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LANKSTON Jeff From: JONES Eric R Sent: Wednesday, September 13, 2000 8:14 AM To: LANKSTON Jeff Subject: PW Update (draft revision #3) (This message is being sent on behalf of Jeff Lankston and Les Lyle) PW Reorganization Quite a bit has occurred since City Manager Jim Johnson announced several organizational changes in Public Works in late August. Since then, it has been decided that Facility Management will move to the Administrative Services Department on October 1. We're working with ASD Executive Manager Warren Wong and managers from Facilities and PW Admin to make this transition as smooth as possible. The department's parking program, including parking enforcement and meter maintenance, will move to the Planning and Development Department this fiscal year, and we'll be meeting with PDD Executive Manager Paul Farmer and his managers later this month to work out the details of that change. Meanwhile, a study is under way on moving Radio Shop to Police; no transition date has been set for that move. We will be thoughtful and involve staff as much as possible in making these adjustments; however, we need to move fairly quickly so that the transitions can be fully reflected in the preparation of the FY02 budget. We also recognize the excellent working relationships that have been developed with these work groups, and our challenge is to retain and even improve these beneficial relationships as we go through the transitions. Our hope is that these changes will strengthen our bonds to other departments and broaden our perspectives to help us better see the entire organization and the many roles it has in providing community services. Parks and Open Space Division Part of the vision that Jim Johnson had in his reorganization of Public Works was for a new division that will group together the major parks maintenance, parks planning and open space acquisition program areas. Jim wants us to help clarify that vision to define exactly which services and which staff would be included. We know we want to improve the "visibility" of park services in the community, and we want to create a division that is operationally efficient and financially viable. To help develop this concept, we've formed a staff team to look at a variety of Public Works services that might fit in the new division. The staff team members are: Therese Walch, Michelle Cahill, Tim Rhay, Andrea Riner, Johnny Medlin, Joe Ferguson, Mark Snyder, Gene Shutt, John Clark, Carrie Jennings, and Kristi Morris, with Margaret Boutell and Roland Hoskins as facilitators. Again, it's important to move with some speed so funding for the new division can be included in the FY02 budget. We've asked the team to get back to us by the end of September. If you have ideas or want to share your perspectives, please don't hesitate to talk with any of the team members. We'll keep you posted as the process continues. Financial Issues As we begin budgeting for FY02 (the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2001), we're faced with significant challenges in two funds -- the General Fund and the Road Fund. The department's management team met last Friday for an in -depth discussion of the options we have to meet our financial goals in these two funds. On the General Fund side, we've been asked by the City Manager to identify sustainable reductions in the range of $195,000 for FY02. We identified approximately $75,000 that can be saved by not filling several vacant positions. One of the assumptions in the General Fund projections was that additional funds would be available beginning in FY02 for park services and the new parks and open space division. Our proposal to the City Manager will be that those "growth" funds be used to offset additional reductions because any significant General Fund cuts beyond the $75,000 level would have to come from park services. We're hopeful that the priority of these services is such that further General Fund reductions won't be necessary. However, we also realize that other departments have high priority needs for General Fund revenues. Ultimately, it will be up to Jim Johnson to make the tough financial decisions on how General Fund revenues will be allocated in FY02. Declining revenues and growing costs in the Road Fund also present a significant problem. For now, we've taken what we feel are prudent steps to trim costs to keep the fund solvent for at least one more year. Several vacant positions won't be filled. We've put off the purchase of a new paint truck and decided to forego a street tree inventory. Even more significantly, we're agreed to not make any transfers to the Road Fund capital program. While that frees up $500,000 per year in the short term for operations it's not a viable long -term strategy because we can't begin to preserve the City's infrastructure without a Road Fund capital program. We'll use the next 9 to 12 months to further evaluate the Road Fund and see what other options we have for FY03. Public Works Director Recruitment The recruitment is under way for the PW Executive Director. Ads are being placed, and the recruitment brochure is being finalized. Ralph Andersen and Associates, the recruiting consultant, will have the information on -line very shortly. The closing date for applications is Oct. 27. The recruiter will meet with Jim Johnson in early November, and the schedule calls for on -site interviews in early December if all goes well.