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Home My WebLink AboutCommunity Services Group1 Community Services Group This publication was designed and printed in-house by the Public Relations & Marketing Department, Print/Mail Division, Mary Morse, graphic designer 0 (Ir4or CITY OF COLLEGE STATION OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER Post Office Box 9960 1101 Texas Avenue College Station, Texas 77842-0960 (409) 764-3510 1►� @A Cox:7:Wi 11i u i TO: Ron Ragland, City Manager FROM: Community Services Group DATE: October 1, 1990 SUBJECT: TRANSMITTAL OF CUSTOMER SERVICE REPORT The Community Services Group is pleased to present this report to you. It represents concrete accomplishments that, taken as a whole, indicate extensive progress towards service excellence for the citizens of College Station. Putting our "citizen - customers" first makes especially good sense to us since we deliver core services that profoundly affect the quality of life of -each and every citizen in the community. It is clear to us that focusing on the citizen/customer results in many benefits. These benefits 'include clarifying our organizational purpose as well as integrating our local government enterprise with the transformation of the national economy into one that is primarily service oriented. In the Community Services Group, these abstracts come down to tangible service changes intended to benefit the customer. They include major changes such as community oriented policing, 2 man garbage crews, and geographic information systems. But, they also include many smaller changes such as phone-in permits, utility connections by phone, or changes in garage operating hours. All told, these big and little changes add up to make a difference for the citizen through improved, customer focused service. It is our hope that this report will communicate our enthusiastic commitment to distinguished service for our citizens. As with any genuinely worthwhile achievement, the success of our efforts will only be proven over the "long haul". We are able to say, however, that judging from .the progress so far, positive impact is being made in the quality of life for the citizens of this community. f Tom Brymer Assistant City Manager Commun,�ty Services Group cYai � Public Services �hief Mike Strope Polveepa:7tc Elrey Alh Director Development Services Community Services Group — i Malu;r, jwoo'o��ato "Service excellence", "close to the customer", "customer service" — these are all Phrases used today by service organizations with increasing frequency. What difference do these phrases make in the day—to—day provision of city services? What difference do they make for the employees providing these services? Most importantly, what difference do they make for John Q. Citizen — Customer, the consumer of these services? The difference these phrases make begins with employees that have the correct focus— on the customer. This focus then generates exciting improvements in providing 'customer focused service. Improvements such as customer "Oriented procedures; added value services, customer friendly facilities, and productivity improvements. Over the next few pages we highlight some of the efforts that have been made to improve customer service as well as provide added value service in the departments that comprise the Community services Group. Some of these .improvements are a direct response to our "Structuring for service Program". Others are due to the "snowball" effect this program has generated. Finally, others fall into the category of "added value service". All of them result from focusing on the customer. Community services Group - 2 Community Services Group is made up of y departments: Police, Fire, Develop— ment Services, and Public Services. Development Services contains Planning, Engineering, Community Development, and Inspection. Public Services includes Sanitation, Streets & Drainage, Traffic .Maintenance and Fleet Services. All together, Community Services Group in 29o. employees and service operations that total $12.7 million annually. Needless to say, an operation of this scope can have a significant impact on our customer's perception as to what the City's overall quality of service is! John Q. Citizen — Customer Mayor & City Council City .Management Police Fire Development Public Services Services Community Services Group 'Organization A low GrVfR� i '( GG tiN1 Chioese proverb.. Community Services Group — 3 Excellent customer service requires having lots of positive "moments of truth". "Moments of truth" can be described as any response to a customer's request or need for service. The customer has an expectation as to how his call for service is to be met. The return on these expectations can be either positive or negative. A negative experience for the customer with one service can affect his opinion of every other City service. Fortunately, the reverse is true too! A positive experience with one service can give the customer a good opinion of all City services. An exceptional customer service strategy for a group of largely external service providers like the Community Services Group means those employees individually and collectively must seta goal to make as many of these moments of truth as possible positive. This can be a real challenge when you look at some of the core missions of departments like Police. Turning the issuance of a speeding ticket into a positive moment of truth" requires a well trained employee that truly has a customer oriented focus! With a group comprised. of over half of the City's 553 employees and the fact that much of its operation is 24 hour, around —the —clock in nature, it should not come as a suprise that the number of "moments of truth" the Community Services Group encounters yearly is quite large. In fact, actually identifying and getting an exact count is no easy task Community services Group — q Some of these "MOTS" may not always generate a face—to—face customer contact ( like garbage pickup), but they have the potential of generating many "moments", particularly if they are not provided with a customer focus. The following gives an idea as to the annual "moments" generated by Community Services: PUBLIC SERVICES Yearly Moments of Truth a Residentialgarbage service.....................................................1,799,200 Commercialgarbage service....................................................... 