Visit with Collins Center Staff at 2011 MMA Annual Meeting and Trade Show
Win four hours of free consulting services in our Municipal Savings Contest!
|  The Collins Center will once again be among the more than 200 exhibitors at the Massachusetts Municipal Association's 2011 Annual Meeting and Trade Show, being held at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston this Friday and Saturday, January 22 and 23. The theme of this year's meeting, which is the largest regular gathering of Massachusetts local government officials, is, "New Challenges, Choices and Changes: Communities Lead the Way."
Collins Center experts in regionalization, charter reform, performance management, including StatNet, municipal management and finance as well as the Center's executive recruitment team will be available to answer questions and provide you with information about the many services the Center offers cities and towns.
Additionally, Center Associate Stephen P. Lisauskas, the former Executive Director of the Springfield Finance Control Board, will be the moderator of a panel on Saturday afternoon that will explore the use of performance management in several Massachusetts municipalities. Panelists include the founding directors of "Stat" programs for Springfield, Somerville and Amesbury. They are expected to discuss, among other topics, the importance of the support of municipal leaders for an effective performance management program, the use of data to drive decisions and ways to implement such a program, even in communities that may not have the ability to hire additional staff or dedicate existing staff solely to the project.
The Center is also holding a contest to generate new ideas for its growing list of municipal savings initiatives. Forms will be available at the Collins Center booth that ask for a very brief (3-4 sentences) description of some action that a municipality recently implemented that has cut costs. The forms will also serve as entries into a contest. The municipality that submits the best idea (as judged by Collins staff, of course) will receive four free hours of consulting from the Center on a municipal governance issue of the municipality's choosing and every official who participates in the contest will receive the complete list of submitted ideas.
Please stop by the Center's booth, # 706, located two aisles to the left of the main entrance to the MMA Trade Show.
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| Central Falls Receiver Issues First Report |  As reported in the September 2010 edition of this newsletter, the Collins Center has been assisting the State Receiver for the City of Central Falls, Rhode Island. Within the last month, the Receiver, retired Rhode Island Superior Court Judge Mark Pfeiffer, released his first report to the Governor entitled, In the Matter of the Receiver of Central Falls, Rhode Island.
The Receiver's report describes the City's current financial condition as well as options for the future. Many of its challenges are similar to those being faced by municipalities nationwide. In one notable example, Central Falls has failed to appropriately fund two of its three pension plans. This liability, combined with other generous benefits promised to employees, has allowed costs to grow to such an extent that they threaten the City's ability to fund basic operations. The Receiver estimates that the total liability for health and pension benefits alone exceeds $80 million; the City would be required to continue taxing its residents but provide no municipal services for nearly five years in order to fund these outstanding personnel obligations
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| Former Center Staff Members Now in Key Positions in Municipal Performance Management | The Collins Center is not only exporting savings initiatives, training and expert advice to municipalities, it is also exporting talent! Two former staff members of the Center, Michael Herbert and John Harding, now hold key positions in the performance management operations of the cities of Lowell and Somerville.
 Michael Herbert, a resident of Winthrop, is the Management Analyst for the City of Lowell, responsible for developing and implementing the City's LowellStat program. LowellStat uses real time data analysis and reporting to find efficiencies, improve accountability and increase transparency in the delivery of City services. Herbert is also responsible for managing several initiatives in the City Manager's office, including the development of Lowell's first strategic plan and transforming the City's annual budget to a performance-based format. In the nine months that Herbert has worked for the City, he has identified over $500,000 in savings efficiencies and increased municipal revenue.
 John Harding, a resident of Boston, recently joined the staff of SomerStat, the City of Somerville's performance management office. In this capacity, Harding conducts data analyses pertaining to City departments for the Mayor's office. He is responsible for reviewing the operations of the City's Departments of Public Works, Traffic and Parking, Sustainability and Environment, Personnel and Inspectional Services. SomerStat works with managers to understand the cost and level of efficiency of municipal services, focusing on financial, personnel and operational issues that arise.
Herbert and Harding occasionally see each other at StatNet meetings, which are coordinated by the Collins Center (see following article).
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| StatNet Prepares for Winter Meeting and Other Initiatives |  New England StatNet will host its winter meeting in Worcester on Friday, February 4th. The meeting's topic will be human resources and how different communities use municipal personnel data to make operational decisions.
StatNet is a network of municipalities in New England using CitiStat or other data-driven performance management approaches. The group is coordinated by the Collins Center, with additional support from the Rappaport Center at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and the Pioneer Institute. StatNet, which is currently chaired by the cities of Worcester and Lowell, gathers three times a year for in-depth discussion of municipal governance issues and also works on other collaborative efforts. Participating communities include Boston, Springfield, Somerville, Braintree, Woburn, Amesbury, Westfield and Bridgeport, Connecticut.
If you are interested in learning more about StatNet or any of its initiatives, please contact Michael Ward at (617) 287-4876 or Michael.Ward@umb.edu, or stop by the Collins Center booth at the MMA annual conference this weekend.
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The Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management
100 Morrissey Boulevard
Boston, MA 02125
Phone: (617) 287- 4824
FAX: (617) 287- 5566
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Volume 3 Issue 1
January 2011 |
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About Ed Collins
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Throughout his outstanding public career, Edward J. Collins, Jr. epitomized the spirit and goals of the Center that now bears his name. We at the Collins Center are proud to continue the work of Ed's life - helping governments work effectively and productively for the benefit of their citizens.More about Ed |
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