CITY OF HUDSON COMMON COUNCIL

SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES OF AUGUST 30, 2005

Meeting called to order by Mayor Jack Breault in the Council Chambers of City Hall at 7:00 p.m.

PRESENT: Mayor Breault and Alderpersons Mike Laatsch, Dennis O’Connell (7:18 p.m.), Paul Radermacher, Roger Riedel, Scot O’Malley, and Carah Koch.

OTHERS PRESENT: Devin Willi, Betty Caruso, Gordon Conard, Brent Willi, Paul Boldischar, and Megan Ruppert.

PRESENTATION OF RESULTS FROM STRATEGY1 CONSULTING INC: Mr. Paul Boldischar announced that they had completed the City of Hudson staff and technology assessment and he presented copies of their August 30, 2005 Final Report, which was placed on file in the Clerk’s office. He stated that they would focus on three areas of Staff, Workflow Processes, and Technology. Within each area they would indicate the best practices, their findings, and recommendations for bridging the gap. He reported that Strategy1 conducted interviews with all City Department Heads and the majority of City Hall support staff. Also interviewed were the City Attorney, the external auditor, and several current vendors and potential technology vendors.

Mr. Boldischar reported that they received good cooperation from everyone they interviewed. He noted that in the interviews, some were asked to name other comparable communities; a list of 11 was compiled, 10 were contacted, and their responses were included in the Final Report. He stated that this gives an indication of how the City of Hudson’s operations compare to other municipalities. Mr. Boldischar explained that Strategy1 had 13 recommendations and provided 20 “next step” suggestions. The six key recommendations included:

· Establishment of a department head inclusive planning process that will result in an operating plan document.

· Implementation of required target dates for the completion of the City’s monthly close and annual close processes.

· Exploration and implementation of IT infrastructure improvements and upgrades.

· Creating an internal part-time IT support position.

· Implementing an immediate data backup and recovery policy and procedures

· Establishment and adherance to a strict, formal system of access authentication and policies and procedures.

STAFF: Mr. Boldischar detailed the project findings regarding City staff. He stated that the best practices indicate a formal planning process was critical, but the City did not currently have a formal planning process or operating plan. They recommended establishing a process that would result in a document that could be used in conjunction with the City’s annual budgeting process. They also recommended implementing a process for the annual review of all City position descriptions. He indicated this would help with assessing performance metrics as well as making sure that the official job descriptions were current and accurate. Mr. Boldischar stated that they recommended the City’s Standard Operational Handbook for Non-Represented Employees be reviewed annually as well. He stated that more cross-training of staff would allow for greater flexibility and less reliance on overtime. In addition, they recommended filling the part-time position that is open in the Community Development Department.

The next topic of discussion was the necessity for effective communication. Mr. Boldischar stated this could be achieved through Department Head staff meetings held on a regular basis with an agenda of items to be discussed. He noted other areas of communication included email and the City’s website, and they recommended improving both internal and external communication channels. A more interactive website with down-loadable forms and on-line payment options could be considered.

Riedel questioned why employee performance appraisals were necessary when percentage salary increases were given across the board. Discussion of past and present practices was heard.

WORKFLOW PROCESSES: Mr. Boldischar shared the approach that they used in assessing the City’s workflow process. The first critical step was to find out what was being done, then to ask why, and if it was necessary. He stated that during the interviews it was discovered that improvement opportunities exist in the Accounts Payable, Accounts Receiveable, Payroll, and monthly close processes. He also noted that the financial system in place was through the ACS software program. Strategy1’s recommendations for improving the workflow processes included implementing the ACS Purchase Order software module, which the City already owns. They advised supporting ACS’s attempt to upgrade their Accounts Receivable module, and implementing it as soon as possible.

Mr. Boldischar stated that their findings for the current monthly close process lacked a target date for the completion. He noted the importance of that time factor so Department Heads could know when the information could be accessed in the system. He informed Council that the ACS financial software system was used by six of the comparable communities and that it was a solid system. He also reported that because Ms. Caruso spends some of her time performing IT duties, the financial process gets delayed. Strategy1 suggested that a completion date for month-end reports should be within the first week of the following month.

The last item under workflow processes related to the telephone system. Mr. Boldischar noted that calls get redirected more than 50% of the time. The objective was to have a live operator answer each person’s call, but there was still frustration due to multiple transfers. Strategy1 recommended enhancing the communication system by having direct-dial capability, while maintaining a live person answering all public numbers. Mayor Breault expressed concern that some of the phone lines were busy due to calls that were not business-related.

TECHNOLOGY: Mr. Boldischar stated that the technology portion focused on the staff needed to support the technology, the software used, the infrastructure/architecture and security issues. He stated that two of the ten comparable municipalities had fulltime IT employees on staff. The majority had a mix of internal or external specialists, either full or part-time. He noted that the City of Hudson fell into the last category and noted that the Finance Officer was spending time on IT functions when her time should be dedicated to the Finance Department. They also reported that the IT system for the City was under-staffed. Appendix 3 of their report was a summary of the software used by each City Department. Appendix 4 indicated the existing IT architecture. Strategy1 recommendations for technology included restaffing the IT responsibility with an internal part-time position. They also recommended exploring and implementing IT infrastructure improvements and upgrades that would enhance system operations, staff, and processing efficiencies. They also suggested that the City should immediately implement a backup and recovery policy and process. Strategy1’s last recommendation for technology was to establish and strictly adhere to formal password security policies and procedures.

Discussion was held regarding having a server in place for email and Windows-based applications. It was noted that the AS400 would be used for the ACS programs. Additional discussion was held regarding the computer system currently in place.

In conclusion, Mr. Boldischar again reviewed their six key “next step” recommendations and emphasized that more effort should be spent on them. Mayor Breault recommended that the Council members should take the Final Report home for further review, submit any questions they may have, and determine a date for another Special Council meeting.

MOTION by Radermacher, second by Riedel, to adjourn the meeting. Meeting adjourned at 8:21 p.m. MOTION CARRIED.

Nancy Norvold, City Clerk

I hereby certify that the City Clerk has submitted the foregoing minutes to me, and I hereby by my signature approve said minutes and all acts of the Common Council as sent forth therein.

John D. Breault, Mayor