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HomeMy WebLinkAbout3.D. HiPP update ROSEN4OUNT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CITY COUNCIL City Council Work Session Meeting: June 13, 2012 AGENDA ITEM: HiPP update VIDtpTION: PREPARED BY: Dwight Johnson, City Administrator AG ENDA NO. Z ,1)• ATTACHMENTS: News release; HiPP action matrix APPROVED BY: eat RECOMMENDED ACTION: Update item only BACKGROUND HiPP stands for High Performance Partnership and is a collaborative project among the Dakota County cities and the County. It began in 2003 and its objective was to consider projects that could be accomplished more effectively or efficiently by cooperation among the various area local governments. The major outcome of the initial HiPP efforts was the Dakota Communications Center near County Road 46 and Highway 3 which now provides all of our 911 communication and dispatch services. The HiPP initiative was re- initiated in 2009 with the onset of the current challenging economic cycle and on March 18, 2009 the Rosemount City Council approved a memorandum of understanding renewing the HiPP initiative. With the help of a consultant, several dozen possible new projects were considered and ultimately six of the most promising projects were selected. Committees were formed to explore each of the six project areas and initial reports have been generated from them. A matrix showing the six study areas and actions related to them is attached to this report. We have also attached a news release recently prepared by the group summarizing the history and current status of the HiPP group. The HiPP group and its committees continue to meet to help implement more proposed projects. Mayor Droste and I serve as Rosemount's representatives on the group and about a year ago I became one of the co- chairs of it when Administrator Peter Herlofsky of Farmington retired. Staff intends to briefly review the current activities and projects of the HiPP group at the meeting. Dakota County, Cities Work to Stay HiPP High Performance Partnership Aims to Enhance Service, Reduce Costs Enhanced service at a reduced cost — it's the illusive dream of every consumer. Who wouldn't want to pay a little Tess to receive just a little bit more? For Dakota County and its largest cities, that concept has begun to evolve from dream to a new "HiPP" reality. What's so HiPP about Dakota County? In 2004, local government leaders from across the County formed the Dakota County High Performance Partnership (HiPP). The idea was simple — identify areas where south -of- the -river neighboring communities could share resources, and then figure out a way to make it happen. Measuring success was key. If the results of a HiPP initiative saved the county and cities money — and provided a more efficient process for residents — it made the list. When HiPP first started in 2004, local governments throughout Dakota County were facing economic uncertainty —very similar to the uncertainty we have been facing the last several years," said Dave Osberg, Hastings City Administrator and original HiPP member. "The need to cooperate and collaborate was strong, and remains the strong today. " Over the next six years, these Dakota County 'HiPP' -sters (comprised of mayors, city council members, county board members, and city and county administrators) focused on specific areas where consolidation seemed to make the most sense. Their biggest victory came early in the process when, in 2005, the Dakota Communications Center (DCC) gained countywide approval. In 2007, the countywide 9 -1 -1 dispatch center began handling all of the county's emergency calls, eliminating the need for individual dispatch centers in each city. The result was a streamlined process that consolidated individual cities' needs for expensive head -end equipment, limited the number of radio towers needed to serve the County and saved cities an estimated $8 million in capital and operating expenses in its first five years. Even though some HiPP projects such as the DCC thrived, success was not always a guarantee. Ideas such as consolidated Human Resources departments for Dakota County cities, or jointly- purchased health care plans ultimately proved not to be cost - effective, and were projected to be very difficult to administer. "We have always stressed that looking into the possibilities of an idea and concluding that it isn't beneficial is a totally acceptable outcome," said Craig Ebeling, Burnsville City Manager and another original HiPP member. "Not every concept will be a winner." Staying HiPP into the Future Between limited resources, turnover in political leadership, and at times, a plain -old resistance to change, the work of the HiPP group was never easy. By 2010, it was apparent that a "refocus of efforts" was needed to recapture some of the clarity and momentum that existed in the partnership's earlier years. So, HiPP leaders decided to "reset" their areas of focus to represent a new set of government challenges. Through surveys of county and the city employees, resident focus groups and town hall meetings, HiPP chose six new areas of focus, and developed a new set of goals for potential shared services. They are: • E- Government Platforms — Explore opportunities for countywide shared software and technology services. • Public Safety Facilities — Continue to develop shared fire training procedures and a solution to the existing shared training facility that is in need of repairs. • Shared Technical Expertise — Determine ways in which we can share staff expertise throughout the County. Six ideas being examined further are volunteer coordination, energy /facility management, safety and OSHA compliance, grant writing, and additional shared purchasing. • Dark Fiber — Research ways for the cities' and County's dark fiber (internet) networks to provide more functionality for government operations and to serve as a potential backbone system for a countywide broadband provider. • Administrative Citations — Explore the feasibility of one local citation process with a common Administrative Law Judge. • Training Programs — Continue to develop joint training opportunities for county and city employees, specifically in the area of Human Resources. HiPP adopted these new focus areas in April 2011. Little more than a year later, some have already seen early success. In May, Dakota County will launch a new permitting system that will help standardize right -of -way permit applications and processes countywide. Once in place, a business needing to do work in the right -of -any Dakota County city will be able to access and pay for the permit in a single location. The E- Government Platforms group is also exploring an automated solution for public meeting agendas and minutes that could be used to streamline and create consistency among public meetings