Government of the District of Columbia
DC Department of Public Works
Testimony of
William O. Howland, Jr.
Director
Public Hearing
Department of Public Works
FY 2010 Proposed Budget
April 8, 2009
COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORKS AND TRANSPORTATION
Jim Graham, Chairperson
John A. Wilson Building
Room 123
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20004
TESTIMONY OF WILLIAM O. HOWLAND, JR., DIRECTOR
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS
PROPOSED FY 2010 BUDGET
BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORKS AND TRANSPORTATION
APRIL 8, 2009, 10 am
Introduction
• Good morning, Chairman Graham, members of the Committee and staff. I am William O. Howland Jr., Director of the DC Department of Public Works. Thank you for this opportunity to present testimony on Mayor Fenty’s proposed budget for FY 2010.
• As Mayor Fenty noted when he presented the budget to the Council, we are facing considerable economic challenges that must be met with skill to continue to move the District forward. The constraints on resources simply mean we must work smarter and more efficiently. We must emphasize the use of innovation, technology, and employee training to maintain our progress.
• 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, each day DPW serves residents, visitors and commuters by providing the most fundamental municipal services across the District.
o Each week, we collect trash and recycling from almost 110,000 households, which translates into 250,000 collections per week.
o We promote efficient traffic flow along the District’s commercial corridors to support our retail and other business establishments.
o We assure residents’ access to neighborhood on-street spaces by enforcing parking regulations.
o We maintain the city’s fleet of 3,000 vehicles.
o We fuel more than 6,000 DC government vehicles, including those for MPD, Fire/Emergency Medical Services, DC Public Schools and the Water and Sewer Authority.
• In FY 2008, DPW:
o Collected more than 105,000 tons of trash and 29,000 tons of recyclables.
o Made more than 48,000 bulk collections.
o Cleaned more than 33,000 miles of residential streets.
o And removed almost 28,000 illegal posters.
• We also removed more than 2,600 abandoned and dangerous vehicles from public and private space, and we removed more than 18,000 vehicles that impeded rush hour traffic flow.
FY 2010 Proposed Budget
• The proposed FY 2010 budget is $156,756,605, which will support 1,360.8 FTEs. This represents a 5.3 percent reduction in funds and 9.2 percent reduction in FTEs when compared to FY 2009.
• Mayor Fenty protected our most basic clean city services by keeping them at the same level as FY 2009. They comprise our solid waste business line and include:
o Trash and recycling collections.
o Nuisance abatement.
o Street sweeping.
o Leaf removal.
o Focused litter control programs in Adams Morgan, the U Street Neighborhood and the H Street Corridor.
o Graffiti removal.
• In my testimony, I will describe how far we have come in the last five years by using innovation, technology and training as tools to lead the region and nation in our three business lines – solid waste, parking enforcement and fleet management.
DPW Since FY 2005: An Era of Innovation, Technology and Training
• DPW has a history of working smarter. We use data to drive innovative thinking, we use technology to enhance performance, and we use training to boost employees’ mastery of their work thereby increasing their productivity.
• Our services are delivered by people, which means the budget is driven by personal services costs for trash and recycling collection crews, street and alley cleaning crews, parking enforcement officers and fleet mechanics.
• Much of the increases we have seen since FY 2005 are to honor raises called for in union contracts, as well as increases in fixed costs for utilities, rent and security.
• DPW is the District’s first “Clean and Green” department. In FY 2005, I testified before this committee, stating that “Each administration within DPW has a contribution to make towards improving the environment.
• “Employees need to know that whether they collect trash and recyclables, provide alternative fuels for the District’s fleet, or remove abandoned vehicles from public space before they can become an environmental hazard, they are making a positive difference in this city’s quality of life.”
Sweepercam
• We can look around the District and see that positive difference everywhere. I would like to point out a few examples, starting with Sweepercam, which began in earnest March 30.
• We share first-place honors with Chicago in applying license plate recognition technology to mechanical street sweeping in residential neighborhoods. Thank you, Chairman Graham, for supporting the use of technology applications that lead to improved services.
