Description

Grade: STA4 FLSA Status: Non-Exempt
Safety Sensitive Position: Yes
Supervisor Title: Superintendent of Water Treatment Plant

Minimum Qualifications of Education and Experience:

Must possess a high school diploma or GED
Have the ability to obtain a Minnesota Class D Water Supply System Operator Certificate within ninety (90) days of eligibility.
Must obtain a Class "B" Water Supply System Operator certification within six (6) years of employment.

Must possess a valid driver's license and be able to drive in the state of Minnesota.

Any satisfactory equivalent combination of education, training, and experience that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the job proficiently may be substituted for the above requirements.

2026 Salary Schedule – STA4:

4.75%

4.50%

4.25%

4.00%

3.00%

Step 0

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 6

Step 7

Tenure Step

3 years from top step

$30.47

$31.92

$33.43

$35.02

$36.59

$38.24

$39.87

$41.46

$42.71

Employees who hold a valid Class B Water License and meet performance expectations are eligible for additional hourly pay as follows:

Employees at Steps 5–6 of the pay grade will receive an additional $1.00 per hour above the base pay rate.
Employees at Step 7 or higher will receive an additional $2.00 per hour above the base pay rate.

This additional compensation is applied to the employee’s regular hourly rate and is contingent upon maintaining the required license and satisfactory job performance.

Nature of Work:

This role is responsible for performing semi-skilled work to support the efficient operation, maintenance, and housekeeping of the Water Treatment Plant and the distribution system. Employees perform routine rounds of the plant, inspect and adjust equipment as needed, conduct preventative and corrective maintenance, assist with plant operations, and carry out daily tasks to ensure safe and reliable water production. Maintenance assignments focus on maintaining equipment reliability, performing repairs, and keeping the facility in proper working order, and may include performing the duties of a Plant Operator whenever an Operator is unavailable. Operators rotate between day, evening, and on-call shifts, managing treatment processes, monitoring chemical levels, and ensuring water quality meets all state, federal, and facility guidelines. Employees may be assigned to one or more functional areas within the department, providing exposure to a variety of operational and maintenance responsibilities.

About Us:
Our employees are committed to working in an environment that fosters the core values of the City of Mankato – positive attitude, accountability, respect, teamwork, and integrity. We care about making a positive difference in the lives of others. Our work is challenging and has purpose. We listen and engage with each other and our community. We are empowered and trusted to make good decisions that align with the public service principles and core values. Our organization is committed to investing and developing each other. We will recognize and celebrate our collective achievements and individual accomplishments.

We take pride in investing in our employees. Our team enjoys a supportive work environment that encourages not only success for the community we serve, but for you as well. Come grow your career with us!

Duties / Responsibilities

Primary Essential Work Functions:
Maintenance/Relief Operator

Makes periodic rounds of the plant, checking charts, equipment, and meters.
Safely makes equipment adjustments on various components.
Safely regulates electric motors, adjusts equipment and pumps for proper water flow and pumpage.
Conducts preventative maintenance inspections throughout the facility and remote sites utilizing an asset management program.
Conducts corrective maintenance activities either individually or in a team as assigned.
Inspects, maintains, and repairs all equipment within the facility to provide quality water.
Performs all housekeeping duties that are required.
Safely performs the duties of a maintenance electrician after on-the-job training and under general supervision; and must register with the Department of Labor and Industry as a registered unlicensed electrician.
Safely operates and inspects boilers.
Safely operates and maintains a membrane filtration system.

Shift Operator

Safely controls the proper treatment and pumping rates; safely manages the chemical levels within the Water Treatment Plant; performs laboratory testing to determine if the quality of water being produced is compliant with state, federal, and facility guidelines; and performs standard and chemical tests to ascertain water hardness, magnesium, turbidity, chlorine residual, fluoride, bacteria, and related testing.
Manages the storage capacity of the Water treatment plant by adjusting the flows into the plant and making the appropriate chemical feed rate adjustments.
Adjusts chemical feed rates and solid return rate for treatment processes under direction of the Superintendent of Water Treatment Plant.
Records data in regard to the treatment and pumping of Mankato’s water supply.

