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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 05-05-2009 - 6bORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: May 5, 2009 Action Agenda Item No. (p - ~j SUBJECT: Reorganization of Asset Acquisition, Development and Mana ement Functions DEPARTMENT: County Manager PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No ATTACHMENT(S): Memorandum Preliminary Organizational Chart INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Blackmon (919) 245-2300 Pam Jones (919) 245-2652 Wilbert McAdoo (919) 245-2625 Paul Thames (919) 245-2300 PURPOSE: To consider approving the Manager's recommendations for reorganization of County departments whose function encompasses the acquisition, management and care of County assets. BACKGROUND: Information contained in the attached memorandum outlines the Manager's proposal to consolidate functions that encompass the acquisition, management and care of County assets. Departments and functions subject to the consolidation include: • Engineering (currently part of the County Manager's office) • Public Works • Purchasing and Central Services Implementation of the new department is proposed for July 1, 2009. FINANCIAL IMPACT: Specific financial impact of the proposed reorganization has not been determined. While the reorganization is not necessarily acost-saving initiative at first, the long- term benefits will allow better use of existing resources and will minimize the need for future staffing requests. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends the Board approve the reorganization as presented. a Memorandum TO: County Commissioners From: Laura Blackmon, County Manager RE: Reorganization of Asset Acquisition, Development and Management Functions Date: May 5, 2009 At a Glance: Working title of department: Asset Management & Purchasing Department 1. What: Consolidation of departments with primary responsibilities for Asset Acquisition and Management functions. 2. Who: Departments/functions to be combined: a. Engineering b. Public Works i. Administration ii. Buildings and Grounds iii. Motor Pool iv. Custodial Services c. Purchasing and Central Services i. Purchasing ii. Capital Projects iii. Risk Management iv. Internal services, such as switchboard and central stores 3. When: Consolidation to become effective July 1, 2009 4. Why: To promote the coordinated acquisition and management of the County's assets through the creation of a single entity through which the asset may be efficiently, economically and sustainably managed throughout its life cycle. In November 2008 the Board discussed my recommended reorganization of departments carrying out the asset management and environmental stewardship functions of the County. At that time, the Board chose not to move in the direction I had proposed. However, reorganization of the asset management function is still a high priority in order to realize long-term operational efficiencies and budgetary challenges which the County faces. With that in mind, I am asking the Board to consider authorizing the consolidation of Purchasing and Central Services Department, the Public Works Department, and the Engineering Division of the Manager's office into a single department. 3 Proposed Responsibilities The proposed new department would have responsibilities throughout the life cycle of purchased and constructed assets used for County operations and programs. Examples of responsibilities include: • Acquisition and tracking of assets; • Assessment, development and coordination of capital projects the County undertakes, including parks; • Development and care of County facilities, including grounds; • Assessment and care of vehicles and equipment; • Care and protection of all County assets through development of effective risk management strategies and insurance; • Proper disposal of County assets at the end of their usable life; • Engineering and project support for Efland Sewer. RanAfific Each of the areas recommended for consolidation share commonalities in a variety of areas and routinely interact with one another to complete projects and daily tasks. Areas where you might expect significant benefit through this reorganization model include, but are not limited to: 1. Capital projects and general project management • Both Purchasing and Public Works currently carry out responsibilities for completion of capital projects and renovations of County facilities; and • Consolidation of the departments will allow ready access to employees responsible for various aspects of facility care. Benefits of the broader input may be reflected in a reduction of long-term operating and maintenance costs for facilities; and • Project management skills of the Engineering staff will be utilized more fully in their increased interaction with the staff responsible for capital project completion; and • Purchasing staff providing on-going critical services for the development and completion of capital projects will continue to be available for that purpose. Examples of Purchasing staff duties in this area include: coordinating infrastructure (phones, data) wiring design, bidding, installation and testing; coordinating how furnishing the completed buildings is accomplished and managing the acquisition and installation of the needed furnishings and equipment; and reconciling project budgets to ensure field personnel have accurate budgetary information which correlates to the County's financial system. 2. Better utilization of existing staff and less duplication of effort • The volume of purchases made for daily operations and projects makes Public Works a primary user of the services provided by the Purchasing staff. Under one management banner, these efforts would be streamlined and limited staff resources freed up for other work, thereby minimizing the need for additional personnel in the future. 4 • Administrative duties can be realigned to create efficiencies. 3. Broader opportunities for succession planning would exist in the larger department 4. Better overall coordination of the management of the County's many assets. Purchasing and Central Services As previously noted, this action would realign the Purchasing function with the new department rather than with Financial Services. Although the alignment of a portion of the Purchasing and Central Services Department with Financial Services was approved by the Board in March 2008, functionally the reorganization was not carried out, pending physical relocation of the Purchasing function to the Link Center. Funding for the Link Center was delayed, thereby delaying the commencement of the renovation. In addition to the natural connectivity to duties of the new department, maintaining the Purchasing function outside of Financial Services provides better separation of duties and strengthens internal control. As part of the proposed new department, the same employees responsible for initiating purchases will not be the same employees who can effect payment for the purchases, nor will they be supervised by an employee who can do so. This would not be the case if consolidated with Financial Services. Organization In this proposal, the current Director of Purchasing and Central Services would assume the role of Department Director of the proposed new department. To realize the greatest efficiency with limited resources the new department is likely to operate within functional or project oriented work teams before finalizing a formalized organizational chart. It is expected the departmental structure will evolve as duties are realigned with the stated purpose of the department and as attrition occurs among the staff. The preliminary organization chart is attached to help the readers understand the categories around which the work teams would be formed. Service Locations The new department would be located on the third floor of the new office building. The building is scheduled for completion in late Spring-2009. Public Works operations staff would remain at their current location on Highway 86N, Hillsborough. Name of Department Several alternative names were considered for the proposed department. The working title for the proposed department is: Asset Management & Purchasing Department Reorganization Timeline The consolidation of Engineering, Public Works and the Purchasing and Central Services Department would become effective July 1, 2009. 5 Conclusion I ask the Board to seriously consider the proposal to reorganize the asset acquisition and management function. Although my time as County Manager is drawing to a close, the need to streamline how we do business as a County will not stop when I leave. The Board articulated the need to consolidate departments before I arrived. That need has not changed. Reorganization in this manner is logical and necessary in order for the County to continue to meet its very real and very tight budgetary constraints, this year and for the foreseeable future. I hope you will take advantage of this opportunity. Asset Management and Purchasing Department