Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Actually, you DO have access to that...

Several years of budgets, audits, annual reports, and capital plans are available on the city's website.

I recently had a casual meeting with a citizen. We were talking about the budget and city finances and he said something like, "I don't have access to the whole budget document, but..." After he finished his thought, I politely corrected him and made sure he knew that he (and everyone else) is indeed entitled to that information and has access to it. All of the city's budgets and financial audits for the last several years are easily accessible to anyone, 24 hours a day and free of charge, at http://sikeston.org/financial_and_annual_reports/index.php. #BuildingTrustThroughTransparency

Friday, September 18, 2015

Stretching Your Tax Dollars

The City saved over $25,000 by using in house expertise to complete the electrical work on two projects. 
In January/February 2014 the back shop building at the Public Works complex received severe structural damage from excessive snow and ice buildup on the roof. Nearly all of the roof trusses had structural failures ranging from small cracks to complete failures. When the damage was discovered Public Works and Public Safety staff quickly worked together to shore up the roof so it wouldn't collapse. Unfortunately, the building, which normally houses Street Division staff and equipment, was left uninhabitable. The city consulted with structural engineers and roofing contractors, then bid out a repair project that would involve removing the old roof and trusses a section at a time, replacing the trusses, then replacing a reinforced roof deck. The project would also involve extensive electrical and HVAC work and the removal and re-installation of several large overhead doors.

After receiving bids on the work, Public Works staff reassessed the project and determined that by using city staff rather than the contractor to remove and replace the electrical and HVAC equipment that was mounted on the trusses, the city could save a significant amount of money. By the end of the project, city staff had saved $11,544 off the contractor's bid even after adding brand new heating and lighting fixtures not included in the original bid.

In a separate project to rewire the city garage building, Public Works staff again reassessed the project and determined that much of the work could be completed by city staff with a commercial electrician needed for only a portion of the work. By utilizing in house expertise, the city saved $14,776 on this project. 

This is just one example of how the city takes our financial stewardship seriously. Tax money is limited, so city staff tries to make it go as far as possible. On these two projects, the city saved over $25,000 by taking a non-traditional approach to complete the work. 



Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Sikeston Proud Awards

The “Sikeston Proud Awards” are the city’s program for employee recognition. Any city employee can be nominated by any other employee – supervisor, coworker, or subordinate. Each month the city’s department heads, HR director and city manager meet to review the nominations and select several employees to recognize. For July and August 2015, the winners of the Sikeston Proud Awards are the following:

DPS Sergeant Jon Broom
Sergeant Broom was nominated for his actions during two life threatening incidents. Regarding the first incident, a supervisor said: “Recently Sergeant Broom responded to a residence in reference to an infant not breathing. Broom met the mother at the door and she took him to the infant child on the couch.  The baby was unresponsive, no pulse and not breathing.  This was most likely the result of an accidental oxygen deprivation while sleeping with other children. Officer Broom immediately began CPR and continued first aid until the ambulance crew arrived.  Broom then drove the ambulance to the hospital so the EMS crew could work on the infant and continue CPR.  A short time later the hospital informed our officers that the infant had a pulse. 

“I spoke with the mother of the baby today and she told me her daughter survived this incident, although regrettably, not without complications. The family expressed their extreme gratitude to Officer Broom for his quick action that likely saved this child’s life. Our officers are faced with many different challenges throughout their career. Few challenges are more frightening or more stressful than one involving a lifeless child. Broom took quick action in this demanding situation and his efforts saved the life of this child.  I’m very proud of him and others like him that work for our department.”

Sergeant Broom was also nominated, along with another employee, for his cool-headed response to a dangerous pursuit: “Today Sergeants Smith and Broom were involved in a shots fired call, and during this call a suspect vehicle was identified.  Sergeant Broom located the vehicle in the area of the call and attempted to stop the car, which resulted in a vehicle pursuit. During the pursuit the suspects attempted to run over Sergeant Smith.  Sergeant Smith showed great restraint by not using deadly force on these individuals.  These subjects were also observed throwing guns from the vehicle during the pursuit. The pursuit was terminated on Tanner Street at which time Sergeants Broom and Smith pinned the doors of the suspect vehicle with their patrol vehicles as the suspects were attempting to flee the area.  The end result of their efforts was the capture of all three of these dangerous individuals.”

Account Clerk Amanda Groves
Amanda’s supervisor wrote in her nomination: “While auditing receivables, Amanda noticed a discrepancy in a lessee’s account balance of $5,000. When the lessee was contacted their records indicated they were current.  Amanda provided a history of the account for the past two years to the lessee and they discovered an error from when they changed accounting programs. Payment of $5,000 has now been received by the city.”

