Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 13, 1991 TAG: 9103130395
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK LAYMAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The study commends the county for its frugality, saying "the lack of opulence in furnishings . . . indicates that tax dollars are not being spent unwisely."
And it says the shifting of law enforcement responsibilities from the Sheriff's Department to the new Police Department has been a "resounding success."
But the study, which was given to County Administrator Elmer Hodge and the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, also suggests many improvements.
A team of Center for Public Service staffers and local government managers - including the retired city manager of Beverly Hills, Calif. - spent three days in Roanoke County in mid-December interviewing top employees and elected officials.
"It's important to remember that we came in looking for problems," said Sim Ewing of the Southwest Virginia office of the Center for Public Service, who led the team. He compared the study's findings to getting an annual check-up and being told by the doctor, "You're in good shape, but you need to lose some weight."
The study notes that geography poses a problem for the county. "County offices are miles from one another, resulting in immense losses of productivity, especially during peak traffic times."
Among other things, that causes communications problems.
"The logistical problems of scheduling the meetings for this review - in a way that minimized travel time and met the time constraints on both the department heads and the interviewers - highlight the difficulties the county faces every day."
The review also emphasized the county's communications problems. "Frequently, the only information a department head had received in advance about this review was a memorandum confirming an interview."
One way to solve those glitches, the study says, would be to have computers that would allow employees to communicate via electronic mail.
These are some of the other recommendations in the study:
The Board of Supervisors should meet regularly with other governing bodies in the valley to discuss mutual concerns and to look for ways to cooperate.
The chain-of-command in county government should be followed more closely, with Hodge giving assignments to his three assistant administrators instead of directly to department heads.
Decision-makers in county government aren't willing to take risks, partly because of "the lack of clearly stated goals and objectives."
Consideration should be given to combining some county departments, such as the Finance and the Management and Budget departments.
There is "a lack of understanding throughout county government" of the role of the personnel department.
The Economic Development department should be reviewed to determine if it is duplicating the efforts of regional economic development agencies.
More maintenance employees are needed.
The county should have a Capital Improvement Plan. (The Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors already are working on one.)
Other departments should follow the Recreation Department's lead and allow non-management employees to play a greater role in problem-solving.
These and other recommendations are aimed at "fine-tuning" county government, the study says.
Hodge and the supervisors barely had time to read the study after receiving it during Tuesday's board meeting. They scheduled a work session for April 9 to discuss its recommendations with Ewing.
Also on Tuesday, the supervisors approved a $1,000 contribution to the Terry Plunk Memorial Scholarship Fund. The scholarship will honor the Army lieutenant from Vinton who was killed in the Persian Gulf War.
by CNB