HomeMy WebLinkAbout2- Part II-Presentation for 2-15-2012
CITY OF PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS MANAGEMENT AND PERFORMANCE REVIEW UPDATED DRAFT FINAL REPORT The Mercer Group Inc. February 15, 2012 Part II – Department Assessments 1
OVERALL RESULTS OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE SURVEY (Exhibits 2) •Structure: Employees respond to sixty statements that are grouped into twelve subscales (see Attachment A for Detailed
Results and Attachment B for a Master Copy of the surveys) •Overall: Overall scores (51.67% Agree, 15.66% Undecided, and 32.66% Disagree) meet our Minimum Standard of over 50% Agree
and under 40% Disagree •Keys: Key performance indicators (Quality, Productivity and Customer Service, and Manager Competence) are close to 60% Agree, our High Performance Standard •Supervisors:
Supervisors are slightly (about 5% overall) more positive than employees, which is better than most of our clients where a 10%+ difference is common •Low Departments: Several departments
or divisions (City Attorney, Police, Environmental Health, Library, and Solid Waste/Landfill) have overall scores well under 50% Agree •Low Subscales: Several subscales (Career Opportunities,
Compensation and Benefits, Receptivity to Change, Employee Involvement) have overall scores well under 50% Agree 2
OVERALL RESULTS OF THE RESOURCES SURVEY (Exhibits 1) •Structure: Employees rate and comment on nine factors, such as staffing, facilities, tools, and computers (See Attachment A for
Detailed Results and Attachment B for a Master Copy of the surveys) •Overall: The overall score of 3.070 meets our Minimum Standard of 3=Adequate •Issues: But some departments have factor
scores closer to 2.0=Fair, which is problematic Staffing (City Attorney, Transit) Facilities (City Secretary, EDC, Police) Vehicles (City Administration, HR) Tools (City Administration,
EDC) Computers (Library) Materials (Finance) 3
OVERALL RESULTS OF THE PERSONNEL PRACTICES SURVEY (Exhibits 1) •Structure: Employees rate and comment on ten factors, such as hiring process, career ladders, training, pay, and morale
(See Attachment A for Detailed Results and Attachment B for a Master Copy of the surveys) •Overall: The overall score of 2.726 is slightly below our Minimum Standard of 3=Adequate, with
all factors within .5 points of the overall average •Issues: But, some departments have factor scores closer to 2=Fair, which is problematic Hiring Process (Attorney, Library, Police)
Career Ladders (Attorney, Finance, HR, Planning, EDC, P&R, Police) Training (HR, Community Services, Civic Center, P&R, Library, Fire, Public Works) Performance Evaluations (Attorney,
Finance, Community Services, EDC, P&R, Transit, Police) Pay (Attorney, Finance, HR, Community Services, P&R, Library, Transit, Police, Health, Public Works) Benefits (Attorney, Police)
Labor Relations (Finance, Neighborhood Revitalization, P&R, Library, Transit, Police, Police, Health, Public Works Morale (Attorney, Planning, EDC, Police, Public Works) 4
CITY ADMINISTRATION •Surveys: Employee survey scores meet or exceed our Minimum Standard •Recommendations: The Mayor and City Council should emphasize several key attributes in recruiting
a new city manager) Strategic and Financial Planning Financial and budgetary acumen State and Federal grantsmanship Ability to work in a multi-cultural community Economic development
and downtown redevelopment 5
CITY ATTORNEY •Surveys: Employee survey scores are much lower than most city departments •Finding: Need staff to focus on abandoned properties, contracts, City Council items, etc. •Recommendation:
Fund a part-time City Attorney •Finding: IT support is a weakness •Recommendation: Assess IT Needs in the coming update to the IT Strategic Plan 6
CITY SECRETARY •Surveys: OCS results exceed our High Performance Standard and the other survey results meet our Minimum Standards •Finding: The current City Secretary and Assistant serve
in interim positions, which may create leadership uncertainty •Finding: Staffing in City Hall and the Municipal Court is thin, particularly in Elections and Warrants •Recommendation:
Seek alternative ways to conduct elections (Jefferson County!) and create a Warrant Officer to foster collection of outstanding warrants •Finding: IT Services are not adequate to support
services in City Hall and the Municipal Court •Recommendation: Assess IT needs in the coming update to the IT Strategic Plan, particularly intranet, electronic record keeping, and improvements
