General Services warns of understaffing across 720,000 sq ft of city facilities; asks for HVAC and maintenance hires and energy manager

General Services presented a facilities and maintenance business plan that flagged capacity shortfalls across roughly 720,000 square feet of city buildings. Staff said current maintenance staffing is strained — the department reported one HVAC technician and three building maintenance technicians — and recommended hiring additional HVAC and maintenance staff plus an energy and efficiency program manager to oversee building automation systems and utility accounts.

Leadership said deferred or reactive maintenance is raising risk and costs, and they presented benchmarks showing municipal staffing ratios typically require more technicians per square foot than the city currently has. Staff argued an energy‑focused manager could generate savings by tuning building automation systems, reducing waste and preventing premature equipment failure.

The department also requested a third construction project manager and another purchasing coordinator to reduce backlogs and improve project oversight; it flagged accounts‑payable processing pressures and the need to address prompt‑payment compliance and contract auditing.

Councilmembers asked about workspace for new hires and the planned master‑plan study for service centers; staff said short‑term moves and a service‑center master plan would address workspace and centralization needs.