Other Work Functions:

Assists the general public with water concerns, water quality complaints, billing questions, water chemistry questions, or other city concerns.
Trains and mentors employees that are in the same or lower classification.
Performs physical and mental demands and work environment requirements for this position.
Attendance during regularly scheduled work hours and outside regular hours as necessary.
Effective and respectful communication and interactions with other employees, supervisors, individuals from other organizations, and community customers.
Performs other related work as assigned or apparent.

The above is a general listing of job duties. Essential and non-essential functions may vary by individual position. Reasonable accommodations may be available for both essential and non-essential job duties.

Communicates With:

Internally – Public Works Infrastructure Division, Information Technology, Administrative Services/Finance-Utility Billing
Externally – MN Department of Health, general public, contractors

Supervision:

Non-supervisory

Qualifications / Conditions of Employment

Must possess a valid Minnesota Class D driver's license and be able to drive; and obtain a Minnesota CDL Class A driver's license and a tanker endorsement within 365 days (1 year) of employment.
Must have the ability to obtain a Minnesota Class D Water Supply System Operator Certificate within ninety (90) days of eligibility.
Must obtain a Class "B" Water Supply System Operator certification within six (6) years of employment.
Must possess a Special Engineer Boiler Operators license or obtain one within six (6) months of employment.
Employees must register with the Department of Labor and Industry as an unlicensed maintenance electrician.
Satisfactory completion of a Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration (FMCSA) Clearinghouse query, background examination, physical examination, and drug testing.
Ability to pass medical standards for respirator use, and ability to wear while performing work duties.
Must be available for emergency overtime.
Must have the ability to respond to the Water Treatment Plant or location of the alarm (in city limits) within 30 minutes when on-call.
Must meet expectations of the work functions and knowledge, skills, and abilities for the position.
Must comply with organizational and departmental policies.
Must comply with data practices policies and standards relative to not public data. Any access to not public data should be strictly limited to accessing the data that are necessary to fulfill the employment responsibility. While data are being accessed, incumbent should take reasonable measures to ensure the not public data are not accessed by individuals without a work reason. Once the work reason to access the data is reasonably finished the not public data must be properly stored according to city policy and the Minnesota Statutes.
Safety Sensitive Notice. This is a safety sensitive position which requires cannabis pre-employment drug testing. Safety sensitive position means a job in which an impairment caused by drug, alcohol, or cannabis usage would threaten the health and safety of any person.

Hours of Work

Hours and days of work for this position will vary depending on scheduled shift. General working hours for the maintenance/plant operations assignment is Monday-Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. When working as a Plant Operator, the position will work daytime or evening hours and serve on an on-call rotation carrying a business cell phone to respond to emergencies outside normal business hours. May be required to work nights, weekends, and on holidays.

City of Mankato
2026 BENEFITS OVERVIEW
For Regular Full-Time Employees

The City of Mankato provides a comprehensive, balanced, and competitive benefits package as part of your total compensation. The City's benefits programs address both the immediate needs that you and your family may have, such as medical coverage or flexible spending accounts, and your long-term needs, such as retirement savings. The following outline of City-offered benefits serves as an overview and does not provide all provisions, limitations, and exclusions. If there is a contradiction between this and the official plan documents, the plan documents will prevail.

EMPLOYER PROVIDED BENEFITS:

Paid Vacation:

Vacation accruals, utilization, and payouts vary within each collective bargaining agreement and/or employee handbook. The following is the general overview of the vacation benefit:

Vacation hours may be accrued to a maximum of 50 days or 400 hours.
Hours are accrued incrementally each pay period.
Vacation hours may be taken in 30-minute increments.
Unused balance carries over year to year.

Years of Service - Vacation Days Per Year

0 - 5 years - 10 days
6 - 10 years - 15 days
11 - 14 years - 17 days
15 -20 years - 20 days
21 years - 21 days
22 years - 22 days
23 years - 23 days
24 years - 24 days
25 years - 25 days
26 years - 26 days
27 years - 27 days
28 years - 28 days
29 years - 29 days
30+ years - 30 days

Paid Sick Leave:

Employees earn 8 hours of sick leave per month.