to the records center across from City Hall 7
CITY FINANCE •Surveys: OCS and Resources employee survey scores meet our Minimum Standards, but the Personnel Practice score is low •Finding: The City’s financial condition across all
fund continues to be a challenge, particularly in three respects: Revenue Management: Revenue enhancement will require a greater will to apply fees and collect delinquent accounts
Services Level and Expenditure Management: Cost savings can be achieved, but will require rethinking service levels not just across-the-board cuts Budget Process and Methods: Budget
analysis is a management team duty and the budget document is primarily financial •Recommendation: Revenue Management: Be more aggressive in defining and applying cost-based fees with
appropriate discounts/waivers and aggressively pursue collections of delinquent accounts and warrants perhaps with an amnesty period Services Level and Expenditure Management: Rethink
service levels and expand contracting where practical Budget Process and Methods: Create a Budget Analyst position, consider alternative budget methods (e.g., Trial Budget), improve
financial reporting, and look to the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) for budgetary models and training 8
CITY FINANCE (Continued) •Finding: The Water and Sewer Fund has high debt levels and a weak overall financial condition •Recommendation: See Chapter IX •Finding: Based on our experience
(and not a detailed analysis), the Compensation Plan appears to need updating •Recommendation: Update the Classification and Compensation Study for both internal and external equity
9
HUMAN RESOURCES •Surveys: Overall scores meet our High Performance (OCS) or Minimum (others) Standards •Finding: As noted in Part I, some HR issues need to be addressed. HR Policies:
In some cases need updating HR Practices: Issue areas include Performance Evaluations, Hiring, Candidates, Pay Scale, Classification and Compensation Plan Information Technology:
HR lacks an automated HR system and few records are managed electronically •Recommendations: HR Policies: Update and revise policies then communicate to departments HR Practices:
Review and examine the HR practices identified above Information Technology: Assess IT needs in the coming update to the IT Strategic Plan 10
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY •Surveys: Included in Finance •Findings: IT Planning: The 2009 IT Plan, which focuses on City Hall agencies, is about to be updated IT Systems: Departments
are asking for a higher level of automation, including hand-held devices and GIS IT Support: The IS Division has three support positions, who mostly focus on City Hall departments,
plus two in the Police Department. The city employees to support staff ratio in Port Arthur is high compared to several other local governments •Recommendations: IT Planning: Update
the IT Strategic Plan in 2012 perhaps with the assistance of a consultant, but expand the scope to include all City departments and create quantifiable, time-specific performance measures
IT Systems: Enhance City Hall and department IT systems and services to include the network backbone, communications, and hand-held devices, GIS, library, engineering and surveying
IT Support: Analyze support staff needs when updating the plan to include City Hall, City Departments (Library), and Police/Fire support (Police and Fire need two support positions)
11
COMMUNITY SERVICES (Code Enforcement, Inspections, & Permits) •Surveys: The OCS score exceeds our High Performance Standard and the others meet our Minimum Standard •Findings: Functional
Organization: The three Community Development departments have a lot of overlap as do divisions within Community Services, with Animal Shelter not functionally related Staffing: Inspection
Division staffing has remained constant during a decline in development, permits, and inspections due to the recession Technology and GIS: Technology and automation, including GIS,
is lacking Procedures: No written procedures User Fees: Fees only cover about 63% of the direct cost of service where most inspection agency cover 100% of the full cost of service
Animal Shelter: Procedures and controls can be compromised 12
COMMUNITY SERVICES (Continued) (Code Enforcement, Inspections, & Permits) •Recommendations: Functional Organization: Consolidate Community Services, Neighborhood Revitalization, and
