Public Works Department Organizational and Operational Analysis: Town of Saugus, Massachusetts

This report presents the results of the management assessment of the Saugus Public Works Department conducted by the University of Massachusetts Boston’s Collins Center for Public Management (“the Center”). This first Section introduces the analysis – outlining principal objectives and how the analysis was conducted – and presents an Executive Summary. The project team conducted a comprehensive organization and management analysis of the Department’s existing operations, service levels, infrastructure management, organizational structures and staffing levels. The analysis was to be fact-based and include all aspects of service provision by the Department

Report on the Chelsea School Nursing Program

At the request of the Chelsea Public Schools, the Collins Center conducted an analysis of the school health services delivery system. The research included: (1) Review of City and School documents, (2) Interviews and on‐site visits, (3) Review of related research, and (4) Conversations with other experts. Like most urban school systems, Chelsea is facing the challenges of increased educational, social, and health care needs of its students and dwindling financial resources. Despite this, it was clear that the nurses and staff care deeply about their work and the children they serve. An innovative and cooperative network within each school building is helping to backfill gaps created by funding reductions and is working to provide the highest level of attention to the students’ health care needs

Report Relative to the Finance and Administration (“First Floor”) Operations of the Town of Hanson, Massachusetts

As with almost all Massachusetts municipalities, the Town of Hanson has faced several fiscally challenging years and is likely to continue facing fiscal challenges for the foreseeable future. This has led to a situation of interconnected operational, budget, personnel, and morale challenges. Despite these, there is definitely a sense that the Town is, at least in some areas, starting to move in the right direction. The Town retained the Collins Center to perform an analysis of operations that includes recommendations for ways to increase efficiency and effectiveness, as well as additional recommendations that may improve Town operations or service delivery. The overall project includes a review of two sets of departments, the “first floor” departments of the Town Hall, which refers to the administration and finance‐related offices, and the “second floor” departments, which refers to the land use‐related offices. This report deals only with the “first floor.

Report Relative to the Land Use, Permitting, and Health (“Second Floor”) Operations of the Town of Hanson, Massachusetts

The Town of Hanson retained UMass Boston’s Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management to perform an assessment of ways to increase efficiency and effectiveness within the Town government. This report addresses the “second floor” departments, which include: Building Inspections (along with wiring, plumbing, etc.), Conservation, Health, Planning, and Zoning. While the first floor departments are doing the work to keep Hanson functioning today, the second floor departments are doing the work to keep Hanson strong tomorrow, protecting the resources of the Town for the future. “Resources” should be taken in the broadest sense of the term, which would include financial resources, natural resources, environmental resources, and the health and safety of the public. Fortunately, second floor staff have a wealth of institutional knowledge and a remarkable level of commitment to the well-being of the Town. Board members are also to be commended for their dedication and the time they take from their personal lives to contribute to Town governance. Against these strengths, the Town obviously faces challenges. The most obvious short‐term challenge is the vacancies in second floor positions. Yet it is also an opportunity to rethink the staffing model of the second floor over the long-term

Staffing and Organizational Assessment of the Public Works Department of the Town of Watertown, MA

This report presents the results of the management assessment of the Watertown Public Works Department (the “Department”) conducted by the Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management in the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston (“the Center”). This first section introduces the analysis, outlining principal objectives and how the analysis was conducted, and it offers a summary of the recommendations described in detail later in the document. The project team conducted a comprehensive organizational and management analysis of the Department’s existing operations, service levels, infrastructure management, organizational structure, and staffing levels

Analysis of the Administration of Human Resources: Prepared for the Ipswich Town-School Coordination Committee

