Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-21-1998 Meeting I I I ... ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING COMMITTEE ROOM - April 21, 1998 11:00 a.m. PRESENT: J.B. Powell, Chairman; Beard, Mays, Shepard, members; R. Oliver, Administrator; J. Wall, Legal Counsel; Lena Bonner, CLerk of Commission. Mr. Powell: We have some organizational charts, Mr. Oliver has provided for us. What we were looking at doing and as far as the chairman has told me is at least study the possibilities of this administrative organizational chart. What we would like to start with is to get some ideas from each of the Commissioners and the Administrator and maybe look at some problem areas that we think we have first that we may need to make some changes in and put it on the table and lets get some direction and then come up with a plan to make any changes if necessary. Mr. Oliver, do you feel like there areas that we may need to look at and do some changes as far as administration or move any of these around to better areas where they could better serve the community? Mr. Oliver: I think that's something, depending upon how the Mayor and Commission elect to procede this afternoon is obvious there maybe certain pieces within certain segments of our organization. If we do an efficiency study somebody is going to recommend to be some place else. And that may ultimately happen. I can only speak from this point in the organizational chart down, because that is the responsibility that you all have assigned me. But at this point and time, we have done certain things and I think those things permit that to function as effectively as possible. Mr. Beard: I was hoping that the committee could do some visitations to some of the departments and see how things work or get some input from the department heads and look at things and see if there is a need for change. Mr. Powell: I think that's a good idea. I know Mr. Oliver is very much on top of the ball, but maybe we can visit and make ourselves more familiar with the operation of each department and maybe come up with some areas that we may want to look at possible privatization. Not saying that to send out a red flag to anyone but there are some scenarios that we may be need to look at and maybe make some administrative changes in, maybe some of these departments could be merged to give us a little smoother operation. Mr. Shepard: Is the chart that you passed out today the one that was approved in September 1996 by the Commission? Mr. Powell: Yes, this is the organizational chart that was complied by the project manager that we hired, Mr. Carstarphen. In discussion with him he thought there were some things that we could do later on to change once we got things up and running there maybe some things that needed changing. ~... Mr. Shepard: I understand how the constitutional, judicial and elected officials fit on the right hand side, but the Clerk and the Attorney and Internal Auditor are they placed on the left hand side? I Mr. Oliver: No, they report to the Mayor and Commission. The line actually should be the Mayor and Commission. They are autonomous and they report directly to the Commission for obvious reasons. There is one change in this, Commissioner Powell so you'll know that you all approved a subsequent reorganization. There use to be a department called Central Services and Central Services was merged into Public Works to achieve merging the carpenter shop and those types of things. Mr. Powell: So that's the only change that we have made is to put that department under the Public Works department. Mr. Oliver: Administrators over as well. Previously there were three Assistant three separate functions and that has changed Mr. Powell: Basically, the one suggestion that we have is to maybe visit some departments. Mr. Beard would you rather visit the departments or have the department heads come here or just meet them at their location? Mr. Beard: Maybe it will be better to meet them at each I location so we could get an idea of their operation. Mr. Powell: Are there any other areas that we would want to look at as far as the Administrator, Assistant Administrator, courts or any of those offices. Or take them individually and not have a set course. Mr. Shepard: Maybe we should look at the possibilities of adjusting the chart to the oversight function of each committee. We may decide what we have is what we want. Mr. Mays: I think probably the input from the persons who are running the various departments at this point in terms of an overview and of getting feedback from them and maybe even from within the departments themselves opening up with out any fear of any reprimand of rank and file employees being able to make written or oral suggestions to those department heads that could be passed on to the Administrator, Mayor and Commission. Mr. Powell: I think the best way for us to do this and I', open for suggestion, is instead of looking at the whole government at one time, won't we just take the organizational chart and break it into three phases. The first phase will consist of (looking at the chart) take the left hand side of