Planning into one department, move the Animal Shelter under the ACM for Operations, and create a One-Stop Center for permits and inspections Staffing: Review staffing levels with consolidation,
particularly in Inspections and to cross-utilize support staff Technology and GIS: Assess IT needs in the coming update to the IT Strategic Plan to include application of a GIS Procedures:
Develop written policies and procedures User Fees: Develop and implement a user fee policy so that inspection fees cover the full cost of service Animal Shelter: Implement access
control policies and procedures 13
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION •Surveys: Employee surveys meet our Minimum Standards of 50% Agree and 3=Adequate •Findings: Approach: The EDC is not proactive enough in its programs
Community Workforce: Citizen job skills do not appear to match employer needs, particularly for the refineries City-EDC: The relationship between the EDC and City Council and the
City and EDC staffs presents challenges EDC Management: Current management practices are not effective •Recommendations: Approach: Per Part I, establish a Type B EDC and make a strong
effort to become much more proactive in carrying out the EDC mission Community Workforce: Work to develop the skills of the local workforce to meet employer needs, particularly for
technical jobs City-EDC: Streamline and enhance relationships between the City and EDC EDC Management: Change the culture within EDC (see list of issues) 14
NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION •Surveys: Employee survey scores meet our Minimum Standards of 50% Agree and 3=Adequate •Findings: Functional Organization: Departments and functions overlap
Staffing: Some staff are mismatched to their job descriptions and productivity is low Technology/GIS: Key data and functions are not automated Policies/Procedures: Very limited
written policies and procedures •Recommendations: Functional Organization: Consolidate with other Community Development Departments Staffing: Update job descriptions, then review
the match between staff/job duties and explore productivity issues (e.g., greater cross-training) Technology/GIS: Assess IT needs in the coming update to the IT Strategic Plan with
a focus on GIS application Policies/Procedures: Document all policies and procedures in writing 15
PLANNING •Surveys: The OCS exceeds our High Performance Standard of 60% Agree and others are just below our Minimum Standard of 3=Adequate •Findings: Organizational Placement: Three
departments means no one is able to read and address “Big Picture” issues related to development Comprehensive Planning: The 1989 Comp Plan is way out-of-date Maps and Records: Maps
are not managed well and GIS has been purchased but not applied Offices: Space is cramped and poorly laid out •Recommendations: Organizational Placement: Merge the three Community
Development departments Comprehensive Planning: Quickly move to update the Comp Plan and its various sub-plans and components, like Zoning Maps and Records: Implement the purchased
GIS System and assess all IT needs in the coming update to the IT Strategic Plan Offices: Work other Community Development agencies to create a One-Stop Center and review office space
allocations and layout 16
CIVIC CENTER •Surveys: The employee surveys meet Mercer’s Minimum Standards of 50% Agree and 3=Adequate •Findings: Civic Center: The Civic Center is heavily used on weekends, but not
much during the week, and needs maintenance. Fees appear competitive. Commission: The board is close-knit with long-serving members Neighborhood Centers: A mixed bag of facilities
– new and in good shape to old and in bad shape. Many are underused and “loss leaders” with little revenue and heavy maintenance (e.g., Barker, Department Club, Rose Hill) CVB: Co-located
at the Civic Center and a good partner in competing for business •Recommendations: Civic Center: Meet major business challenges to increase weekday events and revenues to meet an agreed-upon
revenue goal. Try to attract a major hotel on adjacent property for weekday meetings. Invest in deferred maintenance ($200,000). Commission: Consider some new blood on the board with
business backgrounds to support business challenges Neighborhood Centers: Review the condition, use, and usefulness of these centers in a future study. Be prepared to close some centers.
