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Adam
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Look what I stumbled upon. It's still on the city website.
http://www.ci.flint.mi.us/mayor/future.htm
NEWS RELEASE Dec. 04, 2001
MAYOR HIGHLIGHTS PROCESS, ACHIEVEMENTS SINCE IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPREHENSIVE ROAD TO OUR FUTURE PLAN
Noting the shifting of City Hall’s operational paradigm, Mayor Woodrow Stanley today highlighted the substantive achievements gained in the re-engineering of the City’s service delivery system. Though far from complete, Mayor Stanley said he is pleased with the significant progress made at a "nuts and bolts level" of city government.
Mayor Stanley’s guide for the overhaul is a results-oriented Road to Our Future recovery plan presented last October. The 68-page plan details numerous new administrative initiatives directed at sustaining the fiscal health of the City of Flint and calls for increased accountability of the entire system. The rigorous plan is based on months of professional consultation with the nationally recognized accounting/consulting firm of Arthur Andersen (now known as Andersen), city employees, community leaders and residents.
Mayor Stanley added that the City’s success achieved to date could not have been possible without the outstanding partnerships with major business leaders and the generous support of the Mott Foundation."Flint is only going to survive its financial challenges with a carefully researched
plan that negotiates every factor and pursues a fiscally sound process that moves the City forward from where we are now to where we would like to be," he said. "Roughly a year after implementing The Road to Our Future, I am convinced we have such a plan."
Mayor Stanley noted that critics often demand the wrong kind of performance in any given "governing" issue.
"They judge our performance in the day-to-day operations of Flint city government by the reaction of others who do not know the intricacies of our situation," he said. "They look for consistency of policy statements, political correctness of attitudes, or the short-term effect on popularity," he added. "Rarely do our critics judge our performance by qualitative or quantitative results."
The 10 project initiatives for The Road to Our Future will produce such results, Mayor Stanley said. The initiatives are: Citizen Input, Economic Development, Financial Initiatives, Financial Management, Information Technology, Managed Competition, Performance Management, Personnel Management, Purchasing and Skills Assessment.
Although, the 10 initiatives are truly the "critical few," Mayor Stanley’s prioritized list of those initiatives begins with a comprehensive skills assessment which includes training and development of human capital areas. With Andersen, the City has successfully performed skills assessments and developed Individual Development Plans for more than 100 managers and supervisors. Subsequent training courses have been recommended to fill the gaps discovered in the assessments. The next step, according to Mayor Stanley, is to identify employees to assist and learn the skills assessment process in order "to train the trainers." Once identified, the City can begin the assessment process for non-managerial/supervisory employees.
Performance Management also has been successfully launched under the plan. The initiative includes the signing of Performance Contracts with every member of the administration. Strategic planning has been incorporated into every department including performance metrics driven by citizen input.
"There is more accountability at all levels of city government as a result of the new Performance Management Program," Mayor Stanley said. "The next step is to analyze the performance data collected and develop individual departmental strategies to improve performance."
In time, residents should receive information about Performance Management through a number of different methods including the City of Flint web page.
Citizen input also is critically important in the re-engineering of the City’s service delivery system. Mayor Stanley recognizes that the reason the government exists is to serve its citizens. The City has prioritized service delivery based on the information collected from its first citizen input survey conducted last year. That survey provided valuable information on service delivery that gave the City a baseline on what residents think of city services and how well the City is doing in providing those services.
"It is important to conduct surveys annually to monitor progress good or bad," Mayor Stanley noted. "Performance Contracts and Citizen Input are intricately
intertwined because Department Heads are now held accountable for service delivery improvements. The requirement is an important part of their performance contracts."
The Second Annual Citizen Input Survey is scheduled for early next year. Economic Development and job creation is key to the future growth of any city, he noted. The Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) has worked with Andersen to identify the key steps in the Economic Development cycle. DCED then drafted an initial Action Plan for improving results of economic development activities. The City is focusing on increasing relationships and coordinating economic development activities with external resources, both in business and the not-for-profit community, as well as Genesee County. The City of Flint will work with the private sector to identify viable public/private partnership opportunities. Flint has already begun to maximize economic development through expanding relationships with organizations such as the Growth Alliance, Downtown Development Agency and the Flint Area Chamber of Commerce, among others. For example, the DCED is working with the Growth Alliance to develop plans for the Buick City re-use.
DCED is focusing on creating an environment that is conducive to businesses relocating and expanding in Flint, Mayor Stanley said. DCED has implemented, populated and regularly updates a new Geographic Imaging System that lists all city owned or leased property. Businesses can now access this information online through the City of Flint’s website. DCED is also working with the Zoning and Planning Department to update the City of Flint’s Master Plan.
Finally, Financial Management is key to the entire re-engineering process.
According to Mayor Stanley, to date the City of Flint has accomplished the following fundamental tasks: Assisted the City of Flint finance and budget officials in developing a multi-year financial plan; Assisted the City of Flint finance and budget officials in developing a plan to balance the FY2002-FY2003 Budget; Assisted the City of Flint finance and budget officials in developing and a plan to reduce the FY2001 projected deficit by $1.6 million and identified spending reductions of approximately $9.6 million; Developed Workforce Analysis document for inclusion in the FY2002-FY2003 Budget submission; Outlined ways to increase annual grant revenue by at least $1 million; and hired a Washington lobbying firm to assist the City of Flint with applying for federal grants and renewed a contract for a Lansing lobbying firm to assist the City with applying for state grants.
The next steps are to monitor the FY02/03 multi-year financial plan and budget and make necessary adjustments, he noted. Andersen is assisting the City of Flint to develop an effective financial monitoring process. As part of this monitoring effort each Department Head is committed to monthly financial monitoring and reporting. Each Department Head is responsible for reviewing monthly available actual results versus the budget with each of their cost center managers to ensure accountability and disciplined tracking of results and to report the monthly available actual results versus the budget to the City Administrator.