The Town of Ipswich, acting for its Town-School Coordination Committee, contracted with the Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management at the University of Massachusetts Boston to undertake a review of the Human Resources (HR) management, Recreation Department programming, and the Information Technology needs of the Town and School Department. The review was undertaken to assess how collaborative approaches might enhance the effectiveness of each of these municipal functions. The Collins Center has published a report on each of these topics. The overall Project Manager was Senior Associate Richard Kobayashi. The HR report was prepared by Collins Center Associate Mary Aicardi. On site work was carried out in May and June 2010. The review determined that basic HR administrative needs are being met in both the Town and the School Department. Included in this assessment are the core functions of employee recruitment, selection, orientation, payroll, benefits, leave entitlements, tracking and administration; collective bargaining, policy administration, development of job descriptions and classification, maintenance of personnel files; administration of workers compensation and injured on duty programs; employee relations; union relations, including grievances and discipline; budgeting and salary projections; Civil Service administration; performance appraisal; retirement eligibility and benefits; and unemployment compensation

Report Relative to the Finance Operations of the Town of Norwell, Massachusetts

At the request of the Norwell Board of Selectmen, the Collins Center for Public Management has conducted a review of the finance operations of the Town. The Center’s mandate was to assess the finance operations to identify opportunities to improve efficiency and effectiveness. To fulfill its mandate, the Center took four steps: (1) Review of Town documents, (2) Interviews with staff and members of various Boards, (3) Review of related research on other communities, and (4) Conversations with additional experts in municipal finance. As with all Massachusetts municipalities, the Town of Norwell is facing a difficult fiscal environment. Norwell also faces another challenge that is common to Massachusetts towns: a decentralized structure that spreads out decision‐making authority and responsibility across a wide range of boards and officials. Facing these challenges, the Town can draw on a significant number of assets. In general, the Town has a deep pool of talented and dedicated staff, elected officials, and volunteers. It is one of the very small number of Massachusetts municipalities that maintains a AAA bond rating

Regional Infrastructure Department Implementation Plan: Prepared for the Towns of Wenham and Hamilton, Massachusetts and the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District

The purpose of this Organizational Assessment is to: a) quantify the resources needed to establish a new regional public works department; b) assess whether those resources are available or could be made available; c) prepare a recommendation of those functions to be merged; and d) make recommendations on an organizational structure and governance process

Organizational Study of Information Technology, Law, and Purchasing Departments : City of Fitchburg, Massachusetts

The Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management was hired by the City of Fitchburg to perform organizational studies of three departments, including the Information Technology (IT) Department, the Law Department, and the Purchasing Department. All three of the studies were to review the respective departments’ organizational structures, responsibilities, and practices with a goal of identifying areas of improvement that could result in improved operations and time and cost savings (IT and Purchasing) and areas in need of improvement (Law Department). The Collins Center project team met with the directors of the three departments under review to understand their workload, how they organized the work being performed, and the challenges they faced, among other topics. Team members also interviewed multiple department heads and managers to hear directly from them about the kind of support they needed from the respective departments, along with the strengths and weaknesses of the departments from their perspectives. The project team also contacted a few other Massachusetts cities to learn about how they were organized in these areas and also drew upon their years of experience in the field of local government

Analysis of the Delivery of Public Services on Martha\u27s Vineyard: Prepared for the Martha\u27s Vineyard Commission and the County of Dukes County

This report was commissioned by the Martha’s Vineyard Commission through the Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management at the University of Massachusetts Boston and was funded by the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development – District Local Technical Assistance Program. The report was prepared and presented by The Executive Suite for an analysis of the delivery of public services on Martha’s Vineyard. The purpose of the analysis is - Inventory what existing services are delivered at various levels of local and regional government; prepare a list of services that are presently delivered, or could be delivered, by public entities on Martha’s Vineyard. Identify what type of entity presently provides the service and the approximate budget and manpower, breaking it down by town when possible accessing publicly available data. Identify possible criteria optimizing the level of service delivery by interviewing stakeholders as well as the expertise of the consultant with respect to best practices elsewhere. Identify the services that appear to be good candidates for considering changing the method of delivery. Apply the criteria to the list of services, noting specific services that show promise. Identify which services have been successfully delivered in an alternative way in other localities. This should include the possibility of contracting out certain services. If possible, estimate the potential order of magnitude of potential cost savings