Shift Rose Hill to the Civic Center from P&R. CVB: Work cooperatively to expand weekday business and attract a major hotel 17
HEALTH •Surveys: The OCS score meets our High Performance Standard of 60% Agree and the other surveys meet our Minimum Standard of 3=Adequate. Environmental Health, however, has low
scores. •Findings: Planning: Mostly focused on grants and programs, not department-wide Service Delivery Structure: One of several Health Departments in Jefferson County with some
overlap with the County. Public-private coordination of patient care is evolving, but limited. Management Organization: Director and Assistant Director are focused more on programs
and services than management control. Environmental Health need higher level of supervision. Emergency Preparedness: Plans in place, but services are evolving at the state level. Epidemiologist
is a key position, but might lose grant funding. Employee Health Clinic: Evolving. Nurse Practitioner is a key position, but vacant part of 2011. Needs more clients. Environmental
Health: Sanitarians and Code Enforcement are relatively independent. Code Enforcement is okay okay in Health, but not fully integrated. Needs more supervision. Physical Health: Effective,
but fees and billing need work. Appointment cancellations an issue. Vital Statistics: Fees (state-controlled) and records management are issues Resource Management: IT maturing,
but not there yet, particularly for records. 18
HEALTH (Continued) •Recommendations: Planning: Develop a department-wide functional business plan Service Delivery Structure: Review and coordinate the roles of the Health Departments.
Enhance public-private coordination of patient care Management Organization: Provide more defined roles for the Director (Administration, Emergency Preparedness, Environmental Health)
and Assistant Director (Physical Health) Emergency Preparedness: Track evolution of the program at the state level. Work to keep funding for the Epidemiologist position. Employee
Health Clinic: Work with PA Schools and Lamar State-PA to expand the client base. Consider contract operation to provide back-up for the key Nurse Practitioner position. Environmental
Health: Review fees and billing practices. Enhance IT capabilities to include property data via GIS. More effectively monitor mowing contractors and enforce contract specifications.
Physical Health: Review fees, waivers, discounts, and billing practices, including Medicaid and 3rd parties. If possible, expand scheduled appointments and charge for “No Shows.” Vital
Statistics: Work with the state to make fees cost-based. Accelerate the program to digitize records and provide a more secure, climate-controlled area for offices and records. Resource
Management: Assess IT needs in the coming update to the IT Strategic Plan 19
LIBRARY •Surveys: Although the Resources Survey meets our Minimum Standard of 3=Adequate, the OCS and Personnel Practices scores are very low. •Findings: Governance: The PAPL is a
City Department and not a Library District. The advisory Library Board is working to redefine its role and mission, create by-laws, and set goals. The Friends has been a positive force
for the Library. Board-staff relationships appear a bit tense at times. Planning: The state mandates that the library prepare a long-range plan every five years. The last update was
in 2007. Some 2007 goals have not been accomplished. Mercer raises key questions for the 2012 update. Service Delivery Structure: The PAPL operates relatively independently except
for interlibrary loans. Jefferson County recently closed its libraries. County residents are welcome at PAPL (with a $20 library card rate). Organization/Staffing: The management team
is not fully cohesive. Current staff includes four people with a MLS (one in progress). Two positions are vacant. Operations Management: Cataloging is slow and has a backlog. Monthly
reporting is limited. Resource Management: The facility needs a few upgrades, fees are relatively low, and the library system is functional but may not meet all PAPL needs. 20
LIBRARY (Continued) •Recommendations: Governance: Continue the good work of the Library Board and Friends, but refine missions, by-laws, and goals. Resolve any board-staff relationship
issues. Planning: Update the library long-range plan in 2012, considering the questions Mercer raises under Findings. Simplify the mission statement. Reconsider hours of operation.
