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HomeMy Public PortalAbout03-26-2007 Workshop Meeting March 26, 2007 Monthly Workshop Approved: May 14, 2007 Page 1 of 13 MINUTES Board of Commissioners Monthly Workshop Monday, March 26, 2007 ? 7:00 p.m. Town Barn PRESENT: Mayor Tom Stevens, Commissioners Frances Dancy, Mike Gering, L. Eric Hallman, Evelyn Lloyd, and Brian Lowen. STAFF: Town Manager Eric Peterson, Planning Director Margaret Hauth, Finance Director Greg Siler, Town Engineer/Utilities Director Kenny Keel, Police Chief Clarence Birkhead, Fire Marshal Jerry Wagner, and Town Attorney Bob Hornik. 7:08:00 PM Prior to the opening of the Workshop, Fire Marshal Jerry Wagner presented a description and demonstration of the Town?s new Code Red Reverse 911 Emergency Alert System and responded to questions and comments regarding its implementation. 1.Open the Workshop 7: 53:20 PM Mayor Stevens called the meeting to order. He noted that the Code Red system was a positive step forward for the Town. Mr. Peterson thanked the staff who had worked on getting the system implemented. 2.Agenda Changes & Agenda Approval 7:54:27 PM Upon a motion by Commissioner Lowen, seconded by Commissioner Dancy, the Board moved to approve the agenda as amended by a vote of 5-0. The motion was declared passed. 3.Committee Updates and Reports 7:55:03 PM Commissioner Gering stated that the Cornelius Street Task Force met and formally adopted the recommendations which would be forwarded to the Town Board in April. He said Planning Director Margaret Hauth was working on setting a joint meeting with the County Commissioners. Ms. Hauth said she would contact the County Clerk to determine several days when a quorum of the County Board might be available. 1 March 26, 2007 Monthly Workshop Approved: May 14, 2007 Page 2 of 13 Commissioner Lowen said in order that consideration of the recommendations not be delayed, he suggested placing it on the agendas for both Boards for public hearing at the respective meetings. Ms. Hauth said she hoped to get that resolved prior to the April meeting. 7:56:37 PM Commissioner Hallman stated that he had attended the HOME meeting where funds were designated for the next year. He said at the Transportation Advisory Committee meeting, they were in their third month of discussions with CAMPO about who represented the various municipalities on the Joint MPO Transit Advisory Committee. Commissioner Hallman stated that CAMPO had suggested that all alternates become full members and that meant that Holly Reid had become a full voting member on the Advisory Committee. Commissioner Hallman noted there was funding available next year for transportation, human services and bike and pedestrian projects, so that should be kept in mind. He said at the Parks and Recreation Committee meeting Stephanie Trueblood had led the Committee through a discussion of neighborhood districts and the park needs of each district. 7:59:58 PM Mayor Stevens said the UNRVA had met and adopted its budget, so the Town would soon be receiving information regarding the Town?s contribution. Mayor Stevens said there had been much interest regarding the residents of the Daniel Boone campground community. He said the MPA students had prepared a preliminary report and over the next few weeks a list of resources for those residents would be prepared. Mayor Stevens suggested that the State Legislature should address the primary issue, which was to give people in similar situations right of first refusal to purchase such land. 4.Presentation and Discussion of FY08 Balanced Scorecards for the Town Departments as part of the FY08-10 Budget and Financial Planning Process 8:00:42 PM Town Manager Eric Peterson distributed a list of the five strategic priorities the Town Board had developed as well as the definitions of the different objectives. He asked that the Board alert him to any gaps that might need to be considered so that all key issues could be adequately addressed. Mr. Peterson said regarding the scorecard and the creation of the corporate scorecard for the Town, when he used the term ?cherry pick? he used that in a positive way to mean go over all initiatives, measures and targets that were of the highest priority and most directly linked to the priorities noted in the strategies. 8:05:20 PM Mayor Stevens commented that this would be a discussion that would involve input for all participants since it was a new process. Also, he said, a lot of work had been put into the scorecard, and it appeared to tie the departments to the map the Board had been working on. Mayor Stevens said at first glance, it was impressive and commended the Manager for that work. 2 March 26, 2007 Monthly Workshop Approved: May 14, 2007 Page 3 of 13 Administration 8:08:00 PM Mr. Peterson said the Administration?s scorecard began on page 2, and noted the focus of the initiatives and measures was on public communication. He said that included the website, the new list serve, and press releases. Mr. Peterson said under Community Sustainability, the 10-year financial plan needed to be tied into the water model, and then the annexation feasibility study could be included. He said that also allowed for a study of the fire department and how the Town might provide fire services in the future. Mr. Peterson said he had included with Administration some environmental concerns such as air quality, energy use, decreasing global warming and pollutants, since that division was heavily involved in the budget process. He said they were tracking their COemissions from vehicles, 2 buildings, and other Town operations to determine if some improvements needed to be made. Mr. Peterson said that the Fund Balance was a major effort to develop financial plans that were responsible. Under Developing Personnel, he said that they were monitoring turnover rates for different categories of employees, and measuring appeals and grievances. Mr. Peterson said they were also tracking sick leave use and how that may tie in to other issues. 