Baldwin County set for Lean treatment

Tucker Dorsey

FAIRHOPE, Alabama -- A program largely funded by Auburn University and the University of Alabama to help coastal government cut waste and improve efficiency should be under way in Baldwin by late February, officials said this week.

After some initial resistance, commissioners agreed to give the Lean Government Systems a try with 30 county employees participating in the training at a total cost of $2,500.

Mitch Emmons of the Auburn Technical Assistance Center and Linda Coogan of the Alabama Productivity Center told commissioners at Tuesday’s work session that the schools wanted to help cities after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The Lean program was one way the schools could contribute, according to Emmons. Each university paid $42,500 to sponsor the initiative in Baldwin and offered the program to Foley, Orange Beach and Gulf Shores as well as Baldwin County. Employees with the municipal governments have already begun training, but the county had not yet signed off on joining.

The program — used successfully in increasing efficiency in the Toyota Production System — teaches workers to spot and eliminate waste in work processes. In the first few days in Gulf Shores, for example, workers found a way to use existing software in a permitting process to eliminate five days of paper shuffling.

The Lean program included Baldwin at the request of Commissioner Tucker Dorsey, Emmons said.

“I was at those meetings after the oil spill and I expressed some interest,” Dorsey said. “If we can get some perspective on how we can improve our process, I’m all for that.”

Commissioner Frank Burt sharply disagreed with the presenters, questioning their ability to improve operations in Baldwin County.

“We’ve done it here in about a year,” Burt said before the presentation was complete. “You want us to model after Alabama and Auburn. Y’all are trying to teach us something you haven’t learned yourself.”

The presenters explained their operation was funded partially by the schools, but the Lean program is an independent initiative based on internationally established research.

“This is evidence-based,” Emmons said. “It is a small investment to have the process improvement methods. Just try the process and see if it works. It’s a minimal investment for the training.”

Burt first charged that the program was a sneak attack by Dorsey that other officials had no knowledge of, but later backed down and apologized for his remarks.

Various department heads expressed interest in participating with the exception of County Administrator David Brewer.

“We have enough to do without another meeting,” Brewer said. “We have real work to do ... and the implementation of (the commission) philosophy is working just fine.”

Dorsey responded, “I personally am looking for ways to improve, and here we have experts offering help.”

More information about the process is available at www.auburnworks.org.

In other discussion, commissioners:

• Heard a plea from Fish River residents supporting a county noise or nuisance ordinance. The couple said an ongoing problem with a neighbor and the “incessant barking” of his five dogs had made their neighborhood an unpleasant place to live. Absent zoning that could address the issue, the only other option for the couple was a civil lawsuit, according to County Attorney David Conner. Commissioners said they were not ready to proceed with a required referendum that would pave the way for a noise/nuisance ordinance, though Commissioner Charles “Skip” Gruber said he would support it.
• Agreed to add a new poll worker position, chief clerk, which would be paid at a rate of $135 a day during voting to help manage larger precincts. Probate Judge Tim Russell asked for the commission to allow up to 10 chief clerks to be appointed for the upcoming primary and general elections.
• Heard another request by Perdido Beach residents Mr. and Mrs. Herbert S. Mason for the county to vacate two rights of way adjacent to his property. Commissioners voted against a similar request by Mason months ago citing state law regarding public water access. A public hearing on the issue is set for Feb. 7 at 9 a.m. in Bay Minette in the commission chambers.
• Heard a report on testing at Magnolia Landfill monitoring wells that indicated arsenic and vinyl chloride in groundwater near the facility. Staff members believe the arsenic may be a naturally occurring phenomenon and the vinyl chloride could be residue from the property’s past use as a military air base. State officials have approved a testing process to find the cause of the contamination. Geologists will make various soil borings for analysis to determine the source of the substances and the need for any other action triggered by the findings.