Laserfiche WebLink
of that directed towards providing better benefits for all staff in the wake of rising health insurance costs. <br />The remaining portion of the savings was used to reduce the tax levy. It should be noted that in 2007, the <br />Senior Leadership Team had six members. So methodically over time, the leadership team has been <br />reduced by 2 FTE. <br />The Galecia Group is a private consulting firm that has developed a staffing ratio for IT. According to <br />this formula, New Brighton should have five FTE in IT. New Brighton currently has two FTE in IT. <br />This ongoing understaffing results in an ongoing savings of $150,000 per year in salary alone. <br />Management and the LELS Officers Union worked together to modernize the Police Union contract by <br />eliminating the SELF Point Language in the contract. For each year of service beyond five years, each <br />officer will cost $5,000 a year less than if the SELF Point System were still in place. <br />NEW BRIGHTON – APPROACH TO SERVICES YESTERDAY and TODAY <br />New Brighton considers alternatives in providing various services and has aggressively sought non-property tax <br />revenues. New Brighton enters Joint Powers Agreements when needed or necessary, including: <br />New in 2016, New Brighton entered into a lease arrangement with the Minnesota Chiefs of Police <br />Association and Upper Midwest Community Policing Institute. These two organizations now occupy a <br />portion of the lower level of City Hall that was outdated and underutilized. These leases allowed much <br />needed updates to City Hall’s bathrooms and storage spaces. An internal loan was created to pay for the <br />improvements to the building and the loan will be paid back with the lease payments for the next 10 <br />years. <br />May 1, 2015 – The Cities of New Brighton and Saint Anthony Village, under the leadership of the <br />Department of Community Assets & Development, now have shared building inspection services. Saint <br />Anthony Village terminated their private contract and entered into an agreement with New Brighton. <br />This arrangement maximizes New Brighton’s staff time, Saint Anthony Village gets better service, and <br />costs are kept the same. New Brighton realized a gain of $81,000 in revenue in 2015, with expected <br />revenues in 2016 and 2017 at $70,000. <br />For several years, New Brighton has been a member of NJPA. NJPA is a cooperative that uses the <br />buying power of several cities and school districts to kept health insurance costs in check. <br />Public Safety has many agreements in place that assist in providing service when needed, while <br />containing costs or creating additional revenues. <br />o Public Safety has three contracts with ISD 621 to provide school resource officers in the various <br />schools throughout New Brighton. These contracts provide two-thirds of the annual costs for <br />three officers; a revenue stream of $240,000 for the City. <br />o Public Safety has joint power arrangements or contracts for Hazmat and SWAT/VCET services. <br />These arrangements spread costs for training, personal and equipment over the sharing agencies. <br />Finance Director Davitt requested that she be allowed to manage more of the Finance Software <br />Conversion project. This project will take several years to complete and will no doubt result in greater <br />economies and efficiencies regarding how staff is used. Her immediate and direct involvement reduced <br />consulting costs by over $70,000. Implementation of this new system continues and will create <br />efficiencies throughout the City. HR functions will become paperless, building inspections will be done <br />3