Tom HicknerBay County Executive

October 6, 2011

SHARED SERVICES

~BEST PRACTICES

Current Examples of Shared Services &

Community Collaboration in Bay County, Michigan

Current Examples of Shared Services & Community Collaboration

Animal Control (One County-Wide System vs. Separate City System)

Bay Area Storm Water Authority Bay Area Transportation Planning Bay County Employees’ Support of

United Way Bay County G.I.S. System Bay County Jail: Rental of Beds for

Federal Inmates Bay County Juvenile Detention Facility

Rental of Beds to Other MI Counties

Current Examples of Shared Services & Community Collaboration - Continued

Bay County Pension System (Various County Agencies under One System)

Bay County Water & Sewer System (County-Township Partnerships)

Bay Future - Economic DevelopmentCity-County-Township Clerks on ElectionsCity-County-Township Treasurers on Tax

CollectionsCity-Township Assessors and Bay County

Equalization Department Community Corrections Advisory

Committee

Current Examples of Shared Services & Community Collaboration - Continued

Cooperation with BAISD – Sterilization of Animals as Educational Program

County Health Department Inspections - Nuisance Ordinance

County Maintenance of City Owned Softball Fields

County Recreation Programs with Local Leagues & Organizations, Including Basketball, Golf, Hockey, Softball, Volleyball

County-Wide 911-Central Dispatch System, Including 911 Technical Committee

Current Examples of Shared Services & Community Collaboration - Continued

County-Wide Library SystemCounty-Wide Gypsy Moth and Emerald

Ash Borer ControlCounty-Wide Mosquito ControlDrain Commissioner-Township Officials

on County and Local DrainsEmergency ManagementFarmland PreservationHomeland Security - Police/Fire/EMSHomeland Security - Region 3

Current Examples of Shared Services & Community Collaboration - Continued

Housing Rehabilitation (Contract with Bay Area Housing Corporation)

Human Services Collaborative CouncilMSU Extension ServicesNoise OrdinanceNorthern Bay Ambulance ServicesNorthern Bay Fire ServicesSafe Children/Safe FamiliesSheriff Road Patrol Contracts with

TownshipsTownship Services (Building Inspections,

Code Enforcement, Etc.)

Governor’s Shared Services Program

Economic Vitality Incentive Program

Ties to Statutory Revenue Sharing For Cities and Townships only

1/3 for meeting each requirement Accountability and Transparency (Citizens Guide, Dashboard)

Consolidation of Services Employee Compensation Plan

Bay County’s Shared Services

Dashboard

Recreation• Current Status: Spicer Group is gathering additional

data on facilities and programs from all municipalities and K-12 schools in Bay County in order to create a Parks and Recreation layer in the County Geographic Information System.

• Next Move: Results will be shared with all participants before a Public Recreation Summit is convened (expected Fall 2011) to discuss opportunities revealed by the data. Emergency Warning Sirens

• Current Status: Bay County 911 and Emergency Management has been speaking with township officials to offer partial funding for storm warning sirens to be installed in their township. Currently, Williams Township will be receiving a siren from a funding collaboration with Bay County, Dow Corning and Williams Township. The City of Essexville and Hampton Township will also be sharing one siren between them with funding from each township and Bay County.

• Next Move: Continue speaking with townships and cities about the funding assistance from Bay County in order to get more warning sirens installed.

Finance (Tyler – Munis Financial Software) / Information Technology• City of Bay City has issued an RFP for a new financial accounting system. If

Tyler Munis is chosen ..…• Current Status: Bay County discussed the possibility of assisting the City

of Bay City in their transition to the Tyler-Munis Financial System, as Bay County did in 2009. Bay County presented “lessons learned” to City officials on July 18th.

• Next Move: After the bid closes and the City chooses a vendor, officials will meet to discuss the next steps if Tyler-Munis is chosen by Bay City. Geographic Information System (GIS) / Information

Technology• Current Status: After a meeting with key staff from Bay County and Bay

City, it was decided to explore having one, fully-integrated GIS system for both organizations. Also, GIS enhancement and its likely value in a natural (or man-made) disaster for emergency management could create a multi-county advantage and could make Homeland Security funds available. A long history of collaboration exists here.

• Next Move: Follow-up meeting after key players complete their “to-do-lists” from the previous meetingDisaster Recovery / Information Technology

• Current Status: Key players discussed the possible addition of more governmental units to the disaster recovery / COOP / COG contract between Bay County and NetSource One. Documentation is currently being prepared on the options available if the service is utilized.

• Next Move: A follow-up meeting to discuss documentation and presentation of current practice. Also, NetSource One was involved as a member of a panel discussion at the MI-GMIS annual conference in September, 2011.

Law Enforcement• Current Status: The Sheriff Office has a long history of collaboration and

a number of collaborative ventures in place. Utilizing grant funds, Sheriff Miller joined the regional Net ARMS records management system hosted in Saginaw County and includes mobile data computers (MDC’s) with continuous internet connections to a variety of software systems to the patrol car. This modernized the Sheriff Office and seared participation from 7 different law enforcement agencies in Bay County who received MDC’s at little or no cost to them because of grant funds . Bay County ISD provides all system hardware maintenance and repairs for all agencies.