8:12:09 PM Commissioner Gering said regarding Managing Resources and the percentage of Administration governing body costs, he said last year it was 6.2% and the target next year was projected to increase to 7.5%. Mr. Peterson responded that figure included the addition of the new budget analyst position as well as a small increase due to minor adjustments. Finance 8:13:24 PM Finance Director Greg Siler highlighted some of the initiatives in the Finance and Billing/Collection divisions. He said they emphasized providing quality customer service and to keep citizens informed. Mr. Siler said they frequently communicated with customers using a section provided on the monthly bills. Mr. Siler said the new Code Red system was important to the Town, and they would make it a practice to ensure that customer records remained updated in order to enhance that new system. He said they would be sharing updated customer records with the new system every two months, adding they had about 75 changes to the database each month. Mr. Siler stated that because the water system was a business, they wanted to continue to perform due diligence and collect water accounts that were outstanding, as well as to increase the percentage of collections. He said it was important to take steps to improve the Town?s Bond rating, so they would be exploring what was needed to enable the Town to borrow money at a lower rate. Mr. Siler said they wanted to expand the use of technology in receiving utility payments, which should delay the necessity of hiring additional staff in the future. Mr. Siler said they would continue training for staff in use of the software used in the Department to ensure optimum results. 3 March 26, 2007 Monthly Workshop Approved: May 14, 2007 Page 4 of 13 8:17:53 PM Commissioner Dancy asked if purchase orders could be done on-line by the departments. Mr. Siler said not at this time. Commissioner Dancy said doing such things electronically might save time and reduce paper, and in turn increase efficiency. Mr. Siler said they were currently working on providing Town Hall with access to the Finance Department?s computer system, so that inquiries could be made regarding particular line items and balances, as well as the purchase order system. 8:20:34 PM Commissioner Lloyd stated in the past she frequently heard complaints about the customer service in the Billing division, but she no longer heard those types of complaints. She commended Mr. Siler on the improvements to customer service. Mr. Siler said customer service was a priority for them, and he constantly observed and coached his staff. 8:21:55 PM Commissioner Hallman said it was fair to say that Billing/Collections was the ?face of the Town? for many citizens, and he was willing to support any sort of customer service training for employees in that division. 8:23:22 PM Commissioner Lowen said regarding the Delivery of Efficient Services, he had mentioned in the past his desire to have on-line bill payment. He asked if that was still a possibility. Mr. Siler said he was not certain that it was feasible for a town of their size, but he had recently begun research into how it might be possible to improve or upgrade the system to allow on-line payments. Commissioner Lowen said like the County, the individual would pay the fee involved rather than the Town, and he believed it would reduce the foot traffic in the office and free up employee time. 8:25:29 PM Mr. Peterson said they talked in the past of perhaps offering a discount off a customer?s next bill if they signed up for automatic bank drafts to pay their bill. Planning 8:26:40 PM Planning Director Margaret Hauth noted that the date for the Code rewrite was incorrect, stating that it would be 2009 rather 2008. She said the materials showed the time line and the projects that were necessary to be completed prior to the ordinance rewrite. Ms. Hauth said they were using the Town?s website more efficiently, and were also including site plan maps on notification letters. She said that had reduced the number of calls coming into the Department. Ms. Hauth said they had talked about historic preservation efforts in different parts of Town, and that had now been put into the schedule. She said they were attempting to improve their turnaround time regarding nuisance cases as well as reduce the Attorney?s involvement. Ms. Hauth said they would begin on a routine basis a proactive notification of violations. She said they planned to do visits to neighborhoods on a monthly basis or as often as possible to seek out violations. Ms. Hauth said they were working closely with Mr. Siler?s staff regarding business licenses, and revenue in that area was much improved. She said they were attempting to establish a benchmark to get agenda packets out to Board members, and would soon be bringing forward a new fee schedule in an attempt to capture the hard costs of services. 