82, 68o SpecialPick ups.................:..................................................... 5,66g Landfill, vehicles weighed in ....................................................... 14,300 Presentationsand tours.................................................................... go Workorders for vehicle%gpmt repair.............................................3,000 Citizen used oil, battery acceptance ......................... 200 ......................... Street& drainage work orders ...................................................... t, 140 Workorders for signs/markings....................................................2,3oo Phonecalls received................................................................. 35, goo FIRE Fireresponses ............. ............................................................... 1,270 Emergency medical responses....................................................... 1,683 Fireinspections ............... :......................................................... 1,552 Fire prevention publicschool............................................................................. 40 studentscontacted................................................................... 3,433 commercial............................................................................... to PostOak M.all-display.............................. I............................. 1,000 Fire tours & presentations publicSchool............................................................................96o private day care....................................................................... 420 career day fire service................................................................ 45 emergency medical presentation.................................................... t 8o Firecitations............................................................................2,026 Firesystems tested........................................................................ 1 88 �' i'iC/ '�y�� 2� (/ t17G�4 C%1�►1��WJ' �' OG ��l��G%j�� Ci��'i1r�i• Jan Carizon,President,, Scanainaviaa Airlines.. / Community Services Group — 5 POLICE Yearly Moments of Truth Service calls radio dispatched....................................................................2o,356 stopped by citizens.....................................................................263 officerinitiated...................................................................... 9, o 16 Phone Calls (including 91 1 )......................................................79,800 Citationsand warnings.............................................................. 19, 496 Recordsrequest......................................................................... 462 Communityoriented policing calls ................................................... 225 Other contacts neighborhoodwatch talks............................................................... 8 toursof police building.................................................................. 35 business & residential security surveys ..............................................99 publicappearances...................................................................... 55 schoolappearances....................................................................376 DEVELOPMENT SERVICES Buildinginspections & permits......................................................6,500 Development cases......................................................................1,000 Codeenforcement cases.............................................................. 1,000 CIPprojects (avg yrly on —going) ............................................ 5o,000* Communitydevelopment projects & repairs......................................3,5oo Phonecalls ........................................................ ,................... 5o,000 GRAND TOTAL "MOTS" ................................. 2,198,822 Yrly *Note: Some of the MOTS listed actually involve numerous MOTS, such as a CIP project. It is to hard to determine how many people are actually involved with a street reconstruction project; all residents, construction workers, or cars made to detour. '►(G ~ DGOiPi (�i ►GW Gf'IGti�C%GC/li GGi6Gfl �7� �Y i tfi� b• n` — Bruyere J Community Services Group — 6 Even though Community services Group experiences lots of actual and potential 66moments" with our customers, these alone do not ' measure customer satisfaction. There are 3 basic types of customer service measurement systems; those that focus on process, product, and customer satisfaction. Each type has its strong and weak points since they measure different aspects of the customer service cycle. Research indicates that the majority of traits that determine service quality for the customer require actual experience with the service. Withthat in mind, tie City, like many other service businesses, has turned to customer satisfaction surveys as a way to measure that aspect of customer service. The recent survey completed by TAMU's Public Policy Resource Lab reported some encouraging results for the Community services Group as follows: Planning/Zoning Police Building/Engineering %///%///////%/%////e streets IWOM%%//////�/%/ I sanitation V/////////////////////////. �' ire/Am6ulance go1 61% 20% % o% /�/////.1/ Very satisfied 1 I Satisfied 74% 84% l 1 85% 85% 85% 96% 80 o i 00% Community Services Group — 7 Before you can provide excellent customer service, you must have a facility that lends itself to being "customer oriented". With that in mind, consider the changes to these City buildings: Development ►Services Office Space The office areas that housed Planning and Engineering, have been remodeled to achieve an "open" concept that offers a more user—friendly atmosphere for both external and internal customers. Now, Development Services' employees who deal most frequently with the public are out front, closer to the customer. There is also space for the newly created receptionist