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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-12-13 11-035 ORDERCOUNCIL Item No, 11 ti. Data: 12-13-10 Item/Subject: ORDER, Acknowledging Receipt of the Final Report of the Bangor Brewer Citizens Advisory Committee Responsible Department: Executive Commentary: In February 2010, the City Councils of Bangor and Brewer passed Orders establishing a joint Citizens Advisory Committee. The purpose of the Committee was to recommend ways that the cities could work together to achieve savings and efficiencies in the operation and services provided by each through mutual cooperation. The Committee met from March 2010 to November 2010 and has now prepared its final report for the communities. The committee made several recommendations and indicated that the both communities have a good working relationship. This Order will acknowledge receipt of the final report and will thank the Committee members for their service and efforts. Department Head This purpose of Nis Item is to acknowledge receipt of the report. A future workshop could be scheduled If the council expresses an interest in further information relating to the report and Its recommendations. City Manager A Iatad Information: Order, Final Report of ❑[hens Advisory Committee r - Finance Drector ��� CRY Solicitor X Passage _ First Reading pays _ of Referral it rJ35 0eeeelrer 13. 2010 ,J s15=- Assigned to Councilor westoo o+qr ^4 CITY OF BANGOR (TITLE.) ORDER, Acknowledging Receipt of the Final Report of the Bangor Brewer Citizens Advisory Committee By the Qty Counal of the O'ty of Bangor. WHEREAS, in February 2010, the City Councils of Bangor and Brewer passed Orders establishing a joint Citizens Advisory Committee for the purpose of recommending ways that both cities could work together to achieve savings and efficiencies in the operation and services provided by each through mutual cooperation; and WHEREAS, the Committee, consisting of five Bangor and five Brewer residents as well as the City Managers and Finance Directors from each community (as ex - officio members) met through the spring, summer and fall of 2010 and reviewed City operations, programs, and services; and WHEREAS, as a result of this effort, the Committee has prepared its findings, recommendations, and conclusions In a final report dated November 3, 2010; and WHEREAS, the Report of the Citizens Advisory Committee is now finalized and is hereby delivered to the Bangor and Brewer City Councils. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDERED BY THE CITY OF BANGOR, THAT: the City Council acknowledges receipt of the final report of the Bangor/Brewer Citizen Advisory Committee; and BE IT FURTHER ORDERED, THAT: the Bangor City Council hereby conveys its appreciation to the members of the Committee for their service and efforts on behalf of the citizens of Bangor. IN CiRY COBBCIL Bectu or 13. 2010 pm a de avd Seconded for Passage P sed CITY (P1TLB.I Acknwledging Receipt of. phe final Report of the Ra of Breee' Citiaena Comittee Awiptdro Coupegne. (O�on.Rnr. �IIiI -..rte Y it Bangor - Brewer CITIZEN ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPORT OF FINDINGS And RECOMMENDATIONS November 3, 2010 To: Chair, City of Bangor City Counul Chair, City of Brewer City Council From: John I. Simpson and Lester Youn&Co 11, Bangor -Brewer Mum Advisory Committee 3 November2010 Distinguished mem hem of Me Otv of Bangor and Clty of Brewer CAY Councils: 11 035 As you are aware, on or about 9 February, 2010, the Councils of the Cities of Bangor and brewer este hibluad a joint Chum Advisory Committee ('Com min ee-) for the purpose of'recommendi ng m the City Council of the One of Bangor and the City Council of the Cine of Brewer ways that both cities can work together to achieve savings and efficiencies In the operation and services provided by each through mutual Cooperation'. On behalf of the full Com ubma, Lester Young and I are writift to adWse you that the Bangor -Brewer Citizen Advisory Committee has completed its work comment with the Council Orders establishing the Committee, and today voted UmAknoudir to disband the Committee aW submit our Boal report W the Council Chairs. We wantW take this opportunity to thank the City Managers, City Finance Directors, Department Heads and support staff of both cities for their outstanding cooperation, dedication and demonstrated Professionalism throughout this process. We also want W thank all of members of both City COunals for the opportunity to serve the reudarcs of our sister communities. If after reviewing the report and attachments you have additional questions, pleace direct your questions to Lester and me. Respectfully