Note from the Director ...

We are almost half way through our fourth year of operation here at the Collins Center.  Although it's not a specific anniversary, we are at a point in our growth when we can reflect a bit.

We have been true to our roots, focusing nearly everything we do on improving the cost efficiency and effectiveness of government.   In pushing that mission, we have adopted two "theologies" - regionalization and performance management.  In both those areas we are now recognized as an authority here in Massachusetts and, increasingly, around the region and across the country.

As we are big advocates of data driven management, here are some facts which tell our story:

• We have worked in projects involving 260 of the 351 cities and towns in the Commonwealth.

• We have grown our revenues exponentially -   not a goal in itself, but rather a clear indication of how the center is filling an important role in the public sector marketplace.

• Our biggest news is our continuing role coordinating the design and implementation of the performance management system for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  Although this system will be run by managers in each of the secretariats, responsibility for the design of the program will rest with the center, an enormous undertaking and a great tribute to our capabilities.  This is one of the most sophisticated and rigorous state performance management systems in the country and is attracting serious interest from a number of other states.

We now have significant momentum in our education and training programs with our online performance management course, our municipal management course and our municipal supervisory leadership development program as our core offerings. The center also conducted a training program for municipal fire departments in conjunction with the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy and has partnered with the Boston Fire Department, as well as other area departments, to assist in the establishment of a Center of Excellence by the Metro Boston Homeland Security Region. The center will initially focus on training the region's firefighters in the handling of hazardous materials and in the protocols for responding to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear incidents.

• From the very beginning, we've been fortunate to attract hugely talented experts and make them available to our clients.   Last month, we announced that three very accomplished new associates had joined our team: Richard Kelliher, the former town manager of Brookline, who has 40 years of experience in Massachusetts local government; Anthony Torrisi, the recently retired director of finance and budget for the town of Andover, who brings 30 years of experience to the center; and Monica Lamboy, who most recently served as executive director of the City of Somerville's Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development. She brings 20 years of senior management experience in municipalities across the country, including Oakland and Washington, D.C. The quality of these three people is a good reflection that we are fulfilling our own performance goals!


• Unlike the Red Sox, our front offices are alive and well here at the center and at the McCormack Graduate School.  Steve Crosby and I arranged a trade - Rob O'Keefe from the Dean's Office joined us as operations manager and Shaleah Rather, who helped pull this place together, moved up to the Dean's Office.  We wish Shaleah luck and offer her our thanks while we welcome Rob to our team.  Speaking of our team, as one of her first assignments, we've asked Monica Lamboy (see above) to help us organize some management systems here at the center to handle our new workload.

It's always good to be recognized by your boss (well, almost always) and in this case, the big boss, Keith Motley, the chancellor of UMass Boston.  Chancellor Motley had this to say about the center in his convocation address last month:   "In these tough fiscal times, the Collins Center at the McCormack Graduate School for Policy and Global Studies has established itself as the go-to, good-government resource across the Commonwealth, in Rhode Island, and soon across the nation...."

Finally a note about our name:  we are the Collins Center for Public Management.  To us, this word "for" embodies the concept of "service".  We were built to serve those in the public sector.  If there is something we can do for you, please don't hesitate to contact us.

                                                                                            David Sparks

Center to Assist Hartford, Connecticut in Review of HartStat Program

City Sought Center's Expertise in Performance Measurement and the CitiStat Approach

The center has been retained to assist the City of Hartford in a review of its data-driven management program known as "HartStat." HartStat is the city's CitiStat program, whose mission is to improve city performance, maximize resource utilization and increase the quality of services provided to constituents. Hartford is the capital city of Connecticut and, with a population of 124,775, the third largest city in that state and the seventh largest in New England.

The center has been retained to conduct a review of the effectiveness of various aspects of the program. Specifically, the center will analyze and evaluate presentation formats, attend several HartStat meetings and review the alignment of mayoral goals with the composition of the city's five operating HartStat groups - groups concerned with financial operations, neighborhood services, public safety, economic development and education. The center will provide written recommendations in a report upon completion of the engagement.

The Collins Center has significant expertise in performance measurement. It is the coordinator of StatNet, a network of municipalities in New England using CitiStat or other data-driven performance management approaches. The group gathers three times a year for in-depth discussion of municipal governance issues and works on other collaborative efforts.  StatNet's fall meeting this year will focus on the CitiStat process itself and will be held in Worcester on October 28.

 After working on the development of a multi-phase, multi-year roadmap for the implementation of a performance management system for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the center is now coordinating the design and implementation of that system, which is intended to be one of the most sophisticated and rigorous undertakings  of its kind in the country. The center offers an online course, Performance Management in Government and Non-Profits, quarterly and center staff make frequent presentations on the value and uses of performance management to a wide variety of audiences.

Ashby & Ashburnham Sharing Town Administrator 

Interim Arrangement Could Prove Model for Other Towns

In what is currently a unique implementation of the principle of cost-savings through shared services, two Massachusetts towns recently began sharing a town administrator. When the Ashburnham Board of Selectmen offered to "job-share" their Administrator, their counterparts in Ashby voted to move forward with the idea for a trial period of three months. This arrangement should reduce the cost of a town administrator for both communities, provide each with immediate access to the best practices and techniques of the other, and potentially set the stage for further collaboration at some point in the future.