position who can immediately direct the customer to the appropriate person as soon as they walk in. Simple changes, such as signage or placing a window in the entrance door to the department, were made to make it easier for the customer to find his way to the Development Services Department. Renovating Public ►Service Center The Public Service Center has undergone significant renovation that not only altered the building's physical characteristics, but greatly enhanced the image of the department. No longer are these facilities viewed as" just a second rate garage or warehouse. With the building's enhanced image, the morale of the employees has also benef fitted. The $ 1.4 million rennovation included: 0 improving the facility's appearance to meet community expectations for public facilities and eliminating the double standard that existed between this City building and what the City requires of private developers. It also demonstrates that image is part of expectations, for both the employee and the customer. y GG. tflOGt2 GW G(i• - Thomas A:,. Edison Community Services Group — S • • all administrative offices to one end osible to public the building to improve aria refurbishing and relocating Previously many of these offices were inacce conso lidate customer service.s scattered throughout the building. increasing tl�e number of full —service motor vehicle bays from three to seven which has imp time b increasing the ratio of mechanics to fleet that can work on a vehicle at any o ne productivity y mer outside area, whichp our fleet, not to mention our cuseliminates the dust problems of the for ees gravel paving the entire surroundingrs lot, It also allows us to kee�he eliminationofemployees, of hazardous paring during inclimate weather! Safety on the site has also improved by g driving conditions. A Non —Customer Friendly Facility. 1 "Did you ask about getting . me a bigger room?" �l� Brookshire Bros.- Grocery Community Services Group — 9 %�2a^.ecr-wtril u2Ui !!w ewa�onP/L /Iry We have made some changes in the way we do business. Sometimes we have removed procedures that prevented us from providing more effective and efficient service. In other instances we created new ways of doing things that focused on the customer. New Name — Development Services We changed the name of the Capital Improvements Department to the more informative title of Development Services. The new name is intended to .give our customers a clearer idea of what services the department offers. Receptionist Training .Manual The receptionist in Development Services often receives phone calls from citizens wanting planning or engineering technical information or to talk to someone who can give them this information. This type of technical information can be quite confusing to a receptionist who does ,not have a background in planning or engineering. We then risk sending the customer to the wrong employee and on to a frustrating "merry- go —round". In order to eliminate this from happening, Development Services' employees created a manual for receptionists that allows them to better serve the customer. Now, when a customer makes initial contact, the receptionist or a secretary is able to give proper direction to an inquiry using a manual that provides information on who can best answer that question. One Stop Permitting Shop Customers requesting services such as rezoning or processing site plans now have a Development Coordinator who helps them throughout the entire development '7 "0 Gti!{• DCC�i- G!'IPi % OCR 4W i1m4t. —,noel Arthur Barker Community Services Group - to process. We are attempting to provide a "one stop shop" where this coordinator acts as an "internal advocate" for the customer. This eliminates the need for the customer to interact with a number of different people from areas such as engineering, planning, utilities, fire prevention, or building inspection. For example, a' customer having questions about sprinkler requirements does not have to go the Fire Marshall's office to get ' an answer and then to Utilities to find out about their requirements. One stop, one employee —.the Development Coordinator, can do all this "Footwork" for the customer. Building Permit Process Streamlined The building permit process has been streamlined. Instead of the customer having to fill out,a number of forms and having -to make several payments, this process has been consolidated. It now takes thirty minutes or less to obtain a permit for a' single family dwelling compared with the average 24 hours it used to take! .Utility Connections Approval by Phone Development Services has cut down on the amount of leg work our customers must do, literally!. When utility customers building a new commercial or industrial project need approval from Development Services for temporary power, now we just phone it in. Previously the customer had to go and get a signature of approval from Development Services and then take it to Utility Customer Service before they could get temporary power to the construction site. Cash Transaction Procedures There are many requests in Development Services for printed maps or similar items that involve a cost .that must be reimbursed to the City. Previously the procedure for receiving payments for such items was to have the customer make the payment at a different office and then bring a receipt back before they received the materials. Development Services now has their own cash box so that the complete transaction can be made at one location and the customer does not have go to two different locations before he can buy a map! I la' nQ ` ' On 40AWt0 P/.r! CG. /I _. Unknown Community Services Group - i i Team Building For The Development Process Although the development process primarily involves Development Services, other City services are also involved. In an effort to obtain a better coordinated and cooperative process, a retreat for "team building" was held with the Public Resource Center of the Texas Engineering Extension Service. To our knowledge this type of seminar is the first of its kind in Texas involving so many different departments (Planning, Engineering, Building Inspection, Water/Sewer, Electric, Fire