sohinped; John L Simpson and Lester Young, Co -Chairs 9angor-Brewer Citizen Advisory Committee OVERVIEW: Establishment— In February, of 2010, the Councils of the Cities of Bangor and Brewer, Maine each passed an order establishing a"Citizen Advisory Committee". The order for both cities read: ORDERED, THAT there is established a Special Committee to be known n the Citizen Advisory Committee for the purpose ofremmmending to the City Council of Bangor and the City Council of Brewer ways that both cities can work together to achieve savings and efficiencies in the operation and services provided by each through mutual cooperation: BE IT FURTHER ORDERED, THAT said Ci izeO Advisory Committee shall consist of five members appointed] by the Bangor City Council and five members appointed by the Brewer City Council. The City Managers and Finance Directors of Brewer and Bangor shall serve as ex -officio, non-voting, members of the Commitee. The Committee shall periodically report its recovunendations othe Brewer and Bangor City Councils as those recommendations are developed. The Citizen Advisory shall complete its work within approximately eighteen months Of its establishment but by no later than September 15, 2011. With that order being passed the Councils of both Bangor and Brewer appointed thew five (5) representatives: BANGOR BREWER Robert T. Carlson Joseph Cote Thomas Johnston Gail Kelly William Lucy James Mullen Evelyn Silver Beverly UMeohake John Simpson —Co -Chair Lester Young — Co -Chair The City Managers and Finance Directors of Brewer and Bangor, Stephen BOSI/Karen Fussell, and Robert Farrar/Debbie Cyr respectively served in the ex - officio capacity without vote. It 035 process— The Citizens Advisory Committee (referrd to in this document as the CAC) met on February 24,20 10 for its orgawational meeting and elected from its membership John Simpson and Lester Young as Co-Chans, It further decided W engage in a process to ask department heads of both cities W present the CAC with: • An overview of the scope of their responsibilities • Budgetary Dam and Information • Staffing Data • Areas of Comm Collaboration • Challenges • Recommendations for Areas of CostSavings • Any Other Relevant Inforaation The CAC held seven monthly meetings for the purpose of reviewing specific departments fiom both an operational and fiscal perspective. CAC members agrced to examine those departments having major impact on city budgets in terms of staffing and/or costs as well as those unit that showed Iwtticulm promise for enhanced collaboration. CAC members, however, quiclrly agreed that school budgets and operations would not be examined. The two city school conuainees had not been par[ of the process stating up the joint CAC and we also recognized that the State had recently required consolidation discussions. The suuunary of the meetings and issues are: March 9 --The City Managers presented and described each city's organizational chart pointing out similarities and differences including sniffing size, budget and operational issues. The comparative geographic sizes and Populations; were pointed out. Bangor encompasses 34 W. miles with at opulatu of approximately 31,000 while Brewer covers 15 sq. miles with a population of about 9100.Compamtive budgets are a reflection of the relative size of the two oifies with Bangor's corm being sigmtkaW ty impacted by its being a service center providing federal, state and county functions along with significant healthcare and public services for the region. As a result. Bangor's daytime population increases to roughly 100,000 people. CAC members decided to invite iMividual department hands W monthly meetings W report in detail on their respective operations. During the review process it was clear that there was a substantial difference in the number of full time snuff for the mea ofth meral Assismacebetweenthetwucities. Brewer has one full time equivalent and Bangor has almost 40. Upon initial review based only on population figures of both cities it would were that there ought to be more parity—however, it became 2 11 035 April 6--Guestpresenters were from Brewer.. Frank Higgins, City Engineer; Rodney Butler, Code Enforcement; Linda Johns, City Planning From Bangor. Jim Ring, City Engineer, Dan Wellington, Code Enforcement David Gould, City Planning. Each municipality has adopted its own, unique land use plans and ordinances that reflect the shared values of its residents. Thus, enforcement, permits and board processes we different. During the Presentdoas meas of past and current cooperative ventures were pointed Out such as use of Bongoes code enforcement services don aga Braver vacancy and using Bursars licensed traffic