Drafter
Clerk 03/09/2003
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A MOTION endorsing the extension of the pilot productivity initiative to the wastewater capital improvement and asset management programs for the purpose of saving ratepayers money while ensuring continuing high-quality operation of the county's wastewater utility.
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WHEREAS, King County is committed to working with its employees and labor unions to identify the most efficient manner to successfully deliver services to its customers and clients, and
WHEREAS, King County is responsible for providing wastewater conveyance and treatment services in the region and owns and operates certain wastewater treatment facilities, and
WHEREAS, the county's wastewater program (WWP), a program of certain sections from within the wastewater treatment division and water and land resources division of the department of natural resources and parks, has the responsibility for the planning, design and construction, maintenance and operations, finance and administration for the wastewater conveyance and treatment system, and
WHEREAS, in response to the increasing public demand for demonstration that sewer rates paid for wastewater conveyance and treatment services are being held as low as possible, while protecting the environment and human health, in 2001 the council endorsed and WWP instituted a productivity initiative with respect to the operations and maintenance of the wastewater conveyance and treatment system, and
WHEREAS, the adopted productivity initiative called for the development of an incentive plan to recognize performance that exceeds the established cost targets for the WWP capital program, and
WHEREAS, in accordance with the goals and intentions as set forth in Motion 11156, WWP seeks to extend the productivity initiative to the capital program, with potential for cost savings for the public and productivity incentives for WWP employees, and
WHEREAS, working collaboratively with labor, design consultants and construction contractors, WWP has developed strategies to apply the productivity initiative to capital design and construction projects to define target budgets and accountability measures for those targets, garner cost efficiencies, and provide savings to rate payers as described in Attachment A to this motion, and
WHEREAS, WWP has developed an asset management program to set targets and measure savings from maintenance, repair and replacement of capital equipment assets, and to provide savings to rate payers and productivity incentives for WWP employees as described in Attachment B to this motion, and
WHEREAS, the WWP has prepared an ordinance as a companion to this motion, for the council's consideration that would extend the productivity initiative to the WWP capital program, and distinguishes the productivity incentive program from the county's quality improvement program.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT MOVED by the Council of King County:
1. The county executive is hereby authorized to extend the existing wastewater program productivity initiative to the WWP capital program on a pilot basis. The pilot program shall expire on April 30, 2011 unless action is taken by the council to continue it. Major capital improvement projects included in the program, for which targets have been set by April 30, 2011 shall be allowed to continue with provisions of the productivity initiative applied through the completion of the project.
2. The executive is requested to negotiate both operating and capital project incentive payments into the labor agreements of represented employees and to proportionately share these incentive payments with non-represented employees. It is hereby recognized that the extension of the productivity initiative to the capital program is a new initiative that may need to be modified or terminated if it proves ineffective or infeasible. For this reason the executive is requested to negotiate terms in labor
agreements for capital incentive payments that recognize the program may be modified or terminated at some point in the future.