The Road to Our Future Overview
The Road to Our Future Strategic Plan represents a three-phased process for re-engineering the service delivery system for the City of Flint. The three phases are:
Phase One. Assessment phase
Phase Two. Implementation phase
Phase Three. Stabilization phase
During Phase One, the nationally recognized accounting/consulting firm of Arthur Andersen (now known as Andersen) helped the City of Flint to identify alternative strategies for improving the City of Flint's governmental services. At the heart of the review was a comparison of the City's practices in several major areas to those that are considered "best practices" for the industry. As a result of this comparison, the City determined the "as is" state of business processes and developed a "to be" model. At the same time, the City and Andersen officials identified "quick hit" opportunities for improvements that could be started immediately. Phase One began in March 2000 and concluded with the issuance of the Blueprints for Business Management Reform in May 2000.
Phase Two began in July 2000 when the City began to identify key initiatives to implement a plan to increase the level and quality of service delivery and improve the City's financial condition based on the results of the Phase One assessment. The City developed individual strategic plans in each major area to establish accountability for improvements. The individual strategic plans are aligned with the City's vision, goals and citizen's expectations. Phase Two has been further broken down informally into two stages. Stage one of Phase Two began with the development and issuance of the Road to Our Future Strategic Plan in October 2000. Stage two of Phase Two started with the implementation of the ten initiatives outlined in the Road to Our Future strategic plan and continue today.
The City of Flint, faced with significant budget pressures, focused on the financial management initiatives during the spring of 2001. In August 2001 the City continued the implementation of the other initiatives. A detailed Project Implementation Plan was issued that contained project plans that were designed to keep the implementation schedule on track.
The Road to Our Future Strategic Plan is not a static process, while the lines between the beginning of one phase and the completion of another are clearly defined, certain aspects of Phase One and Phase Two overlap. The completion of Phase Two, the implementation phase, depends on managers successfully completing the tasks that are outlined in the implementation plan.
Phase Three involves the development and implementation of monitoring, evaluation and communication plans. For example, Andersen helped the City develop performance goals, contracts, and measures in Phase Two. One key aspect of Phase Three will be knowledge transfer from Andersen to the City of Flint. This knowledge transfer will ensure that the City of Flint will continue the effective management practices that were designed by Andersen. Currently, Andersen is working with the City to transfer knowledge regarding best practices in monitoring performance metrics. Andersen designed a performance metric-tracking tool that will enable the City to monitor performance metrics in key areas.
Andersen is providing support through direct involvement with City led implementation teams. The teams are comprised of managers and Department Heads. The support includes coaching, providing functional expertise, and transferring knowledge. The Andersen team is working with City employees to ensure that they understand the strategic goals, key tasks and steps of each initiative. This will ensure the success of the implementation phase and pave the way for a smooth transition in the future.
Training, transferring knowledge and transitioning are critical parts of the Implementation Phase. Training future city trainers in processes, frameworks and techniques is critical to the overall success of Phase Two and a smooth transition to Phase Three. Specific details for integration to the City of each initiative are outlined below.
The next step after the completion of the three phases of the Road to Our Future strategic plan is for the City to continue to monitor and assess results. Strategic planning, implementation and monitoring is an ongoing process. There are a number of areas identified in Phase One that were not addressed in Phase Two as a result of time and budget constraints. At the completion of Phase Three, of the Road to Our Future strategic plan the City will have the knowledge, skills and relevant tools to assess whether these initiatives should be revisited or others added.
The City of Flint recognizes that service delivery and management improvements are an on-going multi-year process and it will take several years before the culture of the City of Flint is changed and the Road to Our Future Plan is fully implemented. The City of Flint has made and continues to make significant progress toward implementing the Road to Our Future initiatives, but it is critical to the City of Flint's ultimate success that it is understood that what took years to break, will take years to fix.
Progress on The Road to Our Future
This section describes progress to date and next steps for the three key cornerstones of The Road to Our Future strategic plan. The following is a list of the ten initiatives aligned with the City of Flint's Priorities as identified in the plan:
Citizen-Focused Government
Information Technology
Citizen Input
Performance Management
Skills Assessment
Fiscally Responsible Government
Financial Initiatives
Financial Management
Economic Development
Competitive Government
Managed Competition
Personnel Management
Purchasing
A number of the Road to Our Future initiatives were directed at achieving fiscal health for the City of Flint. The City of Flint focused on government-wide financial and programmatic policies and goals that addressed both short and long-term issues and concerns. The fiscal initiatives were designed to maximize revenues, contain cost, and develop the local economy, all while improving the City’s overall service delivery. The fiscal initiatives are supported by management initiatives. The management initiatives focus on leadership and increasing accountability through developing performance management and skills assessment programs. While the City of Flint has succeeded in improving the city’s service delivery, there is still more work to be done.
Citizen Focused Government
1. Information Technology
To date the City of Flint has accomplished the following key tasks:
Conducted preliminary assessment of the PeopleSoft system.
Prepared new contract to procure web-site developer services
Performed telephone audit
A summary of each of these tasks follows.
PeopleSoft
In the Road to Our Future report, Andersen recommended that the City of Flint conduct a thorough and detailed Information Technology Assessment, including a review of the PeopleSoft implementation. The City of Flint asked Andersen to perform an assessment of the implementation and operation of the PeopleSoft’s Financial and Human Resource modules and to provide options for improving performance.
Next Steps
At the time, Flint did not have the funds to fully implement Andersen's PeopleSoft recommendations. Yet, addressing the PeopleSoft issues is critical to the City of Flint’s operations. Once the City of Flint fully implements PeopleSoft the City of Flint will have the necessary information to assist the Finance and Personnel Departments meeting human resource needs.
Website
Andersen also recommended that the City of Flint upgrade its homepage and obtain site management services. The City of Flint developed a new contract to procure web-site developer services.