light technician to service Brewer's light. May 4 ----Department presentations were made by the following: Howard Kroll, City Clark, Brewer; Patti Dubois, City Clerk, Bangor; Mary Lyrme Hurner, Brewer Assessor, Ben Birch, Bangor Assessor; Jody Deatbom, Brewer City Attorney; Norm Heitman, Bangor City Solicitor These report focused on the scope of work for each department This information reinforced differences betwan the cities in terms of the scope of municipal functions. Bangor oversees apartments, a racetrack and state fah, an auditorium and civic center, a 27 hole golf course, an airport and milimryjoint agreernerms all of which set different levels of service and magnify the amount of work handled by City employees. Jure I ---The Police Department of the cities were represented by Chief Perry Antoae, Brewer, and Ron Gastia, Bangor. The Brewer Police department is staffed with 20 swum officers. This number has been relatively constant over the pest 25 years. The Bangor Police Dept. has 83 swom officers and 24 support people which includes 10 dispatch Positions. It was pointed out by both chiefs that the two department have a long history of working together in terns of backup. Bangor also shares specialties when needed such a bomb squad. SRT, hostage negotiation, and accident reconstruction. Overtime expanse was discussed with Bangor spending about $800,000 and Brewer spending abort $70,000 per year. Bangor police receive 32,000 calls per year; Brewer police receive 7go0 callsperyear. July 6 --Dene Wardwell, Bangor Public Works Director, summarized his department which is composed of 70 employees with an annual budget of about $5.5 million. Dave Cote, Brewer Public Works Diming, described Brtnves operation. Brewer has 19 employees with an animal budgetof$1.8 million. Bangor maiming 160 miles of mads while Brewer maintains 61 miles of roads. V 035 Aug.3----The 1996 Regional Fire @ Emergency Rescue Plan was discussed among CAC members and with the Fire Department Chied, Crecy Parent and Jeff Cammack from Brewer and Bangor respectively. Chief Parent reported that Brewer has 19 Poll time firefighters and 11 parr time people. ChiefCammmk reported that Bangor has fon twenty-two person crews and five support staff for a total of 93 full-time employees. Ambulance service has become a major pmt of both Cities' operations and box become a strong revenue source. However, Brewer box a different funding some for some of its ambulance mrviee that would be dif stall to align together. The Departments; support each other through mutual aide agreements that me called upon with some fregeency. Sept. 7 --This meting was devoted to a germod discussion of next steps. Members agreed that the ldgbest potential for cost savings for both cities could be found within the public safety and public works areas. Although collaboration already exists, significant cost savings could come from consolidation of one or more functions or units CAC members believe that the cleared officials and dm administrative staff most determine if there is interest in pursuing steps beyond voluntary collaboration to achieve these costs savings. The CAC members agreed that such decisions need to wait for Bangor's new City Manager and possible result of Bangor's recent decision to hire a consultant to examine cost efficiency in the area of public safety. Therefore the CAC decided to wrap up its work and submit its report prior m the New Year. A subcommittee composed of Bill Lucy, Evelyn Silver, Bob Carlson, Jim Mullen and Lester Young were appointed to draft the fecal report. Considerations: 1. Timing— locmuch as the City of Bangor is going through attention as it seeks to engage a new City Manager and without the input of that person with respect In potential rerommendations it scents prudent to acknowledge that pedmps the appointment of Citizen Advisory Committee while well inteationed may have been a bit premanue. 2. Direction— During the work of the CAC there were numerous side bar discussions regarding the intended specific direction that was sought by the governing bodice ofbothcities. It was clearthat other than Bre chmge in the order creating the CAC thatthere ws disparity around that issue. During several meetings there were councilors Present and they indicated that there was not unradmity with respect to direction. This is not intended as criticism ... however, it might be helpful to highlight Ws question ... so that as both Councils proceed it might be more i4 G35 helpful an clearly outline a specific =cps of work for amre deliberations. 