Service Delivery Structure: Explore opportunities for regional cooperation, leading with PAPL strengths (e.g., genealogy). Market to underserved County residents with usage compensated
at an appropriate fee. Organization/Staffing: Work on management team cohesiveness. Reconsider MLS needs at a relatively small library. Hold off on filling the Reference Librarian
position. Operations Management: Optimize the cataloging process and explore self-checkout and layout issues at the front desk to reduce staffing needs Resource Management: Conduct
a Facility Needs Analysis, review and update fees, and assess IT needs during the coming update to to the IT Strategic Plan 21
PARKS AND RECREATION •Surveys: Employee surveys scores were at or close to our Minimum Standards of 50% Agree and 3=Adequate. •Findings: Planning: The Parks Plan was adopted in 2007,
is aging, and is planned for an update in 2012. Total acreage seems adequate based on national standards, but we can’t confirm the City has the right number and mix of programs to serve
its citizens. Management Organization: The Human Resources Director serves a second role as the P&R Director, a position filled in the past. Recreation: The department runs a number
of center and parks-based programs, including athletics, aquatics, senior citizens, and summer youth. Youth and Adult athletic programs also are run by independent parties. Fees are
limited and low. Golf Course: The course is contract-operated with a highly committed site manager. The course needs a make-over as described by the Golf Pro in the report. Parks
Maintenance: A small crew maintains hundreds of acres of parks and rights-of-way. Work management is is informal. Some activities are performed by contractors. Rose Hill: Reports to
the P&R Department. Parks Advisory Board: Used for the 2007 plan, but not in place at present. 22
PARKS AND RECREATION (Continued) •Recommendations: Planning: We support the HR Director’s plan to update the Parks Plan with a number of suggestions. Include Pleasure Island facilities
in the planning process. Consider hiring an Urban Planning firm to conduct the update. Management Organization: Continue the HR Director’s dual role in HR and P&R, but watch for future
need for a P&R Director. Consider the value of grouping citizen services under an Assistant City Manager. Recreation: Strongly consider adding soccer fields and restrooms at major
parks. Use the Parks Plan to define the need of youths, adults, senior, and special needs citizens and define appropriate cost-based fees. Golf Course: Prepare a redevelopment plan
for the golf courses (including Pleasure Island) to increase annual rounds to a viable number (50,000 plus). Parks Maintenance: Expand the role of the Parks Supervisor. Implement a
work management system and define staffing needs based on work standards. Implement a playground equipment inspection program. Revive the “Adopt-a-Park” program. Rose Hill: Shift to
the Civic Center because it is a revenue-generating program. Parks Advisory Board: Create an ongoing P&R advisory board similar to the PAPL. 23
TRANSIT •Surveys: The OCS and Resources Surveys meet our Minimum Standards of 50% Agree and 3=Adequate, but the Personnel Practices score is somewhat low. •Findings: Vision: Management
has a broad vision for meeting transit needs in the city. Organizational Placement: PAT reports to the Planning Director, which is unusual. Funding: Funding from some sources may
not have been effectively managed, resulting in a desk audit by a funding agency. Joint Purchasing: Little coordination between PAT and other City departments, particularly for fuel
and equipment maintenance. Technology: PAT lacks technology to manage operations. •Recommendations: Organizational Placement: PAT could operate as a stand-alone department or in
a group with operations or citizen service agencies. Funding: Ensure staff is trained on grant management requirements. Department Collaboration: Explore opportunities for joint
purchasing with other City departments. Coordinate with Planning on routes and citizen services. Technology: Assess IT needs with the coming update to the IT Strategic Plan. 24
FIRE •Comparative Data: We reviewed ICMA data and city budgets to compile comparative data: Cost Per Capita: At $206.40 PAFD is a bit above the regional average, but at the national
average for communities 50-100k. Station Coverage: PAFD covers 11.84 square miles per station, which is higher than area communities (6.1-7.1 square miles). Area of the city drives
up costs and staffing (primarily due to the number of stations required in the city) Staff Per Capita: At 1.99 PAFD is a bit above regional and national data, but comparable to area
communities (1.56-2.41) •Prior Studies: We reviewed the 2000 Buracker study and the 2006 Pietsch study and measured progress on their recommendations (see Tables 1-2) •Surveys: The OCS