countywide. Burnsville will be the first city to test the proposed solution later this year, and the group has already secured discount pricing for any other cities looking to jump on board. "We are already seeing some early successes with the latest HiPP endeavors, and we are excited about the work that continues on potential projects," said Eagan Mayor Mike Maguire. "But most of all, I have been impressed by the enthusiasm and the spirit of cooperation among all of the partners. Dakota County is a special place because of the way our local leaders work together." "The hope was that the cooperative spirit shown by local government in 2004 would continue, and it did," said Osberg. "We all recognize the importance of exhibiting courageous and bold leadership and examining new methods to provide public service with our peers throughout the County." Being HiPP is Simple For Dakota County and its diverse communities — being HiPP is simple. It means cities and county working together to make things better. It means collaborating on innovative solutions to complex problems. It also means, enhancing service while reducing cost. Now that sounds like a dream come true. The Dakota County HiPP steering committee currently consists of representatives from Dakota County, Apple Valley, Burnsville, Eagan, Farmington, Hampton, Hastings, Inver Grove Heights, Lakeville, Mendota Heights, Rosemount, South St. Paul, Sunfish Lake and West St. Paul. Subcommittee Key Recommendations/Initiatives Action Plan Items When Details and Notes Administrative Courts Research laws and current examples Done Elizabeth Kautz Legislative Initiative LMC to place bill next session to allow statutory cities to assess Underway LMC hesitant to seek express authority language for statutory cities. LMC Steve Mielke penalties. does see potential for allowing penalty collection language next session. Find bill author(s) 4th Quarter 2012 Monitor progress of bill-be ready to puii if problems arise ist 2nd Qtr 2013 Testify at bill hearing as necessary lst 2nd Qtr 2013 Educational Seminar Seminar conducted on April 27 with 11 cities in attendance 1st Quarter 2012 Positive feedback. Likely ot result in additional cities considering process. Collaborative approaches to hearings Meetings with interested cities to expiore ways to collaborate 2nd Quarter 2012 Dark Fiber Countywide fiber asset inventory Countywide ROW permitting started to encourage fiber providers Done Created a list of 16 opportunities for "why" Dark Fiber should be studied Mary Hamann-Roland Resale of conduit Studying best practices nationwide for resale or lease of Underway Presentation by Dakota County Broadband Committee Tom Hedges Countywide Permitting City owned fiber Dakota County Fiber Network Mapping Research and Benchmark Other Cities Establish Best Prectices for installation of dark fiber county-wide Underway Uniform Right of Way policies Dark Fiber role in Economic Development including pricing, etc. Presentation fo Five-9 Digitai on Data Center/Co location facilities Create a County-wide map for an inventory of all dark and lit fiber Underway Create a model for all cities relative to public/private use of Dark Fiber Submit County-wide permitting for an award Establish a County-wide permitting process Consider a vision statement: "Dakota County will be the County of choice for expanded broadband opportunties for residents and businesses supported by public/private partnerships and fiber assets to encourage economic growth in job creation." E-Government Platforms Identify possible areas for collaboration Prepare and sen out an Inventory Survey Done Inventory survey induded: email providers, web page providers, off Mike Maguire Review results of Inventory Survey Done site data storage, site backup, telephone, document imaging, on-line Craig Ebeling services provided, payroll video streaming, social media, agenda Prioritize Opportunities for further research/implementation Done management, GIS, License renewals and productivity software. Prepare and Submit Final Report Done Negotiate Option for HiPP members to Buy Agenda Mgt Software Done This application was one of those recommended-BV was in process of negotiating on similar package-included a ciause to permit HiPP Members to purchase on the same terms as Burnsville. Joint Training Programs Pursue implementation of five priority Review word done by the League of Minnesota Cities Done Top five priorities for Shared Technical Expertise: Ultan Duggan areas for sharing expertise, focusing Identify 30 areas for cost savings or quality improvements Done (1) Energy Management/HVAC/Facility Management Tom Lawell on volunteer services first Refine list of 30 to the top five priorities Done (2) Volunteer Coordinator/Volunteer Services Survey cities about the top five priorities Done (3) Grant Writing Match needs and resources, prioritizing Volunteer Coordination Done (4) OSHA/Safety compliance Develop Volunteer Progrem/Determine individual city interest Partial (5)loint/Shared Purchasing Present First Draft Volunteer Program to HiPP Committee il-May Shared Technical Expertise Pursue implementation of five priority Review work done by the League of Minnesota Cities Done Top five priorities for Shared Technical Expertise: Sherrie Le areas for sharing expertise, focusing Identify 10 areas for cost savings or quality improvements Done (1) Energy Management/HVAC/Facility Management Joe Lynch on volunteer services first Refine list of 10 to the top five priorities Done (2) Volunteer Coordinator/Volunteer Services Survey cities about the top five priorities Done (3) Grant Writing Define the technical expertise that cities need or want (4) OSHA/Safety compliance Catalog the expertise the county and cities may already have (5) Joint/Shared Purchasing Match needs and resources, prioritizing Volunteer Coordination Public Safety Joint Opportunities Fire Training Facility (e.g. ABLE facility) Fire Chiefs from Farmington, Mendota Heights Inver Grove Underway Current gun renge locations: Hideaway Range (Hastings) used by WSP, George Tourville Heights are leading the effort on looking at a possible treining SSP, IGH, MH OCSO. David McKnight facility, location costs, etc. in the county. Work is still in progress 6ander Mountain used by LV and Farmington. and will be brought forward when ready. Savage Range also used by Farmington. U of M site in RM used by RM and LV. Gun Range Lakeville Police Sergeant Kornmann is leading the effort to look Underway Shared Range used by AV and Eagan. at a possible gun range in the county including cost, location, etc. Other departments have been contacted to help with this Current ABLE (Apple Valley, Burnsville, Lakeville Eagan) fire training project. Work is in progress and will be brought forward when facility is located in Burnsville and needs replacing. UPDATED May 3, 2012 ready.