Council to discuss hiring firms to address operations of city's Development Services Division on June 1

By Brandi Hart
McKinneyUpdate.com editor
Created at 8 p.m. on May 31, 2009

City officials and the McKinney City Council will discuss hiring firms to review the operations of the city's Development Services Division and to see how efficient the department is for residents and its customers during a council work session meeting on June 1.

The city of McKinney's Development Services Division is one of the largest departments in the city and it houses the Engineering, Planning, Building Permits, Historical Preservation, and Environmental Health departments. The meeting will be held at 10 a.m. at City Hall, 222 N. Tennessee St.

Assistant City Manager Rick Chaffin will discuss the issue with the council for about 30 minutes. The city is requesting information from qualified firms to determine the most qualified in order to conduct an operations review, which will cost up to $95,000, of the Development Services Department in order to achieve maximum productivity, efficiency and effectiveness in its delivery of services to its citizens.

At minimum, the operations review will consider business processes, staffing levels, organizational structure, technology, and type and volume of work load, according to the information included in the agenda packet. That information is available online at the city's Web site www.mckinneytexas.org, or on the council meeting CD that is available at the Hall Memorial Library for public use.

The scope of services to be performed may include, but are not limited to the following:
1. Provide review and analysis of management control practices and organization structure within the Development Services Department.
2. Identify work activities and determine work volumes within the Department and recommend appropriate levels of staffing accordingly.
3. Research and develop best practices and capacities to assist the Department to function in a dynamic and customer-oriented environment.
4. Develop business processes that complement the impending implementation of land management software and that are efficient, effective and customer-friendly.
5. Conduct 360 degree interviews with internal and external customers.
6. Develop specific performance indicators and reporting mechanisms to measure quality, quantity and efficiency/effectiveness of delivery of services.

The operations review is expected to be completed within six months of award of contract, possibly sooner. Chaffin will present the following proposed timeline to the council at the June 1 meeting:
1. The city will publish its first advertisement for firms to oversee the review on June 3.
2. The second advertisement will be published on June 10.
3. The city will request for qualifications from firms on July 10.
4. The council will approve a contract to hire a firm on Aug. 18.
5. The operations review should be completed by Feb. 26.

The city has also identified an enterprise-wide software solution for multiple purposes, one of which is a land management application, according to the agenda item information. This software solution will enable the Development Services staff to track and streamline the development applications.  As a prelude to implementing any software, the business processes will need to be mapped, according to the agenda item information.

More information about the operations review could not be obtained by city staff members by 5 p.m. on May 29.

The council will also discuss the  assignment of council liaison positions for the new council members and Mayor elect Brian Loughmiller at the June 1 meeting. The liaison assignments and interview committees will be determined at the work session on June 16, which will begin at the regular work session meeting time of 5:30 p.m.

The council will consider the recommendations to the city's boards and commissions at a special meeting in August.

As previously reported on McKinneyUpdate.com Loughmiller and Council member elect for District 1 Don Day will be swore in at a special council meeting at 8:30 a.m. on June 1 at City Hall. Council member elect for the at-large seat David Brooks has already been sworn in before the council canvassed the votes. Outgoing Council member for District 1 Gilda Garza, Mayor Pro Tem Bill Cox and Mayor Bill Whitfield will make their final remarks at the meeting. For more information, call the city at 972-547-7500.

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