Marshall, Utility Billing, and others). As a result of this retreat, the following improvements were made .in the development review process for the customer: • all the information from the departments involved in the development process has been centralized in writing at the i one stop shop" for the customer's convenience. Previously this information was given verbally to the customer when requested and the customer often had to go to the different departments himself to get it. Now it is all in one place • development of back—up personnel for plans checking in the various departments. This has reduced delays for the customer that used to result when the one person in that department designated for plans checking was absent. • most importantly, communication and relations between the reviewing departments and the "one stop shop" have improved. Everyone knows and understands what the other needs to best serve the customer. These departments have also committed to make this joint review of the development process an on —going process. Tom Peters . Community .Services Group — 12 Extended Hours for Fleet Services Many City vehicles are needed on a regular basis to deliver City services during the regular work week from 8 A.M. to 5 P.M. This creates problems for Fleet Services in scheduling preventative and routine maintenance. Consequently, Fleet Services now has some of its employees coming in at 5:ooA.M. and staggers lunch shifts. This has meant an increase of more than 5o% in hours of operation and not taking key vehicles out of service at critical times. These staggered shifts will account for an estimated decrease in vehicle down time of 70o hours or 17.4 weeks per year. AUTOMOBILE STREET SWEEPING COMPANY Ian SUMMER STREET ... SOSTON, MASS. 'T AU7OMOBII.0 STREET SWEEPER• -Ia00• C,:::.: New Century Automobile Street Sweepers NO STEAM NO OUST WE ARE PREPARED TO DO ALL KINDS OF CITY CLEANING WITH- OUT HORSES, SAVING SIXTY-FIVE PER CENT. OVER ANY OTHER SYSTEM AUTOMOBILES THAT SWEEP AND SPRINKLE AT THE SAME TIME NO STEAM NO DUST IIIIIII� Circa iyoi Street Sweeper -� Hetiry David .-horeau, .. J Community Services Group — 13 Night Court Some customer focused procedural changes have to do with what time of day we offer a service. The Police Department worked with the Legal Department and Municipal Court to provide municipal court after 5:oo P.M., the only time many people can attend. The goal of "night court" has been to improve the access our citizens have to municipal court.as well as assist scheduling of our police personnel. Since its implementation, citizen and police officer feedback has been favorable and. police overtime has been saved. Landscape Ordinance Enforcement With Different Approach Since community appearance is a priority council concern, the Planning Division is making sure that businesses comply with our landscaping ordinance requirements. That is, making sure that the landscaping that was put in when they built their business is maintained. However, in order to make this enforcement as customer friendly as possible,, we are providing these businesses with information from our Parks Department that tells what types of plants and shrubs are best suited.to this area. Also, we provide them with a list of local nurseries that will provide them with a 1 A% discount for purchases made to comply with our landscaping ordinance during the first 6 weeks of our enforcement effort. Community Services group — tq In today's service economy, people make decisions based on value, not just price. People at every level of the Community Services Group have found ways to add value to the service their department provides. What is added value service"? We think it can best be expressed by the following simple equation: PRODUCTIVITY + QUALITY - ADDED VALUE Often this involves an increase in the quality and number of services offered without an increase in manpower or other resources. Isere are some examples of added value service in Community Services: Police In —Service Training As a result of creating "organized patrol teams" the entire Police Department reports to work on Thursdays. This allows an officer to receive additional training two Thursdays a month.This totals 1 20 in—house training hours yearly per officer which exceeds State standards of yo hours per officer every two years. Outside training costs our Police Department an average of $ y25 per employee per day. With this in—service training program these costs are significantly less since the only cost we have is the salaries of the officers being trained plus those of two training instructors. Not only is the officer better trained, but the City has avoided costly overtime by, doing the in—service training. Crime Scene Technician The Police Department now has an employee trained to be in charge of taking forensic evidence at a major crime scene. This service significantly enhances our we:w�M, peir Me, WC ouC a ~,f yy %inti. y- Bernard .Haldane :.' Community .Services Group — 15 ability to obtain criminal convictions of major crimes. The crime scene technician's meticulous finger print taking at the Texas Coin Exchange capital murder was instrumental in obtaining convictions. This added —value service has improved the quality of local police service by helping to solve cases through use of an in—house service that is far more responsive than the outside resources we formally utilized. Police Department Accreditation The College Station Police Department is working to become a nationally accredited department; a recognition usually reserved for much larger depart— ments. What the accreditation process means for our citizens is a department that has been through rigorous review and analysis to insure that our police services are state—of—the—art, high quality; consistent, and reliable. It also means a potential savings to the citizen by reducing potential areas of exposure to liability that police services often incur. J° I .W POMKR "Why can't the department go modern and get handcuffs?" Community Oriented. Policing Improving relations within neighborhoods in our community is a key in being able to improve police protection. With that in