Next Steps
The next step is for the City Council to approve the web-site contract and then to begin implementation of the portal. In the interim, the City of Flint’s Information Technology manager has begun drafting preliminary plans to upgrade the City of Flint’s homepage and to reorganize the web-site by function rather than by department. Further, included in the Department Heads Performance Contracts is a commitment to submit updates to the City of Flint's web-site monthly.
Information Technology Assessment
The existence of a viable, realistic Information Technology Strategy is critical to the success of Flint becoming a truly citizen-focused government. The City of Flint needs to provide relevant information that is readily accessible, to its business community and that will encourage investment. The citizens of Flint need information to take full advantage of city services. City employees need access to information so they can effectively perform their jobs. The City with Andersen's help is forming an Information Technology Strategy Committee to ensure that the IT plan fits into the City's overall mission and vision.
Next Steps
The next step is to complete the assessment of the City of Flint's Information Technology functions. Once the assessment is complete, the City should be capable of performing the IT implementation with outside support.
Telephone Audit
Electronic Commerce can save the City of Flint valuable time and money. Andersen advised the City of Flint that it is more efficient to track utility utilization and costs on-line. Andersen suggested that the City of Flint could save money by performing a utility audit and by switching to an electronic billing system. Further, the City of Flint could find additional savings by holding departments accountable for all utility usage.
Next Steps
The City of Flint is evaluating processes to charge the departments for actual utility usage rather than on the current percentage basis.
Telecommunications
Telecommunications is essential to the daily operations of any business unit. But telephone costs should align with need. As a first step toward achieving savings, the City of Flint evaluated its local and long distance telecommunications carriers. The City of Flint also began tracking local and long distance telephone usage and performed a cell phone audit.
Next Steps
In order to reduce current telephone costs, the City of Flint recognizes that it must increase accountability and restate the telephone policy to control local and long distance usage.
The following is the timeline for implementing the Information Technology portion of the Citizen Focused Government Cornerstone of Phase Two.
Status: Ongoing
Citizen Input
To date the City of Flint has accomplished the following key tasks:
Conducted the First Citizen Input Survey during November and December 2000
Distributed survey results and final report
Used survey results as drivers for the budget submission
A summary of each of these tasks follows.
Citizen Input Survey
The City of Flint conducted an independent citywide review of its citizens to ascertain which core governmental services were important to Flint’s residents and how well the City of Flint was providing service. The goal of the study was for the city to establish a baseline for service delivery at the time the survey was taken, then to establish targets for the city’s improvement and finally to measure progress against those goals annually. The questionnaire was built around a series of services - - with questions asking residents about the importance of various services to them personally and their satisfaction with how well those services were being carried out.
The City of Flint was able to translate the survey results into new priorities, with tangible goals and objectives tied to the City of Flint’s overall mission and vision. The results of the survey were compiled into a final report, published and distributed in February 2001. The results of the survey helped drive the City of Flint’s budget submission. A foundational benchmark for future improvements for 21 public services was created by the input received from the citizens of Flint during the survey. Copies of survey results were distributed to all department heads within the administration and immediate attention and priority was placed on improving the results in their respective areas.
Next Steps
The Citizen Input process will not be complete until a second survey is conducted. The results of the first survey created priorities and a baseline for service delivery, the second survey will inform the City on how well it is doing in responding to citizens' priorities. Andersen will work with the City Administrator and Public Relations Director to compile survey results, compare this year's survey results with last year's survey baseline and submit a written report. Andersen will help the City Administrator and Public Relations Director to identify areas where service delivery has improved, remained unchanged or worsened. Andersen will help the City Administrator and Public Relations Director identify trends, make recommendations, and develop an action plan to respond to the second annual survey results. Andersen will help the City Administrator and Public Relations Director review, revise and implement the City's Balanced Scorecard for 2002. Once the City has completed a full citizen input cycle it will have the requisite experience to conduct the Third Annual Citizen survey.
Status: Ongoing
The following is the timeline for implementing the Citizen Input portion of the Citizen Focused Government Cornerstone of Phase Two.
Performance Management
To date the City of Flint has accomplished the following key tasks:
Conducted Performance Contract Workshops with the Mayor and Department Heads during January 25-26, 2001
Completed Performance Contracts for Department Heads
Developed implementation plans for Performance Contracts and collection of performance metrics
A summary of each of these tasks follows.
Performance Contract Workshops
During the Assessment Phase Andersen determined that the City of Flint should invest more resources in performance management. Performance management requires the establishment of measurable performance goals, and setting and enforcing clearer performance expectations starting at the citywide level and cascading down into individual departments.
Andersen worked with the City of Flint to develop government-wide performance metrics that makes managers and supervisors accountable for achieving results in the City of Flint. In addition, the Department Heads drafted Performance Contracts that included internal organizational goals for developing people, the organization, alliances and service delivery that linked to specific performance measures. Once specific goals were identified, the Department Heads established a timeframe with start and completion dates for each goal. The City Administrator met with each Department head individually to ensure agreement on the specific goals, performance metrics and timeframes. These meetings were held during the first two weeks of October 2001. The discussion during these Performance Contract meetings allowed Department Heads and the City Administrator to further refine the Performance Contracts prior to submission to the Mayor for approval.
Andersen is assisting the Department Heads in identifying performance data sources, collection and validation methods. Andersen has developed a performance metric-tracking tool that will assist the Department Heads in monitoring validated performance metrics weekly, monthly and annual progress. Andersen is meeting with individual Department Heads to train them on the tracking tool and to answer questions during the month of December 2001.
Implementation of the Performance Management process will be monitored through a bimonthly review of performance metrics. The metrics will also be analyzed during the Mayor's monthly staff meetings. The Department Heads will be held accountable for achieving goals stated in their Performance Contracts beginning in January 2002
Next Steps
The next step is for the Department Heads to cascade down their Performance Management Training to their staffs and to work with them to identify staff level performance metrics that will ensure that the Department meets its goals on time and within budget.
Status: Ongoing
The following is the timeline for implementing the Performance Management portion of the Citizen Focused Government Cornerstone of Phase Two.
