Managerial Note & Achievements

City of Auburn--May 2008 through October 2011 Glenn E. Aho Accepting the position of Auburn's City Manager was a risk but also an opportunity. It was a risk in terms that there existed incredible political pressure to combine city services and an incumbent acting city manager who was vying for the top position. The opportunity existed in that there was a City Council who wanted change, accountability, transparency, and a reduced tax burden. As I too shared these high ideals for local government, I accepted the responsibility, the opportunity, and the risk. The public expects operational and financial accountability from local government and it's been too long since these expectations have been met, if ever. Falling short of this expectation is just one reason why tax initiatives such as the Tax Payer Bill of Rights (TABOR) keeps returning. These narrowly defeated initiatives have represented more than just draconian reductions to municipal budgets. They represent a message to public officials. The message is to reduce the property tax burden on your own accord by managing local government resources better; otherwise, expect another initiative to be forthcoming. That's the writing on the wall. So rather than wait for the next tax initiative to appear, Auburn was working to position itself as a City that took TABOR seriously. We wanted Auburn to be able to explicitly outline what changes have been made since the last TABOR, and what changes were going to be made in anticipation of the next TABOR. This call-to-arms created a "natural sense of urgency" to fulfill a promise to our taxpayers that everything possible was being done to reduce the property tax burden. Auburn would be able to demonstrate its efforts by producing tangible, managerial results. While this initiative was underway, some individual City Councilors called for changes to hold employees even more accountable. Added pressure for change also came from events such as the oil crunch of 2008 and 2009; the Council's "Million Dollar Challenge"; and subsequent calls from the Council for more budget reductions. These events created a "forced sense of urgency" and when coupled with the "natural sense of urgency" to respond to TABOR, it set the stage for everything having to change, and to change fast. Attempting to meet these expectations was not going to be easy but the Mayor and City Council stated the decision making regarding budget reductions would be left up to the City Manager. In hindsight, it would have been best for the Mayor and City Council to set additional budget reduction policies to give clear direction, as any reductions would need to include personnel and services. However, I accepted this budget reduction responsibility as directed and work was then underway. Understanding how slow government can be to change, we drew upon existing and proven models of organization. From the military we borrowed the concept of reduced span of control; and, from the private sector we borrowed concepts of team and cost accounting. Under this new organization, the City saved money, increased intra-departmental cooperation, established standards of accountability and expectation, and more. By all accounts, Auburn was

1|Page

Managerial Note & Achievements

City of Auburn--May 2008 through October 2011 Glenn E. Aho positioning itself to be a model Maine City. Accordingly, GrowSmart Maine, suggested that Auburn could possibly be the key note topic for the GrowSmart Maine Summit in 2012. Auburn's efforts may not ultimately be "the" answer to solving Maine's property tax burden, but it as "a" solution. More people need to be innovative and creative in finding ways to curb or lessen the cost of providing public services. If we do nothing, then there will be nothing to stop the tax burden from becoming greater and greater. Though I met the responsibilities given to me, and Auburn was being recognized across the state as being innovative and creative, I did not anticipate how politics might adversely influence our work. Not everything worked according to plan. I did not anticipate the political undercurrents created by people or residents who may have become angry due to budget reductions, service changes, or the city departmental reorganization. I also did not anticipate how many unauthorized people would become involved with personnel matters, which according to City Charter are matters that must go through proper channels. Public service is about responsibility, not power, and there is a responsibility of all public servants, both elected and appointed, to follow local charters, ordinances, and all other applicable laws. I recognize that I have high expectations of employees and not everyone wants to meet those expectations; however, my expectations are reflective of those who I work for and from those we provide services too. These expectations are no different than what private businesses have of its employees. Public service is a profession with high responsibility and expectation, and people respond differently to being held accountable as such. I also recognize the inefficiencies of local government and to continue doing what's always been done is to allow those inefficiencies to continue. Remember, if you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got. Ask yourself, What has the public always had? One answer might be, "inefficient and unaccountable government." Auburn has certainly had several challenges over the past three years or so, but even so, a lot has been accomplished. A lot has been accomplished by Auburn's employees under stressful working conditions resulting from organizational changes, a declining economy, rising taxpayer expectations for accountability, falling revenues, and budget reductions. Despite these challenges, Auburn has been heralded by the business community for initiating innovative and creative changes aimed to address our challenges and to improve local government. Our efforts are in alignment with publications written to improve local government, such as those either written or sponsored by organizations such as Envision Maine, GrowSmart Maine, and the Brookings Institute. Auburn has been recognized as being the "first" for many things, such as it was the first to implement the City Manager-Council form of government; the first in Maine for having a