4 March 26, 2007 Monthly Workshop Approved: May 14, 2007 Page 5 of 13 Ms. Hauth said there were certification processes for both zoning and planning officials and those would be pursued for various staff members. She said they would take more advantage of the GIS program in the coming months, and would be developing an orientation program for new advisory board members to help them understand their charge and their relationship to other advisory boards. Ms. Hauth said they would also be following the necessary steps to implement the Strategic Growth Plan with Orange County, and attending more regional meetings. She said some things not contained in the materials included some of the Churton Street implementation items, such as the way finding signs. 8:33:37 PM Commissioner Hallman said he fully supported the greater involvement in regional committees. He said it was time for the Town to become more visible. Commissioner Hallman said he would like to see more involvement in transportation planning, not just roadways but in bike and pedestrian projects as well as public transportation issues both locally and regionally. He said he would like to see that brought up to a higher level of importance. 8:34:38 PM Commissioner Gering said the Town was involved in seeking STP Direct Allocation funding from the TAC. Ms. Hauth said such funds could be applied for through the MPO for such things as staff or small bike and pedestrian projects. Mr. Peterson said coming up with the initiative would be easy to do, but coming up with the measure would be more difficult. He suggested the measure should be the amount of funding that might be derived from that source or other sources outside of the Town?s Powell Bill funding, and that instead of having a one-year window that a three-year window be used. Mr. Peterson said if that was their target, then they could figure out what combination of efforts were required to be successful. Ms. Hauth said she believed there would have to be more than one measure. She said applying for and receiving funds would be one way to measure success, but participating and taking a more active stance in planning transportation routes would be a non-financial but positive step that could be measured. 8:37:31 PM Mayor Stevens said that would be like trying to measure presence or influence, and it was more qualitative. Ms. Hauth said they knew that there were a couple of transit routes in the works, perhaps they could coordinate with OPT to establish other types of transit routes within the Town. Mayor Stevens said one thing that really struck him from this process and all its connections to the Board?s five priorities was that that type of planning was central. He said there was a lot of work in progress that stretched over a broad spectrum, and the new budget analyst position would be very useful in that work. 8:39:50 PM Mayor Stevens commented he would be glad to help out with orientation for the various advisory boards to whatever degree possible. He said he was also glad to see regional 5 March 26, 2007 Monthly Workshop Approved: May 14, 2007 Page 6 of 13 thinking. Mayor Stevens asked if it would be appropriate that at the permitting level to coordinate with the County to make customer service a priority, such as inspections, building permits and the like. Ms. Hauth said there were several processes already implemented to achieve that, particularly for new commercial projects. 8:42:45 PM Commissioner Gering said as far as managing resources, it had been mentioned that a priority list would be created so that the Town Board would be able to re-prioritize when necessary. He asked how would the Board know when the Planning Department was over- stretched and how would that be mapped to current work. Ms. Hauth said she would prefer to do that on an as-needed basis rather than something that was done regularly. Commissioner Gering agreed. Mr. Peterson said when occasions arise when work needed to be shuffled it was many times readily apparent what needed to be done. But, he said, it may occasionally be necessary to ask the Board?s advice. 8:44:11 PM Commissioner Hallman said in the past he had the sense that there could be better communication between Planning and Engineering regarding work load. He said he did not see anything about interdepartmental communications, and believed that should be measured somehow. Ms. Hauth said as long as they were across the hall from one another that communication happened quite naturally and quite well. Ms. Hauth said next year she would likely separate park planning from other activities, but for now she had left it in. Police Department 8:46:10 PM Police Chief Clarence Birkhead said a major initiative was to improve the quality of life by reducing drug activity in neighborhoods. He said this past year they had held 6 drug suppression campaigns which were all successful, noting they had arrested 18 known drug dealers. Chief Birkhead said hopefully that would directly impact crimes against persons and property. He said they were working to make sure that officers that were free from emergency calls were actively providing high visibility in particular ?hot spot? areas. Chief Birkhead noted