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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRPT 6 STUDENT INTERN 05-02-88DATE: HAY 2, 1988 REPORTS NO. 6 5-2,88 Inter- Corn TO: FROM: SU BJ ECT: WILLIN4 A. HUSTON, CITY HAJ~AGER N)illNIS'TRATION SllJDENT Im~FrERN PROGRAJt BACKGROUND: Councilman Prescott had requested that staff survey other cities with regard to their involvement in student intern programs. We surveyed 13 cities, 12 in Orange County and, acting upon a recommendation from the League of California Cities, the City of Monterey Park in Los Angeles County. The 12 Orange County cities are; Anaheim, Brea, Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Irvine, Newport Beach, Orange, San Clemente and Westminster. Each was asked the following: Do you have a student intern program for high school and/or college students? 2. In what departments do the interns work? 3 How many hours per week are the interns required to work? 4. Are the interns paid? If so, at what rate? 5. Do the interns earn school credits? 6. What type of work do the students perform? The cities responded thus: Anaheim The program is for upper division college students only, preferably those in the business and public administration disciplines. The City Manager's office, Personnel, Planning and Maintenance have interns. They are required to work 20 hours per week and have a salary range of $6.33 $6.65/hour. The City will cooperate with the college to award credit where available. The interns perform lower level staff work (such as special projects, surveys, code enforcement, etc.), with a conscious effort on the part of the departments to avoid assigning clerical tasks. Student Intern Program ~pri] 28, 1988 Page two Brea The program is for upper division college students only, although they will select from any discipline. The interns work in Administration, Budget Services, Community Services, Engineering, Finance, Planning and Public Information Services. Not all positions are currently filled. Interns are hired on an as-needed basis as determined by the department. They are required to work 20 hours per week and have a flat rate of $6.70/hour. The City will cooperate to award credit. Interns perform lower level staff work, with an emphasis on public contact. Brea will use the interns for clerical tasks if needed. Buena Park No formal program; the City has one college intern position in the Planning Department, filled on an as needed basis, selected from public administration programs. A position in the City Manager's office was deleted. The number of hours per week is arranged by department needs and student schedules. The position has a salary range of $5.50 $7.25/hour. The City will cooperate to award credit. The intern performs special projects such as surveys and clerical tasks such as filing and errands. Costa Mesa The program is for college students from any discipline. Interns are placed in Personnel, Development Services (i.e, Planning, Building, Engineering). Number of hours per week is determined by the department but they may require up to 20 hours. The salary range is $6.00 $6.95/hour. The City will cooperate to award credit. The interns perform special projects work. Cypress No formal program; the City has two positions for upper division college students from any discipline, one in Parks and Recreation, the other in Finance DepartmQnt. A position in Administration was deleted. The positions are filled on an as needed basis, may work up to 20 hours per week but no more than 1040 hours per year. The salary range is $5.98 $6.60/hour. The City will cooperate to award credit. The interns perform lower level staff work as previously described and special projects. Fountain Valley The City has two programs. The first is for upper division college students drawn from public administration disciplines and placed in departments according to their selected course of study. Interns are Student Intern Project April 28, 1988 Page three currently working in Personnel {which they indicated is unusual-once the special project-an orientation video-is finished, the intern will be dismissed), Engineering and Public Works. Except for Engineering, the salary range is $5.06 $6.42/hour. Engineering requires very specific technical skills and pays the intern a range of $9.33 - $10.29/hour. The City will cooperate to award credit. The second program, coordinated with the School District, is for high school seniors to work after school in Police, Personnel and Community Services. The number of hours is left to the discretion of the Department. The students are not paid but do get credit. The students make posters, file and, if they have the skills, perform simple clerical tasks. Garden Grove The City has a formal program for college students from any discipline. Interns are currently working in Administrative Services, Development Services, Economic Development, Finance and Housing. Work hours are arranged at the discretion of the department and the interns receive a flat rate of $5.88/hour. The City will cooperate to award credit. The interns perform lower level staff work as previously described. Irvine The City has no formal program, however the Planning Department does have a college intern position for planning majors. Work hours are arranged as needed and the position has a salary range of $6.64 $7.68/hour. The City will cooperate to award credit. The interns perform lower level staff work as previously described. Monterey Park The City has two intern positions for upper division college students, one in the City Clerk's office, one in Personnel. Work hours are arranged as needed and the positions have a flat rate of $6.34/hour. The City will cooperate to award credit. The interns work on special projects. Newport Beach At one time the City had a program for college students but because of space and staff limitations cancelled it several years ago. They do not have any intentions of re-instating any program for college or high school students. Student Intern Program April 28, lg88 Page four Orange Each summer the City makes available one, three-month internship for an upper division Chapman college student from the business or public administration programs. The intern works full-time in the City Manager's office for a flat rate of $7.50. The City will cooperate in awarding credit. The interns performs special assignments as directed by the City Manager. San C1 emente The City has no formal program but the Planning Department will make intern positions available for upper division college students as the work load requires. The interns are paid a flat rate of $6.50/hour. The City will cooperate to award credit. The interns perform special projects, lower level staff work and clerical as needed. Westminster The City has no formal program but the Planning Department will make one position available for a college student as the work load requires. The interns are paid a flat rate of $4.80/hour which will increase to $6.30/hour in June. The City will cooperate to award credit. The interns perform lower level staff work. Three cities (Anaheim, Garden Grove and La Habra) and the County of Orange cooperate with the State of California in a job placement program for high school students. This program is federally funded and targets economically disadvantaged students. While the students have the opportunity to earn credit, the main thrust of the program is to provide financial assistance and job training. SUFg~IARY Of the cities surveyed, four cities have formal programs for college students. One City, in conjunction with the school district has a program for high school students. Most positions are filled as work load requires and that decision is left to the department. The majority of cities indicated a desire to have the interns perform staff work as opposed to clerical, stating an intent to allow the student to acquire skills relevant to their course of study. All of the cities with either formal or informal programs cooperate with the schools to award credit were available. The cities or departments which have dropped or curtailed programs cited lack of space and staff to supervise the interns. Student Intern Program April 28, lg88 Page five If the City Council determines space, staff and/or funding limitations are prohibitive for an ongoing, full-time program, it may wish to consider alternatives such as a once-a-year local government awareness day for the high schools and community colleges. / J~net M. Hester Executi ye Coordinator /jmh