Transcript Document
Luzerne County
Five-Year Financial Plan Update
Town Hall Meeting
September/October 2014
Welcome
On behalf of Luzerne County, the County Manager has
applied for and been awarded a grant from the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Department of
Community & Economic Development (DCED) to
update the County’s Five Year Financial Plan, last
completed in 2009
The purpose of today’s session is to brief all County
staff on the update process, and your role in it
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Who Are We?
Public Financial Management, often referred to as PFM, is
the nation’s largest independent financial advisor to state
and local governments
PFM’s Management & Budget Consulting practice is made
up of former local and county staff, like you, who now
support governments in Pennsylvania and around the
country on issues ranging from budgeting and financial
planning to improving operations
In recent years, PFM has worked with Cumberland,
Montgomery, Columbia, and Montour counties in
Pennsylvania, as well as Montgomery County, Maryland;
Cuyahoga County, Ohio; and New Castle County, Delaware
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Selected PFM Staff for Luzerne County
Dean Kaplan, former Budget Director, City/County of Philadelphia
John Cape, former Budget Director, State of New York
Nicole Westerman, former Assistant Deputy Mayor, City/County of
Philadelphia; former chief of staff to the Budget Secretary,
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Seth Williams, former Cabinet Liaison and Deputy Director of
Management and Operations, Office of the Governor, State of
New Jersey
Eryn Santamoor, former Public Safety Director of Strategic
Initiatives and Deputy Managing Director for Performance
Management, City/County of Philadelphia
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Our Goal
Update County budget
projections for the period
from 2015 through 2019
Develop implementable
ideas to improve financial
performance, service quality
and efficiency across the
County
In other words, a checkup for
Luzerne County
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Methodology - Overview
Apply guiding principles to the work
Collegiality
Consultation
Comparison
Cost basis
Review all divisions and departments to seek opportunities for cost
savings, revenue enhancement and organizational change based
performance enhancement and improved efficiency
No restriction on source of ideas
Employees
Managers
Citizens
Best practice examples from similar governments in Pennsylvania –
especially third-class counties – and from elsewhere
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What We’ll Need From You
Your best insights and ideas
Information on your mission, staffing and resources
What should the County do that:
Needs investment for long- or short-term payoff?
Has been held up due to lack of consensus, apparent
legal or political obstacles, tradition or inertia?
Has been tried and abandoned but should be tried
again with a different approach or due to changed
circumstances?
Needs legislative or other statutory change
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Methodology - Process
Updating baseline financial model
(underway)
Town Hall meetings, week of
September 29
Meetings with Division heads and others
(in coming weeks) to understand
Current operations, staffing and
finances
Known and potential future changes
Ideas for improvement, including
those that that may require upfront
investment
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Methodology – Process, continued
Selected benchmarking with other counties/governments
Best practices
Alternative approaches
Development of options menu
Integration of options with financial model (scenario
analysis)
Written report and presentations
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Areas for Investigation
Resource reallocation/organizational structure
Productivity improvements
Shared service opportunities
Alternative service delivery
Workforce training, duties, deployment, etc.
Cost recovery
Non-tax revenue options
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Next Steps/Timing
Meetings with divisions/departments commence over
the next few weeks and continue through October
Staff can expect ongoing engagement throughout
the fall as process develops past initial meetings
Final report date to be determined
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Your Turn
Questions?
Reactions?
Comments?
Ideas?
Thank you!
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