Performance Oversight Hearing on the Department of Public Works Fiscal Years 2012-2013

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Introduction

Good morning, Chairperson Cheh, members of the Council and staff. I am William O. Howland, Jr., Director of the Department of Public Works. I am here today to present testimony about the Department's FY 2012 and FY 2013 performance.

The mission of the Department of Public Works is to provide environmentally healthy municipal services that are both ecologically sound and cost effective.  To that end, DPW serves all District residents, businesses, visitors and commuters by providing:

• Trash, recycling, litter, household hazardous waste, and e-cycling collection and disposal.
• Street and alley cleaning.
• Solid waste education and enforcement.
• Snow removal.
• Parking enforcement, including towing, booting, removing and impounding abandoned and dangerous vehicles.
• Fleet management, including acquisition and disposal, fueling, and vehicle maintenance services.

New and Noteworthy

• While the Department of Public Works provides the most traditional municipal services, every day we seek new ways to improve service delivery. 
• This past year, DPW started providing MPD with real-time information about stolen or wanted vehicles.  This initiative uses all parking enforcement equipment, including handheld devices and license plate recognition systems to wirelessly transmit all captured parking data, including tickets, timings and reads. This data is then compared to a wanted/stolen data base allowing MPD to respond to the vehicle’s location.
• Between July 1, 2012 and January 1, 2013 PEMA devices have sighted and transmitted the locations of 2,571 wanted or stolen vehicles to MPD in real time.
• Once again, DPW is among the top 10 fleets honored by Green Fleets, now for our extensive use of alternative fuel vehicles and use of alternative fuels.  In FY12 DPW went into year-round distribution of biodiesel at five District fuel stations. The use of biodiesel was twofold:  to meet US Department of Energy EPAct requirements, and reduce District vehicle petroleum consumption. The program proved successful as DPW exceeded EPAct requirements by 36% and reduced diesel fuel consumption in FY12 by 192,822 gallons.
• Finally, I am happy to announce that we are starting a pilot commercial compost program this year; however, the general concept is that a few restaurants will deliver their food waste to DPW for transfer to Maryland to be composted.  Details are being worked out now and I will keep you posted.

DPW – The First Green DC Government Department

DPW is a member of Mayor Gray’s Sustainable DC Green Cabinet.  With the Sustainable DC initiative, Mayor Gray has integrated the efforts of multiple DC government agencies to create a comprehensive and cohesive set of goals and DPW is at the forefront.

• As part of Sustainable DC, we will:
  • Eliminate litter by 2030.
  • Reduce waste generation by 25% by 2030 (from 2012 baseline)
  • Recover or recycle 75% of all waste generated in the city by 2030.
  • Create a system of teaching environmental literacy.
• During FY 2012, DPW attempted to reduce its energy usage through multiple projects and initiatives.  DPW reduced petroleum usage in the District by providing alternative fuels at District fuel stations. In FY12 through the use of CNG, ethanol (E-85), and biodiesel, DPW displaced 446,797 gallons of petroleum based fuel in District vehicles.
• We also have begun to divert storm debris for composting.  Most storm debris from the derecho and Hurricane Sandy was composted.  More than 2,000 tons of materials were diverted from the summer storms and more than 1,200 tons of materials were diverted from Hurricane Sandy.
• I anticipate an increased use of CNG vehicles, which can have the effect of reducing our fuel costs by about one-third.  We are working on a plan to make this happen.
• DPW also introduced 4 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (Chevy Volts) into the Fleet Share program bringing the total number to 11 Chevy Volts in the program. Additionally, four electric charging stations were installed – two at the Reeves Center and two at 441 4th Street, NW.
• DPW-PEMA Parking Enforcement Officers used 32 bicycles and 35 Segways and reduced fuel consumption. On average, PEOs riding Segways and bicycles save 15+ percent of DPW-PEMA’s total projected fuel usage.
• We also installed a green roof on the Tire Shop located at 1827 West Virginia Avenue, NE, and we are constructing a Storm Water Management System at the Blue Plains Impoundment Lot located at 5001 Shepherd Parkway, SW.

