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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Flint, Genesee County aim to cooperate under state directive for shared services
Kristin Longley | klongley1@mlive.com By Kristin Longley | klongley1@mlive.com
on February 04, 2013 at 6:30 AM, updated February 04, 2013 at 6:32 AM
GENESEE COUNTY, MI -- The city of Flint and Genesee County are doing more to partner on government services, paving the way for even more cooperation in the future, officials said.
Between Flint and the county, five grant applications for funding shared service proposals have been submitted to the state of Michigan for cooperative efforts such as purchasing, human resources and an eventual merger of Flint and Genesee County's 911 communications systems.
All told, the grant requests add up to about $3.6 million in potential revenue shared between the two entities.
A few of the efforts are led by the Genesee Regional Chamber of Commerce, which was nominated to be a "neutral convener" for shared service proposals.
"It's a win-win for everybody," said Jamie Curtis, chairman of the Genesee County Board of Commissioners. "It helps to neutralize the fears or perception that Big Brother is out to swallow local government and take over. We don't want to do that, but we want to be the best of the best. In order to do that, we have to share services."
Are these grant proposals the first steps toward future consolidation of city and county services?
Flint City Administrator Michael Brown stressed that the grant proposals are for partnering, not consolidating, and said talks of any mergers -- except when it comes to 911 services -- would be premature.
"It would be much too early to talk about (consolidation) at this point," he said. "You take the small steps first."
The shared service proposals were born out of a 2011 directive from Gov. Rick Snyder that Michigan communities must show they're willing to share services and be more efficient in order to get a piece of the state revenue-sharing pie. Snyder dubbed them "best practices."
After Snyder's mandate, Brown, who was leading the Flint Area Reinvestment Office at the time, teamed up with former Lt. Gov. John D. Cherry Jr. to lead a study called "Future Genesee" that identified potential areas of cooperation and consolidation. No public funding was used for the study, officials said at the time.
Many of these current shared service proposals came out of that "Future Genesee" study, said George Wilkinson, director of shared services for the Genesee Regional Chamber of Commerce.
The state will decide whether to award the grants to the communities.
"The main focus is to create efficiency," Wilkinson said.
Wilkinson's job at the chamber is to identify the opportunities for governmental units to share services, and then work with communities to make it happen.
"None of the (governmental) units really had time to spend on making these things happen," Brown said. "It's not easy. There's turf issues, control issues, political issues.
"Just to have someone convening folks around the table... (the chamber is) a neutral party to initiate it."
Here's a look at some of the shared service grant proposals, as described by Brown:
Human resources -- $300,000
Based on a model already in place at the Genesee Intermediate School District, the proposal is for the county, city and other interested municipalities to cut costs by partnering on recruitment, hiring and human resources management, Brown said.
There would be a focus on using technology and the web, he said. About a dozen school districts have partnered with the GISD using the model, he said.
911 communications -- $2,135,000
The funding would add another communications tower and supporting equipment to the existing Genesee County 911 Consortium system. The project is a "step in the preparation toward system merger" between the city and county, according to the grant application.
The city has already linked to the 800 MHz emergency radio system used by the county consortium.
"This would be a second major step," Brown said of a new tower. "If you have both of these things done, then we could have serious discussions (about consolidation)."
Purchasing -- $648,000
The county, city, GISD and other communities would plan and develop a regional purchasing collaborative, he said.
The entities would be able to jointly purchase goods and service for better economies of scale, he said.
The last two grant proposals evolved out of the local criminal justice advisory council.
A $46,000 grant would go toward a fiber connection that "would enhance the speed and the ability of different units to improve communications," he said.
Another $500,000 grant would streamline information technology and software among all the courts, law enforcement agencies and the prosecutor's office, allowing them to communicate more easily and file reports more efficiently.
Last edited by untanglingwebs on Fri Mar 28, 2014 7:57 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Fri Mar 28, 2014 7:35 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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grant proposal:
Purchasing -- $648,000
The county, city, GISD and other communities would plan and develop a regional purchasing collaborative, he said.
