“I recently saw a posting on a city’s Facebook site encouraging people to participate in a ‘cash mob’ at a specific location. What in the world is this and why would a city want to encourage something like it?” You, as I, are probably not what people would call a savvy Facebooker! I have heard of “flash mobs” and “dance mobs” and now a “cash mob.” I did some investigating though and found that it really is used by cities and, unlike some of the other kinds of mobs we endure, this is to encourage residents to go spend cash in a specific area. Why, you ask, would a city want to encourage such a thing? Wouldn’t it be giving preferential treatment to one business over another? I would have thought the same thing until I discovered that it is suggested to help keep businesses in a construction area, usually where the city is making major changes or improvements to the intersection or entrance nearby, viable during a time when most customers might see the mess and move on to another location. Usually, the area receives more extensive signage and detours are well marked. However, the new technology is often being used now to call attention to the fact that the area is, indeed, open to customers and to encourage folks to “mob” the place and spend “cash” to help the owners during the construction period. You learn something every day!
92 APWA Reporter
June 2012
“Can anyone provide me with a good plan for public education for our stormwater program? We keep trying to get the public interested but don’t have much luck.” I recently visited the Department of Public Utilities in Fresno, Calif., and the Public Works Department in Columbia, Mo., and both have outstanding and very successful programs to educate the public about stormwater and water conservation, as well. Another great program is in Bettendorf, Iowa, and involves a great program presented at the schools, as well as Clean Stream teams and a healthy volunteer program. Let me know if you would like the contact information. All three agencies are Accredited by APWA and doing a great job of sharing public information.
“Our city has been selling vehicles and surplus equipment through the online auction process for quite a while. Now our Fleet Manager is suggesting that we utilize the ‘reverse auction’ process as a method of reducing our fuel costs. Do you know how this works?” As you know, the usual auction process involves the seller posting an item up for bid and the buyers bid within certain time constraints and parameters and at the close date,
the successful buyer is the one who offer to pay the most for the item. A reverse auction is different in that a single buyer offers a contract out for bidding. Multiple sellers are then able to offer bids. As the auction progresses, the price decreases as sellers compete to offer lower bids than their competitors while still meeting all the requirements of the bid specs. Many procurement officers believe that bidding by real time on the Internet results in a dynamic, competitive process and helps to provide downward price pressure that is not available through traditional static paper-based bidding techniques. Jeffrey Hart, Fleet Supervisor, City of Oceanside, Calif., has used this process and is finding it very beneficial with a 5-7 percent potential savings. Contact Jeffrey for more details. “With all the cuts made to our various programs, we are looking for a way to continue to recognize our outstanding employees without spending a lot of money to do so. We know how valuable they are to us and to our citizens but we don’t have money to recognize it now. Any ideas?”
Many surveys have shown that employees, while appreciating a monetary gift for outstanding service, feel that public recognition of their efforts is often just as effective. The City of Chandler, Ariz., has developed an outstanding recognition program that they have titled “Kudos Corner.” Housed on the intranet,
