The study revealed a wide range of ideas on how the department could become more effective and productive. Ranging from simply "Provide more money to the department" to "Develop a comprehensive strategy", these comments provide a roadmap to better operations and indicate the departments are seeking proactive solutions to the problems they face. The following comments are representative of the responses received.

• "If we think we can always improve and try to operate in that mode, we can improve our efficiency and productivity. If something needs to be changed or the process revised to increase productivity, we must change. We must promote innovation, even at the risk of failure."

• "Streamline project scheduling and stick to the schedule."

• "Restructure and reorganize priority functions, then allocate the manpower needed to get the job done."

• "Promote better supervision and evaluation of programs and activities. Programs have a tendency to get stagnant over time."

• "Improve overall scheduling. Take control over the types of services we reasonably provide."

• "Identify a strategy by planning. Budget according to the plan. Schedule work to promote efficient use of personnel and equipment."

• "Budget constraints force us to prioritize work and evaluate the cost/benefit of the services."

• "Personnel management requires greater skill. We need to improve implementation of a proactive personnel management system, provide more training and establish a bottoms-up approach. A motivated and dedicated work force is the only way to improve productivity and efficiency.

• "Streamline maintenance work orders to make repair scheduling easier and more efficient."

• "Better control tools and other expendable items. Too much time is wasted searching for tools to do the job."

• "Better schduling. Be proactive and look ahead. Improve equipment replacement and upkeep procedures."

• "Better cost accounting in projects. Better scheduling of larger projects. Improve quality control procedures on work projects and use consistent methods to check on work performed."

• "Implement employee productivity trcking, project cost accounting and better work order tracking."

• "Improve complaint tracking. Being more responsive to our residents will yield long-term gains for the department."

• "Better long-term planning. The department tends to operate under the principle that 'the squeeky wheel gets the most grease'. We need to be more proactive in our planning."

Of particular interest in the comments was that the superintendents generally accepted today's tight budget constraints. Better planning, scheduling, project evaluations and personnel management were the most common responses.

Recognizing the budget issue is a long-term issue, the departments are seeking innovative solutions to help them improve productivity and efficiency. The next step is developing a plan and implementing it. The next section offers an action plan superintendents can use to evaluate their operations and design a long term strategy.