County Works On Needs Assessment
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
What are the immediate and long-range needs of Kosciusko County government?
To find out, Kosciusko County Council President Jim Tranter has worked on a needs analysis for the county for the last six to eight months.
Step One was a questionnaire to county government department heads and elected officials. Step Two, which he presented to the Kosciusko County Commissioners Tuesday, is a compilation of the data from the questionnaire.
Tranter said the compilation is a "wish list" of the county's needs to help county officials get some kind of projection of what is needed within the next decade.
"The whole purpose is to give us direction, to see where we're going," he said.
Approximately nine questions were asked of the 22 different county departments.
Sixty-six full-time and 23 part-time employees are projected to be added during the next nine years, according to the needs analysis, a 32 percent growth of new employees. Fourteen departments will need additional space, 19 will need additional computer hardware and 20 will need addtional computer software.
Addtional training will be needed for 18 departments, and 11 departments reported on-site training will work for their departments. A dozen responded that off-site training is necessary.
Nine respondents wanted a Web site or the Internet to interact with their department.
Tranter said step three of the process will be interviews with each county department head, conducted by two interviewers, to discuss in more detail the data recorded on the needs analysis forms. Step four will be a discussion by the county council, commissioners and administrator to develop a direction based on the data that has been formulated.
Preparation of a final draft is the fifth and final step. The data will be given to each department head and elected official so the future direction of the county will attempt to follow the long-range plan.
"We can always add to it," said Tranter. "We can always delete from it." He said the public needs to know what the county officials are doing with tax money and the analysis will help with that.
"I see several (departments) have the same concerns all the way through," said county commissioner Avis Gunter.
Tranter agreed. He said the big area of need is technology. "This is an area we've got to look at very seriously because this is the way society seems to be going," he said.
He said the needs analysis is "not the gospel. It's a guideline."
"It's a good start on a good project," said Mike Miner, commissioner attorney. [[In-content Ad]]
What are the immediate and long-range needs of Kosciusko County government?
To find out, Kosciusko County Council President Jim Tranter has worked on a needs analysis for the county for the last six to eight months.
Step One was a questionnaire to county government department heads and elected officials. Step Two, which he presented to the Kosciusko County Commissioners Tuesday, is a compilation of the data from the questionnaire.
Tranter said the compilation is a "wish list" of the county's needs to help county officials get some kind of projection of what is needed within the next decade.
"The whole purpose is to give us direction, to see where we're going," he said.
Approximately nine questions were asked of the 22 different county departments.
Sixty-six full-time and 23 part-time employees are projected to be added during the next nine years, according to the needs analysis, a 32 percent growth of new employees. Fourteen departments will need additional space, 19 will need additional computer hardware and 20 will need addtional computer software.
Addtional training will be needed for 18 departments, and 11 departments reported on-site training will work for their departments. A dozen responded that off-site training is necessary.
Nine respondents wanted a Web site or the Internet to interact with their department.
Tranter said step three of the process will be interviews with each county department head, conducted by two interviewers, to discuss in more detail the data recorded on the needs analysis forms. Step four will be a discussion by the county council, commissioners and administrator to develop a direction based on the data that has been formulated.
Preparation of a final draft is the fifth and final step. The data will be given to each department head and elected official so the future direction of the county will attempt to follow the long-range plan.
"We can always add to it," said Tranter. "We can always delete from it." He said the public needs to know what the county officials are doing with tax money and the analysis will help with that.
"I see several (departments) have the same concerns all the way through," said county commissioner Avis Gunter.
Tranter agreed. He said the big area of need is technology. "This is an area we've got to look at very seriously because this is the way society seems to be going," he said.
He said the needs analysis is "not the gospel. It's a guideline."
"It's a good start on a good project," said Mike Miner, commissioner attorney. [[In-content Ad]]