The entities would be able to jointly purchase goods and service for better economies of scale, he said. |
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Fri Mar 28, 2014 7:38 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Genesee County shared services report recommends consolidation, collaboration
Shaun Byron | sbyron@mlive.com By Shaun Byron | sbyron@mlive.com
on August 16, 2012 at 10:30 AM
GENESEE COUNTY, MI -- The Future Genesee Coalition issued a report today outlining how local governments can save money by sharing services.
The report details eight ways communities can share services, which include combining promotional efforts of city and county parks, a countywide fire authority and a countywide detective bureau.
Former Lt. Gov. John Cherry serves as the chairman of the Shared Service Advisory Council, which is part of the Future Genesee Coalition.
The idea of shared services is nothing new, said Cherry, stating many communities in Genesee County already collaborate in some way or another.
“What has happened to local governments in terms of property tax revenue, the falling nature of it and probably over the next five years, it’s either going to be dropping or stay even, so people are getting more and more concerned with how to deliver the same services with less dollars,” he said.
The list of recommendations can’t be imposed upon governments, but will be promoted with information and training made available to local governments as how to implement the changes.
The Genesee Regional Chamber of Commerce will head a countywide Service Center, with George Wilkinson, chamber director of operations, serving as the shared service leader.
The chamber will provide staffing, expertise and strategic partnerships for the collaborations.
“We should have done this 15 years ago,” said Tim Herman, CEO of the chamber. “Now that the groundwork has been laid, we need to really move forward and I really think it ought to be in Genesee County’s DNA to share service.”
The recommendations for the parks system in the county is for the Genesee County Parks Commission to inventory all assets and make certain those properties are adequately promoted.
This doesn’t mean changing the ownership of parks, but cross-promoting events and amenities with local communities, Cherry said.
A countywide fire authority could own and maintain firefighting equipment, such as ladder trucks, reducing the expenditures of individual communities. The authority would be established by the Genesee County Association of Fire Chiefs.
A countywide detective bureau could be established through the Genesee County Association of Chiefs of Police to create efficiency across jurisdictions.
How the bureau is organized depends on the entities interested in participating in the shared service, Cherry said.
Information will be available to the public about how shared services will improve the quality of life. Community leaders advocating the changes will be trained on how to hurdle barriers as part of the project.
“The first few steps are making sure the tools are there,” said Cherry, adding that process will take at least a month. “After that, the hard work begins of using those tools to talk units of government into those shared service arrangements.”
The Shared Service Advisory Council will ultimately determine the top two from the list of eight recommendations to be executed.
“We will implement all of them, but we have to focus primarily on which ones we think we can get the biggest bang for our buck,” Wilkinson said.
The details of how the shared service agreements will work is part of the implementation process, which Cherry said could involve figuring out controls the money, and working with unions where needed.
“Many of these units have agreements with unions, they are not trying to get out from underneath those, but when you get two different unions coming together, there are issues and you have to work your way through them. There will be a need to deal with that,” he said.
“But you have those same challenges in other areas as well.” |
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Fri Mar 28, 2014 7:41 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Shared services plan for Genesee County greeted with cheers, jeers
Shaun Byron | sbyron@mlive.com By Shaun Byron | sbyron@mlive.com
on August 16, 2012 at 4:47 PM
Former Lt. Governor John Cherry discusses the shared services recommendations put together by the Future Genesee Coalition.
GENESEE COUNTY, MI -- Can Genesee County communities reach agreements to share services that could reduce budgets without impacting residents' quality of life?
Flint Mayor Dayne Walling seems to think so.
“We are all in this together and we need to find solutions that are to everyone’s benefit,” said Walling during a press conference Thursday on recommended shared service agreements being promoted to local governments. “The city of Flint, the city council, more than a year ago had signed onto that process," Walling said.
“We all want to see the ways we can work together, ways we can save taxpayers’ money and deliver higher-quality services.”
