South Allison Hill road repairs
City of Harrisburg employees remove loose dirt and gravel from Chestnut Street between S. 16th and S. 17th Streets in Harrisburg in preparation for milling and paving on Thursday, August 7, 2014. Elizabeth Frantz, PennLive
On Tuesday, I chatted with readers about the ways the city and its residents can work together to make Harrisburg a better place. Here are highlights from the conversation:
CRW_Shannon: Capital Region Water joins in applauding the work of these and other citizens in all areas of the City taking the time to make improvements in their neighborhood. We are continually heartened by the work done by young people to prevent litter and debris from clogging our storm water inlets on a #2MinTuesday like today.
In addition to helping us to maintain storm water inlets, citizens can help us to identify and locate issues as well.
Capital Region Water monitors SeeClickFix (a web and mobile app for reporting civic issues) for sinkholes and other drinking water, wastewater and storm water issues.
I can't promise that the issue will be fixed immediately, but we can't put it on the list to get to until we know about it.
Ideally, we would have our workforce out in the field identifying issues, but we are still building up our team to appropriate levels.
TLA: I think this is one of the keys of citizens working with the city and city services — informing of problems.
The fact is, citizens can see much more than anyone else. Stepping out their front doors each day, they are able to identify problems, issues, and confusions.
As far as CRW, is See Click Fix the first place a citizen should go to report a problem?
What if someone doesn't have access to a computer?
CRW_Shannon: See Click Fix is only one way to report a problem to CRW, and it's only one way for folks with access to a computer. We have Twitter and Facebook accounts and we have many ways to contact us through or website www.capitalregionwater.com.
But as you point out, not everyone has access to a computer. We set up a single phone number for issue reporting, billing questions/concerns, or setting up appointments for meter repair, and other items.
That number is 1-888-510-0606.
John Jones: I think a problem is that the Capital Region Water, which took over the water/sewer/storm water aspects of the city and the city seem to be a grey area. My understanding is all employees (minus a few that retired) came to work for the authority almost a year ago. So what team is being built or was the city that understaffed?
If the authority has water/ sewer/ storm water, wouldn't the metal plates and their issues be an authority issue and not a city issue?
Really trying to understand so citizen like myself know what is going on.
TLA: Fair enough and I think you touch upon a prominent general confusion in the city right now.
I'm not sure, though, there is a way to make such transition absolutely clear.
One thing that I think has helped is that Capital Region Water launched an effective rebranding/logo'ing.
This is significant because it's a visible mark of who is out and about servicing certain things in the city. For example, last week I was walking down the street and I saw workers in the middle of the road. At a glance, I knew it was Capital Region Water.
That gets embedded in my head. Overtime, more of us residents will take note of seeing CRW out. Then I believe we will begin to understand what they do and when we call on them.
That being said, there has been administrative confusion, though. It's not always clear what number to call or when we call it, the information is not necessarily clear.
That's another symptom, I think, of change and transition.
CRW_ Shannon: We understand that there are grey areas on who is responsible for what. We are still working out some details with the City as this transition goes on. One of those details is which sinkholes are whose responsibility. I can tell you that both the City and we have made progress over the last six months on removing plates from the streets and preventing plates from being installed on more than a temporary basis. But, we aren't done yet.
As noted, we have limited staff. You are correct that when we took over the systems, we gained over 60 employees from the City's Water and Sewer Bureaus and from the City's Operations and Revenue Department. However, as you speculate, the city was vastly understaffed. Over the years, as General Fund revenues couldn't meet expenses, the water and sewer funds were tapped to supplement the General Fund. Because water and sewer rates weren't raised, expenses had to be reduced. This took the form of downsizing staff and preventive maintenance fell by the wayside. We are working hard to determine what an appropriate staff size is in today's technological world, but one thing is for sure, we need more staff than was transferred.
For a stark example – the sewer collection system was previously operated and maintained by the City Services Bureau of the Harrisburg Public Works Department – separate from the sewer bureau. There are over 135 miles of pipe, over 4000 stormwater inlets, and approximately 3000 sewer manholes in that collection system. When CRW took over the system, we asked that the City transfer any and all employees whose job was devoted to this system. There were none transferred – zero employees of the City were dedicated to this large sewer system.
