Mr. Harrison, we do have a copy of your testimony, which will be given to the stenographer. Because of the time, I would ask you to please summarize. We would appreciate it.
My name is Riley Paul Harrison, the fleet manager for the Office of Fleet Management. Thank you for allowing me to present my FY 2003 general fund budget. Our request is 50.4 million; for the water fund, it's 6.8 million, and for our aviation fund, it's 7.5. 1658 3/4/02 WHOLE - CONTINUED FY '03 OPERATING BUDGET Fleet Management will continue to implement the best fleet management practices and policies that govern both the acquisition, assignment, maintenance and relinquishment of all city-owned vehicles. We have an asset value exceeding $248 million, and it's because of our strict preventive maintenance program that we have been able to sustain a safe and reliable fleet. We have also created a neighborhood snow-fighting fleet. We have implemented a Phase I fleet reduction city-wide. We continue to conduct general fund revenue generation through city-wide auction activities. We continue to create educational opportunities for our people, including the high school internship program. We are continuing to expand our Automotive Service Excellence Master Certification program, and again focusing on our facilities and upgrading our infrastructure, which improves our productivity. In conclusion, OFM will continue to provide quality service in a fiscally prudent manner. Thank you very much for the opportunity to appear before you, and I'll be happy to answer any 1659 3/4/02 WHOLE - CONTINUED FY '03 OPERATING BUDGET questions you may have.
Thank you very much, Mr. Harrison. With the new maintenance or custodial contracts that you will be combining at the facility at 3033 South 63rd Street, is that going to be an expanded facility for you?
That is a consolidated facility that previously we were operating out of 7th and Pattison and Delaware and Spring Garden, and we relocated our resources there. We're approximately 60 percent operational from a Fleet Management standpoint. And we principally support the department of streets, their sanitation and highway division. And the maintenance services for the building and the grounds is housed I believe in Public Property. They're the household company, if you will. I don't have an internal resource to do those types of services. So I have to depend on Public Property or the Streets Department, Building Services to do those maintenance activities.
Mr. Harrison, you do recall when the city was acquiring this 1660 3/4/02 WHOLE - CONTINUED FY '03 OPERATING BUDGET property it was agreed upon that there would be an advisory committee?
I don't know if the Capital Program Office has contacted anyone from the community group to start establishing the advisory board. But I will contact them through the managing director's office.
I would appreciate that because that was a commitment that was made.
In your testimony, you indicate that you are going to have a decrease of 42 positions. How will you be able to effectively operate?
Over the past 12 to 18 months, we've had a convergence of different activities. Principally over the last eight to nine years, the injection of new equipment within our fleet, opportunities to improve and enhance 1661 3/4/02 WHOLE - CONTINUED FY '03 OPERATING BUDGET preventive maintenance, increased productivity and training of our personnel and the consolidation of two of our principal facilities, one at Delaware and Spring Garden and 7th and Pattison, gave us an opportunity to rethink some of our manning structures and had an opportunity to hand back, if you will, several of our budgeted positions.
One of the areas of city school district consolidation that has been discussed is Fleet Management. Can you tell us what the status is?
Yes, Madam President. We had several meetings with our current counterparts in the transportation division of the school district. We had an opportunity to compare resources and assets, visit their facilities. They visited our facility. And we made 11 recommendations to them on some of our best fleet management practices that may improve or at least control some of their costs, 1662 3/4/02 WHOLE - CONTINUED FY '03 OPERATING BUDGET one of those being the fuel management system that the city vehicles are under, which now they are fully implemented on the FUME system. And there's some other basic recommendations that they are looking at I believe through this new group, this SRC group. And I'm sure there will be a lot of follow-up meetings as a result of our recommendations.
But are we actually still talking about consolidation?
I don't know if you want to use the word "consolidate" as to look for opportunities to centralize certain functions. In other words, we have the established infrastructure for a fuel management system, which they agreed to share. We have an established accounting system, a FACTS system, fleet accounting computer tracking system. It's available to them if they want to take advantage of that. We made recommendations in terms of life cycle of vehicles which we enjoy on the general fund side, and they're welcome to take some of those recommendations. And there's some other things in terms of training and challenging as far as facility 1663 3/4/02 WHOLE - CONTINUED FY '03 OPERATING BUDGET upgrades. Again, they're recommendations that they can take or not take based on their needs.
Thank you. On of your testimony, the chart indicates an increase in the number of vehicles purchased in FY '03 from FY '02. How does that coincide with the directive to reduce the fleet? You indicated that your goal was to reduce the size of the city's fleet by 1 percent a year over the next three years.
