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StatNet Second Annual Conference on Using Data to Manage Performance in Municipal Government Receives Big Turn-Out and Very Positive Reviews
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Attendance at Day-Long Conference Included 100 Local Officials, State Officials, Non-Profit Managers, and Academics from Five Different States
Building on last year's "Training Day," New England StatNet (StatNet) held its second annual gathering conference on using data and performance management in municipal government on Thursday, May 24, 2012 in UMass Boston's Healey Library Conference Room.
The conference was billed as "an interactive, pragmatic training on how to improve the management of your city or town by using data more strategically" and was designed to provide useful and interesting content, both for first-time attendees and performance management beginners as well as for repeat participants or long-time practitioners. This year's conference also included additional focus on department-level implementation.
The conference included participants from 17 cities and 13 towns, located in five states: Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York.
Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone opened the conference with a powerful speech detailing how the use of performance management techniques has transformed the city of Somerville. After the Mayor's keynote address and welcoming remarks from Collins Center Executive Director David Sparks and the Kennedy School's David Luberoff, the first full conference session was a simulated (and abbreviated) StatNet meeting during which municipalities discussed information they had provided about vehicle maintenance.
Much of the day was devoted to multiple break-out sessions on a wide variety of performance management-related topics. These included: "Deploying Basic Performance Management Practices for Your Workforce," "Case Studies: ProvStat's Program for Park Maintenance and Woburn's Oversight of Contracts," and "Using GPS Data in Management."
The final full session of the day, "Building Consensus on Best Practices to Transform Local Government," had attendees work together in groups to discuss some of the potential "best practices" or "promising practices" that had been discussed both during the day and during earlier StatNet meetings. Representatives of the Collins Center, the Kennedy School, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council and the Commonwealth's Executive Office for Administration and Finance also discussed what their respective organizations could do to improve the dissemination of best practices among Massachusetts' municipalities.
Attendees rated the conference very highly on the evaluation forms that all were provided, and some of the specific comments they made will be used to improve next year's conference, just as last year's feedback helped guide the planning for this year's conference.
StatNet is a network of municipal officials using data-driven performance management approaches to improve municipal operations. The group gathers three times per year for in-depth discussion of municipal governance, and works on other collaborative efforts. The Collins Center coordinates the initiative, in collaboration with Harvard's Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston and the Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research.
The next regular StatNet meeting will be held in September in Worcester. Details will be available in a future edition of the Collins Center Report. For more information about StatNet, please contact Amy Dain, StatNet Coordinator for the Collins Center, at amy.dain@umb.edu.
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Center Completes Budget and Town Meeting Assistance to Belmont and Falmouth
| The Center recently completed two projects that provided direct staff support to the appointed and elected officials of the towns of Belmont and Falmouth. In late November and early December, both communities faced a transition period with relative to several high level finance staff and needed immediate, hands-on assistance. Belmont had recently hired an interim town administrator and the Town's assistant town administrator and town accountant were also new to their positions. Falmouth was experiencing a similar situation, with a newly hired town manager and a vacant budget assistant position.
The Collins Center provided on-site, part-time, as-needed staff assistance to both communities. Center Associate Anthony Torrisi, the former finance and budget director for the town of Andover, was the Center's project manager and assisted the two towns in preparing the town meeting warrants and FY2013 budgets as well as helping guide the proposals through the respective annual town meetings. Both projects resulted in the unanimous adoption of budgets with little discord.
Among the achievements in Falmouth was the establishment of a number of special stabilization funds to provide for future capital and health insurance costs. Additionally, a Proposition 2 ½ capital exclusion was approved by town meeting but was not ultimately approved by the town's voters. Most importantly, however, the town created a new department of finance and funded the first professional finance director, steps that were unanimously supported by both the board of selectmen and finance committee. "With the retirement of several key staff members, the town of Falmouth had both a need to fill vacancies during an interim period and an opportunity to consider re-organizing our financial services departments. The Collins Center brought hands on capability, experience and knowledge of municipal finance to support our vision for strengthened financial leadership," stated Assistant Town Manager Heather Harper.
In addition to these appointment and reorganization opportunities, Town Manager Julian Suso began work in Falmouth in November. With support and technical assistance from the Center, he proposed bylaws creating the position of finance director and outlining the position's responsibilities. Both were adopted by town meeting in April 2012.
Belmont enjoyed similar success in gaining unanimous support for the upcoming fiscal year's budget among the board of selectmen, school committee and warrant committee. The respective committee chairs highlighted the improved budget process, financial detail and timeliness as the main reasons for what turned out to be a successful town meeting. Interim Town Administrator Kellie Hebert commented, "During a time of extraordinary transition, the Collins Center guided our new budget team with immeasurable technical expertise and experience. Their associate's skillful efforts and pragmatic advice gave us the momentum we needed to keep the budget process moving forward. The Center's technical guidance, practical training and confidence in our skills allowed our team, including a new town accountant, an interim town administrator and a new budget analyst, to successfully deliver a timely and balanced spending plan to our selectmen in accordance with our initial budget schedule."
As communities face turnover in many important financial and administrative positions, the Center is ready to provide experienced, hands-on staff assistance in guiding cities and towns through the budget and legislative processes.
For more information about the Center's municipal management services, please contact Deputy Director Stephen McGoldrick at stephen.mcgoldrick@umb.edu or at 617.287.4824.
