Managerial Capacity Indicators

Transcription

1 Managerial Capacity Indicators Shadi Eskaf Senior Project Director Environmental Finance Center at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill NC DENR Public Water Supply Section: Water System Management Workshop October 25, 2012 Raleigh, NC

2 Large city Small town Rural county Regional; appointed board Subdivision, owned by Aqua Homeowners association Mobile home park Church School Contracted out operations New Association

3 Assessment Technical Capacity Development Program Managerial Financial

4 EPA Managerial Capacity Workgroup Guidance document for States Capacity Development Programs How to measure managerial capacity What to do with the assessments Indicators Examples from different states

5 Why Measure? Source: EPA (2012), Assessing Water System Managerial Capacity

6 Indicators A trend or fact indicating the state or condition or level of something Example in personal finance Indicator: my checking account balance Target: > $500 Value: $481 Assessment? Consider the context Quantitative or qualitative

7 Scoring the Indicators Yes/no Multi-point scale (1 5) Mathematical value (formula, percentage) Qualitative, open-ended Internal goals Relative benchmarks (e.g.: top quartile )

8 How Measure? Prior knowledge of system, managers Explore utility s website Ask the manager directly Survey Analyze existing data sets at DWR and other agencies/organizations

9 DATA SOURCES IN NC

10 Partial List of NC Data Sources Data Source Which Systems Water System Management Plan (WSMP) PWSS/DWR All water systems SDWIS (inc. violations) PWSS/DWR All water systems Sanitary Survey / Deficiencies PWSS/DWR All water systems Water operator certification NCWTFOCB All water systems Local Water Supply Plan (LWSP) DWR Local govs. & CWS >1,000 connections or >3,000 service population Funding applications & 108-A/108-C forms Funding agencies & LGC Audited financial statements LGC Local govs. Local govs. applying for funding (private systems can apply to DWSRF) NCLM/EFC Financial Practices & Policies Survey NCLM/EFC annual rates survey and Rates Dashboard NCLM & EFC NCLM & EFC ~50% of local govs and large non-profits Nearly all local govs and large privates

11 Water System Management Plan

12 EXAMPLES OF INDICATORS

13 Governing Body Accountability Governing body members and responsibilities are identified (documented organization chart with names & responsibilities, signed by all parties, posted online, contracts) Governing body members presence at all meetings (absences/member, % absence/meeting) Staff communicates regularly and openly with governing body (scheduled meetings/year, minutes/meeting, discussion style, communication outside of meetings, retreats, rapport) Customers can communicate with governing body (open meetings/year, public comment period at each meeting) Governing body meetings are recorded and accessible by all (meeting minutes posted online/accessible, designated note taker and public records keeper) Regularity or frequency of review of policies and finances WSMP NCLM/EFC Websites

14 Governing Body Training Governing body members attend trainings on utility management and responsibilities (% of members attended training in the past x years, % of members trained within 6 months of taking position, set a recurring travel and training budget for members, most recent training for any member) New governing body members meet with utility managers to learn about utility management and issues at their utility (% of new members meeting with utility manager within 6 months/before first general meeting) Governing body members are aware of training opportunities (membership on listservs, membership with training organizations and professional associations) WSMP; Attendance records from trainers (SOG, RWA, COGs, NCAWWA-WEA, etc.) Training Organizatio ns

15 Staff Training Similar to Governing Body Training indicators, plus Certified staff members are current in their license (and continuing education) requirements (operators, Professional Engineers, CPAs, etc.) Operators hold correct license for type of water system Set budget for trainings and travel reimbursement (or policy/incentives encouraging/requiring all staff to complete trainings each year) Membership to sources of information (e.g.: e-newsletters, journals, listservs, etc.) to be actively aware of changing regulations and best management practices NCWTFOCB ; licensing organization s NCWTFOCB WSMP

16 Planning: Water Resources Have a water resources management plan (water supply and demand projections for next 20 years, 80/90 rule compliance, date of last study or plan, documented plan for managing demand and supply when nearing capacity) Have a water shortage response plan (written document identifying steps to manage demand during times of shortage, stages linked to water supply trigger levels, communicated plan to customers prior to shortage periods, interconnection to another system for emergency supply) Emergency and disaster preparedness plan (written document listing steps to ensure/restore service during and after a disaster, contact list is complete and up-dated in past four months, operators trained on emergency procedures, redundancy of critical equipment installed or reserved, priority of customers identified) Has a source/wellhead protection plan (implementing watershed protection, date of last vulnerability assessment, documented contingency plan for contamination) LWSP DWR/LWSP PWSS PWSS

