staff , Council , through informed policy decisions , achieved a 91.9 per cent or $ 1,138,225 reduction in the oneto five-year range of audited facility required capital costs via strategic facility investments and dispositions .
Facility Audit
Year 1-5 Engineer Identified Costs 2015 - $ 1,248,225.00 2016 - $ 110,000.00
The Public Works Department also witnessed exponential winter maintenance operational improvements through administrative automation and digitization efforts , specifically in regards to county road winter maintenance ; in 2014 , this was an area where the Municipality was $ 132,201.89 over the county allocation . In 2015 and 2016 respectively , the Municipality was $ 45,178.09 and $ 70,996.68 under the county allocation , or a 2014 to 2015 swing of $ 177,379 towards operational effectiveness . Data and information compiled and assessed through digital automations , workflows and the central digital repository identified staffing and material application inefficiencies on which the Public Works Department was able to capitalize . The savings were subsequently invested in linear capital asset rehabilitation and maintenance to reduce the capital funding deficit . The linear capital asset rehabilitation investments permitted the improvement of linear assets reducing the 2017 Year 1-3 Municipality of Bayham Roads Needs Study capital requirements by 9.1 per cent or 22.4 kilometres over 2014 figures .
These efficiencies , which were achieved in all departments to varying degrees , were the direct results of new forms of procurement , attention to detail and outliers , collection of previously unmonitored revenues , reduction of asset portfolio , altered management and staff techniques and the complete redrafting of historic service contracts to incorporate cost and service level controls made visible through the centralized digital knowledge repository .
A detailed view of the Bylaw Complaint – Service Request digital automation and workflow provides
22 Q3 2017 www . amcto . com insight into individual job function innovation . The impact of the Bylaw Complaint – Service Request digital automation and workflow is as follows :
i . Bylaw Complaints / Service Complaints would previously be submitted on a paper form . The form would be placed in the bylaw enforcement desktop mailbox . The record may or may not be indexed . Staff would send a number of emails tracking and possibly processing complaints . The complaint may or may not be completed . No formal review process or procedure was in place and no standardization of issue processing existed . Records were not retained according to any specific or standardized retention period .
ii . From 2007-2015 the Municipality averaged 255 complaints a year . The Municipality had a complaint resolution rate of 43 per cent . The average length of complaint from submission to closure was 26 business days .
iii . The automated process is handled entirely digitally within Laserfiche . Forms are stored in the Laserfiche repository during and after completion of the complaint process . The Municipality effectively has an auditable report that documents the entirety of the time any complaint or service request is processed , including paper-submitted complaints or requests . The procedure is now 100 per cent accountable and documented .
iv . Since implementation the Municipality has processed 182 complaints with a complaint resolution rate of 100 per cent and the average complaint closure time of 2.4 days . Further , when the Ombudsman requests information for investigations , the Municipality has been able to provide the same in under 12 minutes each of the two times this has occurred . v . Subjectively , the public is better served and satisfied with resolution of complaints and requests resulting in an improved “ Quality of Place ” for the Municipality . This has allowed the Municipality to improve performance metrics in other departments .
Cumulatively , in 2016 and 2017 , staff was able to present budgets to Council that incorporated internal efficiencies , without any negative impact on service provision , derived from the implementation and utilization of digital automations and workflows and the Laserfiche central repository .
Net Levy Impact (%) Next Levy Impact ($)
2016 Internal Efficiencies ( 1.31 per cent ) ($ 46,851 ) 2017 Internal Efficiencies ( 6.32 per cent ) ($ 244,306 )
Small and rural Ontario municipalities face an era of economic restraint with unprecedented financial oversight , accountability and transparency directives , making it difficult to take on corporate initiatives outside of providing fundamental programs and services . The public sector requirements and challenges of meeting these directives are heightened by the looming human resources shortage , including the imminent retirement of municipal managers and experienced workers .
Through the use of digital automations and workflows , municipalities can utilize information already within the organization , via spreadsheet documents , word documents , and paper documents or within human knowledge banks , to proactively serve a tangible purpose towards a beneficial end . Subsequently , the aforementioned savings and efficiencies can be reallocated to capital assets or to improving operational service levels .
A focus on knowledge as a strategic asset is important because improving the management of this asset can enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of public sector organizations and help these organizations meet the challenges of the future .