UPDATE ON CITISTAT PROCESS

[Jim O'Bryan]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 2, 2007


UPDATE ON CITISTAT PROCESS


The City of Lakewood engaged the CitiStat process in August 2005 and implementation began in the first quarter of 2006. The CitiStat process helps to identify issues and create solutions to improve the collection and reporting of data in order to make sound management decisions and improve operations. In January 2007, the four original CitiStat departments were joined by five new departments in the process: Wastewater Collection, the Division of Health, Information Services, Parks & Public Property, and Winterhurst Ice Rink. In the coming year, the CitiStat Team will continue to explore means to identify internal resources for the expansion of CitiStat to all City departments and divisions.

The entire effort of CitiStat is keenly focused on helping the City of Lakewood to serve the community in an efficient and effective way. To date, the following achievements have been realized through the CitiStat process:

· Citywide: Department and division heads are provided with monthly leave usage reports that show productivity of hours worked by measuring the total number of absent hours through sick or vacation time. The reports also track the amount of overtime worked per month by department. Additional reports of budget expenditures, Labor Management issues, and Data Management issues are also compiled for the nine departments in the process. Furthermore, CitiStat has been the central forum for discussing the eventual implementation of a Geographical Information System (GIS) into the operations of municipal departments.

· Wastewater Treatment Plant: The CitiStat process has been focused on meeting compliance regulations and capital improvement project progress. The group also identified electric service unreliability as a major concern for both of the aforementioned issues and has been coordinating inter-departmental efforts to upgrade the electric power needs of the Plant.

·Division of Aging: Database management has been vastly improved through the identification of inefficiencies and creative solutions for the integration of the data-entry platforms. The improved reporting has enabled more comprehensive and accurate assessment of program costs for the Division. Analysis of service programs continues to find opportunities for better community penetration and resource allocation.

·Fleet Management: Previously underutilized software has been integrated into Fleet's operations from top to bottom. The expansion of this management tool has identified inventory surpluses that have been returned to vendors for significant credits. A comprehensive preventive maintenance schedule has been instituted to improve the readiness of the City's vehicle and equipment. The facility itself has been reorganized for streamlined operations and safety.

·Housing & Building: The address database housed in this department is being "scrubbed" and organized to become the main GIS source for Lakewood. A policies and procedures manual for inspectors and code compliance specialists was developed through collaboration of the Project Manager, Prosecutor, and other City managers during the CitiStat meetings.

·Wastewater Collections: The need for a modern database to organize the results of the department's efforts and provide GIS data has been identified. Improved coordination of street and sewer repair with affected City services has also been achieved through the CitiStat forum.

·Winterhurst Ice Rink: Detailed analysis of attendance and revenue trends for the skating facility are underway. The presence of the various department managers at the CitiStat meetings has been integral to understanding the options for improving the efficiency and quality of service of Winterhurst - a premiere resource of Lakewood for the community at large.

·Information Systems: The evaluation of technology equipment and personnel is geared to streamlining the responsiveness of the department to the City's needs. A new work order system is being refined at the CitiStat meetings for eventual implementation in multiple departments. As the GIS operations will be housed in Information Systems, the input from managers at these meetings will help to ensure that the needs of all City departments are adequately integrated.

·Division of Health: The broad responsibilities of the Division are being segmented and analyzed for baseline performance standards. Similar to the Division of Aging, service programs for the Division of Health will be presented individually to understand the cost-benefits and effectiveness for upholding the welfare of Lakewood's citizens.

·Parks and Public Property: This broad division under Public Works performs many basic services for the City. The CitiStat process will help to solidify personnel and task organization in the department to maximize the efforts with the resources of the Division. New data collection methods and work order systems are being developed through the collaborative CitiStat process.

As CitiStat begins its second year in Lakewood, departmental managers have been provided with information and statistics to demonstrate that more can be done with less by promoting a clear vision for the City. Improved performance measures for all departments are being formulated to encourage managers to keep in mind that Lakewood is a premier city that needs the best employees and practices. Most importantly, the efforts of the CitiStat process are keenly focused toward providing the citizens of Lakewood with the services and support they expect and deserve.

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For any questions about the City of Lakewood CitiStat Process, please contact Ed Favre at (216) 529-6602 or Jennifer Pae at (216) 529-6092.

[DougHuntingdon]

Thanks for the update Jim!

Doug