mind, the Police Department has started a new program, Community Oriented Policing. COPP can be described as officers and the community working together to identify, prevent, and resolve both crime and non —crime problems using resources from.one another. Foot patrolling is one of the means used to accomplish this goal. Through the COPP programs citizens in high crime areas, who 12 months ago would not have dreamed of talking to a police officer, now seek out their neighborhood patrol officer for help. COPP was begun using existing resources, but has proven so successful that there are plans to expand it by one full time officer. How do we know it is successful? Citizen feedback to the tit/ 4�t4. �► _ Oliver Wehclell.Ho6es Community services Group — t6 officers stating that they feel safer, more secure, and more comfortable talking to the Police. Also, the police Department has experienced an increase in the amount of information furnished by.the neighborhood in an effort to solve and reduce crime. Citizens Police Academy The Citizen's Police Academy is an orientation program to the City's Police Department where officers and citizens exchange views on what is expected from the other. The academy is one night a week for ten weeks and culminates with the citizen accompanying an officer on patrol for a night shift. The Academy's popularity has, continued to rise with 125 citizens attending the five Academies held to date. These Academies continue to provide citizens a chance to interact and understand how their police ,services are delivered locally. They also provide the Police Department an opportunity to help the customer learn what a reasonable level of expectation for police service is in College station. Police Department Video The Police Department has recently produced their own video that might challenge some Hollywood productions! This useful piece of work gives a brief history of the deparment and shows current practices and resources. The video will be used in recruiting high,quality officers, a key to providing quality police services. Since the video was prepared with the assistance of KBTX—TV' and the San Antonio Police Department, an estimated $ 1o,000 in production costs was saved. Buddy Bear/TIGERS/DARE Often a child who has just been through a traumatic experience or one that is simply disadvantaged needs assurance that a police officer is there to help them and is their friend. To convey this idea, the Department now keeps and gives away toy bears to children impacted by traumatic situations in which the Police Department becomes involved. These toy bears were donated by local businesses. Otte—, Ztlalnro _ kG'mwje/ 4 'ltlalr t�* GHQ , I - Dwight D. Eisenhower, J Community Services. Group — 17 The College Station police Department has not limited its War on Drugs to law enforcement. They.have initiated and participated in a number of programs designed to prevent the youth of our community from being involved with drug and substance abuse. Teens In Grades Ending Reliance on Substances (TIGERS) is a vol- untary program in which a high school student submits to drug screening. If during the school year the .student remains substance free, they are entitled to discounts and gifts donated by local merchants. TIGERS has just finished its first year with 242 students enrolling in the program. • Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE )is a series of fourteen lessons to fifth graders to educate them on the dangers and consequences of being involved with drugs. Since DARE is administered during school hours, all kids of this age enrolled in College Station are shown ways to just say "no I. This program has already reached t , 600 College Station children. Combat Auto Theft (CAT) College Station vehicle owners that are wanting to directly participate in efforts to reduce the chances of their vehicle being stolen now have that opportunity. A new program entitled CAT, Combat Auto Theft, gives auto or truck owners the chance to designate their vehicle as one which the police can stop during the early morning hours of t:oo A.M. -- 5:oo A.M. to make sure it is being operated by the owner. A sticker displayed on the windshield lets the officer know that this vehicle is a CAT participate and that they can stop that vehicle early in the morning to make sure it is not stolen. Proactive StreetRepair The Street Division has started a new and different approach to street repairs. Instead of work orders being initiated by department management or a customer's call for service, the front line employees doing the repairs are now empowered to make work orders and do the repair work as they encounter it. This cuts down on Unknown Community ,Services Group — t 8 the time that necessary repairs are left unattended.. If for some reason the crew is unable to make the repair when they come across it, they paint a red circle around it to let the customer realize the DROMEDARY MIXERS �� ••� , City is aware of the problem and intends FOR UI "IrEU. a to respond in a timely manner. CONCRETE . AND MORTAR.. P FISHER &. SAXTON .� itJ G Shot, N. E., WASHlNGiON, 0. C. •""r'r�' Proactive Code Enforcement Aro" WRITE FOR A CIRCULAR n trying to provide the citizens with an Circa >. go i Street Repair Equipment attractive community, there has, been a new emphasis added to Development Services — proactive code enforcement. Now the City is proactively identifying code violations such as unsightly dumping, weeded lots, or dilapidated building. They are correcting the problem before it becomes an unbearable nuisance to any one•of our customers. Crack Sealing Patching and reconstruction of the City's paved streets is a costly activity as well as an inconvenience to the customer. Pavement breakdown usually starts with a crack which allows water to reach and erode away the street base. The Street Division has begun offering a new preventative street maintenance service — crack sealing. By filling these cracks early enough with sealant, the base can be preserved. Although there was some initial cost in purchasing the proper equipment for a crack sealant program, no new employees were added to implement this very cost effective