Elmore County Commissions Efforts to Improve County Government Continues

Elmore County Commissions Efforts to Improve County Government Continues

Bart Mercer

Over the last two years the Elmore County government has seen a 38% turnover in workforce with replacement and training costs for new employees running between 16-21% of the annual cost for those jobs. This commission realized measures had to be taken to reduce employee turnover, ensure continuity of daily operations and retain experienced personnel.  This was essential to maintain critical services and the efficiency of their delivery.

After the current County Commission took office the last part of 2016, the Commission identified the need to review operational policies and our organizational structure.  By the spring of 2017, the Commission began the task of evaluating the daily operations and organizational structure of our county departments.

There were personnel related policies that needed review including the County Personnel Job Classifications.  Some of these policies had not been reviewed or revised in more than 14 years.  The County Employee Pay Scale had not been revised in over 10 years and the County Employee Personnel Policy in 14 years.  To manage the review and revision of these policies individually, the Commission brought together a Policy Review Committee.  The committee consists of county department heads (EMA, Operations and Highway), our countywide elected officials (Sheriff, Probate Judge and Revenue Commission) and Commission representatives.  We tasked the committee to conduct a page by page review of the personnel policies, county employee job classifications and pay rates.

This Policy Review Committee evaluated 230 county employee positions with close to 100 job classifications being either rewritten or created.  The county employee pay rates have also been revised using wage comparison data from nine other counties in Alabama. The nine counties used for comparison fell into one of the following categories; Neighboring counties that compete for our workforce; Counties similar in size to Elmore; and larger counties with similar population growth as Elmore County.  The adjustments in the pay rates did not have a major impact on the general fund and did not require additional funding sources because they were attained through a combination of reducing current expenses and streamlining services.

The job classification and pay plan revisions received their final review and adjustment by the Policy Review Committee and were adopted as a part of the FY19 budget passed in September. The revised personnel policy is currently awaiting final review by the county’s legal counsel and self insurance counsel before the Commission considers it for adoption.

The personnel policy review and revision process should be completed by mid-December. During the process over 30 meetings of the Policy Review Committee took place with each resulting in additional inter-department meetings to allow for thorough review.  Upon adoption of the policy, the Commission will focus its attention over the next year to implement the necessary training and evaluations for each department to implement a merit-based reward system for county employees.

Our very common-sense approach in evaluating and revising the policies didn’t cost tens of thousands of dollars and resulted in achievable recommendations.  Often times an outside firm is hired and paid large sums of money to recommend unachievable actions.  Our process relied on the best experts, our own people.  This process will result in the best outcomes for our employees and our citizens. All of this work is part of an overall focus to improve and modernize county operations and to deliver the most efficient services to the taxpayers of Elmore County.

 

 

10-22-18 Elmore County Commission Work Session Agenda

This is the work session agenda for the Commission meeting 10-22-18.
The Elmore County Commission meets on the 2nd Floor of the Historic Elmore County Courthouse, downtown Wetumpka.

Work Session starts at 5:00 p.m. and Commission meeting soon after, normally about 6:00 p.m.

If you want to share a thought or have a question on any item please let me know.

Bart

 

Reminder: Monthly Countywide Cleanup Day is this Saturday 10-13-18

Reminder: Monthly Countywide cleanup day is this Saturday, 10-13-18

Trucks will be at the locations below from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
The pick-up sites are for residents to bring amounts of trash larger than the normal residential trash container will accommodate.

Limbs smaller than four feet and no more than six inches in diameter will be accepted but it is not designed to accept trash or clean-up debris from contractors. Items such as batteries, appliances, oils and gases, paints or thinners will not be accepted.

These are the pick-up sites for this Saturday:
Coosada Post Office
Holtville High School
Elmore County Judicial Complex
CEWSA – Redland Facility
Emerald Mountain Equestrian Center
Kent – Old Highway Department

If you have any question please contact me.
Bart

Countywide Trash Pick Up Map

Elmore County Commission Passes FY19 Budget

Elmore County Commission Passes FY19 Budget

The Elmore County Commission adopted the FY19 budget at the September 24th meeting. A copy of the budget can be found on the County Commission’s web site. This budget was created with input by our Commissioners, department heads and county wide elected officials.