Using Technology to Improve Customer Service

• I am happy to announce that DPW is in the final stages of upgrading our Web site to make it easier to use and more attractive to our customers.  I expect the new site to launch by April 1.
• According to OCTO, until this week, Google analytics showed no visitors to the site, which is understandable.  But all that changed last week when 3,924 people made 4,532 visits to the site.  Annualized, that would be almost 1.2 million visits for a year.  I am glad we had the information available when residents needed it.
• While school-age children and even some adults may be chafing because we’ve had so little snow this year and last, we learned that just the prediction of last week’s “significant” snow storm led thousands to snow.dc.gov. 
• The success of Parkmobile is obvious.  The District has the highest use of this technology, which translates into great compliance with meter requirements, including turnover.  The real winners are the small businesses whose customers have improved access to curbside parking spaces.
• Another success story is the use of eSWEEP, which began in FY 2012.  Inspectors are using tablets to generate Notices of Infraction in the field, thus eliminating the need to return to the office to look up the property owner’s name and contact information. 
• By generating and transmitting notices electronically, eSWEEP eliminates the most time consuming of manual tasks—data collection, administrative paperwork, sorting, printing  and mailing notices to violators making processing exponentially faster.
• eSWEEP consolidates data from five inter-departmental databases including the 311 center which, had been obtained manually. The system has the ability to auto-fill the majority of data before the inspector even arrives on site, minimizing collection and administrative work considerably.
• The tablet captures evidence with a built-in camera instantly attaching photos to the NOV file that can be sent wirelessly to the Office of Adjudication Hearings (OAH).
• Another Mayoral initiative planted our feet firmly in the world of social media. DPW was among the first five agencies in the Grade.DC.gov pilot program that gathers customer feedback from various social media sites, e.g., Twitter, Yelp, etc., as well as the program’s Web survey instrument. Our overall grade for March 2013 is an A.  When a reviewer provides contact information, DPW uses that information to respond to any questions, service requests or comments included in the review. As a result, we are keeping in closer contact with our customers.

Emergency Response Efforts

• During FY 2012, certain neighborhoods experienced unprecedented flooding, even when the rest of the city remained flood-free. These neighborhoods – LeDroit Park and Bloomingdale – became the focus of multiple agencies working together at the Mayor’s direction to create a plan to solve the problem.
• DPW led the Emergency Response Subcommittee, creating a series of goals, including advance distribution of sandbags to have them in place before rain storms are predicted.
• As stated above, we collected thousands of tons of debris from DC streets, alleys and sidewalks following the derecho, Hurricane Sandy and other smaller storms.

DPW Employees—Our Greatest Asset

• I would like to conclude my testimony by expressing my deepest appreciation to the people who do the work. Every day they collect trash, recycling, bulk and dead animals to keep our city clean and healthy. Every day they enforce parking regulations to keep our streets safe and clean. Every day they make our vehicles run so the rest of the government can do what needs to be done. These are the truly unsung heroes of DC government.
• While their names may not be known to our residents, they are known by the quality of their work.  And this year we are conducting a series of recognition ceremonies to thank them. 
• This is but one of the activities we are undertaking to spur employee development. 
• Working with the Community College of the University of the District of Columbia and the Department of Human Resources, we are starting a pilot program – “Thrive in the Workplace” – to provide training for employees in our Street and Alley Cleaning Division.
• We also are starting a coaching program and matching employees with senior managers to provide enrichment, encouragement and enthusiasm for pursuing a career in public works.

Thanks to Mayor Gray’s leadership, we are refocusing our efforts to build on our relationship between labor and management. 

FY 2012 was a successful year and I am looking forward to even greater success for DPW in FY 2013.

This concludes my remarks. I am happy to respond to your questions. Thank you.