Citistat - That Urinal Hasn't Worked in Months

[Bill Call]

....

The Initial Performance Measures have been refined and extended to provide useful management tools for all departments in Lakewood. All department managers now receive monthly reports for Payroll Analysis, Current Staffing, and Personnel & Operational Expenses to monitor their performance.

Furthermore, the tenets of CitiStat have fostered a culture of accountability for resolution. The follow-up processes, through memos and continual review of issues, have tracked particular problems and made their priorities clear.

Thanks for the information and the response.

Most of what you mentioned should be part of the normal management of any City. Shouldn't the people who work in the garage have noticed that the tire changing machine needed to be replaced without Citistat?

Do you really need a Citistat program to tell you that the toilet is leaking?

I am not sure why the City needs a whole new level of management but I guess that's the nature of government. Cost cutting tools and efforts at efficiency lead to more costs and less efficiency.

However, as Ed Favre pointed out, the administration does not view Citistat as a cost cutting tool. For a different view on the possibilities of Citistat see:

http://www.ci.baltimore.md.us/news/citi ... istat.html

I will be interested to see how the Citistat process deals with the hundreds of thousands of sick time hours used by City employees and the millions of dollars in overtime costs the City has paid over the last several years.

It would also be nice to see some study on the staffing levels. How many people worked for the City 2006? How many W-2's did the City generate? That is not a rhetorical question. I was going to send a special request but since you have joined in on the conversation everyone should see the answer.

By the way, I noticed that the City's new income tax department costs more than RITA. Is there an ongoing review of the decision to leave RITA?

[Gary Rice]

With due thanks to Jennifer, for her concise information regarding Citistat, the question alas, remains.

When will they fix the urinal?

Accountability procedures are generally a commendable thing Bill, but as a retired teacher, and past teachers' association executive board leader, I will remind you that issues of overtime, sick leave and the like, have been a part of the collective bargaining process, where workers have spent many years forging better lives for their families.

There's always a system built in to address individual abuses, as they arise. While it may not seem efficient to those outside of the process, the system works.

My concern is when any administration, whether public or private, initiates "procedures" above people. That's where troubles start.

I do not know enough about Citistat to address that particular situation, but my warning bells tend to go off, whenever some ironclad "system" might have the potential to run roughshod over workers' rights.

Overtime or sick leave "horror stories" these days, could easily be balanced against stories of old, where working men and women had to suffer for years at the hands of cruel and unreasonable bosses.

There will always be the "bean counters" and "efficiency experts". In the final analysis however, it will continue to be both administration and employees working together, who will map out the best course of action; whether for a school, a city, or a corporation.

[Jim O'Bryan]

My concern is when any administration, whether public or private, initiates "procedures" above people. That's where troubles start.

I do not know enough about Citistat to address that particular situation, but my warning bells tend to go off, whenever some ironclad "system" might have the potential to run roughshod over workers' rights.

Jennifer

Nice to see you posting again. Thanks.

Gary

This is a key issue with the problem. In my humble opinion, once a contract is negotiated, it becomes moot. Attention must be turned from the meat of the contract to the groups that negotiated the contract. Of course if the city can get any group back to the negotiating table because they feel they might be taking too much, is another case.

That said I would rather give the money to safety forces than the Beck Center.


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[Bill Call]

......Attention must be turned from the meat of the contract to the groups that negotiated the contract. .....

Which is the real reason for this post.

This will be a pivotal election year for the City. While I appreciate the efforts of the administration to get a handle on the day to day management of the City that is the bare minimum we should expect. You don't need Citisat to fix a toilet.

In a business sense, you can say that Lakewood is losing market share, has aging infrastructure, plant and equipment, a bloated workforce and a damaged brand name. How do you solve those problems?

You can use a program like Citistat to question the need for redundant services provided by the City (do we really need or own welfare department or our own tax department?) or question staffing levels (if minimum staffing levels at the fire department were reduced to historical averages the City would save millions, does it make sense to do so?) Or benchmark City staffing levels with historical averages (what do all those extra people do?)

You can use a program like Citistat to examine the current level of pay and benefits for City employees. Should sick time be replaced with a disability plan? Should the health plan have a reasonable co pay and deductible? Should the me too clause be illiminated? Right now if you want to give the $33,000 a year patrolman a 5% raise you have to give the $100,000 a year fireman the same 5%. Does that make sense?

Before the City began its Citistat program it was announced that the program was not about increasing operating efficiency or reducing costs. So why Citistat?

[Donald Farris]

Hi,
Mr. Call you said,

You don't need Citisat to fix a toilet.

I don't know if I agree with you. Is the running urinal fixed yet? I tried to get it fixed and was told that the running urinal was the solution.

[dl meckes]

Before the City began its Citistat program it was announced that the program was not about increasing operating efficiency or reducing costs. So why Citistat?

These things might be considered by-products of the program. This is a tool to analyze data for management. Another by-product could be better management practices.

You can't make an analysis of anything until you have collected data. CitiStat collects data.

[Donald Farris]

Hi,
I've confirmed it. The running urinal will not be a red flag in any budget at City Hall. The City does not pay for their water. The citizens of Lakewood collectively pay for the City's usage.

So, The running urinal can be viewed as a tax increase imposed upon us by the current Administration.

It hasn't been been fixed and I would guess it won't be fixed until there is a change at City Hall.

Very odd we have a campaign issue relating to leaky toilets. Well, I have to ask where does the other candidate stand on the issue? Councilman Fitzgerald, I know you regularly go to the Women's Pavilion. If elected, will you repair our urinal and save us money on our water bill? Will you begin metering and reporting the City's water usage?

Gee, now that I think about it, isn't there some other controlling body of elected officials whose job it is to ensure fiscal responsibility? There is. It's called City Council. Can't they do something about this?

[Gary Rice]

Well, some of you know that, among my many adventures, folksinging and songwriting have been an important part of my life.

Accordingly, I have been inspired to create the following parody. Enjoy.

Ode to a Urinal
(To melody: Battle Hymn of the Republic)

Mine eyes have seen the splatter, and
the dampness on the ground.
Mine ears have heard the rush of
mighty waters falling down.
My shoes, they squeak beyond belief,
with such a seasick sound.
Our toilet gurgles on!

The urinal at Lakewood Park can
really make you squirm.
It can pass more water than a
nervous pachyderm.
The silly thing has got us all up
standing on the berm.
Our toilet gurgles on!

Refrain:

Lakewood urinals forever! (3 times)
Our toilet gurgles on!


My wallet thins from water bills,
too soggy to ignore.
Yet still, we dream of better days,
beside the mens' room shore.
Politicians hear us,
or we'll show you to the door.
Our toilet gurgles on!

(to Refrain)

[Bill Call]

Accordingly, I have been inspired to create the following parody. Enjoy.

Outstanding!! An instant classic!

[Gary Rice]

Thanks Bill,

It should be sung with feeling.

Gary

[Bill Call]

It's funny how some posts take on a life of their own. I thought this one had petered out.

[Lynn Farris]

Fantastic!

I remember when Clark Unger sang during Public Comments, their's no blight on the Street where I live, to the tune of On The Street where I live from My Fair Lady.

Perhaps this needs to be sung during public comments too. It is bad enough that this has gone on way too long. I would have thought that the administration to shut us up (if for no other reason) would take care of it by now. The only thing worse than taking more than 6 months to fix it is taking more than 6 months and not fixing it.