Iola City Council members will get their first look Monday at conclusions drawn from a top-to-bottom organizational analysis of the city.
The study, developed by Wichita State Universitys Public Policy and Management Center, looked at everything from staffing levels compared to similar-sized communities, the various responsibilities and services within each department, 20 years of financial data, and surveys of city managers and employees.
Among the conclusions:
Iolas staffing levels are consistent with peer communities.
Work needs to be done to address inefficiencies in some processes and departments.
The Council should have broader discussions about their vision for the community, and what is considered acceptable levels of service.
The citys organizational chart is too flat under its current structure, with the studys authors recommending oversight consolidated over several departments.
COUNCIL members are certain to take note of the studys focus on Iolas fire department, and in particular the citys EMS contract with Allen County.
While pay and benefits in Iola are competitive, the city has had difficulty in attracting and retaining qualified personnel, especially with medical training, the report said.
The largest issue lies with EMS medical transfers.
Serious consideration needs to be given to the Allen County EMS contract, the report concludes.
The citys contract with Allen County to provide countywide ambulance service expires in December 2020.
Iola City Administrator Sid Fleming declined to comment on the report and its recommendations because he had yet to receive the full study.
THE ANALYSIS also revealed differing opinions between supervisors and employees on efficiency.
While 69 percent of the supervisors said their respective departments were efficient, 79 percent of employees disagreed.
The employees cited issues with what they said was unnecessary paperwork, outdated or unenforced policies; and the volume of service calls for animal control for the police department and medical transfers for ambulance personnel.
ALSO Monday, engineers with Black & McDonald will be on hand to discuss their prescription for improvements to the citys wastewater systems.