Skills Assessment
To date the City of Flint has accomplished the following key tasks:
Conducted Skills Assessment for over 100 managers and supervisors
Prepared Individual Development Plans for each managers/supervisors
Identified Training and Development Opportunities for managers/supervisors including a number of internet-based non-cost training resources
A summary of each of these tasks follows.
Skills Assessment
Performance appraisals and personnel evaluation were negotiated out of the city’s employee management system during the 1980s. The City of Flint worked with Andersen to develop a skills assessment program that is evaluative, constructive and career enhancing rather than punitive in order to help staff members acquire the required skills to perform their functions.
Andersen worked with the City of Flint's Personnel Department in developing a performance evaluation system for department heads. Specific measurable goals for each position were developed so that their performance evaluation ties into performance standards and the City of Flint's overall mission, vision and priorities. The goal is to build a strong leadership team that works together to make decisions and to integrate service delivery and functional government into the strategic planning process.
Andersen conducted skills assessment workshops for managers and supervisors to align staff skills with "Road to Our Future" initiatives. Over 100 managers and supervisors participated in the skills assessment workshops. The Andersen team analyzed skills assessment results, developed Individual Development Plans (IDPs) and identified training and development opportunities for each manager and supervisor. The City of Flint is currently in the process of coordinating with managers/supervisors and training providers to set-up training identified in the IDPs.
Next Step
The next step is to identify City of Flint employees to assist and learn the skills assessment process in order "to train the trainers". Once identified, the City of Flint can begin the assessment process for non-managerial/supervisory employees.
Status: Ongoing
The following is the timeline for implementing the Skills Assessment portion of the Citizen Focused Government Cornerstone of Phase Two.
Fiscally Responsible Government
5. Financial Initiatives
To date the City of Flint has accomplished the following key tasks:
Outsourcing
Developing Real Estate
Selling Commercial and Surplus Land
A summary of each of these tasks follows.
Andersen helped the City of Flint to identify a number of financial initiatives that could be readily implemented and which would produce both immediate financial savings and improve the efficiency of current operations. The City of Flint planned to outsource non-inherently governmental services, redevelop real estate and sell surplus land. As a result of taking these steps the city realized savings of approximately $5 million. Outsourcing
The City of Flint, with Andersen's help, identified a number of city services that are not inherently governmental and as a result offer an opportunity to the City of Flint to maximize income through outsourcing. The City of Flint issued an RFQ for Rental Inspections in August 2001. Bids were submitted and evaluated in September and October 2001 and the City of Flint is close to awarding a contract. Once the contract is awarded, the City will monitor contractor performance.
Next Steps
Andersen has transferred knowledge of an effective outsourcing process to the City of Flint. The City of Flint is currently considering its best options for other potential outsourcing opportunities such as the City of Flint’s Golf Courses.
Developing Real Estate
The City of Flint took an inventory of all city-owned property and has sorted city-owned properties into appropriate categories such as city use, surplus, and economic development. The City of Flint then added all city-owned surplus properties to the City of Flint’s database. Once this labor intensive and time-consuming task was completed with the help of the University of Michigan the City of Flint formed a public/private partnership with a real estate broker to market non-essential commercial properties.
Sale of Surplus Land (RPSSL).
The City of Flint continues to market its commercial properties setting aside properties for redevelopment considered critical for future economic development. Andersen is helping the City to redevelop that land that has yet to be committed to a project as well as to identify a cost-effective process for addressing residential surplus properties
Next Step
The next step is to redevelop that land that has yet to be committed to a project and for the City of Flint to identify a cost-effective process for addressing residential surplus property. The City should work with the Road to Our Future Task Force to develop creative ideas and to ask for assistance in dispensing of City-owned residential surplus property.
Status: Transitioned to the City
The following is the timeline for implementing the Financial Initiative portion of the Fiscally Responsible Government Cornerstone of Phase Two.
Timeline
:6. Financial Management
To date the City of Flint has accomplished the following key tasks:
Assisted the City of Flint finance and budget officials in developing a multi-year financial plan
Assisted the City of Flint finance and budget officials in developing a plan to balance the FY2002-FY2003 Budget
Assisted the City of Flint finance and budget officials in developing and a plan to reduce the FY2001 projected deficit by $1.6 million and identified spending reductions of approximately $9.6 million
Developed Workforce Analysis document for inclusion in the FY2002-FY2003 Budget submission
Outlined ways to increase annual grant revenue by at least $1 million and hired a Washington lobbying firm to assist the City of Flint with applying for grants
A summary of each of these tasks follows.
Multi-year Financial Plan
The City of Flint recognizes that in order to pursue a number of its management and citizen centric initiatives it is critical for the City of Flint to get its financial house in order. Andersen advised the City of Flint, that it is key to its overall fiscal health to create a comprehensive multi-year financial plan. The City of Flint with Andersen's support completed its first multi-year financial plan in the FY02-FY03 Budgets (FY2002- FY 2003 Proposed Budget Appendix E). The City of Flint worked with Andersen to identify financial strategies and controls in the most critical areas. The City of Flint submitted the FY02-FY03 Proposed Budget to the City Council on April 2, 2001. The City Council and the City of Flint discussed, negotiated and adopted a revised FY02-FY03 Budget on June 29, 2001.
The City of Flint recognizes the benefits of a multi-year financial plan looking at current decisions in light of immediate and longer-term impacts. The multi-year financial plan is helping to guide the city by showing it where it is going financially and how it intends to get there.
Plan to Balance the FY2002 and 2003 Budget
Finance and budget officials working with Andersen developed a plan to balance the FY2002-FY2003 budget (FY2002- FY 2003 Proposed Budget Appendix E). The City of Flint has designed actions to improve the day to day operations of the city as well as its economic climate. The Finance Department with Andersen's support is in the process of reviewing tax and revenue collections, delinquent revenue collections, and revenue processing and accounting. In addition, the City of Flint with Andersen's support is preparing and monitoring monthly cash flow statements, establishing and monitoring internal controls, and conducting regular bank reconciliations. Further the City of Flint with Andersen's support has revised the budget process to forecast revenues and expenditures for the next three to five years.
