WINNIPEG, MB - August 9, 2012 - Committed to investing more in our crumbling infrastructure and ensuring we explore every avenue to make the most efficient and effective use of taxpayers’ funds, the City of Winnipeg is launching an operational review of the Public Works Department.
A goal of the review will be to find innovative ways to stretch limited tax dollars, while continuing to provide the quality services citizens need.
A Request for Proposals (RFP) is being issued today to invite proposals from industry experts to conduct this review.
“As Mayor, it’s my responsibility to ensure that we leave no stone unturned when looking at ways to improve our services to citizens, as well as our bottom line,” said Mayor Sam Katz. “I have asked the Public Service to commission an external review, to provide an objective opinion about what’s working well and what needs to change in order to provide the best value to taxpayers.”
The first part of the two-stage operational review will look at all aspects of the Department’s operations; for example, identifying the Department’s core and high priority services, examining customer service response times, reviewing efficiency of processes, reviewing best practices, and predicting future service needs, as a few examples.
The analysis during the operational review will focus on overall performance and productivity. The review will include interviews with key stakeholders (external and internal), field visits, assessment of the organizational culture, and evaluation of various metrics including workloads and service levels.
The second stage of the review will include benchmarking with cities of similar size.
The intended timeline for the operational review is:
- Award of contract (September)
- Review of findings from Stage 1 (October)
- Review of findings from Stage 2 (November)
- Delivery of Final Report to Steering Committee for review and forwarding of recommendations to Executive Policy Committee (December)
“This review is another major step in looking at all our operations to find efficiencies and savings,” said Councillor Scott Fielding, Chair of the Standing Policy Committee on Finance. “With over $320 million in combined operating and capital investments budgeted in 2012, we believe that savings to taxpayers can be found through a thorough, comprehensive review.”
The City of Winnipeg Public Works Department has been accredited by the American Public Works Association since November 2006, and was recently re-accredited in October 2011. This means that the Department has been examined by external peers and determined to be providing a high standard of services through application of best practices and service delivery methodologies.
The 2012 Adopted Operating Budget for Public Works is $168.9 million (not including Street Lighting). The 2012 Adopted Capital Budget for Public Works is $154.4 million. The Department employs approximately 650 full-time and 900 seasonal, part-time and student employees.