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Mattey is giving a presentation on the utility customer service management service contract. She said that they will takeover our employees. Two factors affect our rates - the cost of fuel and the cost of operations. This addresses the cost of operations and their efficiency. They think it is the best solution long term for the City. McVoy (all Commission present) - he doesn't like outsourcing, but he thinks that this is the best decision for the whole. Mulvehill starts by saying since she has been on the dais, this has been a problem. "The problem is bigger than putting a new manager in." She asks how does this relate to lower rates. Mattey says that they have discovered many under-billed accounts. Just getting rid of those would have an impact on rates. The examples she mentioned were around $150K and $75K. She says that this has been a a problem for decades. When they find a problem, they find others. Technology is a problem. Carr says that they have attempted to do all of it, but have been unsuccessful. Three managers have come and gone. The HTE software is "enterprise-wide" and is capable of working well. Amoroso asks if there are others we could look to for solutions. Software vendors, Carr says, are not familiar with our operation and the software needs a set of rules that have been non-existent. Mattey says that billing is a big issue. Amoroso asks why is there just one person doing billing. She says that it is the entire process and the system allows too many errors - not a personnel issue.
Mattey says that right now the division is held together by duct tape. There are 19 positions - the consultant will hire our employees. It is not in the contract. They will have to abide by the consultant's standards. The contractor has committed to the city that this is the case. Maxwell asks if we don't know how it is supposed to work, how will a consultant? Mattey says that we don't have the ability - it needs a total overhaul. 24,000 accounts a month - there are four meter readers now. She doesn't know how many they read a day. Before she took over, the answer was "we need more people, we need more people..." Maxwell says that it is the "face of the city" and says that if we cannot manage this then why are we in the electric business. He thinks we need to stay where we are and the person at the top is ultimately responsible. Mattey said then maybe we shouldn't be in the city business.
McVoy is comfortable with the proposal. He thinks a good faith attempt has been made in the past. The Mayor says that this is one of the worst discussions to get into. She says that it does start at the top, between different departments and a leadership vacuum. The elephant in the room is that the public is fed up with the utilities and their higher rates they pay. The Mayor says that if this commitment to employ our city employees in the contract, she might be more comfortable with this. She points out that Mattey is leaving now too and is concerned about that too. She knows that she has tried. Amoroso says that he asked what kind of training they got, the staff said they didn't, management says that they did. Mattey says the biggest problem in the Naviline program allows too many errors. The problem is bigger than that. It is an out of the box system. It was not designed for our system. He asked why it has taken so long. Amoroso met with Stanton at the office the first week he was in office and the windows were dirty and it smelled like urine. Mulvehill says that customer service has been a priority all along.She points to staff and rate reductions. She points out "found money" later in the agenda with the inventory surplus. We have done this and it is more reliable and consistent service now. The Mayor pointed out that this is reaching the 30 minute limit. She is in favor of the contract. McVoy is mindful of the 30 minutes. He would like to have more of a firm commitment about taking on our employees. And he makes the motion, Mulvehill seconds. Public comment.
Jack Seddon - represents these employees. Listening to the comments and reading the memorandum, this is the indictment on an administration. Not about employees. They can discipline employees. Employees don't do their job? When were they last evaluated? He says none have been done. What about job descriptions? There are none. Eric Fisher represents a quarter million in utility bills a year. He is happy with how things are and is concerned about outsourcing. Thinks they need more people. Management is an issue too. Not time to outsource. Mark Parrilla - he has had to come before customer service with issues for himself but also brought many residents with problems with the utility bill. He thinks the employees have been very helpful. He thinks it would be an egregious mistake to outsource. Lynn Anderson - She doesn't think that Ms. Mattey leaving is a problem. She says that we don't have customer service and it has been going on for years. The department cannot be turned around - listen to your top staff person. They have had training, she says. She would like to see it changed. Mary Lindsey - the HTE system, the Naviline, and everything else was brought before the Commission as solutions to this problem. Customers are angry about high bills and that is part of the problem with customer service too. This third manager just left today. If it is not in the contract, it doesn't exist. Laurence McNamara - he pays at the utility office and is treated well. He supports the motion and likes the amendment - change the music on hold. Manny Rodriguez - apathy from management is the problem. The city lacks organizational effectiveness. You do not know what you are going to get in two years. Let's have management that has conviction. Mark Easton - as one of the owners of one of the oldest businesses, he has always had pleasant experiences over there with the employees. Trying to get through to find out why the power is out has been a problem. Everything else has been kind and courteous. Who are the leaders after two years? Need to start at the top, train from the top down and it does flow down. Peggy Fisher - It was an emergency problem last summer and brought forth as a personnel issue. What are the results from other consultants? Should we take it to the next level and outsource the city? She has recently gotten a good response from customer service. Terry Brokovich - outsourcing is not the answer, the problem is the management. First person he met was with utilities - it is the city's first line of defense. His experience was positive. Managers need to get behind the desk, if they need training, get the training. Don't let these people go. Marshall Pass - notices the political split apparent on the dais, billing is important since it pays for everything else. He goes down there and pays himself - they are helpful, nice and overworked. There are not trained. But someone is there that can help others. Leadership at the top needs to know what is going on the front lines. We are about to lose the head.
