02 City Council (5/12/03) - Laserfiche WebLink

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Regular City Council Meeting May 12,2003 Page 6 emphasis on safety. They give their employees advancement opportunities, incentive compensation programs, and every employee is an owner in the company and receives company stock as a part of their bonus program. Ms. Ross stated that they have nationwide purchasing agreements because they have so many plants. These allow OMI to purchase things at a lesser cost and pass the savings on to their clients. She said that because they operate so many facilities they are able to benchmark or compare each facility and apply what they have learned previously to their new client's facilities. They have energy and chemical management programs, training programs, employee cross-training, incentive compensation, monitoring and control systems, creative capital solutions, and contractual and financing flexibility. Ms. Ross said certain things are necessary for a successful partnership. First, City Council needs to develop a consensus that you want to partner. Then Council needs to direct staff to define a policy and define a scope of services that you want to contract. Then Council needs to establish what it is currently costing the city to provide those services. And finally, the Council needs to compare the proposals from companies with the current cost to the city. She advised that the city should not to focus on just looking for a low cost provider. The city really needs to focus on the quality of service that the city is going to get. Usually, a city establishes selection criteria that not only includes cost but also the quality of service and the treatment of employees. She advised that the city and the contractor need to be able to share responsibilities and risks and really take a partnership approach to the procurement and contracting process. In summary, Ms. Ross felt that partnering with OMI can bring success to