We have a lot of work to do to remediate the effects of neglect from many decades.
Diana Robinson (PennLive): If residents feel as though their concerns aren't being addressed, are there steps they can take, either with the city or with other agencies/organizations?
CRW_Shannon: Attending public meetings is a way to let the governing bodies know if the staff isn't addressing residents concerns.
CRW meets monthly at 6 p.m. on the fourth Wednesday of each month (except November and December when they are on the third Wednesday). Our meeting agendas and minutes can be found on our website.
TLA: What I do think needs to happen — and I've talked with Capital Region Water about this, too — is regular mobile "office hours."
We see Representative Patty Kim and Senator Rob Teplitz doing this. Once a month or every couple of months, these elected officials will set up shop in a community or neighborhood center for a few hours and talk to citizens. Take complaints, feedback, questions.
Now, I don't think we need Shannon Williams or Eric Papenfuse at those spots, but community outreachers, so to say, should be there. There should be a regular schedule set up and residents should be able to rely on the fact that every third Thursday (hypothetically) utility and service info booths will be set up a Hamilton Heath Center, HACC Midtown, the Broad Street Market, the atrium of City Hall, the Zembo Shrine, etc.
Capital Region Water is having a series of town halls. But outside of town halls, I think it would be helpful for citizens to know that they have access to their city service providers on a regular basis.
I think we'd see a quell in the public complaints. And confusion.
In the neighborhoods, this is the key.
I had hoped Joyce Davis, Communications Director for the City of Harrisburg would be able to join in today to answer specifically on how citizens can work with the city in regard to reporting problems/issues/complaints, but she must have had something come up.
I reached out to try to understand the 311 system better.
As someone who was on the Mayoral Transition Team: Communications Committee, I know setting up a 311 system was a priority of the new administration.
Right from the start, the Papenfuse Administration recognized there had been a deficient system of public communication for a long time. That is, citizens just didn't know how to contact someone at the city. Or whom to contact.
Now, there is someone at the front desk who answers phones and direct them accordingly. I also tried the "live chat" system on the website. I had immediate response. That was encouraging.
Diana Robinson: Donald Gilliland's story on potholes in Allison Hill mentions that there are ghost phone lines at City Hall, and that "the phone lines to Public Works when it was located at the incinerator are still live, but no one answers or monitors them."
How much awareness do residents have about the new 311 system? Do they know to call or chat instead of using legacy numbers from previous administrations?
TLA: I would say citizens have no awareness of the 311 system. That's why I was hoping to garner specific information from the city.
That being said, no I don't think they know not to use old numbers.
Here's the thing, within five square blocks of my house, I can find multiple vacant lots with signs about the "Mayor's Revitalization" program of some sort on them. Some say "Mayor Stephen Reed," some say "Mayor Linda Thompson."
There are phone numbers on those signs. I would daresay this is part of the problem. Those numbers are old and may not go where they are supposed to. No one may be at those desks anymore, especially now since Receivership and Papenfuse have changed things around.
That's why I argue there should merely be more efforts to get information into the neighborhoods at a centralized location on a regular schedule.
I think the 311 system is conceptually a great idea. I think it will solve many confusions and problems in the future. We're just not there yet.
Allison Hill: That was one of the more interesting points in the Gilliand article, at least for me. One of my main concerns is the difficulty in communicating with city hall in too many instances. If someone answers the phone, communication and responses are great. If email is used, communication is quite dismal. Too many residents are not aware of, or do not understand the 311 system, and I had no idea there was the option to chat online with employees. We need more effective communication of the communication efforts within city hall.
TLA: I recently received a lengthy Facebook post describing in detail the frustration of unreturned emails.
And the complaint was not just centered around the Papenfuse Administration but also City Councilors and various committees and councils.
I personally know that emails can be overwhelming but the fact of the matter is, if it is a publicized means of communication, then there must be an appropriate system of response instituted.