they had been awarded a grant for traffic enforcement, which would fund two officers and two traffic units. He said that grant mandated that they conduct at least one specialized program, such as a license check or DWI checkpoint, as well as community education programs. Chief Birkhead said they wanted to improve communication and collaboration, and create problem-solving teams to take community policing to a higher level. He said it was his goal to have at least two representatives attend every neighborhood watch meeting in order to improve communications and outreach with citizens. Chief Birkhead they wanted to reduce the cost of operations and improve services through the use of grants. He said traffic grants were a tremendous savings for the Town. 6 March 26, 2007 Monthly Workshop Approved: May 14, 2007 Page 7 of 13 8:50:22 PM Commissioner Lowen asked if that grant was ongoing, and if the Town would be expected to pick up the costs for the two officers and two vehicles when the grant ended. Chief Birkhead responded it was a three-year grant, so after that three-year period the Town would be expected to pick up the costs. Commissioner Lowen asked if at the end of the three years the Town could reapply for that grant. Chief Birkhead said yes, they could reapply at that time or apply for other grants. Chief Birkhead said important to the their success and the way they delivery services was the concept of a continuous learning organization, where those who attended training or a conference would come back and share that information with other employees. He said his goal was to have those attending training or workshops to provide at the least an executive summary to be shared with other officers. Chief Birkhead said they would also like to develop an in-house community policing program to include understanding cultures and interactions with the community. 8:52:17 PM Commissioner Gering said regarding the accreditation process, he believed there were a fair number of measurements imbedded in that. He asked if that was reflected in any of these measurements. Chief Birkhead said not to any extent. He said the accreditation process set the framework for policies and procedures, but did not provide measures. Chief Birkhead said it provided a benchmark for the Town regarding national standards, and then they had to ensure that they were practicing their craft at that level. 8:53:58 PM Commission Hallman said that the number one priority was the perception of safety. He asked if there were other metrics besides a survey that might give them a sense of that feeling of safety. Chief Birkhead said that the measure used by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) was a survey. He said that was the only way he knew to capture the data that could be measured, and knew of no other instrument that might be used. Commissioner Hallman asked about citizen complaints. Chief Birkhead stated that they tracked citizen complaints, which was a small number so Town-wide that might not represent the perception. 8:57:27 PM Commissioner Dancy asked how competitive was the salary ranges and what was the turnover rate for officers. Chief Birkhead said he believed they were very competitive in the 50 to 75-mile area around Hillsborough for a department of their size. Mr. Peterson said they had recently conducted a check of ranges for all positions in the Town to see if anything was out of line, and found that nothing needed to be adjusted since they were still within the range. 8:59:12 PM Commissioner Lloyd asked about staffing of the community substation. Chief Birkhead said there were no plans to change the use of the substations for anything other than for full-time training. He said the COP coordinator would continue to work out of the substation 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the training coordinator would be there at the appropriate time to conduct training with officers. 7 March 26, 2007 Monthly Workshop Approved: May 14, 2007 Page 8 of 13 Commissioner Lloyd asked if computers would still be available for after-school use. Chief Birkhead replied yes, they would continue that and other programs even though participation had been low. 9:01:11 PM Commissioner Lowen said it had been mentioned that Chief Birkhead would like to see community watch programs increase from the 7 they currently had to perhaps 10. He asked if there were particular areas that had been targeted. Chief Birkhead said they would like to have one established in all neighborhoods, and currently there was not one in Kenyon Roads or in Cornwallis Hills. He said that Cornwallis Hills had an active homeowners association. Mr. Peterson remarked that the residents in Cornwallis Hills did not want a community watch program because they did not want a police officer to attend their meetings. Commissioner Lowen said he believed that the community watch program was important, and because the neighborhoods were so close geographically it would be nice if they would somehow communicate and perhaps meet together since many of the same issues affect each neighborhood. He suggested that could be coordinated through the Police Department. 