17 Planning: Asset Management Have a written O&M plan or manual for next operator Implemented an asset management program (has up-to-date asset management plan including inventory, criticality, condition, criteria and timeline of replacement, is it board-reviewed or board-approved, replacement cycle of assets, number of years in asset management plan) Have a financial plan to invest in capital infrastructure (years to next scheduled capital investment, date of last updated Capital Improvement Plan, plan identifies costs, construction years and financing mechanism for each project, is it board-reviewed or board-approved, estimated effects on water/sewer rates; is it linked to an asset management plan, number of years in plan) Funding agencies; NCLM/EFC Funding agencies; NCLM/EFC; Websites

18 Financial Management (I) Prepare annual operating and capital budgets (lists all expected revenues and expenses, comparison of previous budgets with actual revenues/expenses, budget is reviewed/approved by governing body, number of years included in the capital budget, frequency of review of budget vs. actuals mid-year) Rates review and changes (review rates at least once a year, date of last rates increase, number of rate increases in the past 5 years, using a rates model estimating expected revenues and expenses based on projected demands) Relevance of rate structure design (rate structure design does not conflict with stated priorities of the system, reviewed rate structure design within past 5 years, rate structure design does not conflict with state laws or policies) Websites; NCLM/EFC NCUC; NCLM/EFC NCLM/EFC

19 Financial Management (II) Has documented financial targets (board-approved measurable targets for reserve accounts/operating ratio/debt service coverage ratio, targets are consistent with loan/bond covenants, documented plan to achieve long-term financial goals, governing body annually reviews financial performance against the financial targets, date of last review of the target levels) Utility finances outperformed minimum targets x times in past y years (4 times in past 5 years, 3 times in past 3 years, etc. If no targets are set: operating revenues exceed operating expenses including depreciation, debt service coverage ratio exceeds 1.2, reserve accounts exceed the cost of the most expensive asset or 12.5% of annual operating expenses, etc.) Credit rating Websites; NCLM/EFC LGC; EFC Rating Agencies

20 Financial Management (III) Has dedicated reserve funds for water/sewer system (board-approved special fund specifically for water/sewer with limits or prohibitions of transfers or reallocation to other purposes) Has dedicated capital reserve funds for water/sewer system (board-approved fund specifically for capital projects for water/sewer, CIP linked to projections of capital reserve fund) NCLM/EFC Is grants the main source of funding identified for capital projects in the CIP?

21 Water System Policies Documented policies for customer billing (have documented policies regarding: new service, payment methods, late payments, disconnection/reconnection, collections; policies shared with customers; date last reviewed policies) Documented policies on customer service (cross connection control, new service and hook-ups, responding to customer complaints, notification of water quality or water service disruptions, customer education on water conservation) Documented job descriptions and roles and responsibilities Written water purchase agreement / water system partnership (see Crafting Inter-Local Water Agreements for suggested components to include in the agreements, signed by all parties) WSMP; Websites WSMP WSMP

22 Compliance MOR violations in past year Persistence of MOR, MCL, TT violations in past 3 years (number of violations or years of violations in the past 3 years) Sanitary survey deficiencies addresses promptly (completed required actions prior to deadline for significant deficiencies, had no deficiencies in and since last sanitary survey) Violations of required public notifications in past year (Consumer Confidence Reports, boil water notices, violations, etc.) SDWIS SDWIS PWSS SDWIS

23 Customer Support Customers contacted through multiple methods (bill stuffers, letters, phone calls, , website, radio/tv, public events) Customer complaints are recorded and responded to within a specified time frame (% of complaints not responded to in time, % change in customer complaints from same month in previous two years) Adoption of electronic billing and payments for customer convenience (% of customers enrolled in e-billing/bank draft) Provide assistance to low-income customers who are unable to pay their water bill (bill forgiveness, payment plans, hardship funds to pay off the bill, extension to due dates) NCLM/EFC NCLM/EFC

24 Non-Revenue Water Non-revenue water (or at least water loss) tracked monthly (last water audit conducted within past 12 months) If proportion of non-revenue water is high: has a documented and funded plan for addressing the issue(s) Conduct regular leak detection and repairs Hydrant flushing is measured All customers are metered and billed based on water use (including multifamily homes, water resellers, and institutional customers such as parks, fire, etc.) Has an active water meter replacement/repair program Has a master meter at entrance to the distribution system Funders Funders LWSP Funders

25 Acknowledgements Public Water Supply Section (Division of Water Resources, NC DENR) EPA Managerial Capacity Workgroup 26

26 Shadi Eskaf Suggestions? Feedback? Environmental Finance Center at the University of North Carolina School of Government, Knapp-Sanders Building CB #3330 Chapel Hill, NC USA