Donald Gilliland (PennLive): Joyce had asked me to share with people her direct number and Aaron's, and this seems as good a place as any. Joyce Davis cell is 717-712-4238 and Aaron Johnson's cell is 717-315-2101.
TLA: I appreciate the info, but it does point to something that concerns me each time I see Aaron in particular give his number.
I greatly appreciate that he makes himself accessible to the public but it does not seem a practical or sustainable way to address public question/concern/complaint.
It becomes an issue of record and accountability. Plus, not to mention the mere fact that it can't be a feasible way for him to function as head of Public Works. There's potential for a system of havoc.
I worry about the gray area created — ambiguity, expectations, and results.
mbryanr: The problem with improvement districts in residential neighborhoods is that the way they are currently set up in state law, they are fundamentally undemocratic. Residents pay a fee without any significant say in how the district is governed, and the boards that run the district have broad latitude to change the fees without resident input.
The traditional civic association approach can accomplish the same aim without mandatory fees. Friends of Midtown has a flower barrel project in midtown, with volunteers doing the maintenance. I would much rather be able to choose to financially support such efforts than to be forced to pay a fee to an unelected group that is not accountable to anyone.
TLA: As a huge prominent of civic initiatives to get things done — like #2MinTuesday — one virtue I do see in a Neighborhood Improvement District is a bit more ability to hold the "maintaining entity" accountable.
So if the Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District isn't doing something (which I have to say, they absolutely are as indicated by a recent series of initiatives), there seems to be more public ability to demand adjustment based on the fact an "assessment" is collected.
If I donate, I don't necessarily have this same avenue.
I'm not saying that I advocate NIDs...just circling the issue. I actually have mixed feelings about them, but in the city, the one we have is exemplifying some virtues of it well. Perhaps it's because it's a business district, which goes to your point about them not being effective in residential districts.
dman1115: The city currently has hanging flower baskets, but only in the Harrisburg NID Zone. Perhaps an expansion outside the official zone?
TLA: Those hanging baskets are able to be maintained because of the "assessment" placed on businesses thereby providing a pot of funds to purchase & care for those plants.
To expand an "improvement district" is an entailed process.
Eric Papenfuse and the Pennsylvania Downtown Center lead this charge for a Neighborhood Improvement District in Midtown a couple of years ago...to great controversy.
But it's something in general that, I think, deserves discussion.
Are people willing to pay more to have nice things? Do the residents of Harrisburg pay enough already?
BigPenn: How many public works and parks maintenance employees has the City lost? What was the level at the end of the Reed year's versus now? I have to figure the losses have been substantial.
Tara Leo Auchey: Per the 2014 City Budget:
"The department [of Public Works] consists of six bureaus which provide major public works services: Neighborhood Services - City Services and Sanitation, Vehicle Management, Building Maintenance, Water, and Sewer. With nearly 150 employees and a combined annual budget of approximately $44.7 million, the Department of Public Works performs a vast array of functions."
BUT...
In early November 2013, water and sewer was transferred to Capital Region Water. I believe about 60 employees were transferred, but I feel as if there are about a dozen or more positions that went with it.
Now, I cannot readily find the number of employees at the end of the Reed Administration, but I can find the budgets for the department from 2010 until 2014.
The budget has increased but so have the duties. Parks maintenance was cut from "Parks & Recreation" and moved to Public Works. I'm not quite sure how those positions were transferred.
Also, there has been a nominal increase in Public Works positions over the last two budgets. In 2013, three positions were added and two were added in the 2014 budget.
Of course, "positions" doesn't yield "employees" and your point is well taken.
Overall, I believe city residents (and commuters and visitors) have to realize there is a very limited number of people to do the work.
I have heard Pubic Work Director Aaron Johnson say there about 13 people to collect trash, mow lawns, fix streets, and repair lights.
There is constant triage going on.
BigPenn: Yikes. City Government is certainly a complex machine, but it seems that these departments need to be properly staffed. I think it could be argued that public works has some of the most direct contact with the average citizen with their work directly contributing to quality of life (obviously the police and Fire also greatly contribute to this).