the chart down and cut a line I between Finance and Aviation and go all the way to the top and that will be phase one. The second phase, if we'll come in and just draw out and come between the Sheriff's Department and the State I I I ~ .... Court down and take the Fire Department, Corrections Institute and Neighborhood Housing and Development and the Finance, Human Resourses and GIS. The third phase could be the State Court, Superior Court, Clerk of. Court, DA, Probate, Indigent Defense, Civil Magistrate State, Purchasing and Contracting, Library and Animal Control. Mr. Shepard: I like the phase approach. I suggest we do the agencies that report to the Mayor and Commission as a group, the Clerk of Commission, Auditor, Internal Auditor, EOA, Human Relations and EMA, then do the ones that report to the Administrator. Isn't that the way it's set up now. And then this would be two in the middle and three, the judicials. Because they are basically elected directly by the people like we are, then they would be grouped together. Basically what the Administrator is saying is under him is this (chart) group in the middle that splits into three branches at the bottom. I think that would be a good sugggestion. I would like to make that into the form of a motion and do these visitations in that order. Mr. Beard: Second. Mr. Powell: It has been motioned and properly seconded that we look at the organizational structure in the series as Mr. Shepard has outlined. Phase I being the Clerk of Commission, the EMA, the County Attorney, Humas Relations, Internal Audit and Equal Opportunity Office. Phase II being the organization that reports to the Administrator, which will be pretty much all your departments. Phase III being the constitutional and elected officials departments. That's the way we will phase it out and that's the plan that we will use. It is also the intent of the subcommittee and of the chairman that appointed the subcommittee for us to go in and look at each department and bring back recommendations to the Administrative Services body. The body will review the report and at that point it will be taken to the full Commission for review. Mr. Mays: I think the review is always good periodically in terms of what we do. I think it's probably far more important to make whatever is in the structure work as opposed to making radical changes to the structure. I think we need to work wi thin what forces we have and the best way to do that is to get some suggestive ideas from the people that have to deal with those operations and if there are problems then we do the corrections at that point. Mr. Powell: Motion carries unanimously that we take this organizational chart in the prescribed phases. How are we going to set up these appointments. Are we going to leave that up to the Clerk to set those up with the Administrator? Mr. Oliver: We can set up appointments as it relates to the department based on the committee members schedule. .... Mr. Powell: At the suggestion of Mr. Mays, to seek input from department heads and employees. Maybe we can get the Clerk or the Administrator to send out a notice and lets get some input from all the people on Phase I before we go and visit. And that all forms be returned to the Clerk of Commission's office. I would like to have it confidential if we can get it sent to the committee. Because, I don't want people feeling like they can't say if there is a problem in there department. I don't feel comfortable going around the department head, but I feel like we should have open lines of communication. I Mr. Oliver: Mr. Wall, with such information coming in is that subject to the Georgia Freedom of Information Request? Mr. Wall: As I understand it, you're dealing with the role of employees within the government and in particularly the department heads. That part of it I think would be confidential because you are soliciting the honest information concerning the performance or method of operation of a particular organization including the personnel. Mr. Powell: Why don't we ask the department heads to solicit this information. Mr. Oliver: I think the department heads should be involved in the process but I don't think they should stifle any information I coming in. Because I hold them accountable for management of the department. I don't recommend anonymus information, because you'll get all kinds of unusual recommendations. If somebody won't put their name on it, it's not worth considering. After further discussion; Mr. Beard: I would like to make a motion that we do the survey that was suggested through the individuals and that it be optional that the form can either be signed or anonymous and that we meet on committee day and the time would be from 10 to 12 and that we meet on the first committee day in May. Mr. Shepard: Second. Mr. Powell: It has been motioned and properly seconded that the meeting time will be on Monday from 10 to 12 on Committee days. If the committee day falls on another day it will fall in with the committee. Motion is carried unanimously. With no further business to discuss the meeting was adjourned. Lena J. Bonner Clerk of Commission I