2002-03 Ketner Award winners

Each year Food Lion’s Lion founder Ralph Ketner donates $10,000 to the Association to reward innovative county employees for their successful productivity improvements. Ketner Awards are given to recognize the best productivity enhancements implemented in county government each calendar year.

Productivity enhancements improve the efficiency of county programs, services and general administration. Improvements are seen as achieving one of the following: delivering the same level of service at a less expensive cost, rendering a higher level of service at the same cost or avoiding future cost increases.

The Association has established two categories of awards: one for line staff and one for managerial staff. Line staff includes any employees not exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The awards program is in its twelfth year, with more than 1,000 applications considered, representing more than $80 million in savings to counties.

This year’s competition received 98 entries. NCACC President DuPont Davis appointed two committees of county commissioners, county managers, county staff and Institute of Government faculty to review and evaluate each productivity suggestion in June. Each committee selected the five most outstanding improvements in their category, and the winning employees or team of employees will each receive $1,000.

This year’s winners are Alvin Cagle, Wayne Church, Rett Davis and Gary Justice, Alamance County; Debbie Hinkle and Eileen Sously, Cabarrus County; Debbie Bradley, Betty Coutler, Kim Hentschel, Sarah Lawson, Coy Reid and Nancy Rockett, Catawba County; Mary Anne Lane, Patty Blanchard, Amarilis Bueno, Cindy Carlton, Ruth Cooper, Dorinda Dew, Cindy Edge, Teresa Faison, Sonya Henderson, Lena Hernandez, Sandra Powell, Maria Romero, Sharon Smith and Eileen Whitfield, Duplin County; Brenda Allen and Avis Murphey, Hertford County; Kim Angel, Macon County; Trena Ballard, Kimberly Roane and Eileen Redolphy, New Hanover County; Kathryn Bujalski, New Hanover County; Thomas Wassack, Randolph County; Susan Campen, Marcus Kinrade, Crystal Langston, Sharon Wilkes and Emmett Curl, Wake County.

The awards were presented Aug. 15 at the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners’ Annual Conference. Each award winning improvement is highlighted below.

Alamance County
Revenue Enhancement and Forestry Management

Alvin Cagle, Wayne Church, Rett Davis and Gary Justice

Alamance County purchased 400 acres of land and opened a modern county-wide landfill in 1994. The land was reforested to loblolly pines prior to county ownership. Approximately 150 acres is currently being used for land filling. The problem is that the remaining forested acreage was left alone and unattended. There were no activities or plans developed for these trees.

On surrounding privately owned properties, loblolly pine management was a source of additional income for private landowners and farmers due to good forestry markets. As a result, the county agreed to embark on a management strategy that would immediately enhance revenue for the landfill and insure much greater revenues over the next 25 years.

The former owner of Alamance County’s property planted nearly 600-700 trees per acre at the beginning of the reforestation project, but failed to thin the trees to maintain the productivity of the forest. Thinning is necessary to decrease insect problems and to allow the trees to grow and mature properly. Thinnings yield pulpwood and saw timber, and the potential for income is greatly increased if thinning occurs at the proper time (Thinning is recommended at ages from 18-20 and again at 26-30).

Alamance County recognized the importance of thinning and appropriately thinned 60 acres of the landfill in spring, 2003. The county’s ability to recognize thinning as a viable revenue source allowed the county to capitalize financially. The county used available personnel in the County Extension office, Purchasing Department and landfill to develop a management plan and strategy to implement and supervise the process. The collaboration helped the county avoid hiring a consultant and saved approximately $10,000. The costs associated with consultants are usually 10 percent of the net sales of timber and the projected income for the entire thinning is expected to exceed $100,000 in 2003.

Cabarrus County
On-line Office Supply Swap Shop

Debbie Hinkle and Eileen Sousley

Following a waste assessment of each department, Cabarrus County employees noticed that some departments had a surplus of commonly used office supplies such as rubber bands, paper clips and envelopes, while other departments were ordering more of these supplies on a very regular basis.

It began with occasional e-mails from the Solid Waste Department to let employees know of additional surplus items but it soon became apparent that a more interactive and readily accessible system would be necessary. Debbie Henkle fashioned the database after her annual database for a Christmas charity collection.

The setup of the Intranet swap shop was done by Henkle and Eileen Sousley. Sousley compiled the list, took photos and advertised the database. Henkle created the database and set up on-line access. Departments can now readily post their surplus items, allowing departments needing these items to quickly secure them.

Furniture swapping is also available. Large items claimed through the swap shop are moved to the new location by staff. Prior to the swap shop, surplus furniture would be stored and sold at auction to county residents. Now, departments can swap furniture items in lieu of new purchases, saving on purchase, moving and storage costs. As a result of the swap shop, items can be moved a shorter distance and don’t need to be stored. Each fall surplus office furniture and equipment from the storage space is sold at auction to county residents.

The swap shop has allowed several departments to save money on replenishing some of their office supplies or purchasing new furniture and equipment, and has enabled other departments and employees to obtain useful furniture and equipment where budgets prevented them from otherwise purchasing the items.

