Department of Transportation Issues Performance Data

At a September 3rd meeting of Department Heads, the Milwaukee County Department of Transportation (McDOT) provided an update on its performance for the year.

The McDOT includes five distinct divisions:

• The Director’s Office, which provides overall management, financial and planning support,
• The Airport Division, which includes General Mitchell International Airport, the Timmerman general aviation airport, and the Milwaukee Regional Business Park,
• The Transit Division, which provides fixed route bus transit and paratransit services across the County,
• The Highways Division, which provides maintenance for the interstate system and State trunk highways within the County; as well as planning, capital development and maintenance of the County’s trunk highway system and bridges,
• The Fleet Maintenance Division, which maintains and tracks replacement of all vehicles and major equipment (such as airport snowplows and large mowers in the Parks).

The McDOT has approximately 443 budgeted County positions, plus an additional 1,058 positions in the transit system, which is operated through a contract. 2014 budget expenditures total $274 million, of which only $18.6 million or seven percent is funded by the County property tax levy. The McDOT’s operations are highly dependent on State and Federal revenues, or on user fees in the Airport Division.

The full report is available here. Highlights of the September 3 performance report include:

Airport Division

• Passenger enplanements at General Mitchell International Airport (GMIA) declined from 4.9 million in 2010 to 3.2 million in 2013, mainly as a result of industry consolidation.
• Partially as a result of this decrease in enplanements, the cost charged to the airlines by the County to operate the airport rose from $4.12 in 2010 to $8.16 in 2013, and is budgeted to increase again to $9.29 in 2014. The Airport can measure this figure against a benchmark of peer airports that include those in Albuquerque, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Indianapolis and St. Louis. The 2014 benchmark for this peer group is $10.00. This figure is important because it gauges how competitive Milwaukee County’s airport is in attracting new flights.
• The percentage of revenues earned at GMIA from sources other than the airlines (such as concessions, rental car fees and parking) has remained consistent at between 59 and 65 percent between 2010 and the 2014 budget. The peer group benchmark is closer to 43 percent.

Transit Division

• After remaining consistent at approximately 30 percent between 2011 and 2013, the percentage of expenses covered by rider fares is on pace to decline to approximately 28 percent in 2014.
• Passengers per bus hour has continued to decline since 2011, from 29.3 to 26.3
• After declining in 2012 and 2013, the cost per bus hour estimated at $100.40 in 2014.

Fleet Maintenance Division

• The number of County-owned vehicles exceeding replacement criteria declined from 207 in 2013 to 177 in 2014. This is important because older vehicles that are beyond their useful life are often more expensive to maintain and spend more time in the shop.
• After increasing in 2012, the number of accidents Countywide declined in 2013.

Highways Division

 

County Exploring Pay for Performance Options

As part of the 2015 budget process, the County Executive has tasked the Office of Performance, Strategy and Budget and the Department of Human Resources with exploring options for a pay for performance structure that would reward performance and provide incentives for improving productivity and innovation, as well as help in employee recruitment and retention.

The County is currently working on rebuilding a functional performance-based compensation structure. The current system (ordinance chapter 17.10) provides raises within a regimented pay rate structure (known as steps) after each 12 months of “meritorious” service, and does provide the ability to allow for larger increases for employees who have exhibited “exemplary performance” based on an appraisal system developed in 1986; unless the County budget suspends step increases for that budget year. In practice this has meant that almost most every employee receives a step increase regardless of their individual performance. If employees are at the top step of their pay grade, they cannot receive merit-based increases, and would receive only general, across-the board increases. This system has created significant issues over the years by not rewarding top performers, and by limiting the County’s ability to retain quality employees.

For management staff, the process is much the same, where a manager can be provided a step increase based on performance evaluations. Additionally, the ordinances (17.265)(3) do provide for a one-time bonus of up to 4 percent for managers who are already at the of their pay range, which is applied to pension calculations.

The County is currently examining options to provide a more modern compensation structure that includes more focus on tying compensation to performance results. This process began in early 2014, when managers were trained on how to develop performance goals for the year for both themselves and for their direct reports. Many of these measures were included in the 2014 budget document (“How Well We Do It”). Managers were also offered training on how to effectively develop and deliver performance reviews, which is another important part of assessing performance results.

The next step in this process will be to develop a compensation plan for the 2015 budget, and to examine performance-based compensation plans and bonus programs offered by the State of Wisconsin and other county governments such as the State of Wisconsin, Miami-Dade County, FL; Waukesha County, WI;  and Cumberland County, PA. The goal is to develop a results-driven culture, which had fallen out of practice over the past 10+ years.

