Departments Departments
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Departments Departments Administration Department ................................................................................................................ 3-3 Information Technology Department ............................................................................................... 3-19 Administrative Services Department ............................................................................................... 3-29 City Recorder / Treasurer ................................................................................................................. 3-51 Police Department ............................................................................................................................ 3-55 Fire and Rescue Department ............................................................................................................ 3-65 Public Works Department ................................................................................................................ 3-77 Community Development Department .......................................................................................... 3-103 Electric Department ....................................................................................................................... 3-117 Parks and Recreation Department .................................................................................................. 3-123 Non-Departmental Activities ......................................................................................................... 3-137 City of Ashland 3-1 2013-15 biennial budget 3-2 City of Ashland Administration Department Administration Department 15.65 FTE Mayor and City Council (Elected) City Attorney City Administrator (1.0 FTE) (1.0 FTE) Assistant City Paralegal Executive Secretary Administrator (1.0 FTE) (1.0 FTE) (0 FTE) Assistant City Attorney Management Analyst Human Resource Manager (0 FTE) (2.0 FTE) (1.0 FTE) Municipal Court Supervisor Municipal Judge (Elected) (1.0 FTE) (1.0 FTE) Conservation Specialist (3.0 FTE) Human Resource Assistant Court Services Clerk (1.0 FTE) (2.5 FTE) Bailiff (.15 FTE) City of Ashland 3-3 Administration Department director starting last September. Department Overview Updated Chapter 3 (Personnel Rules) of the Municipal The Administration Department provides the policy and com- Code, including a re-write of the City Code of Ethics. munication link with the citizens of Ashland and the employ- ees of the City who serve those citizens, providing the guid- ing vision for the City by establishing goals and objectives Successfully integrated two new Councilors into the City along with expectations for achieving those objectives. In Council team. essence, this department is the rudder that steers the ship of City government. The department consists of six divisions: Began live internet streaming of City Council study ses- Mayor and Council, Administration, Human Resources, Le- sions. gal, Municipal Court and Conservation. The Conservation Division had previously been split between the Electric De- Implemented a streamlined on-line job recruitment and partment and the Public Works Department. In the current applicant tracking process for all City positions. fiscal year, the Division was consolidated and moved to the City Administrator’s Office for the purpose of raising its pro- file in the community and working toward “cross-pollination” Successfully petitioned for inclusion in the Jackson of the water and electric conservation programs. County Enterprise Zone. The divisions in this department touch the lives of every citi- Adopted revised economic development strategy. zen in Ashland and every department and division in the City. Among the services provided are: Completed Recology rate study and began work on a new solid waste franchise agreement. Leadership on and development of the City policy; Led the transition to a self-funded health benefits plan. Guidance and direction to all departments on work plans, employee development and customer service; Completed the 2013 Citizen Survey. Economic development; Implemented new web site design. Human resources; Held community forums for the Plaza re-design. Legal counsel; Approximately 3 million gallons (400,000 cubic feet) of annual water savings from toilet and appliance rebates and Communications and public outreach; water saving fixture installations. Judicial process for local traffic and municipal code vio- Solar installation incentive participation resulting in over lations; and 85,000 watts of renewable energy generation. Conservation of City water and electric resources. Over 650,000 annual kilowatt hour (kwh) savings from residential and commercial weatherization, heating system, appliance and lighting programs. Successes Over the Past Year Municipal Court, after hiring and training a part-time Actively participated in Ashland Community Hospital clerk, cleared a back-log of cases that were not being ad- affiliation negotiations and worked on development of the dressed due to staffing. approved letter of intent with Asante Health Systems. Municipal Court improved efficiency with a scanning Successfully concluded bargaining with three of the technology that is helping to reduce reliance on paper. City’s five bargaining units. Administration undertook and completed a major secu- Restructured the City’s social service and economic de- rity upgrade at the Municipal Court offices. velopment grant application process. Combined the IT Director and Electric Director positions into a single position and filled that position, with the new 3-4 City of Ashland Administration Department Significant Issues in the Biennium Ahead Fiscal Issues and Conditions The Department’s most significant issues revolve around fis- The Administration Department is funded primarily through cal stability and in particular maintaining the fiscal integrity Central Services Fees paid by each department, with the fol- of the City government in the face of intense financial pres- lowing exceptions: The Conservation Division is funded by sures that are beyond the control of the City (i.e., PERS). On transfers from the Water and Electric Funds. The Economic top of this, the City will, before the biennium is over, be in Development function is funded by transient occupancy tax contract negotiations with all five of its bargaining units, two receipts that are budgeted in the General Fund. Rogue Valley of whom are strike-prohibited and therefore entitled to bind- Public Television is funded by PEG fees paid by cable televi- ing arbitration, which also removes from the City a degree of sion subscribers, which are also budgeted in the General control over its financial future. In addition, as this is being Fund. The Ashland Library is funded by a voter-approved written, a Council-appointed ad hoc committee is working on special property tax levy. The Municipal Court is funded in issues around stable funding for the Parks Department. Other part with revenues collected from fees, fines and assessments, significant issues include but are not limited to: which are also budgeted in the General Fund. An assistant city administrator position and an assistant city attorney posi- Continue to seek community buy-in on homelessness tion that had been funded in the FY ’12 and FY ’13 budgets issues and the impacts of transients on the downtown area. remain in this budget, but are funded at only $1 per year. This provides appropriation authority for the position should the City Administrator or City Attorney and Council identify Complete and successfully implement the transition to a funding and choose to fill the position during the course of self-funded health benefits plan. the biennium. Continually improve the effectiveness of City economic The Conservation Division faces particularly challenging development efforts in order to ensure the “biggest bang for fiscal issues. Energy conservation programs are funded from the buck.” both the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), our whole- sale energy provider, and from our local Municipal Electric Complete and roll out to the entire organization new cus- Utility. BPA funding will remain relatively stable, but the tomer service standards and develop programs to communi- previous availability of unlimited reimbursement funding is cate and reinforce those standards to employees. no longer available. This requires placing tighter controls on program elements to ensure that funding levels are not ex- Conservation needs to generate an increase in participa- ceeded. tion of multi-family dwelling units for both energy and water efficiency programs and achieve potable water savings in A large energy efficiency project is currently underway at partnership with large consumption water customers. Southern Oregon University that will result in a one-time ex- pense of Council-approved self funded incentives in the 2014 fiscal year of approximately $160,000 achieving annual sav- Maintain interest and participation in residential and ings of over 600,000 kwh. commercial energy efficiency programs. Water conservation programs are funded through the Water Seek to restore the community service program in Mu- fund and represent roughly three percent of the operating nicipal Court (impacted by a recent retirement) so non- revenue. The recently adopted Water Master Plan contained Criminal offenders have the opportunity to repay their debt to an irrigation control system pilot program scheduled for im- the community by providing