Mulvehill - asks the consultant about success in other communities. They were engaged by the City of Hollywood about 15 years ago - 40,000 accounts. Similar situation related to customer service. They are well-versed in HTE software. Within three years, they were down to just a few calls a month. They hired everyone in that case. They rely on institutional knowledge. They renewed it for 16 years total. Miami as well. Lake Worth's uncollected accounts are around $5 million or more. They can deal with the objective issues. McVoy asks the representative if some of the things that you apply one place, you can apply in another? Duh. Maxwell says that it has moved from personnel to technology that affects customer service. He doesn't think we can guarantee better customer service doing this. He thinks that employees have the best intentions. Expectations have to be communicated by management. The city hasn't done that. He thinks it is time to step back and look at how we train people and emphasize sensitivity training. And involve the union more in this solution. He asked for a lot of back-up information last summer and hasn't seen it yet. The Mayor is sorry that this discussion is taking place and says that our opinions have changed (directed at the consultant) - Would the offer still be in place a year from now? They were gearing up based upon input from staff - they are ready to go and already extended themselves. They can make a lot of improvements in the objective areas - not going to lose employees, etc. Motion fails 3-2, Maxwell, Triolo and Amorose dissenting. Maxwell says that we need everyone at the table to address the issue, including the union. The employees must be given the best efforts by the administration. Amoroso addresses staff and asks them what they need. The Mayor says this cannot go on and on and on - there needs to be measurable results. Invest in our people and do that. McVoy says that we have been given evidence that there is a problem and we have gotten an answer. Workshopping this is not the answer - we are in an hour in and have done a lot - the Mayor.
Item 2 b. Unanimous
Item 2 c. Unanimous
Item 2 d. Unanimous
Item 2 e. Amoroso asked about lack of bidding - engineering services are covered under the CCNA process - Unanimous, Mulvehill absent.
Item 2 f. Unanimous
Item 2 g. Lynn Anderson wonders if we have any others? Is one enough? Answer: One is enough. Amoroso says the one that we have will have to be replaced and staff says that it is antiquated. Unanimous.
Item 2 h. Mattey says that this contract/agreement is what allows the city to access mutual aid during emergencies and hurricanes. It is a reciprocal arrangement - sometimes we send crews to other places. FMEA dues. Lynn Anderson says she talks against this every year. She thinks it is related to FMPA - this is the lobbying arm according to her. how much money do we save by being a member? She thinks this is ffrivolous. Mary Lindsey - last time we had a storm, we did not have a mutual aid contract - that is a fact. She does not think that this has benefited the city in anyway. They are there to serve the needs of the consortium - it is a small step, but this is time to send a signal that the game is over. Mark Parrilla - ditto to Anderson and Lindsey. Exiting FMPA and staying here is at cross purposes. The Mayor asks Mattey if the FMEA is the lobbying arm of FMPA - they are both municipal joint acting agencies in Florida. Every municipal utility knows that it is important to get help when you need help. The regulatory information that we obtain is very valuable. We don't need staff to monitor legislation and the Public Service Commission. Training is offered too. 39 staff members are signed up to take the training. Maxwell - tell us the bad things that will happen if we don't go through with this. Mattey says it would delay response to a storm and a mechanism would not be in place. FEMA accepts all these agreements - we would have to line up contractors independently and pay them. McVoy says that these systems are set up in advance. If this is not approved, then Mattey says that we need to go out to bid with contractors so that they are in place if there is a storm. Maxwell sees the only value being the mutual aid portion of this. Mulvehill says that we go through this discussion every year. She asks what we will do when we exit FMPA. Mattey says that we are still in the all requirements project, we don't pay dues to FMPA. $5.2 million is in the hurricane fund. She supports it. Mayor says that spending anything right now pains here, but would not want to be on the dais when a storm came and we didn't have a plan. When the city went out of state to Tennessee, the city was reimbursed $75,000 for its efforts. She says that the amount of the dues is worth the insurance. The Mayor would like to know other alternatives. She says they would need to hire a regulatory analyst on staff that would cost more than $33,000. McVoy echoes this and refers to this as a cost savings. He compares it to AAA memberships. Motion passed unanimously.