 

 

 

Milwaukee County wins Distinguished Budget Presentation Award

Milwaukee County received notice on July 8 that it had received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers’ Association of America (GFOA). The GFOA represents public finance officials throughout the United States and Canada, and its mission is to “…enhance and promote the professional management of governmental financial resources by identifying, developing, and advancing fiscal strategies, policies, and practices for the public benefit”.

The Distinguished Budget Presentation Award “..encourages state and local governments to prepare budget documents of the very highest quality that reflect both the guidelines established by the National Advisory Council on State and Local Budgeting and the GFOA’s best practices on budgeting and then to recognize individual governments that succeed in achieving that goal”.

Achievement of this award was one of the 2014 performance measures for the Office of Performance, Strategy & Budget. This award is issued annually. This is the first time Milwaukee County has received this award since 1990.

 

Milwaukee County Zoo Provides 2013 Performance Measures

On June 2, The Milwaukee County Zoological Department (Zoo) presented its 2013 performance measures to the County Executive’s Cabinet. Detailed information can be found on the Power Point presentation linked below. Highlights of the report include:

• Based on a 2006 Economic Study, the total direct and indirect economic impact of the Zoo on the region is $112 million. This is about 20 times the annual tax levy support.
• The Zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums – fewer than 10% of licensed animal exhibitors earn this accreditation.
• 83.3% of visitors were accompanied by at least one child 12 and under.
• The Zoo’s YouTube channel and online webcams had over 1,000,000 hits in 2013.
• Visitors spent an average of $14.29 each (including admission, concessions, and souvenirs) in 2013.
• Operating revenues covered 74% of operating expenditures in 2013. The remaining 26% of expenditures were funded with tax levy.
• According to guest surveys, visitors reporting “Excellent” or “Very Good” service 88% of the time.
• 98% of visitors reported being “Extremely Satisfied” or “Very Satisfied” with their overall experience.
• Started the Emerald Ash Borer Treatment Program. 150 trees were treated and another 150 were removed.
• Animal births in 2013 include a tree kangaroo, four bonobos, and two jaguar cubs.
• The Zoo entered into a new Memorandum of Understanding with the Zoological Society of Milwaukee for fundraising, education, membership and conservation support.

To view the Zoo’s presentation, click here.

County Making Progress towards Implementation of LEAN

DAS-PSB was awarded financing through the 2014 innovation fund to implement a countywide LEAN initiative. LEAN is a process improvement practice that helps organizations function more efficiently by critically analyzing burdensome processes, including those that are administrative and those that directly impact our constituents. By streamlining and improving these processes, the County expects to improve the value and sustainability of its core services.

A cross-department workgroup of individuals involved in a particular process gather and, with the help of independent facilitators, map out the steps of the process and then investigate which steps should be changed to improve that process. Steps that actually provide value to customers and the organization are kept and possibly improved. For instance, a group of individuals who are involved in the process of issuing a permit will gather and look at which steps of the permitting process could be modified so that it requires less time and work to issue the permit.

The County has engaged a consultant to help set up an ongoing LEAN effort. This will include a steering committee, which will review requests for processes to be analyzed; and a group of facilitators who will work with cross-departmental teams to examine processes and develop options to make efficiency improvements. The County’s goal is to emulate the successes realized with LEAN in Brown County, Wisconsin and the City of Denver, Colorado, and to empower employees to provide value to constituents through a culture of continuous process improvement.

You may click here to review a presentation on LEAN management that provides more detailed information on the County’s LEAN journey.

 

Office of Veterans’ Services Provides 2013 Performance Measures

On June 2, the Milwaukee County Office of Veterans’ Services presented its 2013 performance measures to the County Executive’s Cabinet. Detailed information can be found on the Power Point Presentation linked below. Highlights of the report include:

• 99 percent of all information requests received responses within one business day.
• 78 percent of applications submitted to the State of Wisconsin were approved for assistance, up from 66 percent in 2011 and 74 percent in 2012.
• The Milwaukee County Office of Veterans’ Services has two dedicated individuals who provide services and counseling to approximately 51,000 veterans, roughly 12 percent of the Statewide total. By comparison, Dane County has nearly 29,000 veterans and Waukesha County has more than 27,000.
• The Milwaukee County Office of Veterans’ Services has an expenditure budget roughly equal to that of Waukesha County’s Office and approximately one-half that of Dane County’s Office.
• The Milwaukee County Office helped 1,000 veterans submit applications for State programs and the property tax credit in 2013. In comparison, Waukesha and Dane Counties helped approximately 300 and 400 respectively.
• More than 350 Milwaukee County veterans were approved to receive grants, tuition reimbursement and loan programs in 2013; roughly 37 percent of all approved applications Statewide.
• Milwaukee County veterans received nearly $2.25 million in property tax credits in 2013, an increase over 2011 ($1.6 million) and 2012 ($1.9 million).
• Walk-in traffic in the first four months of 2014 has increased by 9 percent over the same period in 2013, thanks primarily to the staff’s diligent effort to increase cooperative referral and outreach programs with the VA, the Milwaukee County Departments on Aging and Family Care, and local senior living facilities.