Thank you for asking the question. We had an opportunity to work with all our departments to have them identify, once we gave them the information on low-use vehicles based on the FUME's data. And we identified 81 pieces of equipment that were either under-utilized or each department indicated that they did not need anymore in their fleet. So we moved them into either relinquishment activity or we moved them into the reserve snow fleet or into other activities as far as pooling equipment. And we plan to do this each year, to have a percent reduction. But what has happened is that as we 1664 3/4/02 WHOLE - CONTINUED FY '03 OPERATING BUDGET reduced the fleet of 81, there were new need programs. For instance, the Police Department, we were renting I believe 46 unmarked, nondescript police vehicles and it was more cost effective to purchase pre-owned vehicles over a five-year period. So, in fact, by reducing the 46 rentals that doesn't appear on our inventory, we increased our fleet by another 48 vehicles to offset the 46 that were rented. There were other increases in our fleet, again, offsetting the 81. The Water Department added some Vactors and some inlet cleaning trucks for new need programs they had. We have our division of aviation because of some security issues that wanted to increase their fleet for perimeter security. So those vehicles that were reduced resulted in adding vehicles because of new needs and new programs, approximately 83. That's a long answer for how we reduced and added.
But it gives us an opportunity to at least stabilize the fleet. In 1665 3/4/02 WHOLE - CONTINUED FY '03 OPERATING BUDGET other words, take out the under-utilized, but because of the new need programs to add.
Thank you, Mr. Harrison. The Chair recognizes Councilman Rizzo.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I'd like to start off by first saying that the fleet looks great, it runs great, and you've got some of the sharpest technicians. I would put them up against the private sector any day. I've talked to some dealerships that we do business with. And when those cars are brought back in warranty, they're basically told what's wrong with them. So I just want to compliment you on the looks of the fleet. Also, to piggyback on what President Verna just said, I think I also made a suggestion that you look at PGW to see if there are any opportunities. And I would appreciate you pursuing with PGW's fleet manager -- I think his name is Leo Middlemiss -- to see if there's any opportunities there also for economies because I think as well as our fleet management is run, I think that they could learn a little bit. 1666 3/4/02 WHOLE - CONTINUED FY '03 OPERATING BUDGET I don't say that with any disrespect. PGW apparently has some good people over there. But I think that it would be very helpful for them to have a meeting with Fleet Management to see the way you do things. And I want to thank you for another program. And I think President Verna will be interested in this. It hasn't been discussed publicly yet, but I think it will be kind of a neat program. The mural arts program, Madam Chair, might become mobile. We might, with the mural arts program and Fleet Management, be able to start doing some murals on our sanitation vehicles that will be mobile throughout the city. So Mr. Harrison has already been very cooperative. We met with Jane Golden from Fleet Management. We met with Commissioner Johnson from the Streets Department. This is not an original idea. I want to be up-front about that. One of my staff was in Chicago, and Mrs. Daly run a very, very comprehensive mural arts program out there and they've included the sanitation vehicles. So we're going to see, since our program is doing so well 1667 3/4/02 WHOLE - CONTINUED FY '03 OPERATING BUDGET here, that -- how it will work with all our fleet vehicles, especially the sanitation vehicles. So thank you very much for being cooperative. You didn't resist at all to have your vehicles painted up distinctively. Thank you, Mr. Harrison.
That will not be an advertising program, will it?
It will be something geared towards the community. So in your district, Council President Verna, you're going to have to start thinking of some themes.
Some logo. Mr. Harrison, I read in your testimony about the successful high school internship program. I think now that you're in Southwest Philadelphia you would really be a good neighbor by offering that service to Bartram High School students.
We are always looking for additional schools that want to participate in the program. And I will make sure that we contact them to see if they have an industrial arts program that they would want to participate.
And I would 1668 3/4/02 WHOLE - CONTINUED FY '03 OPERATING BUDGET also try Southern High School. But as I said, as a good neighbor, since you are in Southwest Philadelphia now, Bartram High School, it really is not that far from your location.
The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell. COUNCIL BLACKWELL: Thank you, Madam President. I only wanted to thank Riley Harrison for his patience and for the work that Fleet Management continues to do for us in council. Thank you.
Thank you very much. We appreciate your patience. The next department to testify was the Historical Commission. Dr. Tyler was here earlier. He is recuperating from surgery. However, we all have copies of his testimony. It will be made part of the record. And if council members have any questions that they would like to direct to Dr. Tyler, we will have a call-back date. With that being said, we will stand in 1669 3/4/02 WHOLE - CONTINUED FY '03 OPERATING BUDGET recess until tomorrow, Tuesday, March the 5th, at 9:30. Thank you all very much. (Proceedings ended at 6:31 p.m.) - - - 1670 CERTIFICATE WE HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing proceedings of the Council of the City of Philadelphia's meeting of the Committee of the Whole, on Monday, March 4, 2002, are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by us, and that this is a true and correct transcript of same. RE: Ordinance No. 020001 ____________________________ JOSEPHINE CARDILLO, REGISTERED REPORTER AND NOTARY PUBLIC ______________________________ BRIAN L. RASCO,