Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
r <br /> i <br /> • 1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No ZX_A <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: October 2 , 1995 <br /> SUBJECT: Customer Service, Innovation, and Efficiency Study <br /> ----------------------------------------------------------------------- <br /> DEPARTMENT County Manager PUBLIC HEARING YES NO X <br /> -------------------------------- ------------------------------- <br /> ATTACHMENT( S) INFORMATION CONTACT <br /> Examples of Recent Innovation/ County Manager, ext 2300 <br /> Efficiency/Cost Saving Measures TELEPHONE NUMBER <br /> Customer Service Survey Benefits/ Hillsborough 732-8181 <br /> Constraints Chapel Hill 968-4501 <br /> Examples of Results from Lincoln County Mebane 227-2031 <br /> Survey Durham 688-7331 <br /> ----------------------------------------------------------------------- <br /> PURPOSE: To discuss and provide direction to staff on an approach to <br /> pursuing a study of customer service, innovation, efficiency, and cost <br /> savings in Orange County government services. <br /> BACKGROUND: At the September 5 meeting, the Board of Commissioners <br /> directed the County Manager to pursue a two-pronged effort to involve <br /> citizens in a well-defined review of opportunities in Orange County <br /> government for: additional efficiency, innovation, and cost savings <br /> improvements; and a targeted survey of citizen perspectives on Orange <br /> County customer service quality. The Board asked the Manager to <br /> consult with department heads for suggestions about the best ways for <br /> undertaking these efforts, to seek assistance from the North Carolina <br /> Institute of Government ( IOG) staff in conducting these efforts, and to <br /> bring the topic back for further Board discussion and decisions on <br /> involving citizens in the review process . <br /> The Board also indicated a desire to undertake the review of <br /> efficiency, innovation, and cost savings, and to try to complete that <br /> in the short-term. The service quality/customer service portion of the <br /> study would require more time to complete. <br /> Efficiency and Innovation Study <br /> In recent years, County departments have implemented many initiatives <br /> to reduce the cost of providing services to our citizens. A suggested <br /> focus for the citizen committee on efficiency/innovation would be to <br /> look for additional opportunities for these kinds of improvements . The <br /> budget directive to County departments for the past five years has been <br /> to submit budget requests with no increase for operations , unless those <br /> expenditures were uncontrollable ( such as the County' s match for <br /> Medicaid) . To accomplish this directive, with work load demands <br /> increasing and annual inflation increases of about three percent, <br /> departments have found numerous ways to reduce costs; to provide more <br /> efficient service; or to reallocate existing personnel and operating <br /> resources to higher priority services . Examples of some of these <br /> initiatives are listed at Attachment 1 of this abstract. <br />