score meets our High Performance Standard of 60% Agree and the other surveys meet out Minimum Standard of 3=Adequate 25
FIRE (Continued) •Findings: Strategic Direction: The mission statement was not updated (per Buracker) and, like other departments, Fire lacks a functional business plan. Dispatch:
An internal Police/Fire group studied dispatch operations (Attachment D) and came up with eight recommendations. Resource Management: Equipment is up-to-date, despite budget limits,
and well maintained by a contractor. Facility conditions vary station-to-station, some excellent and some needing work. Training is evolving. Although IT systems are modern, systems
support is understaffed with one Tech. Fire Inspections: With heavy workload, commercial inspections are not done. Company-level inspections have been tried with limited success. Fire
Operations: Apparatus staffing meets national averages. Mutual Aide: The area is a national model for mutual aid cooperation through the Sabine-Port Neches Chiefs Association. Support
back/forth appears relatively balanced. Emergency Management: With hurricanes, port, and refineries, Emergency Management is a key governmental function. Fire and Police appear to
do a good job of organizing EM plans, training, and services. 26
FIRE (Continued) •Recommendations: Strategic Direction: Update the mission statement and create a functional business plan. Dispatch: We concur with most recommendation in the internal
Police/Fire dispatch study and suggest creation of an oversight/advisory group to give Fire and others a voice in dispatch operations (a Police function). Resource Management: Fund
and adhere to Fire’s 20-year replacement plan. Continue to upgrade older stations. See Police for a complete discussion of IT needs, one of which is a permanent second IT support position.
Continue development of the Training Program. Explore survey issues (Compensation, Benefits, Receptivity to Change). Fire Inspections: Implement a fee system to fund a 4th position
for commercial inspections. Continue to leverage the Fire Marshal with company-level inspections. Fire Operations: Maintain current apparatus staffing, but review the value of a 4th
person on the ladder truck when finances improve. Continue to defer a 2nd ladder truck. Mutual Aide: Monitor the number of calls and services across departments to ensure PAFD is in
a balanced situation. Emergency Management: Explore the need for greater city participation in EM (Finance, HR, Public Works, etc.), so it is more than a Police-Fire thing. 27
POLICE •Comparative Data: We reviewed ICMA data and city budgets to compile comparative data: Part 1 Crimes per 1000-Residents: At 58.90, Port Arthur is comparable to larger regional
cities and almost the same as Beaumont Calls for Service: PAPD responded to 79,787 calls for service in 2010 with staffing relatively, but not perfectly, balanced across shifts. Beat
and Officer call data was not available. Officers per 1000-residents: At 2.36, PAPD is comparable to other area communities. Cost per Capita: At $316 (adjusting for city-wide services),
PAPD is a bit higher than area communities, except Galveston (another city with a large land area) Cost per Square Mile: At $205,145, PAPD is at the low end of regional cities. •Prior
Studies: We reviewed the 2000 Buracker study and measured progress on their recommendations (see Table 6) •Surveys: The OCS score was quite low (42.40% Agree), but the other surveys
met our Minimum Standard of 3=Adequate. 28
POLICE (Continued) •Findings: Prior Studies: We compiled 2000 Buracker recommendations in Table 1 and listed any recommendations not fully implemented. Strategic Direction: PAPD
has not updated its mission statement as recommended by Buracker and does not have a full functional business plan. Crime Analysis is done by senior managers. Service Delivery Structure:
PAPD is supported by several local, regional, state, and federal agencies in providing law enforcement services in Port Arthur. Management Team: The placement of operational units
in the Administrative Division is different, but functional. Overcoming organizational “silos” is an ongoing challenge. Administration: Community Policing is primarily the role of
the Street Crimes Unit and Beat Coordinators, and not fully engrained in the DNA of the department. Dispatch: Attachment D presents the in-house Dispatch study. Key issues are citizen
“abuse” of the 911 system, administrative duties for Dispatchers, training, IT support, limited Fire influence, staffing, hiring process, and salaries. CID: Case Management is evolving,
but the CM System is not fully used. Data to support the number of detectives is lacking. The Evidence Room is packed, with overflow in the garage. Operations: Officers per shift needs
to be rebalanced (in process). TEU has had a major impact on traffic. The Field Training Officer program needs enhancement. Resource Management: Police has one budgetary cost center.
