
- Customer satisfaction scores
- Consultant utilization and cost tracking
Typical Productivity Benchmarks
- Inspectors: 8–15 inspections per day depending on complexity
- Plan check turnaround:
- Minor permits: 1–5 business days
- Major residential/commercial: 4–8 weeks
- Code enforcement:
- 300–500 active cases annually per officer
- Cost recovery:
- Building divisions: 80–100%
- Planning divisions: 60–90%
Caveats and Considerations
Several important factors make Manhattan Beach more operationally complex than many cities of similar population:
- High-end residential construction typically requires more inspections and staff time.
- Coastal development regulations and discretionary review increase planning workload.
- Strong resident expectations increase demand for customer service responsiveness.
- Smaller cities often require staff to perform multiple specialized functions.
- Extensive customization of project review processes can reduce productivity and increase staffing requirements.
The department’s reported service standards indicate a generally responsive operation. However, activities alone do not determine whether staffing is fully optimized. A complete assessment would also require review of:
- overtime usage,
- consultant costs,
- fee recovery levels,
- technology utilization,
- and staffing ratios compared to peer agencies.
Overall, the department appears to maintain service levels that are above average for comparable California cities, particularly in inspection responsiveness and permit turnaround times.
Information Technology Department
The Information Technology Department supports a moderately complex municipal technology environment that includes 458 supported users, 433 desktops/laptops, 407 mobile devices, 418 desk phones/faxes, 89 copiers/scanners, 127 applications and services, 211 servers, 155 wireless access points, 68 switches/routers, 6 server rooms/data centers, and 36 conference room facilities. This represents a significant operational and cybersecurity responsibility for a city of approximately 35,000 residents.
The current reported metrics provide a good inventory of technology assets and infrastructure responsibilities, but they primarily measure the size of the environment rather than true operational productivity or service quality. While device counts, servers, applications, and network infrastructure are important workload indicators, they do not fully measure responsiveness, reliability, cybersecurity effectiveness, or customer service performance.
Recommended Productivity Standards and Performance Metrics
In addition to the existing inventory measures, modern municipal IT departments should track the following operational indicators:
Service Desk / User Support
- Number of help desk tickets opened and resolved
- Average response and resolution times
- First-call resolution percentage
- Percentage of tickets resolved within service-level targets
- User satisfaction scores
- After-hours emergency support incidents
Typical performance standards include:
- Critical issues resolved within 4 hours
- Standard service requests completed within 1–3 business days
- 85–90% service-level compliance
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure
- Network and server uptime percentages (target 99.9%+)
- Patch management compliance
- Phishing and cybersecurity training results
- Security incidents and ransomware prevention metrics
- Backup and disaster recovery testing success rates
- Multifactor authentication adoption
Strategic and Efficiency Metrics
- Percentage of digital workflows and online services
- Reduction in paper-based processes
- Application consolidation efforts
- Cloud migration progress
- Technology cost per supported employee
Recommended Staffing Range
Based on benchmarking with comparable full-service California cities and the complexity of the environment, an appropriate staffing range would generally be:
Position Recommended FTE
IT Director / CIO 1
Systems & Network Administrators 2
Desktop / Help Desk Support Technicians 2–3
Applications / Business Systems Analyst 1
Cybersecurity Analyst (shared or dedicated) 0.5–1
Total Recommended Staffing 6–8 FTE
Information Technology
Budget Most Efficient Maximum Recommended
Administrative Assistant 1
Applications Analyst 2
Geographic Information 1
Systems Admin
Information Technology 1 1 1
Director
Senior Management 1
Analyst
Senior Technology 2
Specialist
Senior Systems Engineer 1
Technology Specialist 2
Technology Systems 1
Engineer
Systems/Network 2 2
Administrator
Help Desk Support 2 3
Applications /Business 1 1
System Analyst
Cybersecurity/Compliance 1 1
Analyst
Total 12 6 7
This assumes a hybrid environment with some outsourced vendor support and managed services. If cybersecurity operations, cloud migration, GIS, or major software development functions are handled internally, staffing requirements could increase.
Caveats and Observations
Several infrastructure metrics suggest the environment may contain legacy complexity that could potentially be streamlined:
- 211 servers is relatively high for a city this size unless highly virtualized
- 127 applications/services indicates significant software management complexity
- 6 server rooms/data centers may indicate opportunities for consolidation and cloud migration
- 95 vendors creates substantial procurement and contract-management workload
Technology departments are increasingly evaluated not simply by the number of devices supported, but by:
- System reliability
- Cybersecurity preparedness
- Customer responsiveness
- Automation and modernization efforts
- Ability to reduce manual work across departments
Accordingly, staffing assessments should consider not only asset counts, but also cybersecurity risk exposure, after-hours operational demands, project workload, modernization initiatives, and service expectations established by city leadership and the public.