 DPS excels despite economic challenges Greetings! Our award-winning Department of Public Services continues to excel in serving the citizens of Wayne County, despite economic challenges. Hopefully you will find this edition of Wayne on the Road to be an informative look at how DPS is responding to various issues and challenges. The merger of DPS and the Department of Environment is an example of how government can be streamlined without losing its effectiveness. On behalf of the citizens of Wayne County, I also want to congratulate the hard-working managers and employees of DPS for their numerous awards in 2009. Your efforts are very much appreciated! Robert A. Ficano Wayne County Executive  |
Service levels maintained as county deficit eliminated
By James A. Jackson, M.P.A.Director of Wayne County DPS Another spring and summer have passed and we’re preparing our resources for the coming winter! In light of the economic impact across our country and county, to eliminate an operating deficit Wayne County was required to cut employee salaries by 10 percent, to lay off a sizeable number of county employees and to consolidate the Department of Environment into the Department of Public Services. As a result of great teamwork, ‘over-the-horizon’ planning by innovative, resourceful division heads and deputies, and a vigorous review of internal operations, the Department of Public Services will start the 2009-2010 fiscal year without any reduction in workforce in its non-general funded areas! Our Buildings Division was not as fortunate, having suffered a reduction of 18 staff members within its Housekeeping Services Section as a result of needed reductions. In maintaining our staffing within the roads, engineering and equipment divisions, the department has made every effort to improve the delivery of services in these areas, and to assure continued innovation that will lead to increased efficiency and effectiveness. We remain committed to maintaining the public trust of our residents and visitors! This past spring and summer our Roads Division completed much needed heavy maintenance on I-96, roto-milling and paving the joint lines along deteriorated portions of the highway in four lanes from Yale in Livonia to Telegraph at the Detroit / Redford border for more than 45 linear miles of 3-foot wide joint filling. They also just recently completed long overdue spot patching along the Southfield freeway from Six Mile to Eight Mile, milling and paving the exit / entrance ramps at these Mile Roads. Our Engineering Division has been very busy completing the punch lists (finishing lists) for projects such as the Sheldon Road CSX railroad project. And Parks Division just completed a fun-filled summer of events beginning with the Marshmallow Drop this past Spring at Nankin Mills, the daylighting of the Monguagon Creek at Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge Gateway Site and winding down with their ‘Jazz on the River,’ a star-studded free concert for Wayne County residents and visitors in July. This past year we were fortunate to be able to fund 13 roads projects from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), bringing our total new project count up to 27 for the fiscal year 2008-2009. What this means, however, is that the spring of 2010 will be very busy for us! The Engineering Division will have their hands full inspecting new projects and assuring design and construction specifications are being maintained as these projects are being built. With the acquisition of new computers, printers and possibly the augmentation of our existing workforce with external services, we will be capable of supporting this increased workload. Also, in this newsletter, please enjoy the announcements of the project awards received by our Parks, Engineering and Roads Divisions as they have earned prestigious local and national acclaim for their superior efforts this past year! Congratulations team! This year, as part of the County’s deficit elimination plan, the County Executive directed that the Department of Environment be consolidated into the Department of Public Services. We have written an article in this edition to provide you – our reader – with some key facts for your consumption. If you have further questions on this subject, or related matters, we have also placed a copy of the referenced report from one of the country’s highly regarded companies in this area for your reading. Please enjoy the operational and historic notes we’ve provided in this quarter’s edition! And as always, on behalf of County Executive Robert A. Ficano, myself and the DPS team - please do not hesitate to contact us whenever we can assist you! Thank you!
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DPS wins national, local awards
The Wayne County Department of Public Services received several awards in 2009.
In May, the DPS Engineering Division received the Michigan Chapter of the American Public Works Association (APWA) Project of the Year Award for the Wayne County Grosse Ile Bridge rehabilitation project. The award considered projects on structures in the $5-$10 million range. The Wayne County Grosse Ile Bridge was originally a Michigan Central Railroad rail bridge crossing the Trenton Channel. Train service peaked in the early 1900’s, but rapidly declined after Edward W. Voight’s Grosse Ile Bridge Company opened the Grosse Ile Toll Bridge on Thanksgiving Day in 1913. When the toll bridge became the most popular means of traveling to and from the island, Michigan Central Railroad ceased daily passenger service in early 1924. The Wayne County Road Commission converted the defunct rail bridge crossing into the Wayne County Bridge for use by vehicular, bike, and pedestrian traffic. In May of 2007, the Grosse Ile Bridge underwent major rehabilitation on the bridge deck. The $5.7 million project included: a new bridge deck, new sidewalk, curbing, and guardrails, extensive work on structural steel below bridge deck, painting (new pieces) and sandblasting, new parapet walls and aesthetic rails, new concrete on the swing span and approaches to bridge, and extensive electrical work. The Department of Environment, now merged with DPS, captured two honors. The National Association of Counties recognized Wayne County in the Environmental Protection and Energy Category for the county’s Comprehensive Assessment and Master Plan Project. The project was a collaborative effort of approximately 80 employees of the Department of Environment’s Facilities Management Division (FMD), the 30 customer communities served by the division, the labor unions representing FMD employees and a consulting team. Each had a stake in the process and was committed to helping FMD become the “Provider of Choice.” The year and a half long project began in 2002 and took an in-depth look at every administrative and operational element of the division’s business process and compared each component to the best in class. An implementation plan, with more than 200 recommendations, was identified to help close “the gap” between the organization and the best in class: This set the course for the next five years. During the five years, the division successfully reduced staffing by 48 percent, decreased layers of management, reduced overtime (88 percent), reduced grievances, decreased absenteeism, increased permit compliance (43 straight months of compliance), increased flexibility in the workforce and saved more than $10.2 million at the division’s Downriver Wastewater Treatment Facility, the second largest facility in the state of Michigan. The treatment plant also was the recipient of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies Peak Performance Gold Award for outstanding compliance of their National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit limits. The gold award honors treatment facilities that have achieved 100 percent compliance with their NPDES permit for a calendar year. Annually the county staff must meet 940 parameters to receive this award. The Downriver Wastewater Treatment Facility has not had a permit violation in 42 consecutive months. Meanwhile, the Wayne County Parks Division of DPS was chosen the “best playground or park” in Metro Detroit by voters on the “Go City Kids” website guide for parents. The Nankin Mills Recreation Area was the site selected.
