Charter Agencies

Authorities and Flexibilities Exercised

June 12, 2006

Alcoholic Beverages Division, Department of Commerce

• When jump-starting the conversion from private-sector to state-operated warehousing activities, under severe time pressures caused by the sudden bankruptcy of the existing contractor:
• Selected and hired warehouse employees and truck drivers (no FTE cap; independent personnel authority).
• Utilized several “sole-source” emergency providers for equipment and supplies. (independent contracting authority)
• ABD has continued to use these authorities.
• Approved out-of-state travel internally. (exemption from mandate for out-of-state travel approval by the Executive Council)
• Exempted from 2.5% across-the-board budget cut in October of 2003.

Department of Corrections

• The Department of Corrections (DOC) and the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) signed an agreement to provide printing services to state agencies. DAS-GSE Printing will provide volume copying and DOC will provide offset printing through the Mitchellville facility with the employment of inmates. With each agency providing specific services, more effective and efficient service can be offered. This agreement also expands the inmate labor market, i.e. increased use of offenders in various work opportunities such as offset printing in Mitchellville.
• Reduced copying and paperwork expenses via use of electronic signatures, record keeping, and transactions. DOC and DAS-HRE are developing methods whereby DOC can obtain electronic certificates of job applicant eligibles.
• Created positions in classifications where the duties are consistent with established classifications and in compliance with collective bargaining agreements and DAS-HRE rules. DAS turned over to DOC those job classifications that pertain specifically to Corrections.
• Purchased goods and services outside GSE contracts:
• Clarinda Lodge expansion. Added 225 prison beds on time and under budget.
• Replaced old telemedicine machines with new technology compatible with the University of Iowa.
• Pharmacy acquisition.
• Drug interactions software. Purchased software compatible with the DOC operating system.
• Consolidated medical purchasing.
• DOC is improving the way it provides basic health services for offenders. DOC has an RFP out for providing pharmacy services at lower costs. Rather than issuing a typical request for a single-source provider of all pharmaceutical needs, DOC is submitting bids to multiple public and private sector providers, while reserving the right to accept portions of any bid submitted.
• DAS provided extraordinary service to DOC as they worked together to purchase a vehicle on short notice.
• Utilized sole source contracting authority for some pharmacy drug purchases.
• Exempted from 2.5% across-the-board budget cut in October of 2003.

Department of Human Services

• Expedited contracting for several projects. Examples include: Medicaid redesign and creation of the Iowa Medicaid Enterprise (IME), Child Welfare Redesign contract, and the Quality Assurance and Improvement contract.
• Managed costs while also staffing appropriately in areas that have the greatest need to achieve results. (no FTE cap; independent personnel authority)
• Converted 5 contract positions to full-time positions resulting in an annualized cost reduction of $210,000.
• Established a new position classification. DHS changed the classification of one employee in Field Operations to better reflect the role the position plays across DHS. The position classification established: Administrator, Field Operations.
• Secured a DAS-HRE waiver to create a new position in our Field Operations Unit.
• Waived rules to recognize a fiscal services unit employee for taking on additional work. Having the employee perform the additional work – rather than bringing in a temp employee or having to make a fast hiring decision versus the right hiring decision – saved the state a projected $18,000. The benefits achieved by recognizing this employee to her co-workers are not measurable and go well beyond the dollars.
• DHS is in the midst of developing a new employee recognition program, authorized by the flexibility that states, “The Director will not be restricted by current state guidelines regarding employee recognition. The Director will be able to recognize/reward individuals and/or teams for their significant contributions toward the achievement of goals and projects.”
• Expedited a competitive bid, collapsing the time to award a contract, to get the contract moving quickly to identify ways to maximize federal matching dollars across state agencies. (independent contracting authority)
• Expedited rule changes to facilitate semi-annual, simplified income reporting for Food Assistance. This change benefits Iowans by reducing the amount and frequency of reporting required to access Food Assistance benefits from monthly to semi-annually. For these recipients, income changes affecting eligibility typically do not change month to month. So expanding reporting provides reasonable monitoring, yet is less intrusive and burdensome. Another positive is reducing staff work that has minimal impact on Iowans receiving benefits. The bottom line is more people accessing 100% federally funded food assistance across Iowa. Food assistance is key to insuring that Iowans are healthy, stable, and self-sufficient.
• Expedited a contracting process for IV-E (child welfare) improvement efforts, resulting in a contract that helped achieve our performance goal of increasing IV-E eligibility and bringing more federal matching dollars to Iowa.
• Allowed employees choice in how they make travel arrangements, as long as they are cost conscious and provide adequate documentation. This step boosted the morale of staff that do travel, though not all have moved away from using the centralized travel company contract. The perception of a willingness to change and permit flexibility has gained many positive comments from staff across DHS. (exemption from centralized travel agency mandate)
• Purchased outside of General Services Enterprise contracts. This authority allows DHS to identify opportunities for individual and joint-agency savings. One DHS institution reports that, “we have purchased off contract by using our Charter Agency status. At this time we have saved $211.57. The charter agency status has made it much easier to save dollars when we can.” (independent purchasing authority)
• Approved out-of-state travel internally when expenses are paid by an outside entity. DHS maintains an internal review and approval process but does not need to then submit the out-of-state travel to the Executive Council, reducing paperwork and approval turn-around time. (exemption from mandate for out-of-state travel approval by the Executive Council)
• Continued to use existing individual performance evaluation tools. The extension of this authority has enabled DHS to develop some classification-based performance measures and prepare staff for this change.
• Entered into sole source contracts. DHS has availed itself of this flexibility for a limited number of contracts, expediting contract awards and moving projects forward on a timely basis.
• Worked with DAS-GSE to explore the design-build contracting approach to expedite capital construction projects. Design-build has been prohibited in the past. This approach may lead to more cost effective construction management and building projects.
• Exempted from 2.5% across-the-board budget cut in October of 2003.