program. Doorside Handicapped Pick—up The Sanitation Department now offers doorside garbage collection for any of its customers in need of this special service. Any handicapped person may simply place j w TMU ::.. nkriown.. Community services Group — 19 their garbage on the front porch for pick-up instead of having to carry it to the curb. This eliminates a great inconvenience or impossibility for some of our valued customers. Sodding. Necessary maintenance of our streets and drainage ditches often means having to dig up somebody's nice, established grass yard. ►Sometimes this leaves customers feeling dissatisfied with the way the area looks when the work is "finished". In the past the City seeded the disturbed ground. However, this does not always take care of the problem in a manner that the customer views as timely or attractive. It often required repeated trips by the maintenance crew 'to get . the disturbed grass re- established. Now the Street Division often sods the work area before it is considered complete. This added value service has reduced customer complaints and labor/ equipment costs by reducing employee trips for re -seeding. We also use sod to vegetate areas behind the curb on our street construction projects which has also reduced customer call-backs due to dissatisfaction with the appearance. Permits by Phone In response to customer requests, the Building Inspection Office offers a new service called "permits by phone". This service will be available for certain electrical,plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and sprinkler permits. The contractor can call us any time, even after hours, and request the permit. They give us written permission to draft their business checking account for the permit amount. We in turn save them time and money which they can pass on to their customers. For example, a plumber can call in to request a permit when responding to a weekend service call. He has met his permit obligations, repairs can be made, inspections scheduled during business hours, and the plumber never has to go to City Hall!, Community Services Group — 20 "Don't Bag It The City began promoting this program by co —sponsoring demonstrator homes that practice this lawn maintenance method. The thrust of this program is to teach homeowners how to maintain a green, healthy yard without having to bag grass clippings. It also involved providing program participants with a composter to educate them on how composte can benefit the gardener while keeping leaves and grass clippings out of the waste stream. Because yard waste can comprise up to 20% of the solid waste stream, the City will continue to educate and encourage the community about "Don't Bag It" in an effort to achieve a significant reduction in yard waste going to the landfill. Big Event In conjunction with our proactive code enforcement initiative, this year Develop— ment Services cooperated with Texas A & Ms annual Big Event which targeted a specific neighborhood for clean up efforts to enhance community appearance. With resources from the Community Services Group, the volunteer Aggies offered the necessary labor. Significant gains were made in helping Southgate citizens beautify their neighborhood. The one day�'event along with CSG's commitment to follow up action corrected 98 code violations and collected 14 tons of trash. The time donated by all the volunteers is conservatively estimated to be worth almost $ 10, 000. Several City employees donated their time at no expence to the City to help in this Saturday clean—up. Fire Alarm Protection Help The Fire Department offers several services that involve saving life and property through fire prevention instead of waiting for a call. The Department will help any customer needing assistance in developing a fire detection system for their home. This service includes a visual inspection of the dwelling to determine the safest and r l w&Wev AEG' a �y2A''•vv 0: �' -_p Ron Zemke Community, ,Services Group — 21 most feasible plan for fire protection. The Fire Department also refurbishes old smoke detectors as they become available for any one needing them. Call -in Inspection Service In response to the difficulty some contractors, plumbers, and electricians have in contacting our Building Inspection office during regular business hours, we began offerring an after—hours inspection request line. Now, if they finish a job after 5:oo P.M., the builder just calls our Building Inspection office and places a request for inspection on the answering machine. First thing the next business day we perform the inspection. Curb Edging/Herbicide The Street Division is providing an added value service to customers that impacts street maintenance, drainage, and community appearance. A tractor mounted edging disk is used to trim vegetation from the sides of streets and sidewalks. By mechanizing a task that used to be performed manually, enough time is saved that the crew is able to go back and spray herbicide on these areas and extend the length of time before this service is needed again. Now the street crew can cover more ground or devote this gained time to other needed tasks. Dealing With A Difficult Moment -Of —Truth ��,NTs "It's too tight!" Community Services Group - 22 A savings or increase in productivity made by the City is a benefit to our customers since any gained resource of money or time can be expended toward added value service. While many cities are having to cut back on services offered, College Station is expanding services to meet demand, but often doing it with current resources. Innovative ideas such as those described below are examples of what enables us to do this. o y- to Shifts The Police Department has not received an increase in patrol officers in 5 years, but they have made efforts to provide better service with existing resources. One way Police has done this is by implementing four t o-hour shuts for patrol officers instead of the traditional five 8-hour shuts for a work week. The y- t o shuts enable continuous patrol as well as additional patrol for peak "need" times. This is done by overlapping and staggering shif t changes. Since its implementation on