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Road Trip: Carlisle officials defend conference in Portland
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Townships prefer to stay local



A survey of other Cumberland County municipalities finds they prefer to send staff and elected officials to conferences within Pennsylvania.



Barbara Wilson, manager of South Middleton Township, said the only conference the supervisors attend is the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors convention held every year in Hershey.



She can recall only one case within the last 10 years of a senior staff member going to an out-of-state conference. There have been none since.



Most conferences attended by North Middleton Township staff are in the Harrisburg area, Manager Deborah Ealer said. “The costs for these conferences is minimal.”

Ealer said most of the PSATS-sponsored conferences are $35 for half-day sessions.



“Dickinson Township officials or employees typically do not take extended trips,” according to Township Manager Ron Reeder. “The only traveling that is expected and budgeted is the convention in Hershey. Traveling is limited to day trips, no overnight stays.”



He explained occasional day training sessions are necessary for staff to keep abreast of changes in laws. For example, there was recent instruction on the new Right-to-Know law.



Meanwhile, in Upper Allen Township, one or two commissioners may take a short trip to Lancaster, York or Gettysburg for the state commissioner conference, according to interim Township Manager Bob Livingston. “Last year, we had an employee attend two conferences related to sewer plants at State College,” he added. Given the current economy, Upper Allen has cut back on conferences to the absolute essential, he said.



Those surveyed defend the value of training conferences.

“They provide continuing education to the supervisors and staff to assist them in their jobs,” Ealer said.



Wilson added that South Middleton has not cut back on any of its educational experiences because of the economy. “We try to keep tight control on expenses — using township vehicles and eating meals included with the conferences and training sessions.



“We strongly believe conferences and training seminars are important to the education of our board and staff,” Wilson said. “We have a very minimal budget for these and stay within it.”



Michael Gossert, Hampden Township manager, said all the conferences attended by commissioners and staff are in the state and usually local.



Gossert said both the commissioners and staff are very conscious of the current economic state. “The budget this year is basically developed to provide necessary services to residents and businesses,” he said.



— By Joseph Cress and Andrea Ciccocioppo, Sentinel Reporters

By Joseph Cress, Sentinel Reporter, January 11, 2009

Last updated: Sunday, January 11, 2009 12:47 AM EST

Carlisle officials are defending a decision made last month to send Councilman Sean Shultz on a trip this spring to Portland, Ore., at taxpayers’ expense in the midst of a recession.

Shultz said his attendance at the Green Cities Conference and Exposition will ultimately pay for itself in the form of savings to the borough’s bottom line.

“I wouldn’t be going if it did not provide a significant return on an investment,” Shultz said about the conference, scheduled for April 18-22.

Shultz explained how the conference, the first of its kind on a national scale, draws municipal officials from across the country willing to provide insight on how to implement energy efficient “green” initiatives.

During a goal-setting meeting held last May, council made implementing a “green” policy a priority in the next several years, Shultz said.

He added the conference includes workshops that provide information on options that could save the borough money in the long run.

Borough Manager Steve Hietsch said council routinely includes money in its annual budget for professional development for staff and elected officials.

“We view it as an investment,” Hietsch said, explaining how those who attend bring back information that can improve the overall operation of the borough.

Assistant Manager Susan Armstrong said the borough has yet to book travel and lodging reservations for the Portland trip. Typically, the borough allocates about $150 per day for hotel, Armstrong said.

Shultz said he found sources on-line that quote round-trip airfare to Portland at $250 to $300. Hietsch noted the borough has already paid a $250 early-bird registration fee for the Portland conference out of its 2008 budget.

Carlisle Borough Council allocated $27,860 in the 2009 budget for “travel expenses” — namely lodging, transportation and meals. This is down from $30,668 allocated in the 2008 budget.

18 trips

Council last year approved 18 trips by borough employees and elected officials to professional conferences, training schools and certification courses. Twelve of those were within Pennsylvania while six were out-of-state to places like New Jersey, Georgia, Ohio and Maryland.

In November, Police Chief Stephen Margeson attended the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference in San Diego. Margeson said the trip cost the borough about $1,500.

“These are not vacation jaunts,” Margeson said. He explained how conference workshops provide useful insight, especially in the field of liability and risk management.

Just last week, Margeson said he had a conversation with a Carlisle Area School District administrator where he shared insight into how to prevent mass casualty shooting incidents like the Virginia Tech tragedy.

The chief added the police department routinely sends officers to various training programs all over the state and region to keep their training on par with professional standards.

Margeson said it is important to maintain a high level of capability as demand for police services increases.

Hietsch said conferences not only provide information, but opportunities for municipal leaders across the country to network and share insight. Attendance at certain conferences is necessary for some borough employees to maintain professional certifications, Hietsch added.

All requests for trips to conferences have to be approved by the department head and council, Hietsch said. For in-state conferences, employees and elected officials sometimes use borough vehicles to save mileage reimbursement.

Hietsch said the travel budget equates to less than $250 per person for 120 borough employees and eight elected officials.

County revamps way it handles training trips



Cumberland County has implemented a program over the past five years to make better use of training dollars.

Commissioner Chairman Gary Eichelberger said the current policy is to scale back the amount of travel allowed for commissioners and to beef up the review procedure for staff travel and training requests.



“Commissioners no longer attend national conferences, which are often held in rather far-flung locations,” Eichelberger said. “Typically, we attend only relevant portions of the County Commissioners Association meetings — and usually only if they are local.”



Eichelberger said the county also puts more emphasis on getting key management people into training sessions rather than having a commissioner attend.



When possible, the county encourages participation in certain training regimens, especially those that improvement management skills and hold potential for saving money over the longer haul, Eichelberger said.

On Friday, Eichelberger and a staff person signed up for a two-part, day-long workshop entitled “Rightsizing to Realities: Overcoming the Challenges of Managing In Fiscally Difficult Times.”



Scheduled for Jan. 26 in Washington D.C., the workshop is put on by the International City/County Management Association and will touch on the latest thinking in the Reinventing Government that stress management reform in public sector agencies, Eichelberger said.



“The cost is $325 each, but will probably aid us in finding cost reductions many times larger to meet our budget goals,” Eichelberger said. “My expectation is we will come back and distribute our learning across our management team. This strikes me as a good investment of public dollars.”



He added the county has also implemented an internal management academy, which it plans to use to deliver skills training in a more cost effective way without the need for expensive travel and training costs.



— Joseph Cress