Item 2 i and j. Inventory surplus and bar code system. Mulvehill thinks this item should be first. We hired an expert and they identified surplus and approving the sale of material that will bring the city money. The city over-bought as a result of inefficiency. Mary Lindsey - we paid $168,000 to a consultant to tell us this - out of $1.4 million that they have identified and they are going to get it at 33 cents to the dollar. They will be turning it around and selling it at a profit - the same company that said that it was surplus. There are a lot of transformers - dual range - we will need them if we go ahead with where we are going. It is not surplus inventory. Marshall Pass - has anyone talked with staff up there? He has and they want to remain nameless - they are definitely afraid of their jobs. Why would you sell it at a mark-down?? He says to delay it for now. Manny Rodriguez - wants to know why we have experts employed by our utility that should know the types of equipment that they will be using and then hire a consultant that will tell us what we don't need and then take it off our hands. Carr says that we need to correct the misinformation. The process requires that the city offer this out in an auction or competitive bidding requirements. The city is not selling it to them - it would be a conflict, Mattey, and they cannot buy it themselves. Carr says that the city will get multiple prices before it is sold. There is no collusion. The Mayor asks about transformers. Staff says excess transformers are obsolete or not up to current standards. This inventory has not moved for many years. Amoroso says that he went to the warehouse, asked for staff to be there and was not there to meet - he did not get the response - a missed connection. He was expecting a warehouse in shambles, shelving falling down - he was impressed "you could eat off the floor." There were other things amiss. Mattey says that this is the one warehouse for the utility and is the same fund as the power plant - money comes out of the same fund. Amoroso - can we use this equipment during an emergency? Mattey - we have minimums and maximums for storm and non-storm seasons. This is part of good inventory control - making it more efficient. Maxwell is looking at the actual list. Can he deduce that the items are here we do not use anymore - Mattey says that we don't need to store them anymore. He points out that this is not perishable inventory. He asks if we are going to buy these in the future at a higher price - staff says no. Motion passes 4-1, Amoroso dissenting (Item 2 i). Item 2 j - how inventory will come inside, secure the warehouse, have work orders, etc. Mary Lindsey - $107,000 for shelves? What are we going to need shelves if the inventory is going out the door. Peggy Fisher - She heard Amoroso say that the shelving is fine. Thinks this is excessive. Barbara Jean Webber - Pointed to Amoroso and asked more about the condition of the shelving. Can we get less expensive shelving? Amoroso said the shelving was nice. He thinks if they needed shelving, it would be outside, not inside. Mattey says that spools have been stored incorrectly for years. He says that if this is costing the city money, this should already have been addressed. Where is the consultant? Mattey says that they are running out of money and it is more important for them to help with the actual process. McVoy says we need to get on and improve this "we are sprouting engineers in here." Carr is talking about a "just in time" inventory system. It is an 11,000 sf warehouse and it is industrial grade shelving. 4-1 passed, Amoroso dissenting.
Break before the discussion on leases. I am signing off now. More later.
![Dr. W. H. Cotton’s ode: “Oh, My Lake Worth, Florida!” [circa 1920].](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUL75cv6zJQFjX15ojOIIz9AjnbqH4asHJTYSDhnGnYr7rJZRha1NcNTirj2xPcId158vkz5Hw-wXgOfrlztj8Zr8jLFFCfuEN6PyV44ZlpMRmJ68xbtFL9vzxNiG7xDs_HJvm/s1600/LakeWorthPioneers.JPG)
