The City of Lewiston has made several changes to its business practices since and because of the change in form of government from a manager to an elected mayor. Collectively these changes have resulted in earnings and savings well in excess of one million dollars ongoing and hundreds of thousands of dollars one-time.

The biggest earnings and savings has resulted from changes in how we manage our idle funds. For example, the city had a large daily balance in its checking account earning zero interest. The city converted this account to a sweep account that is a specialty bank account set up to retain a certain cash balance for immediate business expenses; any excess funds are automatically swept daily into an interest-bearing account, such as savings or a different investment product. This account has yielded several hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest since its inception.

The next biggest savings has come from a reorganization of several departments. The city no longer pays for a city manager and administrative services director; instead these services are provided by the mayor’s office. To date this reorganization has yielded a couple hundreds of thousands of dollars of payroll and benefits savings annually. Other department staff changes, including elimination of positions, have yielded additional payroll and benefits savings annually.

Several other smaller changes in business practices collectively have added up to big savings as well.

Travel policy. Employees are asked to car pool. If they choose to drive separately, only one per diem is paid and split between the employees. Mileage reimbursement to the employee is limited to the cost of a rental car contract as determined by Finance, the cost of the current IRS mileage rate, or the cost of coach air travel, whichever is less. Estimated savings is thousands of dollars annually.

Credit card. The use of city credit cards to purchase flowers for employees, members of their family, and the public; retirement gifts for department employees; department meals and parties; membership dues; and other expenses is no longer considered a valid use of city credit cards, or eligible expense, and therefore is not permitted. Estimated savings is thousands of dollars annually.

Auto allowance. The city no longer provides a monthly auto allowance for department heads. Any employee requesting mileage reimbursement for eligible local travel must use a City Mileage Reimbursement Form. Estimated savings is tens of thousands of dollars annually.

Sick leave. Sick leave at the city may be accumulated up to nine hundred sixty hours total. Sick leave above 960 hours is no longer eligible for annual payment to a medical expense reimbursement account. Estimated savings is thousands of dollars annually.

Police Chief recruitment. The city conducted an executive recruitment for a new police chief. In the past, the city contracted with a professional hiring firm to perform this service. Estimated savings is tens of thousands of dollars one-time.

Accounts in arrears. The city engaged in more assertive collection actions on accounts in significant arrears. Estimated collection of hundreds of thousands of dollars one-time.

This is not meant to be all inclusive of the changes to business practices and related earnings and savings since the change in form of government. Daily we are looking for new ways to improve and deliver services which save time and money and resources. For example, we have reduced and simplified city code and regulations to operate at the speed of business.

We continue to emphasize the use of reserves from earnings and savings to provide a more efficient use of tax dollars and help save money in the long run. Having healthy reserve levels can make the city eligible for grants and additional federal assistance, as it demonstrates financial stability and responsible management.

Thank you for this opportunity to share our story with you. We have much more to come!