The Genesee Regional Chamber of Commerce has been chosen as to lead a countywide Service Center, promoting recommendations for local governments to combine resources.
Chamber CEO Tim Herman said it addresses a vital need in the community.
"Given our experience as a convener, as well as our state and federal partnerships, we are well positioned to lead the Service Center," he said.
The report was issued by the Future Genesee Coalition and lists eight ways communities in the area can collaborate.
No public funds were used to compile the report, according to chamber officials.
The Flint Area Reinvestment Office and the Genesee Regional Chamber of Commerce committed resources to the project, and volunteers were used to gather the information for the report.
It has been made available to the public on the website for the chamber.
Under the umbrella of the coalition is the Shared Service Advisory Council, which is chaired by former Lt. Governor John Cherry.
The intention of the program is to provide local governments with a resource of how to abide by Gov. Rick Snyder’s decision to tie revenue sharing with shared service agreements, Cherry said.
“We must put the recommendations into action and operationalize this initiative,” he said.
The recommendations include consolidating human resource departments, centralizing tax collection throughout the county, a countywide detective bureau and a countywide fire authority that would own and maintain expensive equipment like ladder trucks.
Davison Township Supervisor Kurt Soper attended the press conference and said his community has shared fire services with the city of Davison and Richfield Township since the early 1970s.
The communities estimate the agreement produces annual savings of $150,000 to $200,000 a year for each municipality, he said.
"A countywide shared services initiative is long overdue, because there is no doubt it will help our region become more efficient and effective and therefore attract more businesses as well as people looking for a place to work," Soper said.
Another recommendation is for the Genesee County Parks and Recreation Commission to inventory and promote the parks and recreational aspects of the entire county.
The suggestion is a strong vote of confidence in what the parks commission can do for the area, said Amy McMillan, county parks director.
However, there are skeptics to the recommendations, like Flint Councilman Sheldon Neeley.
"I’m in support of coalition building and partnerships as long as everything is fair and equitable," Neeley said. "But with Tim Herman and the rest of his clan at the reins, the residents of Flint have always had the back seat."
The agreements need to be built so the communities involved don't lose out on adequate services or funding, he said.
"Flint residents ought to be very skeptical when partnerships are built with no representation at the table," Neeley said. |
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Fri Mar 28, 2014 7:51 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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"However, there are skeptics to the recommendations, like Flint Councilman Sheldon Neeley.
"I’m in support of coalition building and partnerships as long as everything is fair and equitable," Neeley said. "But with Tim Herman and the rest of his clan at the reins, the residents of Flint have always had the back seat."
The agreements need to be built so the communities involved don't lose out on adequate services or funding, he said.
"Flint residents ought to be very skeptical when partnerships are built with no representation at the table," Neeley said." |
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Fri Mar 28, 2014 7:52 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Community
Shared Services
Shared Services
Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce Shared Services Center
It’s about improving public services
It’s about being more efficient and effective
It’s about increasing our competitiveness
What is the Chamber Shared Services Center?
The Shared Services Center serves as a center of excellence that helps local businesses and governments provide quality public services for residents, operate more efficiently, improve customer satisfaction and reduce costs through shared service agreements. The Shared Services Center is a powerful tool that can help grow the Flint-Genesee County economy.
The Center will focus on three key areas:
Build leadership.
Shared Services Leadership Center: Develop and train Genesee County leaders on shared service delivery models and training programs, and expand the skill sets of future community leaders.
Drive solutions.
Solutions Center: Clearinghouse for information and expertise in designing and implementing shared services agreements.
Ensure success.
Advisory Council: Leaders from business, education, government and unions providing insight and ideas on training, leadership and best practices in shared services.
The Case for Change
For decades Genesee County communities have competed against each other to attract new businesses and jobs. But now most communities are dealing with the same crises and must realize the benefits of working together to address unprecedented challenges, such as:
•Falling revenues
•Rising legacy costs
•Aging infrastructure
•Waste
•Competitive pressures
•New rules on revenue sharing at the state level
We must realize our competition is not with each other. The interconnectedness of the global economy makes it clear that we are competing with the nation and the world. To compete successfully it is essential that we collaborate on identifying new and innovative ways to address these challenges.