Catawba County
Employee Health Clinic

Debbie Bradley, Betty Coutler, Kim Hentschel, Sarah Lawson, Coy Reid and Nancy Rockett

Catawba County’s Employee Health Clinic (EHC) opened in October 2002. The clinic’s mission was to enhance and promote employee wellness while reducing health insurance and worker’s compensation costs. By providing onsite care for routine illnesses and injuries, the county could reduce sick leave usage, provide onsite care for routine illnesses and injuries, and offer in-house pre-employment medical screenings and drug testing.

Prevention and preventive care are critical elements of the clinic. The program is not intended to take the place of the employee’s primary physician. The program is offered in cooperation with Catawba Valley Medical Center through a contract that insures confidentiality and the full backing and support of hospital resources for services and training.

The results are many cost savings. The clinic sees an average of 112 people per month. The county translates that figure into 112 saved hours of travel and wait time. At an average salary of $20.53 an hour, 112 hours of savings in travel and wait time equates to $2,299.36 per month. For a full year, this would equal $27,592.32 in savings for travel and wait time.

Furthermore, when employees are working on the job instead of sitting in a doctor’s office, they are going to be more productive.

Not only does the clinic demonstrate hard savings, it also provides a higher level of health-care service at a much more convenient location for county employees.

It’s probably saving lives as well — clinic staff sent one employee experiencing heart pains immediately to the hospital, where he quickly underwent life-saving surgery. And, since the clinic focuses on wellness — a key factor in minimizing health costs —more employees are taking advantage of screenings, weight maintenance and physical fitness.

The clinic also saves about $56,682 per year in medical services and $1,920 per year in worker’s compensation costs. Catawba County projects that at the end of the first full year an annualized cost savings will be about $86,194.32.

Duplin County
Open Access Scheduling

Mary Anne Lane, Patty Blanchard, Amarilis Bueno, Cindy Carlton, Ruth Cooper, Dorinda Dew, Cindy Edge, Teresa Faison, Sonya Henderson, Lena Hernandez, Sandra Powell, Maria Romero, Sharon Smith and Eileen Whitfield

Duplin County’s health department clinic had major scheduling problems. They only offered certain clinical services on certain days. As a result the clinic had excessive down time on some days and was overrun with patients on others.

The Health department staff put their collective heads together and decided to create a policy known as Open Access Scheduling to combat this issue. Clinic staff began providing all services every day, and incoming patients were divided evenly between the three staff nurses. They also began offering a general clinic for quick turn- around services like flu shots. The clinic now provides all services, with the exception of sonograms and coloscopies, every day. Duplin’s Open Access goal is to be able to provide same-day appointments with maximum quality and minimum wait time.

As a result of the Open Access Scheduling, Duplin’s revenues reached an all-time high of $1.5 million in 2001-2002 as compared to $967,205 in 2000-2001. Their weekly patient census counts climbed to 290 patients per week, showing a 29 percent increase, and the patient waiting lists have disappeared. They are now able to accommodate same-day appointments, and their patient wait times have dropped by 21 percent. The clinic is now providing more services for clients and the county appropriation is a smaller percentage of the budget than in previous years.

Hertford County
Client Financial Database

Brenda Allen and Avis Murphey

The Hertford County Department of Social Services was having problems maintaining their paper files, leading to possible data errors and service duplication. Staff spent too much time locating paper files, slowing application and disposition processing.

Brenda Allen and Avis Murphey decided to correct the problem by creating a database that contains information on all clients that have received financial assistance for supportive services. The database contains the client’s name, social security number, date of application, denial or approval of application, the amount of assistance if approved, and the fund source from which the assistance was granted.

The database is updated and maintained daily as clients come into the agency requesting assistance. The development of the central database allowed employees to quickly access information on what particular assistance has been provided to clients in each of the programs (Work First Program, 200 % of Poverty, Employment Services Client Assistance, Work First Transportation and Domestic Violence).

It also allowed the supervisors to cross-reference assistance that may have been granted from the various programs without having to search the paper files.

The database has saved employees valuable research time and contributes to a smoother and quicker application process. Easy access to electronic client data also lowers errors and minimizes service duplication.

Macon County
Cross County Transit Website

Kim Angel

Macon County’s Kim Angel made county transportation in the state a lot simpler. Kim collaborated with the NC Department of Transportation to develop a Website that can be used by all transit systems in North Carolina to coordinate non-emergency medical transportation trips provided to out-of-county destinations.

The Website designates when and where county vehicles are going and can coordinate transportation services with providers that are traveling to similar destinations. Prior to the development of the Website, transit systems had to make several calls to coordinate out-of-county service, or would provide the expensive trips themselves.

Providing out of county transportation can be expensive to the transit system and to the agencies they serve. Services such as Medicaid have realized major cost savings because of the Website’s implementation. According to a study done by the University of North Carolina at Asheville, a five-county area in western North Carolina saved $68,399 in state transportation dollars by coordinating out-of-county transportation. The study also found that $246,238 could have been realized had greater coordination between more transit systems occurred.