11 Paid Holidays and 1 Floating Holiday:

All regular full-time employees of the City, except those who are governed by a union contract or different holiday policy, receive the following paid holidays:

1. New Year's Day

2. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

3. Presidents Day

4. Memorial Day

5. Juneteenth

6. Independence Day

7. Labor Day

8. Veterans Day

9. Thanksgiving Day

10. Friday After Thanksgiving Day

11. Christmas Day

12. Floating Holiday

Health Insurance Coverage Through Blue Cross/Blue Shield of MN:

Health insurance plans to choose from: $5,000 HDHP with an HSA, $3,400 HDHP with an HSA, $500 CMM, $100 CMM/Traditional Plan
Single Coverage
- The City will contribute 95% of the premium for the IRS Minimum Embedded Deductible Plan.
- The City will contribute 100% of the premium for the alternative High-Deductible plan.
- For all other single coverage plan options, the City will contribute at the same premium rate as the IRS minimum embedded deductible plan.
Dependent Coverage (Employee + Spouse, Employee + Children, or Family)

- The City will contribute 90% of the premium of each High-Deductible Plan option. All other plan options the City will contribute at the same premium rate as the IRS minimum embedded deductible plan.
Employee Responsibility
- Employees are responsible for paying the remaining percentage of premiums, which will be deducted through payroll, on a bi-weekly basis.
City contributions for union members will follow negotiated contract language.

Employer and employee contributions for non-union employees are shown below. Please note that union employee health insurance benefits may vary by contract.

NICE Healthcare (Free to all full-time employees):

NICE Healthcare is an integrated primary care clinic – meaning NICE offers almost all of the services of a traditional primary care clinic and then some. And better yet, NICE brings that care to your home, office, or wherever you happen to be.

Offers employees and their household members an amazing healthcare benefit with no out-of-pocket fees. Below are the comprehensive primary care services that NICE offers:

Same-Day Chat and Video Visits
In-Home Visits with 35 Free Labs and Physical Tests
550+ Free Medications Can Be Prescribed by Our Clinicians
Free Virtual Physical Therapy
Free Virtual Mental Health Therapy
Free In-Home X-rays and EKG Services

Minnesota Paid Family Medical Leave

Minnesota Paid Family Medical Leave is a benefit for employees to be able to have paid time off (with partial wage replacement) and job protection for employees who need to take leave for certain medical or family-care reasons. This is a State required benefit for all employers in the State of Minnesota. Premium contributions for this benefit will be at a shared cost to the City and the employee. Premium rates for 2026 are .78% of gross earnings. This will be split 50/50. Employees will see a .39% of gross wages after tax deduction.

Term Life Insurance:

The City provides a term life insurance policy at no cost to the employee. (Face value is 125% of employee's base salary up to a maximum of face value of $50,000).

Retirement - PERA (Public Employees Retirement Association)

1. Must participate as directed by Minnesota Statutes.

2. Employer and employee contribution rates vary depending on position.

3. May obtain refund of employee contribution on termination of service.

2026 Employer/Employee PERA Contribution Rates - Effective January 1, 2026

Contributions are calculated on gross bi-weekly salary each pay period.

Coordinated Plan

Employer: 7.5%

Employee 6.5%

Police and Fire Plan

Employer: 17.7%

Employee 11.8%

OPTIONAL VOLUNTARY BENEFITS AVAILABLE:

The following benefits are available on an elective basis at the employee's choice:

Deferred Compensation Plans (457)

Plans available through Mission Square Retirement, Nationwide Retirement Solutions, and MN State Deferred Compensation Plan.

Health Care and Day Care Flexible Spending Accounts

Computer Purchase Program

0% interest for up to 3 years (max. $3,500) to purchase a home computer

Voluntary Payroll Deductions Available for:

Dental Insurance – Coverage through MetLife – 100% employee cost
Vision Insurance – Coverage through MetLife – 100% employee cost
YMCA membership at corporate rates
Savings Bonds
Various voluntary group life and disability plans.
AFLAC

Credit Union Membership – Eligible for membership

MN Valley Federal Credit Union
Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union

Vacation Purchase Program

Employees may purchase additional vacation time (limits apply).

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

In Addition:

The City of Mankato is a qualifying employer of the Student Loan Forgiveness Program.

Questions regarding benefit information can be directed to Human Resources at 507-387-8664.

City of Mankato

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