TLA: In the city's budget, "Public Safety" is the highest percentage of cost.
Then debt and general transfers to general things, but the next chunk is "Public Works." You are right about that particular department having the most direct and visible contact with citizens.
Public Works deals with much of the residents' daily quality of life issues — trash, streetlights, traffic lights, roadways, overgrowth.
CRW_Shannon: Proper staffing is definitely a goal. It's our public officials' challenging task to balance the cost of proper staffing with the ability to support that cost through revenues (taxes and fees at the City and water/sewer/stormwater rates for the Authority)
One must look back further than the change in administrations for the reduction in staffing and services. The Reed years brought a lot of downsizing to support growing General Fund needs.
Scott Shepler: Parks are not green and sustainable; too much mowing and spraying herbicides. The city does not have any control over these volunteer groups. The groups sometimes to more harm than good. Maintenance staffs have not been trained in current best practices for park maintenance.
TLA: Great points. Also, as someone who was part of #2MinTuesday crews who pulled weeds along the river steps several times, there are the liability issues, which become part of the discussion about "citizens and city" working together.
Nick Malawskey (PennLive): My dad owns a power washer and I've seriously considered borrowing it to go downtown to power wash some of the sidewalks (which look like they haven't been cleaned in decades).
But I wonder if that would even be legal?
TLA: The issue of legal is what comes up time and time again...as it should.
We were told under the Thompson Administration that we could not organize cleanups on our own if it was on city property because of the liability issues. We were supposed to fill out these forms, which asked a lot more than was necessary. If I recall correctly, there was a question, "What are your interests?"
The problem was we had to have these forms in at least two weeks ahead of time, get approval, then hopefully be able to do the cleanup.
Well, sometimes citizen activism isn't that kind of plan. We just wanted to pull weeds.
We did, but I suppose at risk of being stopped by the city.
We never were, though.
ree716: Someone has been surreptitiously planting a few trees in Riverfront.
Scott Shepler: I hope they are natives and not invasives.
TLA: You trigger a thought that if we are going to have citizen guerrilla efforts to make things better, then we should probably parallel it with a guerrilla education program of some sort.
Sheila Dow Ford: As I stated at the school board meeting Monday evening, the city's current challenges around municipal overburden must be factored into any consideration of tax abatement proposals.
In other words, if we cannot afford to fix and maintain current structures, which traditionally are funded through tax revenue, how does a tax abatement strategy help, or hinder, such efforts?
Relying upon residents to assist is noble and necessary, but can only take us so far. We can't fix broken water pipes, or sink-holes, or severe sewer back-ups.
TLA: I think your comment also points to a conversation worth having — which things should the city be doing and which ones should citizens be encouraged to do?
Off the top of my head, street sweeping seems like a good example.
Some people believe money should not be spent on street sweeping but rather the funds and effort should go elsewhere, to more vital services.
Who picks up the trash? The citizens.
Perhaps the city should join the #2MinTuesday campaign to encourage this. Imagine the impact of those combined efforts.
Where and how should citizens and the City partner?
That's a conversation to be had and a strategy to be laid out.
Now it's time to wrap up. Great thanks to Capital Region Water's Shannon Williams...you were a great asset to this conversation today. We really appreciate you joining in!
Thank you everyone who added perspective, feedback, questions, and input to today's chat.
CRW_Shannon: Before I step away from this conversation, I want to again spread the word about our last community meeting of the summer - this Thursday, August 14 at 6 p.m.
It will be held at the Second City Church at 251 Verbeke. I'll be talking about our systems and handing out materials such as fridge magnets to remind you of our single phone number and website.
We are also asking attendees to fill out a survey to help us serve you better.
I hope to see you all there.
Read the rest of the chat here and join me, Tara Leo Auchey, next Tuesday from 12-1 p.m. for another live Q&A.
Tara Leo Auchey is the creator and editor of the community-based online publication, today's the day Harrisburg, which focuses on the news, people, and projects of the City of Harrisburg. Follow on Twitter and on Facebook.