Contact George Wilkinson and Michelle Hill |
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Fri Mar 28, 2014 7:56 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Certification of Consolidation of Services - City of Flint
Dec 30, 2011 ... The City of Flint has participated for many years in collaborative ... “Future Genesee” developed a Shared Services Category of Priorities.
www.cityofflint.com/dashboard/evip_cert.pdf |
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Fri Mar 28, 2014 8:01 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Fri Mar 28, 2014 8:05 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Fri Mar 28, 2014 8:07 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Genesee County looks at shared purchasing after death of director ...
Jan 15, 2014 ... Board of Commissioners Chairman Jamie Curtis says he's talking to Oakland County representatives about some type of shared services ...
www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2014/01/genesee_county_looks_at_shared.html
Genesee County looks at shared purchasing after death of director
Ron Fonger | rfonger1@mlive.com By Ron Fonger | rfonger1@mlive.com
on January 15, 2014 at 3:00 PM
GENESEE COUNTY, MI -- The unexpected death of county Purchasing Director Eric Hopson has the county Board of Commissioners thinking unconventionally about how to fill the void.
Board of Commissioners Chairman Jamie Curtis says he's talking to Oakland County representatives about some type of shared services agreement for at least some future purchasing if such an arrangement would save money for the county.
"I've reached out to Oakland County ... We have to look at everything," Curtis told the other commissioners last week.
Privatization is another option, but any agreement will still require "someone to be here locally" to coordinate purchasing, he said.
Eric Hopson, the county's purchasing director for the past decade, died suddenly Dec. 29.
Since that time, commissioners have authorized a temporary committee including Curtis and Controller Keith Francis to spend up to $30,000 in making purchases for the county until a more permanent solution is found.
Curtis said he would write a memorandum to Darnell Earley, the city of Flint's emergency manager, making him aware of the county's interest in exploring shared purchasing services.
The county Purchasing Department is responsible for authorizing all purchase orders of county departments, including seeking bids or proposals for goods and services.
In addition to contracting for help in the department in the future, Curtis has said an interim director could be named on a short-term basis. |
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Fri Mar 28, 2014 8:10 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The neutral convenor, Flint Genesee County Chamber of Commerce, had since 2011 to develop a shared purchasing program. This whole Shaltz thing stinks of desperation and an opportunity to get over on the tax payers. Did they get the grant money they previously requested?
The death of Hopson gave a window of opportunity for exploitation in my opinion. After three years this great program created by Brown and Cherry doesn't seem to have accomplished much. |
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Fri Mar 28, 2014 8:19 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Officials: Oakland, four additional counties share services to save ...
Nov 25, 2013 ... 20 that Oakland, Livingston, Genesee, St. Clair and Macomb counties are ... step in sharing applications and technology, said Oakland County officials. ... Pat Caputo says · OCC purchasing 17-story building near Southfield ...
www.theoaklandpress.com/government-and-politics/20131125/officials-oakland-four-...
Officials: Oakland, four additional counties share services to save taxpayers money
By John Turk, The Oakland Press
Posted: 11/25/13, 2:43 PM EST |
Oakland is among four southeast Michigan counties that recently welcomed Macomb County into a partnership utilizing cloud computing to enhance government services and save taxpayers money, top officials said last week.
The county announced Nov. 20 that Oakland, Livingston, Genesee, St. Clair and Macomb counties are using government-to-government, or G2G, Cloud Solutions to provide over-the-counter payments, online payments and web publishing suites to residents within the cloud.
Cloud computing connects several networks of computers with data and other services that are simultaneously made available to multiple users.
The G2G cloud services represent the next step in sharing applications and technology, said Oakland County officials.
Oakland’s 52nd District Court has piloted use of these services in the way of misdemeanor payments and over-the-counter payments, said the court’s Chief Judge Julie Nicholson.
