Improving Public Works Efficiency

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Improving Public Works Efficiency
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Evaluating what we do Are we doing the right
work?
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Animal Control

• FY 04 eliminated after-hours Public Works
  response to animal control calls for a reduction
  of approximately
• 1,500 in overtime (police officers now
  handle)
• FY 09 eliminated animal traps/trapping
• Previously the City would bring the trap to
  residence, set trap and collect trap with animal
  in it (City then had to relocate animal)
  average 20-25 hours per month
• In-take costs to ARL (cats, dogs)
• Relocation problem for other (possum,
  raccoons, etc.)
• Relatively few residents (lt12) consuming
• significant resources
• Total of 5,500 in animal control costs
  eliminated

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Evaluating how we do it Contracting?
Contracting Are we contracting services we can
provide at a lower cost doing the work in-house?
Conversely, are we conducting work in house that
can be done by a contractor at a lower cost?
Stormwater intakes done in-house for 703/unit versus contracting at 4,100/unit 27,176
Sewer lining demoing equipment and learning how to do lining point repair in-house instead of accepting quote to have private company take care of line at Marilyn Dr. 12,550
Demo PW driveway in-house 10,564
Bring cleaning functions in-house 5,682
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Evaluating how we do it Partnerships? Sharing?
Street sweeping 28E agreement 10,824
Salt Storage Facility (gross savings of 10,264) 4,264
Equipment Sharing (sewer televising stump grinder Vactor truck, etc.) DTQ
15,088
WH also shares its new Community Events Center
as a meeting venue in return for free training
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Evaluating how we do it Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Salt reduction 35,000
LED Traffic Lights 8,777
Reusing 6336 Hickman office furniture 4,500
Repurposed fence from Community Events Center construction and used it for dog park construction instead of disposing of it or buying new fence 4,000
Turn off the lights on University Avenue after 230 a.m. 1,200
Elimination of pagers from Public Works 1,080
Staff contacted architectural salvage company to take fire bay doors instead of discarding them in a landfill. 300
54,857
Always looking for ways to divert waste from the
landfill environmentally and economically
advantageous
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Evaluating how we do it Other Resources/Outside
Funding
Demolition of old shelter and rough grading of park site 215,000
Alternative compost site for flood debris instead of landfill 11,250
Received rain barrel grant from MWA to capture and reuse rain water from Community Events Center Roof 2,500
Alternative compost site for street sweeping clippings (instead of landfill fees) 2,500
Used inmate labor to assist with the debris removal and clean up in the park related to the flood 1,512
232,762
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Evaluating who we have
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The people the expectations the tools

• Do we have the right people and are they in the
• right positions?
• Who leads - most qualified or employed
• longest?
• Do they have the correct/adequate training?
• Do they understand the expectations?
• Using MBOs
• Do they have the tools?
• Street striping example
• Tar Machine, Skid Loader

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How do we measure?

• Citizen surveying
• 92 satisfied or better with infrastructure
  maintenance in 2007 99 in 2010
• 92 satisfied or better with Parks Recreation
  facilities in 2007 96 in 2010
• Benchmarking
• Cost analysis
• Performance Measurement
• How much tonnage of cold/hot patch is
• used each year to fill potholes?
• How quickly do we handle snow removal?
• How many miles of street is resurfaced?
• How many stormwater intakes are rebuilt?
• How many stormwater BMPs are implemented?

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Discussion/Questions