PARISH OF NATCHITOCHES OFFICE OF PARISH PRESIDENT

Transcription

1 PARISH OF NATCHITOCHES OFFICE OF PARISH PRESIDENT 2013 ANNUAL REPORT JANUARY 21, 2014

2 The year 2013 was a significant one for the Parish of Natchitoches. It was the first year of governance under the new Home Rule Charter form of government adopted by the voters of the Parish in As such, the Parish went through a transition in organization, policy and operations. Many changes have occurred and more will be required to get the Parish to the level of operational efficiency and service to residents that we all desire. Having completed our first year in the new government, it is appropriate that we issue this report to summarize our activities and accomplishments during This Annual Report summarizes some of the major activities and accomplishments of the Parish during It is not intended to be an exhaustive report of all such activities, but is offered as a general description of what your Parish government has done and achieved in If more information is desired, please contact our office. To assist the reader, the report is presented by Parish governmental department with attachments containing additional details. ADMINISTRATION: The Parish government is administered by the office of the Parish President who serves as the chief executive officer. The President works with the five-member Parish Council who, as the Parish legislative body, sets policy, adopts operating and capital budgets and adopts ordinances and resolutions for the benefit of the Parish. As the year began, the Parish went through a period of adjustment during which all offices began the process of learning how they are to function under the new form of government. This learning process also extended to the working relationship between the various departments and between the Parish President and the Parish Council. Although some problems were encountered along the way, especially early in the year, it is my opinion a good working relationship has been established among the parties and that all parties are attempting to work together for the betterment of the Parish. The following are a few of the administrative accomplishments during the year: Organization/Personnel Changes: a. The position of receptionist was eliminated with the duties being shared among other staff members. b. Upon the retirement of the Purchasing Agent, Ms. Catherine Hamilton, the position duties were transferred to the President s Executive Assistant, Mrs. Lynda Vance. c. Upon the retirement of the Director of Planning & Zoning, Ms. Corrine Jones, Mr. Greg Lemoine, Parish Building Inspector, assumed the position of interim Director of Planning & Zoning while continuing in his capacity as planning and zoning inspector for the Parish. d. Ms. Jameica Bernestine, Assistant Treasurer, was designated as the Parish Human Resources Manager. Ms. Bernestine has the primary responsibility for all personnel matters, including payroll and benefits, insurance, training and certifications, ethics training, safety and related matters. e. Mr. Nick Verret, Director of Public Works, who had already worked very closely with Mr. Gary Jackson, Solid Waste Superintendent, and whose office is physically adjacent to Mr. Jackson s, was assigned the responsibility for the general administration and coordination of activities within Mr. Jackson s department. 2. Parish-Municipal Relationships: One emphasis of Parish government has been the improvement in its relations with the municipalities in the parish. Although we were not able to establish a regular schedule of meetings with the parish s mayors, we continue to work with them on a one-on-one basis. A prime example has been the cooperative working relationship established between the Parish and the City of Natchitoches. Having the ability to assist each other prevents us from having to either purchase or lease expensive equipment or to retain special consultants. The end result is a faster response to service needs in both the Parish and the City and lower costs to our citizens. 3. Personnel Policy: Another point of emphasis was the adoption of a new Personnel Policy Manual to cover all aspects of Parish policies, employment conditions and benefits, and other personnel matters. Last spring we appointed an advisory commission to assist in this task. The commission chairman, Mr. Truman Maynard, vice-chairperson, Mrs. Brenda LaCour, and the entire commission spent many hours evaluating our current personnel policy manual and those in use by other parish governmental en-

3 tities. As a result of their labors, the Parish received a new manual containing their policy recommendations. An ordinance to adopt the new manual, with certain amendments incorporated by the Parish, has been introduced for consideration by the Parish Council. We anticipate that the manual will be adopted in the near future. 4. Solid Waste Collection and Disposal: The Parish also appointed a Solid Waste Advisory Commission to study our present solid waste collection and disposal system. The commission was chaired by Mr. Sherman Doolittle, with Pat Todd, Jr. serving as the vice-chairperson. It made a detailed investigation of our present system and issued a report with its recommendations to the Parish. It included alternative systems such as curbside pick-up and a continuation of our present system, with some modifications. The Parish advertised the various options for public bids and, based upon the bids received and evaluated, decided to continue with what is essentially our present system utilizing our present service provider, Progressive. The new five-year agreement will become effective on April 1, Economic Development: The Parish also appointed an Economic Development Advisory Commission to study the structure of economic development activities being conducted by various public and private entities in the Parish and to recommend an organization that would provide increased communication and cooperation among these entities so that we may maximize our economic development activities. The commission was chaired by Dr. Sue Weaver, with Ms. Shirley Small-Rougeau serving as the vice-chairperson. Following completion of this commission s excellent work, an economic development organizing committee was created to develop the specific type of joint commission whereby all parties interested in economic development could come together for the mutual benefit of the entire parish. Mr. Richard Gill is serving as chairman of this committee. 6. General Administration: The Executive Assistant has implemented a number of improvements to the general administration of the office of the President, including, but not limited to, the following: a. Instituted a color-coded filing system that identifies (1) the year that the file was opened; and (2) the project, organization or topic to which the file pertains. Also, created an electronic database for tracking all files for ease of locating the file. b. Put in place a Building Maintenance Request system to better insure that the maintenance needs of all offices within the Parish buildings are addressed and resolved. c. Coordinated and hosted the 2013 Police Jury Association of Louisiana Region IV Meeting. d. Served as an ex-officio member of the Personnel Policy Advisory Commission that drafted a new Personnel Manual as required by the Home Rule Charter, and prepared documents and updates for staff. e. Established an application process for citizens to solicit commendations, achievement awards and Proclamations. f. Researched and obtained approval to use LGAP funding on various Parish projects saving the Parish a total of $17, Objectives: There are many ways Natchitoches Parish could be improved. They include, but are not limited to, the following: a. Continue improvement in the operation of all phases of Parish government. b. Maximize our cost-effectiveness in all areas, making sure that we achieve the most we can with the resources we have available to us. c. Adopt the new Personnel Policy Manual for parish employees. d. Work with the economic development organizing committee and other parish entities in the creation of an economic development alliance to improve development efforts and cooperation and to advance job opportunities for our citizens. e. Additional improvements in the Solid Waste program, including the conversion of unmanned collection sites to manned sites. f. Obtain long-term financing of the Head Start program to Improve program planning and stability. g. Initiate the capital improvement program for parish buildings. h. Take steps to address animal control needs in the Parish. i. Make appointments/re-appointments to Parish agency boards that have members serving whose terms have expired.