September 1, 1988, $ y2, 000 has been saved in overtime costs as a result of y- t o shifts. It also eliminated the need for y additional officers during the hours of 9:0o P.M. to 2:00 A.M. Two -.Man Crews A primary component of the Sanitation Division's new "route manager" concept for residential collection was a reduction in crew size from three men to two men. This was accomplished by training all workers to be drivers, converting from garbage can to plastic bag pickup, and implementing a pay incentive for these employees. This crew size reduction saved $60,00o in labor costs during its first year and will r '^".. Hubert H Humphrey Community Services Group — 23 generate approximately $ too, 00o in savings this fiscal year. With the incentive pay . structure, not only does the City save money, but the employee has the opportunity to earn better wages and the customer receives the same level of service for one the lowest garbage fees in the state This program has been so successful that it is soon to be implemented for our commercial/multi—family collection routes. These crews will also be two persons in size instead of the present three which should produce an additional $ 45-55, o o o in reduced labor costs. RV=_ _ A J� t 1, More and more stringent regulations are continually being placed on landfill operators by both federal and state agencies. Consequently, garbage disposal costs have been spiraling upward. In an effort to realize economy —of —scale cost savings, the cities of College Station and Bryan combined their landfill assets and formed the Brazos Valley Solid Waste Management Agency. This agreement has allowed College Station's disposal costs to be ]owered from $ 18 a ton to $ 15 dollars per ton saving us $ t 20, 000 yearly. It had been projected that the tipping fee would need to be raised to $ 23 a ton to cover expenditures if the two Cities had continued to operate seperate landfills. Lowering tipping fees in this era of increasing disposal costs is a rare event. Productivity and. Pro -active Code Enforcement Our building inspectors now do double duty! They still perform their construction inspection duties, but now they also work with our code enforcement officer to cover the entire city with our code enforcement effort. This has not only allowed us to more fully utilize the resources on our inspection staff, but it has allowed us to greatly 1Gor OF or2►tiovl�ove��itt; • = MarkTwain Community Services Group — 24 improve our thoroughness and consistency on code enforcement to all areas of the community. Instead of having just one person doing code enforcement, we now have five people doing it on an area —wide basis. Areas are rotated between inspectors to insure full coverage of all violations. During August 1990 alone 173 violations were reported. Garbage Truck Painting— Getting the Best Deal We have been repainting our garbage trucks to improve their appearance and image in the community. In getting price quotes for this we found that by using the paint and body shop at the Texas Department of Corrections in Huntsville we could save 10 to 20% per vehicle on painting costs over what most body shops charged. Net savings to our customers — approximately $1 o, 000! Fleet "Hot Shot Part Service" Fleet services now has suppliers include the delivery of repair parts in their price quote. Prices under this arrangement are not any more than previously, plus it has increased our mechanic's productivity. No longer does someone from Fleet Services have to stop what he is doing to go on a "parts run". Instead, the part order is called in and the mechanic immediately goes to work on the next vehicle while waiting for the part to be delivered. This decreases down time and is of obvious importance to customers who operate vehicles such as ambulances and police cars, vehicles that must be returned to service as soon as possible. A productivity improvement worth approximately $15o of shop production per day has been realized by Fleet Services through this change. Community Services Group — 25 Striping Machine Traffic .Maintenance has recently refurbished a piece of equipment that is saving the City money. By spending less than $ 300 dollars to get a striping machine up and running, the need for outside contractors to maintain paint striping on the streets has been reduced. We estimate that Traffic maintenance will save $ t, 000 this year alone in avoided contract services. Community Services Group — 26 VlAaana On, ;r4 Noi wd 4. Wayne GretzkY The Community Services Group is constantly conceiving, studying, and develop- ing new programs or improvements to existing ones that will enable us to better serve the customer. Following are some examples that are presently being implemented or are in the research and planning stages. One Man Crews - Automation We mentioned earlier the reduction of sanitation crew sizes that have already been made. Even greater savings can be realized if residential collection is converted to a one-man automated system. Staff has vis- ited other cities already utilizing automated collection, has made presentations to coun- cil on two occasions, and will be proposing a pilot one-man automated crew program for FY 1991-92. DUMPING WAGONS FOR ASHES, REFUSE They Am dumped instantly, by a mere touch, and closed without stopple[ the team. Tam In their length. SPECIAL SIZES FOR GRADING AND ASPHALT WATSON WAGON COMPANY, Corner Center and Buck Sts.. Canestota, N. V. Circa i go 1 Garbage wagon Joel Arthur Barter. Community services group — 27 nrvioe a Z4% Recycling1.13 There is a legitimate growing concern that College station needs to recycle as a community. The City agrees with this assesment, but recognizes the need to implement the most feasible and effective recycling program. We are currently implementing'a contract for a pilot curbside recycling program involving 2,500 homes. It is estimated that this program will divert up to 98 tons of solid waste annually that would have been placed in the landfill. Furthermore, the additional cost of collecting recyclables with a separate pick—up is being paid for by productivity improvements such as 2 man crews instead of asking the rate payer