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<P>Alice</P>
<P>Thanks for your timely response. I CC'd Town Talk so everyone could benefit from this information.</P>
<P>Bruce</P>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid">-----Original Message----- <BR>From: Alice Ewen Walker <ALICE@EWENWALKER.COM><BR>Sent: Jun 6, 2008 9:42 AM <BR>To: Bruce Wernek <BRUCE.WERNEK@MINDSPRING.COM><BR>Subject: Re: Code Enforcement etc. <BR><BR>Hi Bruce,
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<DIV>Here are some answers from what I've learned in discussion. On the trash service, the contract is not finalized, so some of this could change. I provided answers as best as I know now, but the Mayor would be the best source since he has been the lead on this proposal.</DIV>
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<DIV>Our code staff conduct all apartment inspections that the county used to do - so we inspect something just shy of 1,000 units. I don't know if Berwyn does this, or if they have the same amount of units. We also receive the revenue that the county used to receive for that function - so it covers itself. We got around 80K in the budget last year from these fees, plus another 10K for house rental fees. Next year, the apartment inspection fees will go up 25%. This covers the majority of the code enforcement expense for 2 staff people, but it also reflects how much time it takes to conduct the work. Those two inspections (apartments and house rentals) don't account for all the enforcement need in town.</DIV>
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<DIV>From what I can tell after a year of observation: </DIV>
<DIV>a.) Yes, our existing code resources could be managed and leveraged better, which is why I advocated so strongly for moving the department under the police chief, which went into effect in June. We are already seeing more output from this move and it is also resulting in stronger police/code coordination regarding Quality of Life concerns that are often linked to crime (graffiti, etc) </DIV>
<DIV>b.) We have officially had 2 enforcement officers on our books, but the second position has had high turn over and been vacant for most of the last year. We recently had a new officer start 2 months ago, which is also resulting in new output. I also hope that our new management structure will assist with retention of officers.</DIV>
<DIV>c.) To tackle graffiti, multifamily housing, illegal apartments, and a host of other problems, including regulation of commercial properties on Kenilworth, we do need to step up resources beyond the base line. We have applied for $50,000 in supplemental CDBG grant funds to focus on Kenilworth code enforcement, which I'm hopeful will be approved, but in the meantime, we are budgeting for this because the need is so dire. </DIV>
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<P>On the trash questions:</P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>1) Will there still be heavy trash pickup? </FONT></P>
<P>Yes. What is being discussed now, but is not finalized, is that there would be bulky trash pickup once a week for extremely large items like sofas, which residents typically call public works to schedule to pick up. The trash contractor will pick up many items which the town currently calls "bulky" such as chairs, fans, computer equipment in its regular trash pickup. The volume capacity of the trash contractor trucks is high - in essence, our bulky curbside service level would be increased somewhat. </P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>2) Will you still be able to take trash and recycled paper to public works on Saturday? </FONT></P>
<P>Yes. The town will be continuing this under our own supervision.</P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>3) What will become of the Town's trash trucks?</FONT> </P>
<P>Right now, we are looking at keeping them. The value of the trucks was pretty low if we sell them back, and based on that, it seems prudent to hang onto them for the near term at least. We planned to keep at least one any way for our use. </P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>4) How is the disposal of downed trees, litter, and other waste which has been traditionally been taken care of by the Town going to be handled?</FONT></P>
<P>Yard waste pickup would be once a week, under the same rules. The town PW staff would still be responsible for litter, etc.</P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>5) Will the cost of the contracted trash service be paid for by the citizens or the Town? It it's paid for by the Town, is this permanent or will it eventually be rolled over to the citizens. Years ago, when I lived in Takoma Park, I had to pay for trash removal?</FONT></P>
<P>Not sure I understand this entirely, since it is paid for by the citizens now in our taxes? There has been no discussion of having the private service bill directly to citizens if that is what you mean. The town would be the client and contract manager and the town would be in charge of ensuring that service levels keep to the standard we spec'd. Citizens would pay for it as part of your taxes as you do now.</P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>6) How will this effect the pickup of recyclables?</FONT> </P></DIV>
<DIV>It won't. That is a county function and the county will still do that. The town staff do not pick up or process recyclables now.</DIV>
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<DIV><SPAN class=Apple-style-span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">7) How many employees are currently at public works and how many will remain after the Town contracts the trash pickup? If there is a significant reduction in staff, will that include a reduction in management? (I know, I know, personel, blah blah blah. Just get me in the ball park. What the plan here?)</SPAN></DIV>
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<DIV>We would retain a staff of 7 employees + our Director of Public Works. The plan was that 5 current employees would be shed. We just had one leave, so now the number is 4 that would be shed. The terms of the contract require that the trash contractor hire any of the employees we shed, and give them the level of seniority/vesting time that they had here. The contractor pays more in salary than the town and provides an array of benefits. </DIV>