• In our first week of ticketing, we issued 1,237 tickets using Sweepercam. And we look forward to cleaner streets, once motorists change their behavior and honor the parking restrictions.
Assistance to Small BIDs, Main Street Programs
• Just as Sweepercam is critical to keeping residential streets clean, the BID Litter Cleanup Assistance Program that Chairman Graham envisioned is contributing to cleaner commercial corridors. In FY 2008, funding for seven smaller BIDs and Main Street programs, totaled $775,630.88. An additional $524,360.12 will be awarded through a second application process, which is scheduled for this month.
• This funding supplements the cleaning efforts of the Adams Morgan, Anacostia, Barracks Row, Dupont Circle, H Street, Mt. Vernon, Shaw, and U Street BIDs and Main Street programs. These entertainment and restaurant destinations attract thousands of people who would choose to go elsewhere if these sites were dirty.
Route Smart
• When people think of DPW, we think of solid waste collections: trash, recycling and bulk. DPW invested in technology – known as Route Smart – to better deploy our collection crews.
• Our most requested service – bulk collection – also is our most successful because Route Smart provides the most efficient routing across the District. In FY 2008, we made almost 49,000 bulk collection appointments.
• Route Smart allows us to shorten the wait time for bulk collection pick-ups from two weeks to less than 10 days, which also improves customer satisfaction with this service.
• We also used this technology to position ourselves to absorb any residential sector growth the District may experience without having to increase staff.
Single Stream Recycling, Document Shredding
• Another first is single-stream residential recycling, a partnership with AFSCME Local 2091, which is considered a best practice to increase residential recycling.
• In January 2005, the District became the first jurisdiction in the region to provide single-stream recycling. We also restored in-house recycling collections at the same time. The result has been an increase in our diversion rate from 13 percent to 21 percent, which is a 50 percent increase.
• We also can take pride in knowing the District has a commanding lead nationally in recycling newspapers and glass and plastic bottles. Our FY 2008 Residential Waste Sort study revealed that we can further increase our recycling rate by adding more aluminum beverage cans and cardboard, such as cereal boxes and paper towel rolls.
• An innovation that residents truly appreciate is weekly free shredding of their personal documents. Identify theft is increasing and the District is providing the first and only government-sponsored shredding program in the metropolitan Washington region.
Workspace Renovation
• While the majority of DPW employees’ workspace is along District streets, highways and alleys, we do have site-based operations.
• Our solid waste disposal employees operate the District’s Fort Totten and Benning Road Trash Transfer Stations. Both sites were renovated within the past five years. By redesigning the workspace, we are able to achieve a practically odor-free site. Now, trash is removed the same day it arrives.
• In addition, we were able to successfully close most of the private trash transfer stations.
• Another worksite undergoing renovation is our Bryant Street, NW facility where we will house the mechanical street sweepers.
Giving a Second Chance
• Earlier I mentioned that DPW employees are our greatest asset. I want to pay tribute to those employees who needed and received a second chance to become productive adults.
• Working with the DOES Project Empowerment program has helped us to achieve our goals by working side by side with difficult-to-employ District residents. Through Project Empowerment, these willing workers have been equipped with the skills necessary to be successful in the work environment.
• As a result, many have become permanent employees we are proud to call co-workers. This program is truly a win-win situation for all involved.
Snow Simulator Training
• Our solid waste team also is the backbone of the District’s snow and ice control program. Last year, we introduced snow plow simulator training for the DDOT/DPW Snow Team’s drivers. For the first time, drivers saw the effect of their decisions within a safe training environment rather than on a city street. Although there were few snow and ice events this year, staff performance was outstanding.
License Plate Recognition Systems
• Parking enforcement truly is an area where innovation, technology and training have intersected to yield huge benefits for the District. Sweepercam is the most recent license plate recognition system application. We began using this technology first in our booting operation, then ROSA, and soon the timed enforcement application will be fully realized.
• The revenue implications of LPRS are clear. In FY 2005, we began using this technology in our booting operation and saw a 22 percent increase in vehicles booted. This year we have eight ROSA crews equipped with LPRS.
