Published: April 25, 2008 09:38 pm      

ERIE COUNTY: New law overlaps old law

Al Hammonds, Erie County’s director of Six Sigma implementation, is taking a hard look at how the county can get employees involved in the program, and existing legislation might have already set up a framework for that plan.

Erie County Legislator Michele Iannello, D-Kenmore, said she encountered a surprise when she took office in 2006 and wanted to propose legislation that would bring employee suggestions for cost savings before some sort of review committee. A similar law had been passed in 2004 that should have created a review committee to look over suggestions.

“The outgoing administration was supposed to propose a way to get this done and they never did,” Iannello said.

Now that County Executive Chris Collins has taken the reigns and started his Six Sigma program, that law has come back into the light.

The Erie County Legislature and Erie County Fiscal Stability Authority approved $120,000 for the implementation of the program last month. Department heads and nine county employees who are highly thought of in their departments have already started their Six Sigma training, Hammonds said. The employees were chosen because of their ability to assist on assigned projects determined earlier this year, and they’re working on those as they’re being trained.

In the process these ‘green belts,’ as the newly-trained are called in Six Sigma terminology, are becoming better team leaders and practicing the skills to get the projects started in the future, Hammonds said.

“They were carefully selected for these projects,” Hammonds said. “It’s not a random thing.”

How employees will be rewarded for their suggested improvements is unclear. Under the existing law, awards would be based on the benefit. A minimum $50 award would be given for any improvement with “either tangible or intangible savings.” But the award would be as much as 10 percent of the first year’s savings with no limit, subject to verification by the county budget director.

Hammonds said he hasn’t reviewed the law, but that the idea of rewarding employees for finding ways to save taxpayer funds will eventually be part of the program in one form or another.

“We’re in the introductory stage of figuring out the rewards and recognition,” Hammonds said. “That’s an integral part of Six Sigma, but we haven’t put that together yet.”

As things come together, the Legislature isn’t looking to wait another four years to see results. A resolution passed Thursday will put Hammonds in front of legislators in the near future to discuss the issue in more detail.

“We’re going to have him before the finance and management committee to tell us exactly what steps he’s going to take to implement this law that’s been in place since 2004,” Iannello said.

Contact reporter Daniel Pyeat 693-1000, ext. 158.