3. Collaboration— It was clear Man within the mane mints of legal limitations both cities was indeed collaborating a the operational level up to and including the sharing of professional journals to reduce or eliminate the used for purchasing duplicative materials. These formal and informal arrangements allow our me Cities a staffat lower levels and share capacity to meet inte mitten high demands for services and to semaa expertise. These collaborative efforts include traffic signal repair, accident reconsmxtion, and mutual aid for police and/or fire. Additionally, code enforcement, assessing and engineering all share resources and expertise. 4. Regional Services— One of the areas that was looked at and discussed tangentially was the issue of potential consolidation of governments and/or services among longer group of municipalities. We would like W point out however, drat our charge did not specifically direct flat we address the issue of consolidation. Fuller, it would make sense to have that discussion in a broader Mum and to open up the possibility of not limiting it a two cities but that perhaps a broader net could be cast and that any potential efforts might include more than the two cities of Bangor and Brewer. 5. Bangor and Brewer are substantially diff t cities in character. Bangor is a service carter for central Maim and its demands would overwhelm the resources of a municipality like Brewer drat is essentially a residential and read community. The number of mama lions and calls in Bangor would result in a net diversion from Brewer, causing alower level of service in Brewer Wan is currently provided. It would not be a combination of equals and thus would engender disputes as a levels of support and levels of services. To its credit. Bangor assumes the costs for regional services like the airport and auditorium. CONCLUSIONS: We, the Citizens Advisory Committee, wish to commend the Councils of both Bangor and Brewer for their initiative in meaning this effort Each of us hes had an experience that was both enlightening and edueadand. During ow deliberations we were continually cognizant of the complexity of the task before us. We also felt as a group that there was some question as to the specific charge given to us and a lack of specific direction that we should take. While there may be areas of individual savings in operations, our charge was neither to examine our two cities separately nor to recommend changes in service levels. TAM being said it is important to note that we sought the advice and counsel of consultant ( Municipal ltcwuaces, Inc., Meredith, N.H.) a provide us at no cost an overview of the issues and a tentative road map for father discussion. it P35 In reviewing the repot of the consultant and following a thorough discussion it was the consensus of the CAC m finalize our recommendations and bring our work to a close. We feel strongly that the professional staff of both cities are exceptionally well qualified for their respective work and have been very creative in finding ways of working together on a day m day basis They share knowledge and resources on an ongoing basis. Recommendations: 1. Allow me newly appointed Bangor City Manager and give that Vernon an opportunity to became acelbnand to the new work environment and fumifiarwith city operations, leadership, staff and goals and objectives. 2. The governing bodies develop a clear sense of direction with respect to mev specific goals Forexample,itiedeartome CAC flWifthemandateismsignificantlyrectumovemllcostst n there is aconcomimnt need to evaluate the consolidation of services. We realize that consolidation may result in a very diffmat way of delivering services than at present and could mean a very different city structure and levels of services for herb cities. There is a clear understanding by the CAC that such a pian would require much study, planning and an implementation plan over a substantial period of time. Such an effort would require the potential assistance of persons outside the expertise of the CAC. 3. Evaluate the broader issue of regionalizing some services beyond thetwocities. 4. Cautious for public discussion with the taxpayers of both cites. We are living in an environment which begs the question of "How much government can we afford?" and the taxpayers are really the ones who will drive the economic bus. There is in Maine a strong tradition of -local control -and yet at the same time a frustration of the taxpayer facing rising cases of government, increasing pmpeeY taxes, cost shifting and unfunded mandates from federal and stare governments. Through these public discussions mere may well emerge aclear direction to Pursue one avenue over anomer. Attachments and Notes: 1. ReportofMaricipal Reemmucs,lac. 2. Compilation ofRepores and Dam Available in Respective City Manager's ORcea