2|Page

Managerial Note & Achievements

City of Auburn--May 2008 through October 2011 Glenn E. Aho woman city councilor; and the first to implement a comprehensive plan. The question is, "What will Auburn be first at next?" My hope is that my experience doesn't discourage others from taking a risk and trying something different. Auburn needs to continue its history of being a leader, in some fashion, so it can continue being proud of its accomplishments. There is a responsibility among public servants to serve the public and today addressing the property tax burden must be paramount. How local government conducts its business must change because if not, then taxpayers need to expect rising tax rates and being saddled with more and more debt. Below are some of the projects, progress, and achievements made by staff and I since 2008 and during my tenure. 1. Communication and Transparency Efforts--Transparency is important to empower the public Wrote Weekly Review --a weekly dialog empowering residents with governmental information Published FYI Reports to City Council Wrote Special Report 2009 Joint Services Report Produced Annual Financial Reports Prepared Monthly Managerial Reports Launched City Hall Live Project Prepared Tax Bill Letters Conducted Customer Surveys (tax office and recreation) Hosted City Manager Question and Answer Program for all non-union employees Identified need for new website to capture and track citizen information and project requests 2. Financial Improvements--necessary to improve the financial accountability to the public Reduced overtime by 21% in FY10 Reduced staff expenses, saving $850,000 in wages in salaries, annually Met the City Council's "Million Dollar" Challenge Implemented detailed, Line Item Operational Budget Implemented itemized Capital Budget for fiscal accountability Disclosure of off-budget expenditures (Parking Garage, Great Falls, Recreation Programs, Ingersoll Arena, etc)

3|Page

Managerial Note & Achievements

City of Auburn--May 2008 through October 2011 Glenn E. Aho Initiated plan to address uncollected revenues of nearly $700,000 Worked to sell tax acquired and city property amounting to over $450,000 Established TIF expenditure accountability, approval, and proper allocation of funds, previously ill-spent, ill-allocated, and unapproved Worked to initiate plan to address unallocated bond funds and to re-designate via Councilor order School department is now funding its workers compensation at nearly 100%, regardless of the $550,000 shortfall city has funded Established Generally Accepted Accounting Principles for Ingersoll Arena Reduced capital bonding to reduce long-term debt Recognized error in Ingersoll Arena fund balance 3. Community Advocacy- necessary to assist residents with their government Minot Avenue Rotary Project advocacy for local businesses Center Street Median Project advocacy for local businesses Business Visitation Program of over a dozen local businesses Cultural Display Case at Auburn Hall featuring local education, civic organizations, and local businesses Established Community Cords Program to afford funding for ineligible, but low income residents Great Falls School Committee to identify possible solutions 4. Union Negotiation Achievement-necessary to reduce overall costs Organized Intra-departmental union-negotiations between multiple departments Exchanged IAFF Quality Council for Labor Management Reclaimed managerial rights within Public Works contract 5. State-wide Representation of City's Achievements through public presentations "Embracing Challenges and Change Maine Municipal Association "Innovation in Government" Maine Municipal Association "Reinventing Government: Challenges and Possibilities," the Muskie Institute

4|Page

Managerial Note & Achievements

City of Auburn--May 2008 through October 2011 Glenn E. Aho 6. Operational Improvements Auburn Hall is now fully utilized and economized with PD and FD services at Auburn Hall, thus closing 1 Minot Avenue saving over $60,000 per year in utilities Completed Municipal Code Codification, after City had paid for project twice Established Operational & Maintenance Manual for Ingersoll Arena for proper maintenance shut down and consistent annual maintenance Established new personnel evaluation systems such that they are conducted on time, every time, and reflect the values and belief of the organization Established new behavioral job descriptions capturing expectations, standards, and attitudes Established 12-month planning and goal setting to chart progress and achievement Established intra-departmental team work under the 5P Team Management System aimed to establish accountability and standardization o Personnel-People are our greatest asset o Problems-We reward problem identification as problems are the birthplace of innovation, and residents surely don't want to be met with defensiveness when they report problems o Performance-We will establish our own performance benchmarks and work to out-perform or to establish our own best management practices o Programs and Projects-If we're to establish cost control, we need to control our costs and avoid against "governmental creep" Established corporate culture, mission statement, organizational purpose and direction as well as public commitment to public service so as to vocalize our public and personal commitment to public service; all in effort to earn the public's trust and confidence Established City-Wide Standard Operating Procedures to create consistent and predictable results 7. Technological Advancement-necessary to overcome labor reductions and to facilitate operational efficiencies Implemented Employee Software Training for Microsoft products Initiated better use of existing software (Gba, Munis) Initiated the software merger between Auburn and Lewiston through EnerGov combining 14 departments and over 70 functions

5|Page

Managerial Note & Achievements

City of Auburn--May 2008 through October 2011 Glenn E. Aho 8. Departmental Improvements-necessary to improve public accountability Public Works: Established Private Management and Accounting controls (CPA); Established Cost Control and Cost Accounting Measures; Built Succession Planning; Reunited PW with Engineering Disbanded the Community Services Department, as it had never been approved by the City Council Established cross-training of employees for one-stopshopping for customers Established Code Compliance rather than enforcement Worked on a Red Tape Rollback and accountability project Fire Department: Worked to privatize ambulance service, annually earning $100,000; worked to introduce accreditation to department; explored public safety consolidation at Grants Pass Consolidated Administration at Auburn Hall Established Cash controls and better accounting, collectables, and cash management Reduced Administration and increased Program Staff for children Establishing new web site to capture and offer new dynamic options such as Report It, Map It, and other features consistent with contemporary social media expectations Established cross-training with code and assessing personnel to meet service and peak demands as well as joint file systems Privatized low-level assessments, similar to "just in time" inventory, or in our case, service needs

Community Services: Tax Office: Code Enforcement:

Police Department: Ingersoll Arena: Recreation Department: City Management:

Planning and Code:

Assessing:

6|Page