Department of Natural Resources

• Saved money by using alternate travel providers. For example:
  • On Yahoo Travel, DNR found a round trip flight from Des Moines to San Antonio for $444. The staff person would leave on April 20 and return on April 22, with connections in Denver both ways. The equivalent flight from the state travel contractor was priced at $655.90.
  • On Orbitz, DNR found a trip on American Airlines operated by American Eagle (4243 DSM Des Moines 05/25/2004 11:57 AM ORD Chicago 05/25/2004 01:04 PM Coach 11D). The cost: $508.40. The equivalent flight from the state travel contractor was priced at $687.40 ($667.40+$20 booking fee).
    (exemption from centralized travel agency mandate)
• Eliminated the M-40 forms, in cooperation with DAS, speeding intern hiring from 10 days to one day. (independent personnel authority)
• Created an additional 15 full-time-equivalent positions, eliminating the use of contract employers and associated administrative cost. DNR realized a savings of $38,280.89 from transferring these positions from contract to full-time employee status. The conversion also eliminated supervisor duplication.
• Entered into a sole source contract to maintain continuity, focus, and effectiveness in IOWATER volunteer water monitoring. (independent purchasing authority)
• Conducted a business process improvement (“kaizen”) event in the first week of March 2004 in the wastewater section of the Water Quality Bureau. This cost, approximately $25,000, was paid by Public Strategies Group as part of the reinvention services support offered to DNR as a charter agency.
• Exempted from 2.5% across-the-board budget cut in October of 2003.

Department of Revenue

• Increased FTEs to establish enforcement related positions and those positions that will assist in implementation of the e-File and Pay initiative. (no FTE cap; independent personnel authority)
• Negotiated sole source contracts with subject matter experts for property tax litigation. (independent contracting authority)
• Successfully recruited candidates for four Fiscal Policy Analyst positions by offering a salary commensurate with market rates through the waiver of a personnel rule. One person hired was ready to return to his home state.  The other three also came from out-of-state.  All four – three with Masters degrees in Economics and one with an Economics Ph.D. – were hired because of this flexibility.  We were able to compete and attract new Iowans.
• Approved out-of-state travel internally. (exemption from mandate for out-of-state travel approval by the Executive Council)
• Awarded increased pay based on increased credentials for an advanced appointment to a new hire in the Revenue Auditor series to compensate for attainment of a CPA. (independent personnel authority)
• Created an additional Revenue Examiner position in the Compliance Division. A Revenue Examiner position, when fully trained, will return approximately $800,000 to the general fund. (no FTE cap; independent personnel authority)
• Saved money by using alternate travel providers. For example, the state travel contractor quoted $318.40 for roundtrip to Indianapolis departing Des Moines on 2/22/04. The cost of the exact flight on the Internet (expedia.com) was purchased for $218.40.
• Exempted from 2.5% across-the-board budget cut in October of 2003.

Veterans Home

• Waived an administrative rule to correct a payroll administration oversight.
• Developing a new employee recognition program that is being designed by the Employee Recognition Process Action team, per the flexibility that states “The Director will not be restricted by current state guidelines regarding employee recognition. The Director will be able to recognize/reward individuals and/or teams for their significant contributions toward the achievement of goals and projects.”
• Collaborating with the Department of Public Health on wellness grants to address obesity in the state. The intent is to include programming for IVH residents and staff with the wellness initiatives from DPH. Two IVH staff members are serving on the state taskforce for wellness. This is done as part of the flexibility – “The Director will have the ability to pursue collaborative partnering opportunities with outside agencies (i.e., Department of Veterans Affairs) that benefit the operation of the Iowa Veterans Home and the State of Iowa.”
• Accessed expertise and support from Public Strategies Group at no cost to achieve desired charter outcomes. PSG’s Mary Lofy worked extensively with IVH’s Quality Council to clarify roles and expectations and to provide direction and support. Mary Lofy and Bob Rafferty, with Interim Director John Mathes, planned and facilitated a Leadership Retreat at IVH to clarify strategic direction.
• Supported the Nursing Department’s initiative to maintain staff scheduled units and decrease overtime costs. (no FTE cap; independent personnel authority)
• Changed the status of three “direct report” managerial positions to “at will” positions:” Adjutant, Performance Improvement Manager, and the Director of Employee Services. The Commandant and the Medical Director positions were already identified as “at-will.”
• Awarded two employees a monetary bonus of $100 each for outstanding effort in producing an Iowa Veterans Home informational video. This video not only showcases the Veterans Home, but the community of Marshalltown as well.
• Exempted from 2.5% across-the-board budget cut in October of 2003.
• Created a Music Therapist position weeks sooner than would have been possible without Charter personnel authority.