4 FINANCE: The Parish operates with a fiscal year that coincides with the calendar year, i.e., from January 1 through December 31. A review of the financial condition of the Parish at the end of 2013 indicates that the Parish had a reasonably good year, given the slow economic condition of the area, state and nation. As explained in the introduction to the 2014 budget, all restricted and non-restricted funds ended the year with a positive balance. Some grant programs may end the year (calendar 2013) with a deficit depending on where they are in each grant s budget cycle. Some operate on fiscal years that are not based upon the calendar year. Even so, the Parish will not have any actual deficits for the year ending During 2013, our objective was to not only properly account for all transactions of the Parish, but to also make sure that our accounting included the proper procedures to improve financial control and accountability. A summary of the Parish financial condition at the end of 2013 is presented in Attachment A. OFFICE OF COMMUNITY SERVICES: 1. Low-Income Assistance Programs: The Office of Community Services, under the management of Ms. Sharon Harris, operates a number of programs for services that are primarily designed to benefit low-income citizens. These include the following programs: Community Service Block Grant (CSBG) Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Senior Companion Program (SCP) Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) Food for Seniors USDA Commodities A description of these programs is presented in Attachment B. 2. Head Start: The Head Start Program, under the leadership of its Executive Director, Ms. Sharon Harris, and its Director, Ms. Judie Barnum, provides early education opportunities for 309 three- to five year-old children. It operates seven centers, five in Natchitoches Parish and two in DeSoto Parish, and has an operating budget of over $2,000,000 per year. The Program faced some difficult challenges during In the spring, we were notified that we would have to implement cost reductions amounting to five percent (5%) of our annual budget as a result of the sequestration deal between the President and Congress. This was especially difficult to achieve as we were past the mid-point of the budget year. As soon as those program cuts were implemented, we had to prepare our application for federal funding for the next five years of the program. That application was submitted in August and included a budget for the first period of the proposed funding, which would finance the program through February 28, As time passed without a decision on our five-year funding application, we were asked to submit a new budget request to operate the program from March 1, 2014 through June 30, That application was submitted prior to the December 1, 2013 deadline. We are hopeful that approval of our five-year application for funding will be received soon. The Head Start 2013 summary is presented in Attachment C. PLANNING AND ZONING: 2013 was a year of transition for the department of Planning and Zoning. Due to the general slowdown in economic activity in the Parish, we experienced a significant reduction in the amount of construction undertaken. This meant that the associated fees for permits and inspections were also greatly reduced. We were able to compensate for the reduction in revenue by not immediately replacing the former director who retired during the year. That action, coupled with certain departmental transfers and the combining of certain job duties and responsibilities, allowed us to achieve a significant saving in operating costs. In addition to the savings in cost, the department was able to operate more efficiently in its service to the citizens of the

5 parish due in part by the elimination of duplication of services and providing a centralized point of service. In the course of the year, the department issued 315 development permits bringing over $12,400,000 worth of construction to the parish. In addition, the department was able to assist over 400 electric utility customers resolve connection issues. In 2014, the department of planning and zoning will strive to show continued improvement in efficiency of operation and service to the citizens of the parish. PUBLIC WORKS: This department is responsible for the construction and maintenance of all parish roads and the collection and disposal of solid waste. With nearly 1,000 parish roads having a combined length of over 800 miles, the road maintenance task is monumental on the limited budget with which we work. In addition, the physical size of the Parish and its rural nature make the parish solid waste collection and disposal program a difficult one. Still, the department functioned well in Under the leadership of Mr. Nick Verret, P.E., the department has improved its operations and procedures. The result is a more effective and cost-efficient department with improved service to many citizens. For example, the department has implemented a customer tracking system for road repair requests and a system for better tracking of expenditures, completed repairs to key bridges and has taken other steps to improve its services to the people of the Parish. For additional details, we refer the reader to Attachment D that provides a detailed report of its operations. PURCHASING: Following the retirement of Ms. Catherine Hamilton, the duties of Purchasing Agent were transferred to Mrs. Lynda Vance, Executive Assistant to the President. Since assuming this additional responsibility, Mrs. Vance has made a number of improvements to the purchasing operation, including, but not limited to, the following: 1. Financial policies and procedures have been streamlined for a more efficient accounts payable process. 2. Purchasing of all office and janitorial/cleaning supplies was centralized and is now being purchased directly through the purchasing department. 3. An inventory control system was implemented. 4. The policies and procedures for the process of requesting purchase order numbers was reviewed and new guidelines were put in place to strengthen the enforcement of the system.

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