Skilled Worker Darren Lowe
Darren is a skilled worker in our Street Department, which means he is involved in everything from street repairs, to snow plowing, to sign making. In his nomination, a supervisor said of Darren: “Darren Lowe is an employee that is deserving of recognition. He is an outstanding worker and he has been a real asset to our department by taking over the sweeper operations and the sign making machine. He just has great knowledge of what we do in the Street Department.

Street Supervisor Darren Martin
Darren was nominated for two different events; his response to a fire at the compost site, and his work on the city’s stormwater  permit. Darren spent many hours working with State inspectors reviewing the city’s policies and practices, inspecting various sites, and writing reports for the city’s stormwater permit. Regarding the fire at the compost site, a supervisor said of Darren and another employee: “Yesterday after work, Captain Jim McMillen called and alerted me to a fire that had ignited at the city compost site. I called Darren Martin, who followed up with Captain McMillen.  Darren quickly came to the scene as did Billy Smith. They worked with the DPS fire crew, and after some water had been applied, they began to use heavy equipment to cover the fire with sand. DPS was able to leave around 6:15, but Darren and Billy stayed on site at least another hour continuing to cover the fire with sand, and move it away from other areas that could ignite. I know it was their job…but they were quick to respond, and could have called other employees in to address it, but the two of them as supervisors handled it themselves. I just thought it was a great effort.”

Public Safety Officer Paula Nichols
Paula was nominated by two people in the Department of Public Safety. From the first nomination: “I would like to nominate PSO Paula Nichols.  She works very hard and has a lot of connections in our community that help Sikeston DPS with investigations.  I believe she is a valuable public safety officer and would like the City of Sikeston to be aware of this fact.”

From the second nomination: “I would like to recommend PSO Paula Nichols for the first round of employee recognition awards.  PSO Nichols has demonstrated great work ethic and an extremely high level of professionalism.  Frequently, PSO Nichols is the officer that can calm the most tense situations and takes time to console victims and family members, thereby reflecting a positive image of the department, the city, and herself.  In addition, PSO Nichols always take the time necessary to ensure she maintains the highest level of employee relationships, and often seeks out ways to assist other officers and supervisors with their daily duties.   It is an extreme honor to have such a proficient and personable officer on our shift.”

Communications Officer Angie Rodgers
Angie was nominated by a coworker in a different department who works with Angie on a regular basis and observed her work during the Santie Oil fire: “I would like to nominate Angie Rodgers. She is a DPS Communication Training Officer and has been with the city several years. In addition to being a training officer she is assigned to the Mobile Command Post which is an attachment of the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The Mobile Command Post is called out at a short notice and responds to many different events and tragedies.  There is a lot that goes on behind the scene that the communication officer does that many are unaware of and often goes unnoticed.  Angie was working the day Santie Oil Company was on fire.  Not to take anything away from the danger at the scene, but I am sure not only was Angie assisting with the major disaster by contacting the other agencies to come and assist, but she also had to handle the regular police calls as well as the 911 calls with others in emergency situations.  Her stress level was probably off the chart but I can assure you she stayed calm through the whole process.  She is truly a “hero behind the headset.”

Building Maintenance Supervisor Billy Smith
Billy was nominated for two different events; his response to a fire at the compost site, and his work on the bandstand in Legion Park. Billy was involved in the design and supervised the construction of the Keith Collins Bandstand in Legion Park. Regarding the fire at the compost site, a supervisor said of Billy and another employee: “Yesterday after work, Captain Jim McMillen called and alerted me to a fire that had ignited at the city compost site. I called Darren Martin, who followed up with Captain McMillen.  Darren quickly came to the scene as did Billy Smith. They worked with the DPS fire crew, and after some water had been applied, they began to use heavy equipment to cover the fire with sand. DPS was able to leave around 6:15, but Darren and Billy stayed on site at least another hour continuing to cover the fire with sand, and move it away from other areas that could ignite. I know it was their job…but they were quick to respond, and could have called other employees in to address it, but the two of them as supervisors handled it themselves. I just thought it was a great effort.”

DPS Sergeant Ryan Smith
Sergeant Smith was nominated for his cool-headed response to an incident in which dangerous suspects threatened his life: “Today Sergeants Smith and Broom were involved in a shots fired call, and during this call a suspect vehicle was identified.  Sergeant Broom located the vehicle in the area of the call and attempted to stop the car, which resulted in a vehicle pursuit. During the pursuit the suspects attempted to run over Sergeant Smith.  Sergeant Smith showed great restraint by not using deadly force on these individuals.  These subjects were also observed throwing guns from the vehicle during the pursuit. The pursuit was terminated on Tanner Street at which time Sergeants Broom and Smith pinned the doors of the suspect vehicle with their patrol vehicles as the suspects were attempting to flee the area.  The end result of their efforts was the capture of all three of these dangerous individuals.”