A RESOLUTION establishing goals and objectives for an operational efficiencies review of the Seattle Department of Transportation and creating a joint City Council, Executive and Office of the City Auditor interdepartmental team to oversee project implementation.

WHEREAS, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) has more than 700 employees with an annual budget of over $300 million to operate, maintain and develop a transportation infrastructure currently valued at over $13 billion; and

WHEREAS, in 2006, Seattle voters passed the 9-year, $365 million "Bridging the Gap" (BTG) levy to help address a growing backlog of maintenance needs and to advance various neighborhood, transit, pedestrian and bike projects across the city; and

WHEREAS, through BTG and other local, state and federal revenues, SDOT has made significant enhancements to Seattle's transportation infrastructure including hundreds of miles of repaving, the replacement of thousands of street signs and the near completion of two major projects: two-way Mercer East and the Spokane Street Viaduct replacement; and

WHEREAS, SDOT has also achieved significant gains in efficiencies through the creation of an asset management program, investments in snow response equipment and technology and work order tracking systems; and

WHEREAS, the City of Seattle is anticipating a General Fund budget shortfall based on anticipated costs to maintain the current level of government services in 2013; and

WHEREAS, all City departments have been asked to identify opportunities for budget savings and efficiencies; and

WHEREAS, there has not been a comprehensive review of SDOT operations in recent memory and an effort to compare current SDOT operations with industry best practices could provide useful information to SDOT management and City policymakers; and

WHEREAS, it is the desire of the Mayor, City Council and SDOT management for SDOT to be one of the most productive, effective and efficient transportation departments in the country; and

WHEREAS, the expertise of the Office of the City Auditor will be valuable in supporting the work of the Council and the Executive in developing a project scope and working with an external transportation consultant to carry out the review of SDOT; and

WHEREAS, the Office of the City Auditor is already engaged with SDOT in an audit of department operations that are heavily reliant on General Fund support to identify opportunities for efficiencies and budget savings in advance of the City's 2013-14 Biennium Budget review process; and

WHEREAS, formalizing the goals and project implementation structure for carrying out this review will clarify for the public and SDOT the City's purpose and intent; NOW, THEREFORE,

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEATTLE, THE MAYOR CONCURRING, THAT:

Section 1. Goals and Objectives. The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) Efficiencies Review Project (Project) is established to achieve the following:

Phase One: An initial assessment of SDOT's organizational structure and operations to be completed by Jan 15th, 2013 and to identify operational areas for more in depth review in 2013. This phase will specifically include the following tasks:

A) A peer review and benchmarking exercise that compares SDOT with other similar sized transportation departments across the country, in order to:

a. Assess the productivity of SDOT's operations

b. Identify innovative and promising practices, and/or potential lessons to be learned, and

c. Recommend areas for further examination in Phase Two.

B) This review and benchmarking exercise should include a comparion of SDOT's methods for measuring performance to those of other jurisdictions and make recommendations for changes to performance measurement that could improve accountability, enhance transparency, and communicate effectively with the public and elected policymakers.

C) Thie review and benchmarking exercise should also include a comparison of SDOT's management structure to those of other jurisdictions and identify models for further exploration in Phase II.

Phase Two: A longer-term review of operational changes and efficiencies intended to provide ongoing benefits to Seattle residents and taxpayers to be completed by the end of 2013. This review should focus on program level improvements and recommendations. Identify and recommend changes to operational approaches and management practices that could yield greater budget efficiencies, more productivity, and/or better outcomes for maintaining and improving the City's transportation infrastructure. Phase Two will specifically include the following tasks:

A) Follow-through on areas identified for in-depth review in Phase One;

B) Evaluate and make recommendations on: (1) how to improve the policy and decision-making processes used to prioritize transportation maintenance and improvement projects; (2) How SDOT communicates its prioritized projects to the public; and (3) How SDOT tracks progress on projects and communicates project status to the public. This should include a review of how SDOT uses its asset management program including life cycle costs, risks assessment and industry best practices to inform project level decision-making and public accountability; and

C) Given the severe financial constraints that SDOT must operate under and the City's mounting transportation infrastructure needs, identify an approach to framing SDOT's responsibilities in ways that will help policymakers narrow the department's focus and priorities for the near term leading up to potential renewal of the Bridging the Gap Levy.

Section 2. Implementation. An interdepartmental team (IDT) shall be created to oversee the implementation of the Project and manage a contract with external transportation consultant(s). The IDT shall consist of representatives from the following:

A) City Budget Office (CBO)

B) The Office of the City Auditor (OCA)

C) City Council Central Staff

D) Office of the City Council Transportation Chair

SDOT is requested to participate as an ex-officio member of the IDT for the purposes of developing a scope of work and to coordinate with the consultant(s) on the project. The IDT will develop a generalized scope of work based on the goals and objectives identified in Section 1, create a Request for Proposals (RFP) to solicit proposals for carrying out this body of work, including a detailed scope of work or approach, and manage the Project through completion and delivery of a final report and recommendations to the Mayor and Council. Staff from the Office of the City Auditor will serve as the nominal project manager.

Section 3. Reporting. The IDT shall provide the Mayor and Council with regular updates on the progress of the Project. Completion of the project and issuance of a final report and recommendations for phase one is expected by January 15, 2013 and for phase two by December 31, 2013.

Adopted by the City Council the ____ day of ____________________, 2012, and signed by me in open session in authentication of its adoption this________ day

of ______________________, 2012.

_________________________________

President ___________of the City Council

THE MAYOR CONCURRING:

_________________________________

Michael McGinn, Mayor

Filed by me this ____ day of ________________________, 2012.

____________________________________

Monica Martinez Simmons, City Clerk

(Seal)

Michael Fong/MF SDOT Efficiencies Consultant Review July 10, 2012 Version #7