There is precedent for this arrangement. Thirty years ago, the Commonwealth created an initiative, under the leadership of current Collins Center Senior Associate Richard Kobayashi, funding so-called "circuit riders" to simultaneously manage several towns at once. Seven circuit cider clusters were eventually formed and continued for several years. The program was most popular in the Connecticut River Valley where several of the former circuit riders are now town managers or administrators.

Douglas Briggs became the town administrator for both Ashby and Ashburnham in August. Previously, Briggs had worked solely as the town administrator for Ashburnham, while Ashby had been getting by with a vacancy in their town administrator's position since December 2009. Prior to attempting to fill that position, Ashby's Board of Selectmen retained the Collins Center to conduct an independent assessment of what the administrator's job entailed and how the position fit in with the overall organizational structure of the town. Given the cost of hiring a full-time administrator and given the lack of sufficient resources in Ashby's budget, the center recommended that the interim position be filled on a part-time basis.

Now approaching the halfway point of the trial period, the two boards of selectmen will be convening in the coming weeks to discuss how the arrangement is working and consider how it should proceed.

"Overall, it has been going well so far," said Ashby Board of Selectmen Chairman Peter McMurray.  "It has definitely required some adjustment, but it seems to be working.  The question for us now is where we go from here."Cities and towns across the Commonwealth are, like Ashby and Ashburnham, facing the simultaneous strains of declining resources and increased demands for municipal services. Briggs, who is himself a former member of the Rutland Board of Selectmen, commented to the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, that he was "...most pleased with the fact that the two towns at the Board of Selectmen levels in essence broke all the barriers to say, let's come together to look at our towns and see how to improve services and reduce costs.

The Collins Center is committed to promoting regionalization and shared municipal services among the Commonwealth's cities and towns. The center's multiple projects in this area include staffing the Regionalization Advisory Commission, chaired by Lieutenant Governor Murray, helping the State 911 Department develop regional Public Safety Answering Points, assisting the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission in the establishment of a regional inspectional services program, studying regional service delivery options on Martha's Vineyard  and working with six Quaboag Valley Communities to develop shared services and regional solutions.

For further information on any of these projects or the Center's other municipal services, please contact Deputy Director Stephen McGoldrick at stephen.mcgoldrick@umb.edu or call (617)287-4824.

Center Studies Aging Population Issues  

In Marshfield

The Collins Center, in conjunction with the McCormack Graduate School's Gerontology Institute, recently issued a report, Coming of Age in Marshfield, the result of a needs assessment commissioned by the Marshfield Council on Aging (COA). The collaboration on this project by the center and the institute combined the Collins Center's expertise in municipal issues with the Gerontology Institute's expertise in the concerns of the aging population. Like many other communities, Marshfield has seen substantial growth (58%) in their senior (those 60 years of age and older) population over the last ten years. Additionally, the sizable segment of the town's population in their "baby boomer" years (those residents who are from 45-59 years old) signals that Marshfield's population will continue to age over the coming decade. A comprehensive survey was sent to a randomly selected sample of 3,400 Marshfield residents in the two age categories defined above. The survey results, along with data from two national surveys, the American Community Survey and the U.S. Census Bureau 2010 Census, were used to identify aging trends and the specific needs of the Marshfield mature adult population.

Findings suggested that most baby boomer and senior residents have lived in Marshfield for many years, and are highly committed to remaining in Marshfield as they grow older. This phenomenon, known as "aging in place," is accompanied by significant challenges for individuals, families and communities.  Participants in the survey identified a host of financial challenges, particularly in terms of maintaining their current homes and paying property taxes, as well as finding affordable senior housing should they choose to move, and transportation challenges, should they no longer be able to drive a car. Both categories of concern reflect the respondents' strong desire to remain independent as they age.

More than 50% of baby boomers and 28% of seniors reported being in excellent health. However, 22% of baby boomers and 18% of seniors reported providing unpaid care or assistance to a disabled, ill, or elderly spouse, relative or friend. Participating in these caregiving activities while meeting other work and family responsibilities was described as difficult by many respondents.

Many of those surveyed were not familiar with the social services or transportation services provided by the Council on Aging, the Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority (GATRA) or the Town of Marshfield itself. Many participants, 57% of seniors and 84% of boomers, responded that they knew "very little" about Marshfield Senior Center programming, although they reported that they considered the activities and services currently being offered through the COA to be "very important." Therefore, the report contains recommendations that the council increase outreach and communications to the town's aging population to raise awareness of current programs, expand services related to the support of caregivers, and develop additional transportation alternatives.

Center and institute staff conducted two focus groups, one comprised of community members over age 45, and the other comprised of local town officials, clergy, an elder attorney, and non-profit managers. These focus groups confirmed the concerns of the survey respondents and identified issues related to the lack of coordination of services across agencies. The focus groups also discussed the perception that the terms "seniors" and "aging" were deterrents to participation in activities by the targeted populations.

The findings of the report were presented to the Marshfield Board of Selectmen on Monday, September 26, 2011, by principal investigators Jan Mutchler, PhD, of the Gerontology Institute and Sandy Blanchette, EdD, of the Collins Center. The full report can be found on both the Collins Center and Gerontology Institute websites. 

If you are interested in conducting a needs assessment for a municipal department or functions, please contact Stephen McGoldrick at 617.287.4824 or at stephen.mcgoldrick@umb.edu.