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<DIV>When we hired the new PW director, we emphasized looking for people who had strong contract management skills as well as hands on people management skills. By contracting the trash function, we save about 150K over what we would have had to pay in the coming year, and we hope to see more output on other fronts like litter pickup, since our staff will no longer be spending half their time on trash. Smaller staff, but we create more hours a week for non-trash work.</DIV>
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<DIV>8. The mayor's budget proposed a 1 cent increase, if I recall. The council just set the tax rate on Monday of this week and voted not to change the tax rate. So the rate of 64.1 cents is the same as last year. </DIV>
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<DIV>9. There is funding in the budget for economic development, which we really need to do. Honestly, we need a bigger budget. But do not assume it is for Kennedy Smith. The hope is that we can find a PT/hourly person who has some real passion for this to start pursuing leads. And, as you look at last year's budget, there are expenses that were paid out of the economic development line for the farmer's market expenses and the holiday market expenses - roughly 10-15K I would guess. So if you take 25K and deduct off 10-15 for town center events, then there is not much there other than for some marketing materials. It's pretty limited to be honest.</DIV>
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<DIV>I will forward a draft of the report - I haven't culled through it and gotten comments back to her yet to finalize, and I'm still waiting on some data/spreadsheets that I believe we are owed as part of the current agreement for which we have already paid. She turned it in a couple of weeks ago.</DIV>
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<DIV>Sorry, long email I know. But you asked a lot of questions! </DIV>
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<DIV>Thanks Bruce,</DIV>
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<DIV>Alice</DIV>
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<DIV class=gmail_quote>On Thu, Jun 5, 2008 at 8:05 PM, Bruce Wernek <<A href="mailto:bruce.wernek@mindspring.com" target=_blank>bruce.wernek@mindspring.com</A>> wrote:<BR>
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<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hi Alice</FONT> </P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>I didn't get a chance to respond to your code enforcement email until now. If I recall you intend to hire 3 people to do code enforcement. I've heard in Berwyn Heights, they have one woman working part time on code enforcement. I don't think the work load in our town is much more than in Berwyn Heights. It would be helpful if you let me know what these code enforcement officers are going to be doing, because I don't have a clue other than building permits and code violations.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>Another area of concern is the apparent desire of the Town Council to contract the trash pickup. Here's a few questions for you assuming the Town chooses this option.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2> </FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>1) Will there still be heavy trash pickup? </FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>2) Will you still be able to take trash and recycled paper to public works on Saturday? </FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>3) What will become of the Town's trash trucks?</FONT> <BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>4) How is the disposal of downed trees, litter, and other waste which has been traditionally been taken care of by the Town going to be handled?</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>5) Will the cost of the contracted trash service be paid for by the citizens or the Town? It it's paid for by the Town, is this permanent or will it eventually be rolled over to the citizens. Years ago, when I lived in Takoma Park, I had to pay for trash removal?</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>6) How will this effect the pickup of recyclables?</FONT> <BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>7) How many employees are currently at public works and how many will remain after the Town contracts the trash pickup? If there is a significant reduction in staff, will that include a reduction in management? (I know, I know, personel, blah blah blah. Just get me in the ball park. What the plan here?)</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>Lastly, if I interpreted the budget correctly in the Town Crier, it looks like our taxes are going up again. If I recall we had a tax increase last year. I guess I'm a little confused, because the Town is attempting to save money by contracting out the trash pickup, but the taxes are going up. I need a little help here. What is the justification for another increase in taxes? I also noticed there's a pretty good piece of change in there for Kennedy Smith, the economic development consultant. I wanted to see the report she generated. Is this report available and if so where can I get a copy?</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>Bear with me if I made any mistakes on my assumptions in this email. Just make the needed corrections if there are any errors. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>I apologize for hitting you with these questions all at once, but I've been procrastinating. As always, thanks for your help.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>Bruce</FONT> </P></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR><BR clear=all><BR>-- <BR>Alice Ewen Walker<BR>Councilwoman, Ward 1<BR>Town of Riverdale Park </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY><pre>
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