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Supervisory Leadership Development Program Expands
|  Recognizing a need for expanded professional development opportunities for municipal employees, the Supervisory Leadership Development Program (SLDP) was developed by a collaborative partnership among the Collins Center, the Massachusetts Municipal Personnel Association (MMPA) and the Department of Workplace Learning and Development (WLD) at UMass Amherst. (Please see the September 2011 edition of the Collins Center Report for the program announcement). First offered to a group of 21 MMPA members in the fall of 2011, this unique professional development program was introduced initially to municipal human resources directors to provide them with first-hand knowledge of its content and approach and allow them to see how it would help employees in their own communities. Participants reported great benefits from the program, particularly in the areas of managing oneself and others, communication, dealing with conflict, and team building.
The success of the pilot led to three additional offerings of the program. Two communities who participated in the pilot subsequently contracted with the Collins Center to offer SDLP to their own municipal employees. Thirty-eight supervisory personnel from the towns of Brookline and Lexington received this training in April and May. A third regional program was offered in Northborough, with 31 municipal participants representing 20 different communities and a wide variety of town departments, including: administration, public safety, public works, library, council on aging, and parks and recreation.
Sample participant responses from the Northborough program: What did you learn from this program? "Listening skills! I never realized how much I wasn't hearing." "I learned that communication is one of the most important aspects of being a supervisor." "I particularly enjoyed all of the tips, skills, techniques that were offered and find myself pausing and thinking about my training and then proceeding." "I learned more about me which will help me as a supervisor and how my personality affects the way I supervise. It will help me to supervise more effectively." "As a relatively new supervisor, the entire curriculum of this course was very beneficial to my progress and growth as a supervisor." What did you like about the program? "Being in a learning environment with peers from other towns. " "I thought the facilitators were knowledgeable and their presentations were professional and motivating. I liked the interactive sessions and getting to meet folks from other municipalities." "The materials provided are very good and will serve as a useful reference in the future. The program was well organized." "Interactive/group activities were really helpful to illustrate an idea. The topics built upon each other as the sessions went forward." Additional comments: "I have been attending workshops for 10 years and this was by far the best." "Thank you so much for bringing this program to municipal government." "It is a great informative and educational program!!! Thank you!!!" As a result of this program, 90 municipal employees from 33 communities have experienced the benefit of targeted professional development. The next regional offering of the SLDP will be in the fall of 2012 on Cape Cod.
If you would like further information about the SLDP, please contact Sandy Blanchette, Education Program Developer at sandra.blanchette@umb.edu or 617.287.5534 for more information.
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Collins Center Hiring for Cutting-Edge Municipal Performance Management Project
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 The Collins Center seeks motivated, self-starter candidates with strong skills in data analysis for an intensive six-month project funded by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts's Community Innovation Challenge Grant Program. Those selected will be part of a team of analysts, academic experts and public managers working to improve the management of 20 Massachusetts municipalities, using data and Performance Management tools.
The program will begin in July and will run until the end of December. This is a travel-intensive project that requires significant comfort and skill with working in multiple settings simultaneously. For more information on these positions and the nature of the work involved, please click here.
For further information about these positions and the grant program, please contact Michael Ward at michael.ward@umb.edu or 617.287.4824.
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Framingham Appoints New Town Manager; Center Retained by Orange to Recruit New Town Administrator
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The Framingham Board of Selectmen has appointed Robert Halpin as Town Manager. Halpin had served in top municipal management posts in Pepperell, Westford and North Andover before working in economic development and as President of the Newton/Needham Chamber of Commerce. The Board appointed Halpin after an intensive executive search for the position carried out by the Collins Center.
The Center has been retained by the town of Orange to help recruit a new town administrator. Located in north central Massachusetts, Orange has a population of 7,839 and a $17 million annual budget. The position is posted on the websites of both the Collins Center and the Massachusetts Municipal Association.
The Center's executive recruitment team, headed by Senior Associate Richard Kobayashi, is also currently assisting the town of Longmeadow find a new town manager, the city of New Bedford hire a new chief financial officer, the city of Worcester hire a new city auditor and the town of Sherborn hire a new town administrator.
For more information about the Center's executive recruitment and interim management services, please contact Senior Associate Richard Kobayashi at richard.kobayashi@umb.edu or call 617.489.8812.
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Enhance Your Knowledge of Performance Management this Summer
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 Summer is a great time to get ahead! The beauty of online professional development is that you can do the course work at your convenience. Taking a vacation or enjoying the good weather won't be a problem. The Collins Center's online course in Performance Management is designed for working professionals and provides them with the necessary tools to take their organizations to a higher level of performance. The course starts the week of July 15, 2012 and continues through August 25, 2012. Please register by July 8th to ensure a spot.
To read the course description and to register, please go to the website.
If you have any questions, please contact Sandy Blanchette, the Center's Education Program Developer, at sandra.blanchette@umb.edu or at 617.287.5534.
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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 4 Issue 4
May/June 2012
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Collins Center in the News
Schedule of Town Manager Finalist Interviews to be Determined
thereminder.com, June 4, 2012
Braintree Chief of Staff Among Finalists for Belmont Town Administrator
Braintree Patch, May 13, 2012
Personnel: Council Eyes DPW, Town Hall Reorganization
Wicked Local Watertown, May 01, 2012
Plans Outlined to Hire New City Auditor in Worcester
Worcester Telegram & Gazette, April 25, 2012
What Was the Newburyport Charter Experience?
The Herald News, April 22, 2012 |
 | Former McCormack School Dean
Steve Crosby
on the Collins Center |
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About Ed Collins
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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