9:03:58 PM Mayor Stevens said there was an upcoming neighborhood summit, and that might be an opportunity to invite some of the neighborhoods to begin working towards that goal. Mr. Peterson commented that when the Board set a goal it was taken back to the departments by the department head, and that provided motivation for all levels of the organization. He said it would be helpful to get a feel from the Board if the goals stated for the next two years for such things as reducing crime in a particular area were realistic at a 25% reduction. Mr. Peterson said for instance, they had said they wanted Hillsborough to be the safest small town in the country, and if they really meant that then they had to set aggressive targets. He said that might mean asking Chief Birkhead to make changes in the Department and giving him the support he needed. 9:07:01 PM Commissioner Hallman said if they just concentrated on public crimes it would be helpful, because it was the little misdemeanor crimes that made people feel unsafe. He said he would like to see a metric for such Part 2 crimes. Chief Birkhead said they had a plan to develop a comprehensive way to investigate Part 1 and Part 2 crimes as it related to their overall clearance rate. He said many times that came to them as quality of life issues versus just reporting a crime, so they had to find another way to address that. 9:10:03 PM Mayor Stevens said the emphasis on drugs was a key, as well as emphasis on community involvement. He said if they get more people involved through community watch programs or other methods, then that would be empowering for people. 9:10:42 PM Commissioner Gering asked if the Board was going to answer Mr. Peterson?s question regarding whether or not 25% was a realistic goal. He said he did not know, because he did not know what to compare it with. Mr. Peterson said before the budget process Chief Birkhead could go back and look at Part 1 and Part 2 crimes and calculate how they compared to the national average. He said then they could determine what the stretch target should be. 8 March 26, 2007 Monthly Workshop Approved: May 14, 2007 Page 9 of 13 Public Works 9:13:06 PM Mr. Peterson explained that Demetric Potts was away at a conference, so he would be presenting the Department highlights. Mr. Peterson stated that one measure was to increase their percentage of work orders received from the public completed within a week of receipt. Another, he said, was to increase the percentage of garbage and brush collection routes completed on time, adding the target was 100% for residential collections and 90% for brush. Mr. Peterson said regarding Managed Resources, one measure was the percentage of streets rated at good or better condition, which would be helpful in determining where they were in terms of pavement condition and in amortizing how much money needed to be spent each year on street paving. He said regarding Promoting Learning and Growth, the Department would track the percentage of staff who had received certifications through the ITRI Road Scholar Program. Mr. Peterson said currently 25% of staff had that certification, and their goal was 75%. 9:14:41 PM Commissioner Hallman said he would like to understand better the timing of different things. He said an example was that over a year ago the Board had given instructions to proceed with the repairs on the bank along Churton Street, but it took over a year for that project to be completed. Commissioner Hallman said he wondered why a project that took only a few weeks to complete was not started until over a year after direction was given. He said another example was a crosswalk over a DOT street. Mr. Peterson responded he would get an answer for that. 9:15:59 PM Commissioner Dancy said she believed the bidding process caused some delay, and there had also been some problem with the right-of-way and drainage lines under Churton Street. Commissioner Hallman said that no information had come back to the Board to alert them to those delays. Mr. Peterson commented that they would do a better job in future of communicating such information to the Board. 9:17:44 PM Mr. Peterson said the motor pool was measuring CO releases on equipment and 2 vehicles. He said they were also able to track what percentage of parts and supplies they purchased locally and out-of-town. Mr. Peterson said when possible local businesses were used. He said they also track the percentage of maintenance performed on schedule, and had measures to track routine maintenance such as daily checks of oil. Mr. Peterson said they would begin tracking the yearly maintenance costs per mile of each vehicle and piece of equipment. Mr. Peterson noted he would provide additional information later in the meeting. Fire Marshal 9:20:39 PM Fire Marshal Jerry Wagner said one measure was to ensure that occupancies were in compliance with the NC Fire Prevention Code. He said there was a list of occupancies that had to be inspected annually, bi-annually and tri-annually. Mr. Wagner said for 2006, they had conducted 100% of the required annual inspections, 165% of the bi-annually required 9 March 26, 2007 Monthly Workshop Approved: May 14, 2007 Page 10 of 13 inspections, and 125% of the tri-annually required inspections. He said they had done that to satisfy the measure to increase frequency of inspections of occupancies in the bi-annual and tri- annual schedule. Mr. Wagner said they had wanted to reduce the number of re-inspections in such occupancies due to violations found that had to be corrected. He said their target was to increase that