Neighboring Wayne County has yet to join the partnership. |
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Fri Mar 28, 2014 8:23 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The commissioners criticize Gleason, but he has the technology to accept these credit card payments. I hear lots of praise out in the community.
e obviously already have shared purchasing with Oakland for technology and Kronos, so why are the commissioners racing to hire Shaltz.
Could it be that the Flint Genesee Chamber of Commerce dropped the ball and Genesee County has not moved forward on the Governor's 2011 directive?
Is this a crisis mode that could have been avoided? |
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Fri Mar 28, 2014 8:28 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Oakland County, Mich., Taking Shared Services National
Feb 8, 2012 ... Over the years, Oakland County has provided shared computing services .... Washtenaw County, Mich., for example, purchased the document ...
www.govtech.com/e-government/oakland-county-mich-taking-shared-services-national...
Oakland County, Mich., Taking Shared Services National
The county is scaling up with the National Association of Counties to offer subscriptions for hosted applications to localities nationwide.
by Wayne Hanson / February 8, 2012 0
In February, Oakland County, Mich., Executive L. Brooks Patterson broke the news of a national shared services computing initiative — among Oakland County, the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments and the National Association of Counties (NACo).
Over the years, Oakland County has provided shared computing services to 62 local jurisdictions. Now with blessings from Patterson and NACo Executive Director Larry Naake, that initiative will greatly expand — NACo will provide funding and governance to leverage this shared services model into a national system available to America’s more than 3,000 counties, boroughs and parishes.
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Photo: Oakland County, Mich., Executive L. Brooks Patterson
Online Relationship
The idea is a bit like online dating. Today many relationships start and develop online, and NACo’s Application Store aims to draw counties into mutually beneficial relationships around IT systems. G2G Cloud Solutions — Oakland County’s initiative — is a “government-to-government cloud” that, with the help of private-sector partners, will provide computing services to other counties and municipalities using an upgraded cloud platform. It also will offer a number of local government applications developed in-house.
Oakland County already is accepting subscribers for a menu of services, such as online payments and Web hosting. The online payments application began as an e-commerce portal in 2000 called Access Oakland. After a slow start, Access Oakland included 50 products and services and generated $17 million in gross revenue as of last year, with $750,000 in net revenue reinvested into the technology, according to Oakland County CIO and Deputy County Executive Phil Bertolini. The application has been updated for the cloud and rolled out to six different communities, including Auburn Hills, Mich.
Auburn Hills Deputy Treasurer Dawn Keiser said that city residents can now use the payment system to pay local taxes, parking tickets, special assessments and utilities. Until Auburn Hills began using the cloud service, she said, the city didn’t accept credit or debit cards because of security requirements and credit card fees. Keiser said that with G2G Cloud Solutions, there were no fees to the city. Users pay $2.50 for an e-check, and credit card fees are based on the payment amount, ranging from $2.50 up to 2.75 percent of larger payments.
“All they have to do is go to our website, click on it and it takes them right over to Oakland County’s payment site,” she said. The property tax payment feature loads directly into the city’s system, she said. The installation went smoothly, and once the contract was signed, it took less than a week to be up and running.
“I would highly recommend it,” said Keiser. “It’s beneficial for residents and customers who want to pay for something. It makes it convenient and easy; they can get a confirmation number and a receipt right then. The money typically comes in 24 to 48 hours later, and it’s very easy to see on our bank statement what it is for.”
G2G Cloud Solutions also will offer a Web suite, which was piloted in Wolverine Lake, Mich., after the former provider pulled out. Treasurer Michael Kondek said he thinks the commercial website providers left because revenues from the 4,300-member community did not meet their expectations.
Bertolini said Oakland County will provide a Health and Human Services Communication Portal to all Michigan counties for free, which will help those counties and give them a chance to try out the cloud platform. Other Oakland County applications that will be provided to the cloud will be a services registration application for things like flu shots, a restaurant inspection application and animal licensing.
