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During the coming fiscal year, the county should seek alternative methods <br />for the billing of ambulance services. Current methods require significant <br />s~aff time and usually require added follow-up to assure correct billing. <br />Already the Board of Commissioners has approved an effort to recover <br />overdue bills. We are continuing to pursue alternative method~ for handling <br />and processing ambulance billing.. <br /> <br />Further analysis during FY 9%98 will seek to determine if better options <br />exist for the provision of facility, grounds and vehicle maintenance for <br />County operations. Discussions with the county school system as previously <br />noted, indicate that there are opportunities to do a better job of maintaining <br />all county properties This may not mean reduced costs, because it is <br />uncertain that the county or. its school systems have actually been providing <br />the level of maintenance consistent with. the value of the assets being <br />maintained. <br /> <br />4. Personnel Related lssue~ <br /> <br />The County Commission is being provided a proposal that will be conducive <br />to hiring and retaining quality employees, yet at the same time also <br />encouraging retirement of long term enip[oyees through post retirement <br />incentives and benefits.- The proposal is targeted at those employees now or <br />soon to be considering i'etirement, offering incentives tied to those <br />employees eligible for 'longevity' payments and extending health/life <br />insurance coverage to retirees. A significant element of the~ proposal <br />involves a reduction in the number of annual vacation days earned b.y <br />employees which will provide significant long term savings to the county. <br />This proposal Will requirea, ction by the County Commission, <br /> <br />5: Special Projects <br /> <br />Lake Concord Property - it is proposed that the county irwin with willing <br />adjacent property owners around Lake Concord to market'a consolidated real <br />estate parcel to potential residential developers. The proceeds from a sate of <br />this county owned land could be used to fund future recreational projects. <br /> <br />Union. Street Properties - these properties should be sold within FY 97-98. <br />Interest remains high in the buildings for commercial use. Associated with · <br />these properties is an opportunity to work with the City of Concord to plan <br />and construct a .multilevel parking facility behind the existing buildings on <br />county owned land currently used for parking. <br /> <br />Highway 601/29 Properly - with the relocation of social .services to the <br />Kannapolis facility, these properties will 'be made available for sale. '[his <br /> <br />county school system. Lumped together the properties rn quesnon '[oral <br />approximately thirty-five acres. · Interest in these properties exists even <br />though no formal effort to market the property has been pursued. <br /> <br />Alternative Site for the Cabarrus Fair , while the county has no formal <br />obligation to assist in rolocation of the Fair from its current site, the.Fair does <br />represent a unique.local event. Staff and representatives of the Fair have <br />been working to find both Suitable and economical alternatives for the Fair. <br />If the Fair stays where it now is and the county and school board sell <br />adjacent acreage, the Fair will be impacted. If the Fair moves to another <br />more suitable site, the proceeds from the sale of the current fair grounds <br />could go towards a better Fair. <br /> <br />Furore l}.ecreatiofial Facilities - during a recent retreat/worksession t~e <br />county commission directed several modifications to the long ran'ge plan for <br />a county park system. The adoption of the school/park concept substantially <br />changes the basis on which m/w county parks will be 13ursued. Two <br />opportunities for larger parks exist at the landfill site which will provide <br />approximately 350 acres and a site yet to be determined in the Coddle Creek <br />area.. Additionally, through agreement with the City of Kannapolis a <br />school/park )rill be developed in conjunction with the construction of the <br />new Aycock School. The City of Kannapolis has committed $390,000 <br />towards that project. The County should attempt to phase out its <br />involvement in the Baker's Creek project in Rowan County} <br /> <br />Midland Sewer Service Extension - the City of. Concord and Cabarrus <br />Coi~nty have agreed to provide the financing for a sewer system extension to <br />be built at the crossroads area of Midland. The county should recover its <br />investment through the implementation of sewer access charges based upon a <br />formula previously approved by the County Commission. <br /> <br />6. Benchroarking of County Services <br /> <br />County' departments will begin the process of establishing useful <br />measurements of county service delivery. Ir~ many cases the county is lhe <br />only alternative available for delivery of some services. However, the <br />private sector is continually evaluating areas of public service delivery for <br />market opportunities. To accurately monitor county services will require <br />effective benchmarking. This process will not be simple.~ A similar project <br />being pursued by the Institute of Government at Chapel Hill' has been slow <br />to produce valid results. <br /> <br />Every county s~rvice will pursue functional measurements that will assist in <br />evaluation of not .only the cost of service but also service delivery <br />effccfiveucs,; and a qnantification of tire public served, ttopefully, this <br /> <br /> <br />