This budget continues funding for additional deputies as it was put in place for the FY18 budget. These deputies were desperately needed by the Sheriff’s department. Elmore County is growing, and to keep pace with the demands placed on our Sheriff’s department, five additional deputies have recently been added. Properly funding our Sheriff’s department is one of the Commissions core missions, because having a safe community to live in is most important.  We are very fortunate to have Sheriff Franklin and his staff that run an effective and efficient operation.

Our current county wide economic development efforts were also funded. The Elmore County Economic Development Authority (ECEDA) is in the midst of many changes; one of which is the hiring of a new executive director. Elmore County’s current unemployment rate of 3.7% is one of the lowest in Alabama. Working to have good high paying jobs is always a priority. ECEDA also plays an important role in improving the quality of life for our citizens and current businesses. Increasing retail opportunities, working to solve the lack of broadband along with capitalizing on the presence of our natural resources specifically related to tourism will result in citizens realizing great benefit. I appreciate ECEDA’s Board of Directors which serves voluntarily with the goal of improving the county we live in.

Our budget also provided funding for our volunteer fire departments. The Elmore County Fire Fighters Association recently presented information to the Commission that shows our volunteer fire departments collectively save Elmore County citizens millions of dollars annually in insurance premiums, as well as saving millions of dollars of property through effective response. That is a huge positive economic impact on our county that is generally unrealized by most citizens.  These savings are, in part, a result of the current Fire Protection Classifications our county departments maintain individually and require constant investment in equipment, training and personnel.  This investment can only be sustained with proper funding. Through the Elmore County Fire Fighters Association, the county provides funding for workman’s compensation insurance that protects our firefighters if they are injured while serving you. This budget also funds a large portion of the software fire departments use to report incidents, collect data, document training and distribute required reports to maintain compliance. When you see a member of our fire service please tell them how much you appreciate them serving their community.

These listed budget items represent a small portion of the many areas this Commission is committed to providing for our business and citizens.  It strives to be a good steward of your dollars through efficiently operation of our county’s government and more effective delivery of critical services.

Bart Mercer

 

 

Monthly Countywide Cleanup Day is this Saturday 10-13-18

Monthly Countywide cleanup day is this Saturday, 10-13-18

Trucks will be at the locations below from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
The pick-up sites are for residents to bring amounts of trash larger than the normal residential trash container will accommodate.

Limbs smaller than four feet and no more than six inches in diameter will be accepted but it is not designed to accept trash or clean-up debris from contractors. Items such as batteries, appliances, oils and gases, paints or thinners will not be accepted.

These are the pick-up sites for this Saturday:
Coosada Post Office
Holtville High School
Elmore County Judicial Complex
CEWSA – Redland Facility
Emerald Mountain Equestrian Center
Kent – Old Highway Department

If you have any question please contact me.
Bart

Countywide Trash Pick Up Map

 

10-9-18 Elmore County Commission Work Session Agenda

This is the work session agenda for the Commission meeting 10-9-18.
The Elmore County Commission meets on the 2nd Floor of the Historic Elmore County Courthouse, downtown Wetumpka.

Work Session starts at 5:00 p.m. and Commission meeting soon after, normally about 6:00 p.m.

If you want to share a thought or have a question on any item please let me know.

Bart

10-9-18 WS Agenda_Page_0110-9-18 WS Agenda_Page_02

First Ever Test of the National Wireless Alert System Today at 1:18p.m. CST

FEMA will be conducting a nationwide test of the Wireless Emergency Alert System (WEA) today at 1:18 p.m. CST.

This first ever test will be in the form of a message sent to cell phones connected to participating wireless carriers. The test message will read “This is a Test of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No Action Needed.”.  This test will be considered a  “Presidential Alert” which means you will hear an alert even if your cell phone is on silent.

This WEA test will be followed by a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) over TV and Radio stations and will start at 1:20 CST. This EAS test is similar to those we have experienced in the past.

Link to the FEMA site https://www.fema.gov/news-release/2018/07/23/nationwide-test-emergency-alert-system-be-conducted-september-20-2018

Thanks,

Bart