• Today there are seven street sweepers equipped with the camera system, and by the end of May we will add cameras to five more sweepers. Our most recent application, timed enforcement, will have 10 camera-mounted vehicles.
Parking Enforcement in Adams Morgan
• There also is the tried and true method of parking enforcement – deploying parking control officers to neighborhoods to increase compliance. Chairman Graham, we appreciate your recommendation to introduce nighttime and weekend parking enforcement in Adams Morgan where enormous crowds create parking nightmares. Parking enforcement produces a more orderly environment where visitors and residents can co-exist.
Technology and Abandoned Vehicles Operations
• While ticketing is realizing a boost through the use of camera technology, the removal of vehicles is being better managed through other technologies.
• Our Abandoned Vehicles operation uses the Auto Impound Management System (AIMS) to streamline the processes associated with impounded vehicles. This sophisticated lot management system is used to store vehicles, manage impound fees and sell vehicles during the monthly online auction.
• Starting with dispatch of a tow crane to remove a vehicle from public or private property, the AVO staff can “see” when a vehicle is heading to the impoundment lot because this information is entered into the system.
• Once the vehicle arrives, it receives a bar-code sticker that tells when the vehicle arrived and pinpoints its location on the lot, which speeds up retrieving the vehicle. AIMS also notifies the owner that the vehicle has been impounded, which also is important to yet another innovation, the online auction.
• In FY 2007, we introduced online auctions of impounded vehicles that remain unclaimed after 28 days following notice. Just go to www.liquidation.com.
• Thanks to the Council’s support, we revised the abandoned vehicle law to reduce the time required to tow, hold and dispose of these vehicles. As a result, we now resolve 90 percent of our requests to remove abandoned vehicles from public space within five days. We also resolve 85 percent of our requests to remove these vehicles from private property within 45 days.
Towing Control Center
• The centralized towing application is used to monitor and manage all vehicles towed from District streets, alleys, and other public spaces. Now, motorists can call 311 or the Towing Control Dispatch Center to confirm a vehicle’s location.
Innovations in Fleet Operations
• Innovations, technology and training also are found in our Fleet Management Administration. Last week, Fleet, in conjunction with DOES, initiated the District’s first Automotive Service Excellence public-public apprenticeship program for mechanics.
• The four apprentices in the first class will be trained in heavy and light vehicle maintenance. Additionally, they will receive classroom training through Montgomery College. ASE certification is the recognized industry standard for highly trained and qualified automotive technicians.
• Last year, the District adapted the Zipcar reservation model to its motor pool operation and the DC Fleet Share program became a reality. Since then, the program has been so successful it is growing from 29 vehicles at four sites to 50 vehicles located at nine sites; and by the end of the year, there will be 75 vehicles in the program.
• Mayor Fenty challenged us to reduce emissions in several areas. First, we switched the diesel-fueled fleet to ultra low sulfur diesel. This year we are introducing biodiesel. The Mayor also asked us to reduce the light vehicle fleet, which now has 360 fewer vehicles.
• Every resident, commuter and visitor benefits from the cleaner air resulting from these actions. I also would like to mention that we introduced the use of fuel rings, a technology that gives us better control over the use of fuel.
Guiding Youth – The Summer Youth Employment Program
• All the innovations discussed so far involve direct or indirect service delivery. There is one service we provide that only can be measured far in the future. That service is our work with the young people in the Summer Youth Employment Program.
• For the past several years, we have introduced hundreds of young people to the world of work, as well as the world itself. Our Public Works Academy staff created a summer program that integrates work, enrichment and fun.
• Youth work in all sections of DPW, learning how the workplace works. They also will go on a field trip, learn how to conduct themselves during a job interview or how to dress for success in the workplace.
• This year we will have 275 youth working with us.
Conclusion
• As you can see, the Department of Public Works has a long list of accomplishments, and we are committed to extending this list in FY 2010 with the resources provided through the proposed budget.
• Thank you very much for this opportunity to address the Committee. I am prepared to answer your questions.