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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/25/1997 Work Session . MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, AUGUST 25, 1997 The city of Springfield council met in work session in the Jesse Maine Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, August 25, 1997, at 6:02 p.m., with Mayor Morrisette presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Morrisette, Councilors Ballew, Beyer, Burge, Dahlquist, Maine and Shaver (6: 17 p.m.). Also present were City Manager Michael Kelly, Assistant City Manager Gino Grimaldi, City Attorney Tim Harold, City Recorder Julie Wilson and members of the staff. 1. Inventory of Services Project - Department Review. City Manager Mike Kelly presented the staff report on this issue. He explained that the council would begin reviewing, on a department by department basis, the city's core or basic services. The education, information, and feedback from this process will be useful in upcoming budgetary discussions. . The city council's review of services will take approximately three months. At the end of the department presentations, council will be presented with both community and survey information which will further assist in discussions and decisions concerning the city's budget future. Department presentations will focus primarily on the inventory of services data collection from for each service. The forms were altered from the February 1 budget workshop forms to present a clearer picture of services versus financial impacts associated with further budget reductions. City Manager's Office Mr. Kelly discussed organizational leadership. He discussed the allocation of staffing resources within the City Manager's Office. He explained that the majority of staff members were involved in many service category areas. Council said it would be helpful to be provided with information regarding FTEs prior to department reductions and position shifts. Council discussed process and wanted to be able to ask questions as they came up. They did not want to wait until the end of the presentation to do so. Mayor Morrisette asked for clarification on how Mr. Kelly was able to oversee activities of Management Team members. Mr. Kelly eXplained how he was able measure and supervise department workplans. . Mr. Kelly responded to questions from council regarding the project. He eXplained council needed to be aware of mandated services, the consequence of service reduction, and review of low-cost, high-benefit services. Work Session Meeting Minutes August 25, 1997 Page 2 . Council further discussed the process to be followed. Mr. Kelly said the staff presentations would be adjusted according to the wishes of the council. Mr. Kelly discussed citizen assistance services. Councilor Maine discussed the need to review specific, discrete services, such as the "Your Opinion Counts" program, or Mayor task forces. She said once the service program was identified, the value and cost could be evaluated. Often many small services and tasks add up to a lot of work. Councilor Burge said the cost to develop and support a task force should be evaluated prior to developing it. Council discussed the need to be aware of the consequence of reductions for program and service level changes. Council also asked the question of how staff could continue to achieve service levels with possible reductions. Mayor Morrisette discussed established expectations such as responding to citizens within a given time. The need to lower expectations may need to be addressed. Councilor Shaver wondered if policy decisions needed to be revised for the amount of time spent on individual citizen responses or similar services delivered. Councilor Shaver suggested this item be flagged for further review. Mr. Kelly discussed the desire to get away from the budget process and focus on programs and services delivered. Mr. Kelly discussed the philosophy of service. Mr. Kelly asked if the one page summary provided enough information for review. . Councilor Maine said she would like to be able to identify programs or services. This would provide an opportunity to evaluate what program level services could be eliminated along with identifying the impacts of the reductions. Council discussed the option of having departments prioritize service delivery. Councilor Maine discussed the need for staff to provide a clear description of what services are. An example was citizen assistance. She asked if this meant staff was required to provide copies of documents. This was the type of service that needed identification and clarification to allow council the opportunity to identify and place a value and need on the service. After council discussion, Mr. Kelly agreed that the future presentations would include less philosophy and more specifics. Councilor Maine restated she would like to be informed of any opportunity to recover costs for services provided. She clarified it could be programs that are specifically named and identified. Councilor Burge clarified the need to have a breakdown in dollars. Councilor Maine requested that FTE information be provided for both past and present staffing levels. Councilor Ballew discussed the benefit of charts versus narrative information. . Councilor Shaver discussed the difficulty in quantifying services provided by the City Manager's Office. He appreciated the information provided by the City Manager. Councilor Work Session Meeting Minutes August 25, 1997 Page 3 . Shaver said he could review a sample of the next presentation and provide direction based on council feedback. Information Services (IS) Department Assistant City Manager Gino Grimaldi reviewed the data collection forms for the Information Services (IS) Department. He reviewed the FTE for IS and reviewed FTE changes during the last fiscal year. He also explained that the service categories were listed in somewhat of a priority order. He reviewed them as follows: . Network Support . Telephone Administration and Support . Systems Maintenance / Product Support / Training . Systems Analysis, Design and Implementation . PC Support . Regional Information Services (RIS) . Administration Mr. Grimaldi discussed IS alternatives. These included increased intergovernmental cooperation, privatization, equipment replacement schedules, administrative support and reduction in service levels. . Mr. Grimaldi discussed the migration off the VAX computer system. He also discussed a new Land Use Mapping System that will be implemented in the Development Services Department. Council would like to know if new systems can be afforded and maintained. Council again discussed the need to identify basic services, enhanced services, and the result of program service elimination. Mr. Grimaldi answered questions from council regarding IS services. Programmer Analyst III Paula Guthrie answered questions from council regarding services provided along with possible cost saving areas of concern. Senior Network Analyst Chuck Orton discussed network and pc support services provided. Human Resources Department Human Resources Director Frank Hotchkiss reviewed the inventory of services summary. Items included: . . Discreet programs · Services generally required to provide professional management and meet legal or policy requirements . Trends include greater management demands on technical personnel issues, pending litigation and highly regulated benefits matters · The major financial programs of benefits administration and risk management are regularly reviewed for cost effectiveness . . . .. - Work Session Meeting Minutes August 25, 1997 Page 4 . Optional or discretionary services have been reduced or eliminated . Many services require adherence to mandates . Consideration of service reductions Councilor Shaver raised the issue of varied service needs. He used labor negotiations as an example. Mr. Hotchkiss responded that there were peaks and flows for service demands for similar type activities. Risk Manager Craig Gibons discussed the use of interagency cooperation related to liability, workers' compensation and risk management. He discussed the differing philosophies between different agencies. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 7:30 p.m. Minutes Recorder - Julie Wilson Attest: c ~. p 0 0--'2 ~ Jul Wilson City Recorder ~