Coordinating transportation services allows cost-savings to human services agencies because more passengers per vehicle allows for a lower cost per passenger to the agency, with fewer trips made.

New Hanover County
Medical Records Barcoding

Trena Ballard, Kimberly Roane and Eileen Redolphy

New Hanover County’s old health records and filing system often resulted in misfiled, lost or duplicate records, wasting valuable staff time better spent on client services. To improve patient information management, three New Hanover County employees — Trena Ballard, Kimberly Roane and Eileen Redolphy — centralized, bar-coded and incorporated more than 20,000 patient medical records into a computerized file tracking system using current technology to replace manual systems.

As of Sept. 30, 2002, the new system makes patient record locations accessible by hundreds of staff in five different divisions via an on-screen view of specific record location and history.

The chart filing method was changed from an old hybrid alpha/date system to a very state-of-the-art, user-friendly, terminal digit filing methodology. The old filing methodology and manual tracking caused frequent misfiled records, lost records and wasted staff time.

As a direct result of the new tracking system, the medical records staff in the medical records program was reduced from three full-time clerks and one part-time aide to two full-time equivalent positions. The eliminated positions saved the county $76,000. With these annual savings, the county will recoup the system’s $110,000 cost and will pay for itself in less than two years. Additionally, program staff has been able to increase client time spent, which generates greater revenues. Some volunteers have been redirected to other programs. Department record-handling procedures now satisfy HIPAA requirements, avoiding potential fines and penalty payments.

New Hanover County
Overdue Book Management by Telephone

Kathryn Bujalski

New Hanover County’s employees were using valuable time printing and mailing overdue book notices to delinquent borrowers. Kathryn Bujalski utilized the voice PhoneTree voice messaging technology and reduced staff time for producing notifications significantly.

The library is now able to initiate overdue notices prior to the billing cycles. The electronic delinquent notification is timelier, more frequent, and the return rate has improved.

The county has saved nearly $11,000 in direct and indirect costs by not having to mail overdue notices. These savings recouped the system’s initial implementation cost within two months. The administrative support technician is now able to spend additional time pursuing severely delinquent items with the county attorney’s assistance.

Randolph County
Mobile Mugshot System

Thomas Wassack

Randolph County’s Thomas Wassack created the Mobile Mugshot System to give law enforcement officers the ability to search for and display name and mug shot information while performing their day-to-day duties. While the mug shot and ID data used were already available in county computers, there was no access to the data information by officers out in the field. Officers were often unable to identify suspects during traffic stops and could not serve warrants.

The Mobile Mugshot System allows officers in the field to perform queries of the Randolph County law enforcement records management database by using a mobile data terminal (MDT) or laptop. The mug shot and identification information are loaded locally in the patrol car’s laptop, so even those officers without data connectivity can use the system.

Cost savings include providing Mugshot’s hot inquiry capabilities free of charge to all law enforcement agency agencies in Randolph County. The agencies include the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office, Asheboro Police Department, Archdale Police Department, Liberty Police Department, Ramseur Police Department, Randleman Police Department and Seagrove Police Department. By providing the Mobile Mugshot System to all agencies, the efficiency of the officers has increased, therefore a higher level of service is provided to all citizens of Randolph County.

It is estimated that an officer in the field, using the Mobile Mugshot System, can perform a query and return the results in less than 10 seconds. The officer without the system has to radio 911 or the agency office for verification of the person’s characteristics and mug shot. Either choice would require a minimum of 15 minutes of the officer’s time.

If every Mobile Mugshot System device performed five queries each day versus an officer not using the system, the expected savings could be more than 62 man-hours per day, which equates to more than 22,630 man-hours per year for the field officers. Additional savings can be realized because the officer is not occupying dispatcher or agency office personnel looking up mug shot information.

Based upon average salaries of the county’s 911 dispatchers and law enforcement officers, the system saves a minimum of 45,260 man-hours or $592,000 annually across all the agencies — freed up time that can now be used to provide additional public safety services to the county’s citizens.

Wake County
On-line Business Listing

Susan Campen, Marcus Kinrade, Crystal Langston, Sharon Wilkes and Emmett Curl

State law requires local businesses to file their personal property asset listings by April 15th. Wake County found that many of their private businesses were unable to meet the deadline, given that the manual listing process was time consuming and confusing.

To better meet their customer’s demands, the county developed and implemented a new procedure that makes it easier and more efficient for businesses and accountants to file their assets. The on-line business listing application allows users to electronically submit property listings, request filing extensions and set up new accounts.

Within the first year of use, the county’s revenue department documented that 20 percent of business taxpayers used the application to list assets, and approximately 40 percent of the business accounts requested listing extensions on-line.

Because this is a fully integrated application, considerable staff time is saved with the new process, which translates to the workload equivalent of one employee for six months. Revenue staff are now able to turn their attention to delinquent collections accounts instead of business-listings data entry, leading to increased collections. The move led to increased collections of delinquent taxes.

The new application, which cost $60,000, is expected to pay for itself in three years. The listing application is a part of Wake County’s unified property tax system software. The county has agreed to make the unified property tax system software available to all 100 counties in the state through the NCACC.