CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
title
Receive Efficiencies and Leaner Government report and provide feedback on plan.
body
DEPARTMENT: City Manager’s Office
SUBMITTED BY: Douglas A. Krieger, City Manager
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
None
BACKGROUND:
At the December 5, 2017 City Council meeting, the motion related to the passage of the City’s 2018 Annual Operating Budget also directed staff to “continue the project of looking for efficiencies and leaner government” and report back to Council at the January 16, 2018 City Council meeting.
DISCUSSION:
The purpose of this document is to detail the proposed approach towards the identification of these efficiencies and implementation. Although identifying and implementing efficiencies is an expectation of all departments, three specific discrete projects have been identified to supplement current efforts.
1.) Review of governance and operational relationships with Naper Settlement and the Naperville Public Library
This topic was initially raised by Councilman Coyne during the 2018 budget workshops last year. In December, a staff task force was established to accomplish this task. The primary focus of the group will be to identify cost saving opportunities, focusing on internal service functions that are currently shared between the City and/or the Library or Settlement. Since we are planning an upcoming joint workshop in March with City Council, Naper Settlement staff and the Heritage Society Board, we are proposing evaluating opportunities the Settlement first, and then moving onto the Library. The task force is currently identifying and documenting existing processes and defining roles and responsibilities to prepare for joint staff discussions.
2.) Continuation of Departmental Reviews/Restructures
Three departments (Legal, Water and City Clerk) underwent significant internal evaluations during 2017. All three of these evaluations resulted in restructurings which will improve departmental operations as well as reduce departmental budgets. These departmental reviews are anticipated to continue in 2018 and staff is seeking input from the City Council as to specific areas/departments of focus. Another issue we are seeking feedback on relates to whether the evaluations are performed by staff or by an external third party.
3.) Prioritization of Services
During the 2017 budget process, City Council made two requests for additional information related to departmental priorities. The first, related to a breakdown between essential and non-essential services. The second, related to programs and projects and requested that budget materials include a prioritization of these programs and projects made by the departments before submission to the City Council.
4.) Best Practice Analysis
Although the City has an informal process of adopting municipal best practices as improvements are identified, we have not undergone a formal process to ensure we are meeting best practices in recent history.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Dependent on results.