• MSU Extension is doing a study of criminal statistics and law enforcement resources across the county to provide a basis for future discussion.

Employee Benefits• Current Status: Bay County met with the Human Resources Director of

Bay Arenac Behavioral Health Authority to discuss options. • Next Move: County and City Human Resource Directors will meet to

discuss options.

Collaboration with Others• Current Status: Bay County met with Bay Arenac Behavioral Health

Authority to engage a discussion of potential IT collaboration in financial management, human resource administration and information technology services.

• Next Move: Separate meetings in each of the three target areas

PurchasingCurrent Status: Meeting was held with local municipalities from across the Great Lakes Bay Region to discuss maximizing our purchasing volume/power as a whole to provide better discounts and cost savings to each unit. Bay County will continue efforts to make the co-op grow.Next Move: Bay County and OfficeMax are communicating with the municipalities to confirm commitments for the America Saves Program. Next Move: The RFQ and RFP process will be explored to determine if duplicate efforts can be combined and/or shared.

PurchasingBay County’s Experience

Purchasing agents are unable to act alone. Guidance from Administration and Board is necessary due to varying contracts and policies

Example: Bay City and Bay County discussed sharing purchasing services.

City has a local purchasing preference policy where the County does not. Issue: What set of policies outweigh the others

Bay County started looking into a cooperative to combine office supply purchase volume and piggy-back off the Oakland County Contract

Shared ServicesBay County’s View

Success will not be determined by a legislative mandate from Lansing or Washington◦Local conditions drive success or

failure◦Politics and economics determine the

outcome◦Sharing services might not always

mean fiscal savings, change is not always the best option in this case

Best Practices in Local

Government:

The Bay County

Experience

Best Practices - FiscalBudget Forecasts

◦3 fiscal years outBalanced Budgets

◦Balanced Budget each year with no tax increases since 1993

Fund Balance◦The General Fund Fund Balance has increased

$7,974,026 from 1993 – 2011Fund Balance Reserves

◦Ensure reserves equal at least 15% of annual revenues

◦ If reserves are budgeted, use only for one-time, non-reoccuring items

Best Practices - FiscalBudget Reductions

◦Established targets for every co-employer◦They are asked to identify where their

budgets can be reduced.Fee Revenue

◦To the extent possible, programs should be financed with at least half of program costs paid from fees. Example: Public Health

Department RestaurantInspections

Best Practices - FiscalTax Delinquent Fund

◦ Only use interest earnings. Maintain a fund balance sufficient to self-finance delinquent tax payments to local governments

Retiree Health Coverage◦ For new hires, require 20 years of service for

100% paid health insurance with a sliding scale for fewer years of service

Retirement Benefits◦ Current Negotiations: For new employees, a

reduced defined benefit multiplier from 2.25 to 1.6

Best Practices - FiscalPension System

◦The Bay County Pension System has been overfunded since 1988.

◦As of 12-31-2010, the pension system was funded at 111.60%

Retiree Health Insurance◦Established a VEBA for future costs

Membership in MMRMA◦A self-insured property & casualty pool

serving cities, counties & townships offering risk control services, risk-avoidance grants and return of assets to its members

Best Practices - HRLabor Contracts

◦Follow the contractual languageHealth Insurance

◦Retained consultant to assist in setting up self-insured system with appropriate deductible levels

Prescription Drugs◦Encourage use of generics and a 4-tiered co-

pay systemWellness Program

◦Established an ongoing effort to encourage all employees to improve their lifestyles and health

Best Practices - HRTraining

◦ Establish an ongoing training program for all employees on ADA compliance, anti-discrimination laws and other pertinent topics

◦ Encouraged and assisted Saginaw Valley State University in establishing a Public Managers Certification Program

Contract Negotiations◦ Current labor contracts expected to be

negotiated with no COLA from 2010 - 2013

Best Practices - Administrative

Purchasing◦Received national recognition for policy

that all professional services will be selected using Quality Based Section Process (QBS)

Technology – Cost Savings◦Invest in proven technology that produces

clear cost savings. Example: Electronic Ticketing

Technology – Storage◦Purchased Cherrylan Imaging Software to

reduce filing of hard copies

Best Practices - Administrative

Incoming Mail System◦Significantly reduced mailroom operations by

designating every office as a suite with a zip + 4 address

In House Printing ◦Reduced print shop operations significantly

by investing in high speed copy machines with many printing options for each department

◦RisographTelephone System

◦Completed bid that ultimately saved in excess of $30,000 annually

Best Practices - Administrative

Office Products◦Eliminated county operated office

products “store” and instead contracted for a next day delivery system

Best Practices - Administrative

Emergency Preparedness◦Ongoing efforts to ensure county is

prepared for any catastrophic event, including offsite computer back up and alternative work space

Infrastructure◦Annual funding of ongoing building

maintenanceVehicle Replacement

◦Annual funding for the replacement of Sheriff Road Patrol vehicles

Best Practices - Administrative

Communication◦Distribution of a monthly electronic

newsletter using Constant Contact Software sent to constituents, staff and interested community residents

Bay Alerts◦Electronic emergency notification system

Annual Bay County Auction ◦Bay County receives reimbursement for

unusable items sold, such as old sheriff vehicles

Thank You!

Questions?