Select Board Objectives regarding Fiscal and Management Issues

1
Select Board Objectives regarding Fiscal and
Management Issues

• Michael Gagné
• Executive Administrator
• Edward Iacaponi
• Director of Budget Finance / Treasurer
• October 15, 2007

2

• How did the Select Board arrived at these
  objectives?
• Board members input
• Town officials
• Budget Revenue Task Force recommendations
• Joint meetings between Select Board, Finance
  Committee, Personnel Board and B R Task Force.
• Recommendations made by different citizen
  groups and residents.
• Over 30 hours of discussions between Select
  Board members and various officials.

3
Wage and Contract Negotiations - Open
negotiations with unions, hear what they have for
proposals, make management proposals, cost value
all, and discuss method of funding. - Implement
DOR July 07 Recommendation 7 Limit Use of
Personnel Contracts.
4
Contract Duration Directly correlates to revenue
stream each year without long term increases,
revenue stream duration will be shortened. -
Look for all units to expire at same year. -
Standardization of benefits across units.
5
Reduction of Hours Major component of this
years cuts amounting to 1.2 million dollars in
general government agencies 900,000 in cuts
were attributed to not refilling vacant
positions, unpaid furloughs and nine employees
laid off. - Positions not filled. -
Employees laid off. - Unpaid furlough of
employees, ranging for some employees from 5 to
15 days.
6

• Group Employee Health Insurance
• Select Board has engaged E.B.S. Foran. Work is
  underway to look and address the following in
  regards to Health Insurance with employees
• Increase Sec. 125 participation to save both
  Town and employees cost.
• Co-pay amounts.
• Considering various tiers for drug plans.
• Working to offer new plans such as PPOs at
  savings to Town and employees.
• Costing the adoption of Ch 32B, Sec 18,
  regarding Retiree Health Insurance costs.
• - 2 4 cost savings anticipated with certain
  provisions negotiated with employees.

7

• Consideration of Privatization of Town Services
• Select Board has appointed Task Force to
  analyze.
• Select Board has set objectives of Task Force.
• Select Board will meet Task Force on Oct. 28,
  2007 to establish scope of analysis.
• - Findings will provide direction for decisions
  as to how the Town will proceed.

8

• Use of County Government Services
• Presently being done.
• Meeting with Sheriffs Office have been held
  and ideas discussed.
• Sheriff and Select Board Member Joseph Michaud
  to detail out such joint ventures as recycling
  initiatives.
• - Projects completed COA Center painting, Old
  Town Hall rehabilitation.

9

• Job Sharing
• Encourage the concept, discuss with Department
  Heads about encouraging employees to consider
  this option.
• Multi-disciplinary, multi-function tasking.

10

• Employee Incentive Program for Cost Saving
  Measures
• Develop and implement an employee incentive
  program designed to reward individual employees
  or teams for suggestions or ideas that, when
  implemented, will help the town operate more
  efficiently by
• saving money
• reallocating staff time
• generating new revenue sources
• improving service quality
• reducing the time and steps necessary to serve
  the public or to solve a problem

11

• Employee Incentive Program for Cost Saving
  Measures
• Employees will be expected to conduct the
  necessary research and cost/benefits analysis to
  ensure the idea is viable and conforms to town
  policies and bylaws.
• Managers and supervisors (or designees) will be
  expected to advise and assist employees as
  needed.

12

• Employee Incentive Program for Cost Saving
  Measures
• Review programs from the public and private
  sectors to identify best practices (other towns,
  service industries)
• Encourage employee input with program design by
  establishing a task force of employees
  representing various departments, pay levels and
  locations.
• Determine eligibility, types of rewards,
  categories of ideas, criteria to assess financial
  impact or opportunity saves.
• Determine of identify source of funds
  (monetary) or sources / vehicles for non-monetary
  awards (gift certificates).
• Determine procedure and protocol for awards
  that result in ideas that generate a cost savings
  or new revenue source.
• Review program for any potential ethics
  violations or conflicts of interest.

13

• Human Resource Measures
• Select Board has met with Finance Committee and
  Personnel Board and discussed in detail a number
  of personnel related measures that the Personnel
  Board will address per the outline in the
  proposed Joint Memorandum of Understanding.
• Review of Individual Contracts
• Revision of Personnel By-law.
• - Representative to Management Negotiating Team.

14

• Central Purchasing
• Certain current practices done by the
  Procurement Officer to be delegated.
• DOR recommendations as to purchasing
  implemented.
• Chief Procurement Officer to be intricately
  involved with start to finish of major
  procurements throughout Town system.
• Computerize Purchase Order System.
• - Regional Materials and Service Bidding.

15

• Energy Aggregate Purchase
• Currently bidding four prospective bidders.
• Participation in consortium of cities and
  towns.
• Town a participant in the EPA Municipal Energy
  Conservation Program.

16

• Methodology of Vocational Assessment
• Select Board has undertaken a detailed legal
  analysis of issue, and at present is proceeding
  with development of the case.

17

• Consideration of using a Labor Negotiator
• Select Board currently out for solicitation at
  present.
• Candidates have applied.
• - Interviews will start after October 29, 2007.

18

• Budgeting Summit
• Early in November Finance Committee, Select
  Board, Finance Director, Executive Administrator,
  B R Task Force to discuss and decide projected
  FY 09 Revenue and Expenditure percentages.
• Budget Director currently modeling scenarios
  for long-term projections.
• - Later in November, meeting with all
  departments, based on agreed projected revenue
  for FY 09 advise departments the percentage they
  will have to work with for FY 09 Budget
  preparation.

19

• Summarization of Staffing and Compensation
  Analysis
• Presently underway, analysis with seven other
  towns that B R Task Force determined as
  comparable to Dartmouth. Findings to be
  presented in a report to Town Meeting.
• Sub-committee on B R Task Force undertaking
  analysis with regular reports.
• - Comparison town to town difficult,
  sub-committee endeavoring to get the most
  accurate and easy to understand report.

20

• Capital and Infrastructure Needs
• Both Long Term and Short Term Capital Needs
  within the Five-Year Capital Plans shall be
  quantified as to source of funding.
• The Debt Retirement Schedule shall be used as an
  indicator of the Town bonding capacity with an
  objective of maintaining a level debt and
  interest payment schedule as debt is retired,
  reauthorizing at same level for additional
  prioritized capital needs.

21

• Towns Web Page
• Intern will work with IS Manager, assist weekly
  on updates of Web Page to include agendas,
  minutes, informational budget data and resources
  that are informative to citizens.

22

• Town Services Costing Comparison Analysis
• Presently U-Mass graduate student performing
  task, findings to be presented and put on Town
  Web Page.

23

• Volunteer Program
• Board realizes talent of our community putting
  such talents where needed through coordination
  process will benefit all in our community.
• Talent Bank Data Form now complete.
• Development of Talent Bank. Database will be
  done by town staff.
• - Stay in touch by e-mail with those interested
  in serving and working with them to get a fit of
  talent to position.

24

• Budgeting Priority Fiscal 09
• Will follow the hierarchy developed in April
  between Select Board and Finance Committee.