Reduced the FY2001 projected deficit and identified spending reductions
In addition, Andersen assisted the City finance and budget officials in developing a plan to reduce the FY2001 projected deficit by $1.6 million without which the City of Flint’s current deficit would have been that much worse. Further, Andersen helped the City of Flint to identify spending reductions of $9.6 million.
The next steps are to monitor the FY02/03 multi-year financial plan and budget and make necessary adjustments. As part of this monitoring effort each Department Head is committed to monthly financial monitoring and reporting. Each Department Head is responsible for reviewing monthly available actual results versus the budget with each of their cost center managers to ensure accountability and disciplined tracking of results and to report the monthly available actual results versus the budget to the City Administrator.
Workforce Analysis Document
There are a number of challenges facing the City of Flint municipal government related to its workforce. The City of Flint has been reducing the size of its workforce. The City of Flint has reduced its payroll by 9% since FY1999 and continues to seek personnel efficiencies while maintaining the expected productivity. The City of Flint is determined to accomplish this goal without disrupting the quality of service that it proudly provides it citizens.
During FY2001 a number of initiatives were begun or implemented to begin addressing containing workforce costs. A complete Workforce Analysis document is included in the FY02/03 Proposed Budget (FY2002- FY 2003 Proposed Budget Appendix E). The following initiatives highlight a number of the workforce-related steps that the City of Flint took to reduce its operating costs:
Changed the Blue Cross/Blue Shield prescription to Blue Cross Preferred RX Program
Conducted a coordination of benefits review of all employees and retirees to determine availability.
Reduced the workforce by 110 positions
Grants Management
While there are grant funds available to assist cities, the Andersen assessment report noted that the City of Flint must have staff members with time and expertise to identify and obtain grant funds. Andersen outlined ways to help the City of Flint to increase annual grant revenue by at least $1 million and recommended that City of Flint initiate a new Grants Management Program. In October 2001, the City of Flint hired Peyser and Associates, a Washington, D.C. based lobbying firm to assist the City of Flint with applying for Federal grants. Peyser and Associates interviewed each Department Head to gain a better understanding of their current and projected needs and grant programs. In addition, the City of Flint renewed a contract for a Lansing Lobbying firm to assist with the application for state grants.
Based on this year's successes, finance and budget officials will know where to begin looking for additional savings in future years. In addition, the City of Flint is working with Andersen and a Financial Task Force to hire a number of key employees to ensure that the City will be able to perform these and other financial tasks without assistance in the future.
Next Steps
The next steps are to monitor the FY02/03 multi-year financial plan and budget and make necessary adjustments. Andersen is assisting the City of Flint to develop an effective financial monitoring process. As part of this monitoring effort each Department Head is committed to monthly financial monitoring and reporting. Each Department Head is responsible for reviewing monthly available actual results versus the budget with each of their cost center managers to ensure accountability and disciplined tracking of results and to report the monthly available actual results versus the budget to the city Administrator.
Status: Transitioned to the City
The following is the timeline for implementing the Financial Management portion of the Fiscally Responsible Cornerstone of Phase Two.7. Economic Development
To date the City of Flint has accomplished the following key tasks:
Drafted Economic Development approach and an Initial Action Plan
Implemented, populated and regularly update Geographic Imaging System (GIS)
Met with representatives of the Growth Alliance, the Downtown Development Authority and other economic development organizations to discuss coordination with the City of Flint
A summary of each of these tasks follows.
Economic Development Approach and an Initial Action Plan
Economic Development and job creation is key to the future growth of any city. The Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) worked with Andersen to identify the key steps in the Economic Development cycle. The first step was to assess the City of Flint’s current economic development state, which DCED completed in October 2001. The next step is for DCED to identify needs and priorities and evaluate all aspects of the economic development plan including success, failures, and the process itself. DCED began this process during its assessment of the current economic development state and should complete it by the end of November 2001. In addition, DCED drafted an Economic Development Approach and an Initial Action Plan for improving the results of economic development activities, which it is currently reviewing with city officials.
Once the economic development plans are approved the next step is implementation and coordination of efforts with other organizations involved in the City of Flint’s revitalization. Flint has already begun to maximize economic development through expanding relationships with organizations such as the Growth Alliance, DDA and the City of Flint Chamber of Commerce among others. For example, the DCED is working with the Growth Alliance to develop plans for the Buick City re-use. DCED is submitting a Buick City re-use and coordination proposal to the City Council on October 31st.
Geographic Imaging System
DCED is focusing on creating an environment that is conducive to businesses relocating and expanding in Flint. A large part of that effort is making information readily accessible to the business community. Flint implemented, populated and regularly updates a Geographic Imaging System (GIS) that contains information about all city properties. Businesses can now access this information on-line through the City of Flint’s web-site.
Growth Alliance, the Downtown Development Authority and Other Economic Development Organizations
DCED is working with the Zoning and Planning Department to update the City of Flint’s Master Plan. The Master Plan was last updated in 1993. DCED will coordinate its efforts with the Downtown Development Association (DDA) which is working on a downtown revitalization program. As part of its downtown revitalization program the DDA has entered into a development agreement with a group of local developers. To date, DDA has purchased six properties and the developers are currently putting plans and cost estimates together for renovations. In addition, DDA has received a Ground Field Economic Incentive Grant of $1 million for environmental clean up of the properties.
Next Steps
The next step is to update the City's Master Plan. The City of Flint, with Andersen's assistance, is working with the Zoning and Planning Department to update the City's Master Plan. The City of Flint, with Andersen's assistance, will finalize its economic development approach and action plan and begin implementation. The City, with Andersen's help, will identify viable areas for Public-Private partnerships.