to 40% over the 28% now realized. nd Mr. Wagner said they had begun this past year teaching fire prevention to 2 graders at two elementary schools. He said one of their measures was to reduce the number of fires begun by juveniles. Mr. Wagner said the number of students taught was 124, and they were planning to teach no fewer than 135 next year. Mr. Wagner said they had begun a program to investigate suspicious fires within the Town, noting they had outfitted a trailer and it was put on line on February 1, at which time they notified the County that they would be taking over that responsibility for the Town. Mr. Wagner said they had organized training and damage assessment teams, and two neighborhood associations as well as a community watch neighborhood were now forming such teams. He said their goal was to have 8 teams in 8 different neighborhoods, noting that the commercial area would be handled by staff. Mr. Wagner noted that training was continuing to get all Town staff at the appropriate training levels so that the Town would meet requirements. 9:28:21 PM Commissioner Hallman asked for a better understanding of the chemical inventory of facilities within the Town. He asked if there was a database of what chemicals might be stored where. Mr. Wagner said they did not have a large amount stored in the Town, adding that the two largest both were Town operations, the wastewater treatment plant and the water treatment plant. He said Southern States stored LP gas tanks, and the railroad also transported various chemicals. Mr. Wagner said they would be creating processes to be included in their Emergency Operations Procedures to handle any crises arising from the use or storage of such chemicals. He said their exposure to such incidents was in the medium range, or slightly less than medium. 9:30:29 PM Commissioner Hallman asked if Mr. Wagner had any sense of the number of entities that needed to be covered. Mr. Wagner replied perhaps 10 other entities should have scenarios prepared in case of an emergency. 9:30:55 PM Mayor Stevens asked if Mr. Wagner would be revising the fee schedule. Mr. Wagner said no, noting it was working fine as it was. He said blasting permits might need to be looked at. Public Works 9:32:01 PM Mr. Peterson said regarding Safety and Risk Management, in their financial plan starting at the beginning of the fiscal year they planned to have a full-time safety officer and risk management officer on board. He said they had conducted only three meetings of the safety committee, which was suppose to meet monthly. Mr. Peterson said the safety committee would 10 March 26, 2007 Monthly Workshop Approved: May 14, 2007 Page 11 of 13 begin meeting monthly and would be actively engaged in safety and risk management issues. He said the safety officer would be conducting on-site inspections to ensure that proper safety guidelines and procedures were being followed. Mr. Peterson said all facilities would be inspected on an annual basis. Mr. Peterson said under Managed Resources, there were quite a few measures noted regarding cost control. He said accident data, such as the number of days missed and the dollar loss, would help them monitor how effective their programs were. He said they would also increase the number of safety and health policies created to be included in the Policies and Procedures Manual. Engineering/Utilities 9:35:45 PM Town Engineer/Utilities Director Kenny Keel noted one of their initiatives was to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. He said the Utilities division had a large number of vehicles, and they would be working to improve the miles per gallon of those vehicles. Mr. Keel said they were moving towards diesel use to aid in that. He stated that they were continuing to track the sewer overflows on a calendar year basis. Mr. Keel said one idea to add for the coming year was the creation of a citizen?s college to get citizens interested in utilities and provide information and tours of the facilities. He said they hoped to get that implemented this year. Mr. Keel said another goal for the coming year was to complete work order within a 48-hour period, and to improve their communications efforts. He said they would conduct a regular review of what was posted on the website and provide information as it became necessary. Mr. Keel said they were placing greater emphasis on preventive maintenance, but had not yet decided exactly how to track that. He said it could be tracked as a percentage of the operating budget or simply dollars spent. Mr. Keel said regarding Infrastructure, they would continue to oversee the system and update it as necessary. He said they would be developing some performance data for water lines, sewer lines, manholes, and the system as a whole to determine where the needs were and what percentage of those items needed maintenance or upgrades. Mr. Keel they had been tracking the cost per gallon to treat water, and would be attempting to tie that in to the cost per customer. He said they would be conducting some cross-training of employees across divisions as well as placing emphasis on obtaining professional certifications. Mr. Keel said they would be continuing training opportunities in order to obtain those certifications. Mr. Keel stated that another initiative was to develop and implement an employee exchange program. He said as an example, a water plant operator could be traded with a Durham water plant operator to give both different experiences with different types of problems, processes or management issues. Mr. Keel said that would allow both employees to gain a better understanding of their own jobs as well as working in different environments. 