Big County Contributions
According to NACo CIO Bert Jarreau, most large counties help local governments in their regions that don’t have the resources to roll out systems themselves. Orange County, Fla.; Cook County, Ill.; and the Houston public safety community are a few examples of big counties sharing systems. “If you could take what they are doing at a regional level and make it easy to do at a national level, then you’re providing a real service,” Jarreau said.
Another heavyweight contributor to the Application Store’s national rollout is Orange County, Calif. Assessor Webster Guillory — head of NACo’s Essential County Technology Subcommittee — will help create a governance structure for the national initiative and look at submitted applications to see which can be rolled out nationally. Guillory has been lobbying NACo for more than a decade to launch such an initiative, said Jarreau.
Guillory has a reputation for big shared services projects: He launched a California county assessor’s shared services project to standardize records, centralize management and reduce costs. The Standard Data Record project currently enrolls 40 of California’s 58 counties and reduced annual costs for members by up to $60,000 each.
Maricopa County, Ariz., which deployed kiosks for recorders after three years of development, could be another system worth borrowing. “We should be able to learn from what other people did so that we can replicate it and get it done faster,” Guillory said. “The county has a great kiosk, and I say, ‘Don’t start from ground zero. Why don’t you start on the shoulders of Maricopa County? Why don’t you start on the shoulders of the California assessors? Start above ground zero.’”
First Date
Many counties, however, aren’t yet ready to offer services or subscribe to them, so NACo is urging them to do what online dating sites do: Fill out a form about themselves, say what they are seeking in a partner and start getting acquainted. Information on applications, contacts and other resources will be available through ad hoc searches.
Launching in July, the Application Store will be accessible with a single sign-on from NACo and will be available to any county — NACo membership isn’t required. Vendors won’t be allowed to access the store, so jurisdictions looking for a particular application shouldn’t be inundated by sales calls. Private-sector partners may be included, however, as the store is piloted and expands.
The Application Store may initially look like a catalog on one end and a government cloud on the other. But attendees at a recent NACo conference were buzzing about the possibilities. The store, for example, will offer a menu of best practices, RFPs, interlocal agreements and other legal documents that have successfully created and maintained long-term relationships. Why spend months developing an agreement when another county may have one that would work?
Licensing and Procurement
While many of Oakland County’s applications — such as the Health and Human Services Communication Portal and Web suite — are homegrown, some do have licensing implications. Bertolini said the county has worked out how costs could be absorbed through an initial upfront fee or handled through ongoing revenue streams.
In addition, Bertolini told a large group of county officials and technology vendors at NACo’s Legislative Conference that this was an opportunity for vendors to reinvent government procurement processes that companies have long complained about. He challenged the private sector to step up to the plate.
“When we’re developing our cloud,” said Bertolini, “there are proprietary licenses under the systems we’re building. And if I want to use that with others, we have a licensing issue. Potentially there are going to be fees paid to us to use those technologies. It’s time to reinvent the licensing. We need to be more agile in procurement.”
Washtenaw County, Mich., for example, purchased the document management system OnBase in 2007. When the city of Ann Arbor wanted the software, it simply used Washtenaw County’s RFP and just had to pay for additional seats. Ann Arbor CIO Dan Rainey said the city saved time and effort that would have been required to put out an RFP, evaluate the offers and take it to the City Council. Instead, Rainey was given a one-page agreement to become an additional user on Washtenaw County’s license.
Wayne Hanson | Staff Writer and Editor of Digital Communities
Wayne E. Hanson has been a writer and editor with e.Republic since 1989, and has worked for several business units including Government Technology magazine, the Center for Digital Government, Governing, and is currently editor and writer for Digital Communities specializing in local government. Hanson was a juror from 1999 to 2004 with the Stockholm Challenge and Global Junior Challenge competitions in information technology and education. He self-published three books of fiction and lives in Sacramento with his wife, Jeannie. |
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Fri Mar 28, 2014 8:35 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Fri Mar 28, 2014 8:38 am |
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