Andersen has shared its technical approach to developing the economic development component with the City. After the City has completed the economic development methodology, walking through each step once, it will have the required technical skills to update its strategic economic plan annually without continual external assistance.
Status: Transitioned to the City
The following is the timeline for implementing the Economic Development portion of the Fiscally Responsible Government Cornerstone of Phase Two.
Competitive Government
8. Managed Competition
To date the City of Flint has accomplished the following key tasks:
Defined public services which are inherently governmental
Created advisory committee/panel made up of area procurement professionals to review RFP/RFQ responses
Awarded the first of four demolition contracts to a private contractor and the second to the City work-force
A summary of each of these tasks follows.
Inherently- Governmental Public Services
Last fall the City of Flint introduced competition for the first time as a solution to containing costs and improving customer satisfaction. The Competitive Government process is a formal mechanism whereby public employees compete with the private and non-profit sector to provide city services. City departments and private firms compete to determine who is the most economic and efficient service provider for the City of Flint.
The City of Flint, working with Andersen, defined areas that are inherently governmental and developed an implementation plan for competitive government. Police cadet training, golf course management and operations and custodial services among others were considered viable candidates for a managed competition initiative. Since the initial assessment, the City also has identified other areas to be considered including sanitation.
Advisory committee/panel made to review RFP/RFQ responses
In addition, the City of Flint drawing on Andersen's expertise developed a formal managed competition infrastructure to establish ground rules that are comprehensive and reasonable. As part of this process, the City of Flint created an advisory committee/panel made up of area procurement specialists to review responses to RFPs and to ensure fairness and transparency in the sourcing decision making process.
Demolition contracts
On November 26, 2001, City Council approved the City of Flint's second Demolition contract. This approval represents the first contract award to the City work force from the Managed Competition efforts.
Next Steps
As a result of the managed competition process, the citizens of Flint will receive the best services and at the best price. As the City of Flint continues to look at other areas that might be suitable for managed competition, the word will get out that the only way to compete is to improve efficiency. This is an ongoing process. The results of the Competitive Government program will be continually monitored and tracked to ensure that the citizens of Flint, MI. receive the best city services at the best price.
Status: Transitioned to the City
The following is the timeline for implementing the Managed Competition portion of the Competitive Government Cornerstone of Phase Two
.9. Personnel Management
To date the City of Flint has accomplished the following key tasks:
Reduced police overtime in targeted areas through new staffing policies
Reducing fringe benefits
Helping employees be more competitive
A summary of each of these tasks follows.
Reduced Overtime
The Personnel Department, working with Andersen, identified areas for improvement including working with Department Heads to monitor and reduce overtime costs. The City of Flint has already realized noticeable savings as a result of reducing police overtime in target areas through new staffing policies. The Personnel Management Department started tracking and providing bi-weekly, monthly and quarterly overtime usage reports to the Police Department in September 2001.
The Personnel Management Department is working with the Department of Public Works and Utilities to help reduce overtime costs in a number of divisions that currently reflect high overtime usage. The Personnel Management Department started tracking and providing bi-weekly, monthly and quarterly overtime usage reports to monitor and track overtime usage trends.
The Personnel Management Department is also working with the Fire Department to help reduce overtime costs. Personnel Management has started to track and provide bi-weekly, monthly and quarterly overtime usage reports to help the Fire Department monitor and track overtime usage trends.
Next Steps
Decreasing overtime usage is a key metric included in each Department Head's Performance Contract. Monitoring overtime usage will be made relatively simple after Andersen effectively transfers knowledge in the effective use of the Performance Metric Tracking Tool to the City. Each Department Head will be held accountable for reducing overtime.
Reduce Fringe Benefits
The City of Flint is in the process of addressing a number of issues raised in the 2002 Budget, Workforce Analysis. Specifically, the City of Flint is continuing to negotiate with the labor unions in an effort to reduce fringe benefits. The City of Flint deals with six separate bargaining units and a number of these contracts are currently being renegotiated. Approximately 78% of the City of Flint’s general fund is spent on personnel and personnel related costs. The City of Flint recognizes that the best opportunity for cost savings is through reducing fringe benefits. As a result, the City of Flint is making every effort to achieve that goal.
Next Steps
The City of Flint is continuing to conduct semi-annual claims audits of its health insurance provider to determine if payments are within guidelines. The City of Flint is also continuing to explore replacing the existing health insurance plan with a more aggressive, less costly plan and is reviewing free health benefits for deferred employees. The City of Flint is also reviewing its prescription drug policy in an effort to move toward greater use of generic drugs. The City of Flint is working towards integrating all of its health benefit plans with Medicare coverage, developing recommendations to share the cost of specific health benefits with employees, and developing recommendations to change service computations.
Help Employees Be More Competitive
The next step to following the workforce analysis is to examine the current system of job classification and qualification requirements. The City of Flint with Andersen's help has identified areas that need improvement but the City of Flint has not been able to pursue these changes because of the current system.
Next Steps
The City of Flint is also interested in conducting an annual survey of compensation for key types of positions. In order to attract, retain and to align current employee's skills and functions with the City of Flint's overall vision, mission, and priorities major changes must be made to the current system.
Status: Ongoing
10. Purchasing
To date the City of Flint has accomplished the following key tasks:
Identified areas for improvement of the procurement process
Trained employees in each department in the purchasing process and drafting a purchasing policy manual for dissemination to all departments
Developed relationships with the County and State procurement divisions to achieve economies of scale to obtain the most competitive prices
A summary of each of these tasks follows.
Identified areas for improvement of the procurement process
The Purchasing Department, working with Andersen, recognized that Government at all levels has identified procurement and purchasing processes as a major source of waste and inefficiency. Procurement and purchasing offer a unique opportunity for immediate cost savings, operational and functional improvements. In Phase One, Andersen recommended that the City of Flint re-invent the following purchasing functions: storehouse management processes, bulk purchasing, small purchase process and contract management. In response to this recommendation, the Purchasing Department identified areas for improvement of the procurement process including strategic alignment, purchasing assessment, streamlining processes (including automation), competitive selection, and comprehensive financial evaluations.