11 March 26, 2007 Monthly Workshop Approved: May 14, 2007 Page 12 of 13 9:43:14 PM Mayor Stevens said he liked the idea of the job sharing, as well as cross-training of employees. 9:43:33 PM Commissioner Dancy agreed, particularly with the cross-training. She asked had anyone expressed interest in being cross-trained, noting the Town could offer incentives to make it more attractive for employees to become skilled in different areas. Mr. Peterson noted that their performance evaluation system contained two half-percent bonuses that could be awarded for employees who perform or do something over and above their job requirements that could not be recognized in some other way, such as a promotion. He said it was up to the supervisor to award one or both of those half-percent bonuses, so something like that could be used as an incentive. 9:45:33 PM Commissioner Lowen asked had there been any discussions with employees regarding cross-training. He said he believed it would be a great asset. Mr. Keel said the employee who had the idea had talked with his co-workers about it and they were in favor of it. Commissioner said he believed it would benefit the employees greatly, and could be an incentive to take further training and obtain certifications in other areas. 9:47:38 PM Commissioner Lowen said regarding completing work orders in 48 hours, would that be up to and including a new lot that perhaps needed a water and sewer tap. He asked would they be trying to commit to doing that type of service within 48 hours. Mr. Keel said that was one type of work orders they had, but obviously it was likely that particular target would not be 100%. He said if the work load happened to be light, then such a work order could be done within 48 hours, but it depended on the complexity of the factors involved. 9:49:50 PM Commissioner Gering asked if there was some measurement of water losses. Mr. Keel said there was not one specifically in the scorecard, although they did track that within their performance measures. He said that could be included in the scorecard if the Board chose. Commissioner Gering said water losses was important an important measure for the efficiency of the system, and asked why it was not in the scorecard. He commented he believed there was also a more indicative measure for that than the way it was now done, using linear distance of the system rather than percentage of treated water. 9:51:39 PM Commissioner Hallman said if they had 20% or 200,000 gallons missing per day, he would like to see a target set of 150,000 gallons per day. Mr. Peterson said they would note than under Managing Resources. 9:52:09 PM Mayor Stevens said regarding performance measures in general, he would like to see that tool used throughout all departments. He said they had no room for employees who did not contribute significantly, and every single employee was important. Mayor Stevens said this would be a great tool to start incorporating into performance management but also to communicate with all employees, whether they were mowing brush, fixing a leak, or patrolling the Town, as to how their work contributed to the Town. 12 March 26, 2007 Monthly Workshop Approved: May 14, 2007 Page 13 of 13 Mr. Keel asked was Mayor Stevens referring to the sharing of employees within the Town. Mayor Stevens said he was referring to the scorecard itself, as a way to show how an employee contributed to the community. He said it was simply another mechanism to communicate to employees how valuable their work was and how it contributed to the Town in general. Mayor Stevens suggested that for individual employees, their performance review could include a question as to how they were contributing to achieving the scorecard goals. 9:55:15 PM Mayor Stevens said it was obvious that a lot of work had gone into this, noting it was not an easy model to understand. Mr. Peterson said the departments had put a lot of thought and discussion into it. He said for the first time they had ever used this process, it had turned out much better than he had expected. Mayor Stevens asked Mr. Peterson to compliment the Department heads. Mr. Peterson in turn complimented the Board for its work during the retreat, noting the priorities and objectives established were important to their success. Commissioner Hallman added his compliments to the Department heads. 9:57:48 PM Mayor Stevens said a year ago at the retreat they had said they wanted to figure out some way to connect some of their strategies, but did not imagine they could have made this kind of progress. 5.Other 9:58:05 PM Mayor Stevens reminded the Board that the Assembly of Governments meeting was on Thursday. Commissioner Dancy noted she would be attending the League of Municipalities meeting in Burlington on Thursday, and would not be able to attend. 6.Adjourn 9:59:05 PM Upon a motion by Commissioner Lowen, seconded by Commissioner Dancy, the Board moved to adjourn the meeting by a vote of 5-0. The motion was declared passed. Respectfully submitted, Donna F. Armbrister, MMC Town Clerk 13