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Departments of Public Services and Environment merge
Effective October 1, 2009, the Department of Public Services and the Department of Environment have merged. Wayne County Executive Robert A. Ficano tasked his management team to explore ways to streamline County government to better provide services to our citizens in a climate of shrinking revenues. The merger of these two departments was identified as an opportunity to reduce costs while maintaining service levels. James Jackson will continue as director of the newly merged department. Hassan Saab will continue to serve as a deputy director of DPS. Butler Benton, who previously was deputy director of DOE, will also serve as a deputy director of DPS. The new executive leadership team will continue to explore ways to improve service delivery through collaboration between the various divisions within the department. The five divisions that previously comprised DPS will remain and will constitute the Public Services Group within the new DPS. The three divisions that previously comprised DOE will remain and will constitute the Environmental Services Group of the new DPS. The three divisions from DOE are fully funded through rates and charges to the customer communities they serve. It is the commitment of the County Executive that the cost structure of these divisions will not be adversely impacted by this merger. Therefore, internal support services for all DPS divisions will continue to be provided in the same manner as before the merger. The collaborative efforts and the streamlining of executive positions will provide opportunities for cost savings within all divisions of DPS. We look forward to this merger and the opportunity to meld the best attributes of our divisions into a productive operation that can continue to maintain service levels for our citizens during these challenging economic times.
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Wayne County adjusts to continuing rise in road salt prices
Wayne County as well as other southeastern Michigan counties and cities will have additional budgeting challenges this winter due to a 30-percent increase in the cost of salt. Wayne County will improve its Snow and Ice Procedures and will make sure that snowplow operators do more plowing and less salting. This new procedure was introduced last winter and was successful in keeping Wayne County under budget last winter despite a 20-percent increase in the cost of salt and above normal snowfall. This change allowed the County to maintain adequate staffing to support year-round roads maintenance operations. Wayne County will continue to give its residents the highest level of service possible and will continue to provide snow removal services from the beginning of a storm to the end. The higher cost of salt will not change any routing priorities on MDOT roads; the Orange routes and Blue routes will remain the same as last year and Wayne County will not reduce its number of snow routes because of the increase in salt prices. Travelers can expect similar conditions to last winter with roads being plowed but snow covered until the snow has stopped falling and the last application of salt can be applied. To locate the color-coded MDOT routes and to get a description of what each code means you can go to the DPS website and click on http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdot/MDOT_LoS_map_metro_08-09_FINAL_255161_7.pdf
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Anniversary of first concrete mile celebrated on Woodward
It was 1909, a busy year in Detroit.
Ty Cobb led the Detroit Tigers to a pennant at Bennett Park, Henry Ford introduced the Model T and J.L. Hudson scouted out a site at Woodward and Farmer for his department store’s new location. It also was the year the Wayne County Road Commission introduced the world to a new kind of road: Concrete. The first highway mile of concrete in North America was laid on Woodward between McNichols and 7 Mile Road a century ago, according to local historians. In August, officials gathered near the site to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first mile of concrete highway and unveil white “M-1” highway markings on the pavement. Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano was among the leaders to attend the ceremonies hosted by the Woodward Avenue Action Association. “This is our heritage, our legacy,” Ficano told The Free Press. Around the world, “people know Detroit because we put the world on wheels, and yes, we’re being challenged on that, but for another 100 years, this is going to be a place known for transportation.” Building the 24-foot-wide highway in 1909 cost just $13,492. It was made from a mixture of concrete, cobblestone, sand and limestone.
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Preventative maintenance will reduce costs
The Equipment Division of DPS along with the Roads Division has initiated a new program to address common maintenance issues associated with the dump truck fleet. This program is designed to improve the reliability of the fleet and reduce costs associated with preventable repairs. This process improvement was developed with the assistance of Staff Development. Training was provided by the Equipment Division and included maintenance items that are in addition to required daily pre-trip safety checks. They include such things as checking wheel torque, cleaning and lubrication. The operators are expected to perform this maintenance on a monthly or daily basis as required. That information is then recorded in order to monitor the program and assist with scheduled maintenance. This program was extended to the sweeper fleet with plans to add additional equipment in the future. It is estimated that 20 percent of repairs can be avoided with routine operator preventative maintenance. For instance, if we can reduce tire replacements by 20 percent, we can expect to save a minimum of $55,000 annually. Simply maintaining proper air pressure and following replacement guidelines can accomplish this reduction. In addition, a 20-percent increase in available labor hours would allow staff to focus on normal fleet maintenance to reduce down time. We were greatly encouraged by the positive response that was received from the equipment operators. With challenging budgets, it is essential that this new program succeeds. Working together, we can improve the reliability of the fleet and service delivery for the citizens of Wayne County.
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List of construction projects
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