Next Steps
The Purchasing Department is re-engineering the vendor contract process, developing a plan to disseminate bids/proposals electronically, and working toward on-line requisitions.
Train Employees and Draft a Purchasing Policy Manual
Recognizing that the requisition process is confusing and cumbersome to most employees, the Purchasing Department is creating a purchasing policy manual for dissemination to all departments, which should be completed by the beginning of January 2002. In addition, the Purchasing Department began a program to train employees in each department within the City of Flint on the purchasing process.
Next Steps
The Purchasing Department will offer additional training to update employees once the purchasing manual is distributed.
Achieve Economies of Scale to Obtain the Most Competitive Prices
The Purchasing Department is continually evaluating where it can obtain the best quality goods at the most competitive prices. The City of Flint purchased vehicles with the County at substantial savings as part of an overall goal to increase involvement with County entities to work on collaborative efforts to procure goods that would have better economies of scale. While the City of Flint is working toward developing a stronger relationship with the State Purchasing Authority, the City of Flint will continue to act in the best interest of its citizens. Sometimes this means not purchasing through the State Purchasing Authority if better prices are available elsewhere.
Next Steps
The Purchasing Department is in the process of developing a tool that will assist it in being pro-active in taking advantage of market trends including technology and industry best practices. For example, the Purchasing Department is in the process of drafting legislation to increase the dollar limit for purchases that require approval by the City Council to be on a par with other cities.
In order to stay on task, Andersen helped the City of Flint to develop detailed implementation plans listing key tasks, steps and timeframes to complete each initiative. In addition, the Implementation Plans assign accountability for accomplishing each task. The City of Flint will continue to work with Andersen to complete implementation of the Road to Our Future Implementation Project Plan.
Status: Transitioned to the City
The following is the timeline for implementing Purchasing portion of the Competitive Government Cornerstone of Phase Two
Last edited by Adam on Sun Dec 31, 2006 4:52 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Sun Dec 31, 2006 1:54 pm |
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DELETED
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Sun Dec 31, 2006 2:23 pm |
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00SL2
F L I N T O I D
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If one goes to
http://www.ci.flint.mi.us/
or
http://www.cityofflint.com
both copyright 2006, which link should be used on the home page to find that 2001 News Release by Woodrow Stanley? The only way I could find it besides using your link was to Google it. Clicking on the "back" button at the bottom of your link gets a HTTP 404 Not found.
If you have a direct link from the City's actual website, why not use the "Contact Us" button to report it. You should receive a response of thanks for reporting it. |
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Sun Dec 31, 2006 2:51 pm |
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Adam
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There's no link anywhere to this according to google. Sometimes things like this can happen. The city failed to delete it. I wonder if this plan was presented to and approved by the city council? If so that would have been Flint's last master plan as required by the charter to be submitted on a yearly basis. Having a plan is no solution however if it's not good and not executed.
Sec. 4-502 DEVELOPMENT MATTERS.
The term DEVELOPMENT MATTERS as used in this Charter includes:
A. The Master plan for social, economic and physical development and conservation;
B. The annual capital agenda and capital budget;
C. Any development or renewal project on or affecting public real property or public interests in real property, or requiring public assistance;
D. Proposed ordinances for the regulation of development or conservation;
E. Proposals for the demolition, disposition or relinquishment of, or encroachments upon, public real property or public interests in real property;
F. Any other items added by ordinance.
(Adopted by the electorate, 11-5-74)
Sec. 4-503 PURPOSE OF PLAN.
PLAN or MASTER PLAN has the same meaning as COMPREHENSIVE PLAN. The plan shall be a set of guidelines to assist the Mayor and others in evaluating and implementing specific proposals for the total development of the City and its residents.
(Adopted by the electorate, 11-5-74)
Sec. 4-504 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
The Mayor shall propose and the City Council, after review by the Planning Commission, shall approve, with the modifications the Council deems necessary, a comprehensive plan of policies for the social, economic and physical development and conservation of the City.
(Adopted by the electorate, 11-5-74)
Sec. 4-505 PERIODIC REVIEW OF PLAN.
After approval of the plan, the Mayor shall annually propose any amendments necessary to keep the plan current; and the City Council, after review by the Planning Commission, shall consider the Mayor's proposed amendments and make the modifications in the plan that it deems necessary.
(Adopted by the electorate, 11-5-74)
Sec. 4-506 PUBLIC HEARINGS.
Interested persons and groups shall be given notice and an opportunity to be heard by the Planning Commission and the City Council before approval of the plan or any amendments to the plan. The City Council shall conclude its action on the plan annually no later than the date set by ordinance or, in the absence of ordinance, by the first Monday in March.
(Adopted by the electorate, 11-5-74)
For the planning commission Williamson has failed to appoint anyone in the 2nd our 9th wards so we don't have a plan, chief planner like the charter requires or a full planning commision liek we're supposed to. |
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Sun Dec 31, 2006 5:03 pm |
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00SL2
F L I N T O I D
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quote:
Adam schreef:
For the planning commission Williamson has failed to appoint anyone in the 2nd our 9th wards so we don't have a plan, chief planner like the charter requires or a full planning commision liek we're supposed to.
Try contacting Jackie Poplar (2nd) and Scott Kincaid (9th), or mayor's staff Wendy to ask status. Minutes of Oct. 2006 Planning Commission meeting are online at
http://www.cityofflint.com/CommunityNeiborhood/Planning/agendas/2006/PC101006Min.pdf |
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Sun Dec 31, 2006 7:24 pm |
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Joe
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Mon Jan 01, 2007 3:37 am |
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rapunzel
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Would think that concerned citizens would try to find appropriate members of the 2nd and 9th ward and lobby to appoint them to the planning commission?
Will talk to my ward commissioner and thanks for the heads up!
