Board to consider reports on contracts, classification study, GARVEE

After spending the past six months touring and meeting in each district, the board will return to Headquarters next week for its monthly meeting. Meetings will be in Boise until the district tours resume in April.

The agenda Wednesday and Thursday includes an annual report on contracts and procurements from Business and Support Management. In the past fiscal year, 20,028 purchase orders were issued, representing $50,166,840. Both the number and dollar amount were fewer than the previous fiscal year when 24,630 purchase orders totaled $77,248,621.

Business and Support Management issued 55 professional services agreements for $1,013,901. That was an increase of 31 percent and 35 percent from the previous year, respectively. There also were 104 contracts in the amount of $8,554,500 in FY12 compared to 95 contracts for $33,313,069 in FY11; however, the FY11 figure includes the $27 million contract award for the Division of Motor Vehicles’ modernization system.

Business and Support Management reports annually on the contracts and procurements that are processed through the Division of Administration. The Contract Administration Unit in the Division of Highways provides monthly reports on the professional services agreements and work tasks it issues. In September, 17 new professional services agreements and work tasks were issued in the amount of $885,040. Seven were for local agency projects. During that period, six supplemental agreements to existing agreements also were processed for $631,450.

Other agenda items

Report on classification and compensation project
A summary on the classification and compensation study will be presented. The study was conducted last year to review jobs, assess current career path opportunities, and analyze ITD’s position in relation to market competitors. In addition to reporting the findings, proposed solutions also will be presented.

Some of the findings related to jobs and careers include:

  • ITD currently uses 189 classifications, of which, 68 are specific to the department;
  • 51 percent of all classifications have two or fewer employees;
  • Narrowly-defined classifications can stifle career paths and progression; and
  • Employees do not understand the system and how to get ahead except through reclassifications.

Regarding pay, the current job evaluation methodology ignores the employee and concentrates on the value of the job. There appears to be a disconnect between the market salary rates and the current salary structure; there is a lack of internal equity; and overall, ITD salaries are 11.8 percent below the competitive market, with some jobs better and some worse.

Potential solutions include broad job families and classifications that allow for flexibility in staffing and assignments; understandable career paths; and pay ranges that align with the market.

GARVEE Program scope
Earlier this year, the board identified funds for the construction of three new interchanges on Interstate 84 in the Treasure Valley – Meridian Interchange, Broadway Interchange, and Gowen Road Interchange. ITD has been finalizing the scopes and schedules for these GARVEE projects. Taking design standards into consideration, and upon a detailed review of ramp taper lengths, a one-mile gap was identified between the Broadway and Gowen interchanges.

The Environmental Assessment completed earlier for the I-84, Orchard to Isaac’s Canyon corridor identified the need for three lanes in each direction between the Broadway and Gowen Interchanges. Leaving this segment unimproved could create potential safety and traffic congestion issues. Staff members identified $3 million that would be available to construct the additional lanes now, not only addressing the potential safety and congestion issues, but also minimizing future public inconvenience of constructing the lanes at a later date.

Published 10-12-2012