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Local Government, the New Normal,

and Benchmarking

April 24, 2014

Ray A. ScherAssistant Director, Office of Management and Budget

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The View from Miami-Dade County

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Managing for a Diverse Community

• 2.5 million residents

• Diverse (61% Hispanic, 18% non-Hispanic White, 18% Black and 3% Other)

• Approximately 50% Foreign Born

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Managing for a Diverse Government

• Strong Mayor / 13 District County Commissioners

• Two-Tier Form of Government– 55.5% residents live in cities

(including Miami and Miami Beach)– 44.5% live in Unincorporated Area.

• Many County Services: Many Disparate Customers

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Recent Budget Picture…

$3,800

$4,000

$4,200

$4,400

$4,600

$4,800

$5,000

$5,200

FY07 FY08 FY09 FY10 FY11 FY12 FY13 FY14

Ope

ratin

g Bu

dget

(Mill

ions

)

Fiscal Year

Miami-Dade CountyOperating Budget

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Recent Workforce Picture…

20,000

22,000

24,000

26,000

28,000

30,000

32,000

FY07 FY08 FY09 FY10 FY11 FY12 FY13 FY14

Num

ber o

f Em

ploy

ees

Fiscal Year

Miami-Dade CountyBudgeted Employees

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Catalyst for Change…Last few years - considerable transition:• Employee health insurance and retirement

contributions + other pay cuts (~ 8% to 25%)• Downsizing of workforce

• Additional pressure to save $s with little or no service impact

Managing with FACTUAL DATA(and using benchmarking!)

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Examples of Miami-Dade County’s Use of Comparative Analysis (a.k.a. Benchmarking)

Example 1: Solid Waste Transfer

Example 2: Animal Services

Example 3: IT Procurement

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Example 1: Solid Waste Transfer

Challenge: Lower the cost of transporting solid waste to disposal facilities in the County

Methodology: Lean Six Sigma / DMAIC (including comparative analysis with Palm Beach)

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Example 1: Solid Waste Transfer (continued)

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Solution: Lower Tare Weights of Trucks and On Board Truck Scales for Greater Consistency

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76.8%

22.8%

-4.9%

-26.1%-18.3%

-51.2%-60%

-40%

-20%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Tractor Trailers WITH Onboard Scale Tractor Trailers WITHOUT Onboard Scale

Out

of S

pec

-In

Spe

c

Comparison of Tractor Trailerswith/without Onboard Scales

% Trips WITHIN target (77,000 - 80,000 lbs)

% Trips OVER target (>80,000 lbs)

% Trips UNDER target (<77,000 lbs)

Data from April 2013 through March 2014

(Vehicles 110421, 110507, 110509, 110513)

Example 1: Solid Waste Transfer (continued)

Results: Pilot Project showing savings of over $350k annually

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Example 2: Animal Services

Challenge: Lower the overall cost

Methodology: Plan-Do-Check-Act (including comparative analysis with other jurisdictions)

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Example 2: Animal Services (continued)

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Solution: included Comparative Research (benchmarking survey): 8 jurisdictions including 5 in Florida Obtained information about successful practices

in licensing, customer service and enforcement Also visited Broward County’s Animal Care and

Regulation Division for more detailed information about its animal licensing process

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Example 2: Animal Services (continued) Results:

5 of 8 jurisdictions outsource data entry of rabies certificate information submitted by veterinarians

Several jurisdictions don’t respond to all stray calls; only aggressive or contained animals

Evaluation of different work schedules; (3 of 8 jurisdictions use 4x10s)

Revised tag/rabies citations procedure: hybrid with grace period for compliance 13

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Example 3: IT Procurement

Challenge: Improve the process and lower the cost

Methodology: Plan-Do-Check-Act (including comparative analysis with other jurisdictions)

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Example 3: IT Procurement (continued)

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Solution: included Comparative Research (benchmarking survey):

MDC plus 5 other large counties in Florida

Obtained information regarding general IT demographics and purchasing related practices

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Example 3: IT Procurement (continued) Results:

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Table 6: IT Procurement Characteristics of Other Large Florida Counties

Florida

Counties Surveyed

IT Goals,

Policies and Standards Set by Entity Other than IT Dept.

Technical

Specifications Prepared by

User Departments

Legislation Specific to

IT Purchasing

Actively Utilizing Advance

Acquisition Planning

Utilization of

External Contracts for IT Purchases

Broward Duval Hillsborough Miami-Dade Palm Beach Pinellas

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Lessons Learned

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Comparative analysis is often a beginning or means to an end, and not the end (result) itself

When selecting benchmarking partners, consider factors/differences but best to be open minded: Large vs. Small Govt, City vs. County, Public vs. Private Sector, etc.

There are always doubters/naysayers that will not support comparative analysis

Comparative Analysis (Benchmarking) is an important and useful tool in the New Normal

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The End(Questions and Answers?)