Fees appear low. Cost savings would come from service level decisions by elected officials. The PAPD HQ is functional, but not fully modern. The Fleet Sergeants acts as a mechanic. Over
50 officers take cars home. 29
POLICE (Continued) •Recommendations: Prior Studies: Work on implementing the few open Buracker recommendations. Strategic Direction: Update the mission statement and create a functional
business plan. Service Delivery Structure: OK. Management Team: Maintain the present plan, but work hard to break down silos. Administration: Extend community policing work beyond
the Beat Coordinators (a silo-breaking action). Dispatch: Seriously consider actions to implement key elements of the Dispatch study. CID: Use the full capabilities of the Case Management
System to track cases and measure workload. Expand CID-Patrol collaboration, starting with
misdemeanors. Rethink the Property and Evidence Room spaces to better control evidence. Operations: Revisit the number of officers per shift based on detailed call for service data.
Add a Crime Analyst position in PAPD. Strengthen the FTO program. Work with Municipal Court to strengthen enforcement of commercial vehicle inspections. Resource Management: Restructure
the PAPD budget to provide more unit detail. Based on the CFS and CM analysis, assess the number of officers/detectives and beats needed. Make the 2nd IT support position permanent and
backfill Dispatch. Develop a conceptual plan for a centrally-located, modern Police HQ building. Review the Fleet Sergeant role. 30
PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES •Surveys: General Fund unit scores on the surveys were at or just below our Minimum Standards or 50% Agree and 3=Adequate. Utility scores were mixed with Water
& Sewer near the Minimum and SW/Landfill low to very low. •Findings: Citizen Complaints: Quick resolution of citizen complaints is a clear organizational priority. Performance Management:
No formal Performance Management System to include mission statement, performance metrics and targets, improvement initiatives, issues management, and scorecard. Asset Management:
No formal Asset Management System to include asset characterization, condition assessments, asset management/work order system, system plan, and rehabilitation and replacement program.
Some paper records in place. Issues include the Utilities only billing 40.9% of produced water (most will strive for 85%). Work Management: Rudimentary at best and mostly manual. No
work order system. Finances: May not be billing all costs and customers due to the split between work (Utilities) and billing and collection (Finance). Revenue are NOT covering expenses.
City departments are not billed for water or landfill use. Equipment: Fleet is in poor condition, which caused work delays. Equipment maintenance has been problematic over the years
and a central fleet management program failed. Organization: The Director is not located with staff. Utilities lack formal organization charts. 31
PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES •Recommendations: Citizen Complaints: Continue a customer-centered operation. Performance Management: Implement a formal Performance Management Program
with multi-level performance reporting. Asset Management: Implement a formal Asset Management Program with a strong emphasis on a rehabilitation/replacement plan. Work Management:
Implement a formal Work Management/Work Order Program with work time expectations for each activity and unit. Finances: Consider placing full responsibility for the revenue cycle (meter
reading, billing, collections) in the Utilities. Raise rates to cover the full cost of service, including rehabilitation and replacement. Bill city departments for utilities used. Review
cashiering procedures. Equipment: Utilize the fleet replacement fund and program as designed. Organization Plan: Create formal organization charts that link to the position control
system. Move the director’s office to the staff location. 32