Williamsport’s Public Works Department is doing what a consulting firm representative said is an admirable job with a flat amount of staffing and costs are not really going up but they are responsible for maintaining buildings that are condemned or not used too often.

That was the assessment by Philadelphia-based Public Financial Management (PFM) regarding the streets and parks and flood control department, a.k.a. public works. PFM is conducting a strategic management plan process for the city.

It recently presented a report showing department operations and some suggestions on how to improve productivity and efficiency.

In terms of condemned City Hall – the department is responsible for maintaining the buildings the city does not use that often, such as that one.

“If you can get rid of some of those buildings and shrink that footprint you will shrink the amount of work that public works has to do,” said Gordon Mann, managing director, PFM.

In terms of the department’s vehicle fleet, there has been progress in updating that, however, “you want to continue to do that. You want to get that on a regular cycle.”

Regionalization is not just something for police and fire, Mann noted.

“I think there is actually an opportunity to regionalize the levee,” he said.

“If there is a flood, the water does not magically go to the border of the city and the town next door and stop. It will just keep going,” he said.

Right now, the city is staffing that system, he added. “That is something that should move to a regional authority, which is easier said than done but it is a regional asset. That protects the region that should be funded regionally.”

“If you could take those $200,000 which is about the staffing costs, and shift that to an authority, that is a meaningful savings,” Mann said.