To view the Office’s presentation, click here.

2013 Performance Data Submitted to ICMA

Milwaukee County is a member of the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) Center for Performance Measurement. The County joined this program in 2012. The Center for Performance Measurement tracks several hundred activity data and performance measures in a wide variety of major service areas. In Milwaukee County, these service areas include:

• Parks & Recreation
• Sustainability
• Information Technology
• Human Resources
• Risk Management
• Procurement
• Facilities Management
• Highway Maintenance
• Fleet Management
• Housing Programs

On March 17, the Office for Performance, Strategy and Budget submitted (thanks to the cooperation of several departments) the 2013 data for these service areas to ICMA. The ICMA compiles these data sets from dozens of cities and counties across the Country and makes them available to program participants. This data will be used to evaluate our performance against peer jurisdictions, such as Miami-Dade County, FL; Bernalillo County, NM; Alameda County, CA; and Fairfax County, VA; that also participate in the program.

Look for additional information on performance measures and comparisons with peer jurisdictions in future blog posts!

Economic Development – First Quarter Performance Measures

The Economic Development Division of the Department of Administrative Services has created a dashboard to track its 2014 performance measures. This dashboard will be used to show how the Division is progressing towards the following goals:

1. Progress in selling excess properties
2. Increasing the value of the County’s tax base
3. Job creation & job placement
4. Cell phone and parking rental revenues
5. Participation by Disadvantaged Business Enterprises in projects under its management

The Division’s 2014 first quarter dashboard is available here.

Milwaukee County Child Support Services 2013 Performance – All Time High Achievement

The Milwaukee County Department of Child Support Services ended 2013 having achieved some of their all-time best results in its State and Federal performance measures. As a result, the agency was named Agency of the Year by the Wisconsin Child Support Enforcement Association for 2013.

The Federal Government provides incentive funds to States for child support programs that are allocated among the states based on these performance measures. As the largest Child Support agency in Wisconsin, our performance plays a significant role in determining our state’s share. Wisconsin will receive approximately $13.6 million in federal incentive revenues in 2014, of the  which will  of which Milwaukee County will receive approximately $4.2 million.

We have achieved this performance despite having one of the highest caseloads per employee in the United States. Milwaukee County Child Support Services will serve approximately 900 cases per employee in 2014. In comparison, the following large cities have approximate caseloads per employee as shown below:

• New York City:  300
• Las Vegas:          425
• Los Angeles:       200
• Chicago:              400

For more detailed information on our Child Support Services program and its performance measures, including how we operate and how we provide such great service, please take a look at this Power Point presentation.

DAS-Performance, Strategy and Budget Customer Service Survey Results

The 2014 Budget for the Department of Administrative Services – Office of Performance, Strategy and Budget (DAS-PSB) includes the development of a customer service satisfaction survey to gauge our performance during the 2014 budget process.

A total of 50 individuals, including department heads and elected officials were surveyed, and 29 completed responses. Four of the questions were either yes-no questions and one asked respondents to rate our performance on a 5-point scale.

We value all suggestions on how to improve the process, and will take these recommendations into account as we prepare for the 2015 Budget process.

Q1: Did you feel DAS-PSB staff acted professionally and respectfully during the 2014 budget process?

Yes:     28 (97%)

No:      1 (3%)

Q2: Did you feel that DAS-PSB staff was knowledgeable and able to answer your questions related to the 2014 budget?

Yes:     27 (96%)

No:      1 (4%)

Q3: Did DAS-PSB respond to your concerns or questions about the budget adequately?

Yes:     26 (90%)

No:      3 (10%)

Q4: Was the 2014 Budget Narrative written in concise, easy to understand language?

Yes:     22 (76%)

No:      7 (24%)

Q5: Overall, how would you rate your experience with DAS-PSB during the 2014 budget process?

• 1 = Poor:                                             1 (3%)
• 2= Needs Improvement:                 2 (7%)
• 3 = Adequate:                                    5 (17%)
• 4 = Satisfactory:                               11 (38%)
• 5= Excellent:                                     10 (35%)

Average: 3.93

Thank you to all who participated!