to pay a higher monthly garbage bill. Expanded. Safety Awareness and Fire Education In the near future the Fire Department will be offerring classes that will certify citizens for the provision of Cardio—Pulmonary Resuscitation and emergency medical care. It will also educate citizens from preschoolers to retired seniors in fire prevention and home safety. Through these and other public education efforts, our citizens will be able to live healthier and safer lives by being better prepared when emergencies occur. Automation —Fleet services At the completion of the Public service Center rennovation, Fleet services will move from a totally manual to a fully automated system. Man hours now committed to doing paper work will be reduced, thus increasing productivity. Fleet management can better track the history of a vehicle for determining preventative maintenance schedules and cost of upkeep. The automated system will enable fleet services to do a more efficient and effective job of caring for City vehicles and thereby, better serving the customer. ..........: - — Karl Albrecht/Ron Zemke. Community Services Group — 28 Improved . Container Collection The Sanitation Division is planning to change the system by which our container collected customers are served. The present rear load container system will be changed to a front load system that is more of icent and allows for variable collection schedules. Additionally, it requires less manpower to operate since it utilizes one— man crews instead of our present three. This change in collection systems will also allow us to assume ownership of containers from our customers who generally do not have the resources to take proper care of the container. A major benefit will accrue to the community by the improving the appearance of these containers through proper maintenance. WY Electronic Mapping/Geographic Information System The Engineering Division, working in conjunction with the Public Utilities Department, is working on creating an electronic mapping system for the city. Ultimately it Will become a computerized geographic based information system that has information on all facets of the city's geography and infrastructure in visual form. Some of their early work is on the inside back cover of this report. Sometimes Moments —Of —Truth Bring positive Customer Feed —.Back. '' �� MYRAD REAL ESTATE, INC. REAL ESTATE INC appreciates the assistance, cooperation, and hospitality it has received from the City of College For Information Station and its Personnel. Call Laurie Follis Ashford Square Realty 693-5775 Part of a recent ad in the Brvan—College Station Eagle. Community services Group — 29 i..., aCi fti0:. dCO'!ti, %��%�� I ` .Pro ' e s . �. J Community Services Group — 3o "Building a better city in partnership with you." t . Our customers, our reason for being • Treat people the way you'd want to be treated. • Deliver prompt and personalized information and assistance. • Listen, strive to understand, be caring, thoughtful and thorough. • Provide a work environment that is both customer and employee friendly. 2. Team Work: support, respect, care and share • Work together towards common goals. • All staff having a sense of ownership in the department. • Complement each others abilities and nurture each other's growth. 3. , Consistent, responsible service • Make ethical decisions based on fairness & good. • Be reliable; someone who can be counted on. • Cost effective results. y. Highly professional staff • Technically proficient. • Current and accurate information. • Committed to innovation and professional development. • Maintain state-of-the-art service delivery. Community services Group — 3 t Dedication to the department's mission and professional conduct in providing law enforcement services is essential to community support and successful performance. * Presentation of a professional image * Individual commitment * Pride in personal appearance and demeanor 2. Positive contributions and innovation are supported and encouraged in the achievement of the organizational goals. * Employee recognition for outstanding contributions and performance * receptive and adaptive to change * Commitment to achieving organizational goals * Expect and accept contructive criticism 3. Organizational pride and integrity are the direct results of interpersonal trust, individual honesty, healthy competition, teamwork, and open commu- nications at all levels. * Create an environment of honesty through example * Encourage individual commitment to the overall goals of the department * Teamwork is a compromise between individual desires and the organizational commitment * Individual sacrifice for the good of the whole * Contribution and participation of all employees in the communications process y. Authority must be extended to the appropriate organizational level and individuals must be willing to accept personal responsibility and organiza- tional accountability for their decisions. * Employees empowered at the lowest level of competency * Accountability is commensurate with authority * Encourage decision making at the first line rather than relying on others to make decisions 5. Our future is determined by the development and maturity of each individual member. * People are our most important asset * Training is an investment in individual potential * Increased maturity brings an increased scope of responsibility * The investment in today's employees will determine the organization's future Community Services Group — 32 1. We Care a. About our customers. b About each other. c. About our city. 2. Personalized service Is Our Business a. Focus is on the customers. b. We inform, listen, and respond to our customers. c. You are important. 3. We .Make A Difference a. We keep you up and running. b We keep College. Station clean. c. We go the extra mile. y. We Are Pros a. Efficient — Biggest bang for the buck. b Dependable — You can count on us. c. Reliable — Do what it takes to get the job done. d. Competent — trained and trustworthy. Usually, Unhappy Customers Are Easy ,To Spot! ��,hjim GIS .Map ►'Sample GIS - a joint venture of the Development Services and Public Utilities Department