posted by Mike Madison at 5:28 PM /
Back in October, Blog-Lebo published a newsletter from Mt. Lebanon Commissioner John Daley. I wrote at the time that we would be happy to host messages from other Commissioners and members of the School Board. Raja, Commissioner-elect from Ward 5 1, asked me to post the following on his behalf:
Feedback on budget
Dear Mt. Lebanon Residents,
First of all, thank you for your encouragement and support during the Commissioner Campaign. I am excited to have your endorsement; the real work begins now and I look forward to this. I would like your feedback on some private sector ideas’ applicability to the public sector (I have already shared with the Commissioners and asked for their feedback).
The final 2008 budget has been presented to the Commission for approval. I presume that whatever cost reductions are feasible have been incorporated into the budget as presented. Just as in the private sector, this is an ideal time to optimize efficiency and performance for the coming year. How about offering a substantial bonus by the end of 2008 to any municipal employee who can come up with a substantial reduction in costs without impacting service, taxes or indebtedness? I am envisioning something like a $40K bonus for ideas that save $2M. (Remember that this $2M savings can continue beyond one year.) The bonus can be pro-rated in proportion to the savings (ex: a $2K bonus for a $100K savings).
In the private sector, an incentive like this to the appropriate employee would cause him or her to really go above and beyond (brainstorming with every employee in his or her department, thinking out of the box, eliminating redundancies, sharing resources, using technology, etc.) to make this happen. The individual most apt to know where to cut costs without impacting service is the one who is responsible for overseeing the costs & services. And, more importantly, there will be a buy-in internally within the staff.
In the private sector, this kind of approach works best after the budget has been finally approved. This way, the natural temptation to pad the budget with things that can later be removed as “cost savings” is avoided. I also think this kind of an approach can only be done every 5+ years (allowing for “status quo” buildup).
Two other areas where I would welcome your responses:
How about providing the same sort of incentive to any municipal employee who devises a way to increase revenue without raising taxes, increasing indebtedness or impacting service? However, such an incentive should be payable only after the increased revenues were received.
In the private sector, many companies set goals for their department heads to improve productivity (say 10%) and decrease costs (say 10%) without impacting service. What do you think of similar objectives for public sector department heads?
When you respond to these suggestions, please provide your name and address. I look forward to your feedback. Thanks.
Raja
Commissioner-Elect, Mt. Lebanon
[To Blog-Lebo readers/commenters: Please do Raja the courtesy of using your real name and a real email address when you post. Or, you may email comments to me and I'll forward them to Raja. Mike]
Feedback on budget
Dear Mt. Lebanon Residents,
First of all, thank you for your encouragement and support during the Commissioner Campaign. I am excited to have your endorsement; the real work begins now and I look forward to this. I would like your feedback on some private sector ideas’ applicability to the public sector (I have already shared with the Commissioners and asked for their feedback).
The final 2008 budget has been presented to the Commission for approval. I presume that whatever cost reductions are feasible have been incorporated into the budget as presented. Just as in the private sector, this is an ideal time to optimize efficiency and performance for the coming year. How about offering a substantial bonus by the end of 2008 to any municipal employee who can come up with a substantial reduction in costs without impacting service, taxes or indebtedness? I am envisioning something like a $40K bonus for ideas that save $2M. (Remember that this $2M savings can continue beyond one year.) The bonus can be pro-rated in proportion to the savings (ex: a $2K bonus for a $100K savings).
In the private sector, an incentive like this to the appropriate employee would cause him or her to really go above and beyond (brainstorming with every employee in his or her department, thinking out of the box, eliminating redundancies, sharing resources, using technology, etc.) to make this happen. The individual most apt to know where to cut costs without impacting service is the one who is responsible for overseeing the costs & services. And, more importantly, there will be a buy-in internally within the staff.
In the private sector, this kind of approach works best after the budget has been finally approved. This way, the natural temptation to pad the budget with things that can later be removed as “cost savings” is avoided. I also think this kind of an approach can only be done every 5+ years (allowing for “status quo” buildup).
Two other areas where I would welcome your responses:
How about providing the same sort of incentive to any municipal employee who devises a way to increase revenue without raising taxes, increasing indebtedness or impacting service? However, such an incentive should be payable only after the increased revenues were received.
In the private sector, many companies set goals for their department heads to improve productivity (say 10%) and decrease costs (say 10%) without impacting service. What do you think of similar objectives for public sector department heads?
When you respond to these suggestions, please provide your name and address. I look forward to your feedback. Thanks.
Raja
Commissioner-Elect, Mt. Lebanon
[To Blog-Lebo readers/commenters: Please do Raja the courtesy of using your real name and a real email address when you post. Or, you may email comments to me and I'll forward them to Raja. Mike]
Labels: budget, mt. lebanon commission
1 Comments:
Raja,
Excellent Idea. Mkes complete sense from a business perspective.
I'm curious to see how it is received.
As we are in the budgeting process ourselves in McKeesport (tonight & tomorrow), I will "steal" your idea and present it there.
Glad to see you are already at work.
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