Peace,
RAP |
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Mon Jan 01, 2007 5:15 am |
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Don
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quote:
rapunzel schreef:
Would think that concerned citizens would try to find appropriate members of the 2nd and 9th ward and lobby to appoint them to the planning commission?
Will talk to my ward commissioner and thanks for the heads up!
Peace,
RAP
Why? |
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Tue Jan 02, 2007 1:08 pm |
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Josh Freeman
F L I N T O I D
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| The Council can only approve members submitted by the Mayor for the Planning Commission. I think that the 2nd Ward has been vacant since I was on Council. The 9th has been vacant nearly a year and I know that Councilman Kincaid has sent names for consideration. Apparently the Mayor feels that he is hurting the Councilpeople by not appointing when in fact he is only hurting the residents of the City. |
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Tue Jan 02, 2007 1:52 pm |
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Adam
F L I N T O I D
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quote:
rapunzel schreef:
Would think that concerned citizens would try to find appropriate members of the 2nd and 9th ward and lobby to appoint them to the planning commission?
Will talk to my ward commissioner and thanks for the heads up!
Peace,
RAP
I think they're too busy with crime marches. If the '"concerned citizens" cared about the planning commision they should care more about the master plan and economic development plan. They'd also care more about things like perjury allegations etc. The other issue is the Flint Journal hasn't reported this. People don't seem to care about things until the Journal tells them to.
For the record Scott Kinkaid has publicly complained about his missing representative. He said he has suggested people but the mayor has ignored him.
People complain about no jobs but we don't have an economic development plan to bring in jobs that I'm aware of. If we did it should be in the master plan that is required which we do not have. Most cities with jobs seem to do economic development. |
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Tue Jan 02, 2007 3:32 pm |
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John
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quote:
Josh Freeman schreef:
The Council can only approve members submitted by the Mayor for the Planning Commission. I think that the 2nd Ward has been vacant since I was on Council. The 9th has been vacant nearly a year and I know that Councilman Kincaid has sent names for consideration. Apparently the Mayor feels that he is hurting the Councilpeople by not appointing when in fact he is only hurting the residents of the City.
He did the same thing with the historical commission. |
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Tue Jan 02, 2007 5:19 pm |
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00SL2
F L I N T O I D
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quote:
Adam schreef:
For the record Scott Kinkaid has publicly complained about his missing representative. He said he has suggested people but the mayor has ignored him.
Didn't Scott Kincaid say at a City Council Meeting that he would not approve
anything
the mayor proposed? If that's so, then how's the mayor to overcome that attitude to get anything done at City Hall that requires Council approval? |
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Tue Jan 02, 2007 10:07 pm |
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Josh Freeman
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Well... the Mayor has shown an ability to get what he wants, whether he needs Council approval or not. For instance, the towing contract. The administration brought a resolution to extend the towing contract to Smittys Towing, something like $83,000.00. The Council balked at it asking that a plan be presented for the impound lot and how those monies gained were going to be used. Essentially they turned down the contract. So what does the Mayor do? He awards the contract as an emergency purchase. Basically telling the Council - up your nose with a rubber hose. The intent of the Emergency Purchase Ordinance was to allow the Administration to make purchases that would have an effect on the health, safety or welfare of the Citizens in between Council meetings. In my opinion, a towing contract doesn't affect the health, safety or welfare of the people of Flint. But if my opinion was worth anything, I would probably still be on Council.
Also, I've attended Council meetings since 1999 missing only 4 or 5. In fact, I have a better attendance record than most of the Council. I don't recall, though, Councilman Kincaid making a statement that he would not vote for anything that the Mayor proposes. Actually he has continually advocated that we shouldn't hold the residents hostage to the incompetent leadership shown by the Administration. So I am not sure where that came from. |
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Sun Jan 07, 2007 6:40 pm |
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Ryan Eashoo
F L I N T O I D
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quote:
Josh Freeman schreef:
Well... the Mayor has shown an ability to get what he wants, whether he needs Council approval or not. For instance, the towing contract. The administration brought a resolution to extend the towing contract to Smittys Towing, something like $83,000.00. The Council balked at it asking that a plan be presented for the impound lot and how those monies gained were going to be used. Essentially they turned down the contract. So what does the Mayor do? He awards the contract as an emergency purchase. Basically telling the Council - up your nose with a rubber hose. The intent of the Emergency Purchase Ordinance was to allow the Administration to make purchases that would have an effect on the health, safety or welfare of the Citizens in between Council meetings. In my opinion, a towing contract doesn't affect the health, safety or welfare of the people of Flint. But if my opinion was worth anything, I would probably still be on Council.
Also, I've attended Council meetings since 1999 missing only 4 or 5. In fact, I have a better attendance record than most of the Council. I don't recall, though, Councilman Kincaid making a statement that he would not vote for anything that the Mayor proposes. Actually he has continually advocated that we shouldn't hold the residents hostage to the incompetent leadership shown by the Administration. So I am not sure where that came from.
Come On Scott is a good guy, he has been working hard for Flint for years! He is one of the few I trust!
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Flint Michigan Resident, Tax Payer, Flint Nutt - Local REALTOR - Activist. www.FlintTown.com |
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Thu Jan 11, 2007 10:56 pm |
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00SL2
F L I N T O I D
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quote:
Ryan Eashoo schreef:
Come On Scott is a good guy, he has been working hard for Flint for years! He is one of the few I trust!
He may very well be a good guy but IMO he's not using common sense, and he's wasting our taxpayer dollars over his obsession with the mayor. He should have waited for the city attorney to see the proposed resolution prior to voting on it to sue the mayor again. If Judge Neithercut made a ruling and City Council feels the mayor hasn't abided by it, the solution is not to file another lawsuit. That one will just be combined with the first one and the judge will do the same thing he did before. [Unless--I laugh--he finds them all in contempt and has them sit in a corner until they can behave!] |
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Fri Jan 12, 2007 1:15 am |
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