Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 10-22-2007 special agenda — reading text

Public Works Recommendation # 51: Eliminate the recycling program and the associated fee. The savings of $ 13, 000 to $ 40, 000 per year will help offset an expected increase in transfer station tipping fees ($ 15, 820) this coming January and reduce the size of the recommended general fee increase presented in a subsequent recommendation. Special Pick- up Fees Finding: Large household items ( white goods) that are too big for regular collection are picked up on special runs at no charge. These special runs are usually made on Fridays based upon requests and/ or crew observations. The runs are very inefficient and costly but households are not charged for these special services. A 15 fee per pick- up was instituted several years ago but dropped after citizen complaints. Recommendation # 52: Institute a fee for pick-up of large household items. The division should determine the approximate cost for the service as well as similar fees charged by the county, other local governments, and commercial collectors. They should then recommend an appropriate fee to City Council. Sanitation Fees Finding: Fees for residential collection, commercial collection and tipping fees have not increased since 1995 even though most costs have increased significantly during this period. Last year, during preparation of the FY 2006-07 budget, the Sanitation Division proposed to conduct an evaluation of garbage and recycling services and prepare a five- year rate plan that would sustain the Sanitation Fund in a positive cash position. The plan was to be presented to the City Council early in the fiscal year. This plan, however, was not prepared or presented. Alternative Services Delivery Study for Fort Walton Beach, Florida Page 12- 9  Public Works Recommendation # 53: Approve the three (3) percent increase in service fees that is recommended in the FY 2007- 08 City Manager' s Proposed Budget. The Sanitation Division should then develop a five- year rate plan for inclusion in the FY 2008- 09 proposed budget. Yard Waste Ordinance Finding: The city ordinance that establishes yard waste limitations is outdated. The ordinance was developed in the 1960' s when yard waste was picked up by rear loading trucks. Today, trucks with knuckle- boom loaders are used to pick up yard waste and the same restrictions/ limitations do not apply. Recommendation # 54: Update the yard waste ordinance to reflect appropriate restrictionsllimitation with current equipment. The division should prepare the revised ordinance and submit it to City Council. 12.3 Alternative Service Deliverv Options Departmental Structure of Public Works and Utilities Finding: The City' s water and sewer operations were separated from the Public Works Department and established as the Utilities Department on October 1, 2005. The primary reasons for the separation, as documented in a July 5, 2005 memorandum, were as follows: Numerous local governments in Florida and other states have separate public works and utility departments; The utility operation is organized financially as an enterprise fund and separation would provide clearer responsibility and accountability; Alternative Services Delivery Study for Fort Walton Beach, Florida Page 12- 10  Public Works The Assistant Public Works Director has the technical expertise and experience in utilities to assume the role of department director; Management of a recently initiated $ 12 million water/ wastewater project would be enhanced; More effective concentration would be provided for numerous current and planned utility programs; Public Works could more adequately provide their traditional services; and, Communications with the City Manager' s Office would be simplified and streamlined. After nearly two ( 2) years, some concerns have been raised regarding separation of the departments. Some have suggested that they should be recombined. The most frequently expressed concern is that the departments still share many functions/ operations and coordination is difficult. Cited examples are: The Utilities Department is responsible for planning and designing the stormwater management program and specific stormwater projects but Public Works is responsible for implementing the plans/ projects and maintaining the infrastructure. One ( 1) five- person crew in Public Works' Street and Drainage Division is assigned responsibility for stormwater drainage maintenance and small projects. This crew is also responsible for any asphalt work performed by City forces as well as a number of other activities. Priorities regarding allocation of these scarce resources may differ between the two departments. Alternative Services Delivery Study for Fort Walton Beach, Florida Page 12- 11  Public Works The Public Works Department has overall responsibility for the City' s GIS program. A major part of that program, however, is the water and sewer infrastructure, which is the responsibility of the Utilities Department. A very significant effort will be required to develop and enter the utilities data into the GIS database. Cooperation and coordination between the departments is crucial. The City Engineer in Public Works and the Utilities Division Operations Manager are both licensed Professional Engineers and both are actively involved in important City engineering activities. While the Utilities Division Operations Manager has no specified responsibilities for designing anything other than utilities- related projects, he is often requested to perform design work for other departments and does so competently and willingly. While no specific problems were described during interviews, conflicts between the two ( 2) engineering functions could potentially occur. Both Public Works and Utilities have significant CAD activities. Each supports the design activities for their respective departments. Potential issues include differences in design standards or practices and/ or difficulty arranging for the sharing of work when an overload occurs in either department. The only licensed surveyor in City government is the Street Operations Manager in Public Works. The only survey crew is in the Utilities Department. Normally, there are only occasional needs for approval of the survey work by the licensed surveyor and in the past this has not Alternative Services Delivery Study for Fort Walton Beach, Florida Page 12- 12  Public Works presented problems. The potential for conflicts is there, however, due to possible priority/scheduling issues and/ or professional judgment differences. Recommendation # 55: Do Not Recombine the Public Works and Utilities Departments. While the concerns being raised are valid, the key to successfully overcoming these potential problems is cooperation and communication. This is particularly true for smaller organizations where flexibility is critical and functional specialization is a luxury. Both operations must cooperate with each other and be responsive to their needs or neither one will be able to successfully carry out its mission. While a change in organization structure could provide more unified leadership and a convenient means for resolving conflicts, this is outweighed by the benefits derived from a two- department structure. Any cost savings associated with a consolidation would be minimal. Contracting Out of Public Works Services Finding: Private companies could supply the services currently provided by each of the seven ( 7) divisions within the department. Private companies routinely perform this type of work. Many examples can be found where cities around the country have contracted out these operations and, in fact, some sizeable cities now contract out all of their functions ( except police and fire). It may be noted, however, that most of these cities are newer and did not have an existing work force and service history. Recommendation # 56: Continue to provide current Public Works Department services with City personnel. While it is possible to contract out some or all of the work, it may not be feasible for one or more of the following reasons: Alternative Services Delivery Study for Fort Walton Beach, Florida Page 12- 13  Public Works Each of the division' s operations are relatively small and vendors may conclude there is limited potential for any significant profit; There may be a lack of qualified potential vendors within a reasonable distance of the city. The Fleet Maintenance Division Superintendent stated that he currently has difficulty finding vendors for the specialized work they presently contract out. The size of most department operations would probably not make it feasible for vendors to establish a presence just to obtain the City' s business. Consolidation of Mowing Activities Finding: Numerous City government units perform mowing and related turf maintenance activities. Within the Public Works Department, the divisions and the areas maintained include: Right- of-Way Maintenance-Medians and rights- of- way on