04/21/1999

Welcome - We have (so far, at least) two new staff members to welcome in May.

Nancy Perkey will start Monday, May 3 in Knoxville as administrative manager replacing Sally Thierbach who will then be able to spend full time on her new job as training consultant. Nancy has been employed on the Knoxville campus for the last twelve years with the Computer Center and Network Services, State Testing, and the Maintenance and Reliability Center in the College of Engineering. Some of the budgets she has worked with are smaller than ours and some make the MTAS budget look small. She received a BS degree in Business Management from UTK.

Ralph Cross will start Monday, May 17 as the finance and accounting consultant in the Nashville office. Since 1991 Ralph has been the Treasurer for Lawrenceburg. Prior to that he had extensive experience in private business. He received a MBA in Finance from the University of Memphis.

Travel Tickler - Coming soon to your PC. We are starting a weekly reminder for our travelers to input their schedule to the Travel Itinerary Database . If you don't have your travel keyed in by Friday afternoon, it will remind you and give you a link to the database.

Automated T-3 - Beginning in June, I'd like all consultants to use the automated T-3. I've asked Lisa to set up training sessions on this database along with a review of several other Notes databases, tricks, and techniques. The training sessions will be:
May 11 - Knoxville
May 12 - Nashville
May 13 - Jackson (this will be after we install the new server that will make this possible in Jackson)

Current Issues - SharonR is chairing our current issues committee and it is composed mostly of consultants from the Nashville office. If you have a current issue that you think should be addressed in a publication or otherwise, please contact SharonR.

Publications Process - We have revised our publications process. Here is a copy. and here is the whole document.

MTAS PUBLICATIONS

1. Types of publications
a. Full MTAS publications - lengthy documents such as Finding Money II, Directory of Tennessee Municipal Officials, Bid Data, Tennessee Municipal Handbook , etc.
b. MTAS Technical Bulletins - how to or informational guides on topics of general, widespread interest such as Pricing Your Place on the World Wide Web, The Telecommunication Act of 1996 and its Impact on Tennessee Cities, Interviewing and the Law , etc.
c. MTAS Hot Topics - timely information on a hot issue that requires immediate attention or response such as the annual MTAS Salary and Fringe Benefit Survey, Federal and State Reimbursement Rates for Travel, Personnel Issues in the News , etc.
d. MTAS Guides - how to or informational guides on topics of interest to a limited, specific audience such as Fire or Police Department Standard Operating Procedures, Personnel Rules and Regulations, Sand for Wastewater Drying Beds, Preventive Maintenance for Water and Wastewater Plant Operators, etc.

2. Assignment of Publications (volunteers are welcome)
a. Full publications are identified in the annual APR process and assigned to an owner by the MTAS Management Team. For instance, John Chlarson will be responsible for the update of Bid Data every 2 years; Sharon Rollins will be responsible for the update of Finding Money as needed to keep the publication current; Pamela Bingham will be responsible for the update of the Tennessee Municipal Handbook following the annual legislative session; etc.
b. Technical Bulletins may be identified and assigned by the MTAS Management Team through the annual APR or through the Current Issues Committee.
c. Hot Topics will be identified and assigned by the Current Issues Committee.
d. Guides are written documents used by consultants for specific client needs. For instance, Steve Wyatt has recently developed a guide on preventive maintenance which he will use in discussions with plant operators. This information would not be suitable for mass mailing to cities, but is very helpful to plant operators. Guides may eventually turn into Technical Bulletins or a brochure (i.e. Managing Inflow/Infiltration ) depending on applicability and size of audience. Guides are only used at the consultant's discretion. They would not be for general distribution.

3. Publication Development
a. After a full publication, a Technical Bulletin or a Hot Topic has been assigned by the MTAS Management Team, the consultant responsible for the publication will complete the Publication Request Form in the Publication Database in Lotus Notes. The consultant and his/her manager will work together to clarify deadline dates, peer reviewer(s) and so forth.
b. The draft publication will be submitted simultaneously to the Communications Consultant and peer reviewer(s) electronically by the target date. Some publications may require more than one peer reviewer.
c. The Communications Consultant is responsible for coordinating a conference call with the author and the peer reviewer(s) to discuss changes.
d. The Communications Consultant is responsible for editing, proofing and layout. She will work with the Editorial Assistant and other resources as needed (such as IPS designers).
e. The Communications Consultant is responsible for obtaining the author's approval on the final layout.
f. The Communications Consultant then works through IPS to assign a publication number, make final changes and print the publication.
g. For MTAS guides, the Communications Consultant will design a uniform layout for consultants to use. The author is encouraged to use the uniform layout and request editing, proofing assistance from the Communications Consultant or the Editorial Assistant.

4. Distribution
a. When the publication arrives, the Data Integrity Clerk notifies the Communications Consultant and overnights a copy for the Communications Consultant's approval before distribution.
b. After approval of the Communications Consultant, publications are distributed to MTAS Consultants first, then order forms or the publications are sent to the target audience.
c. The Communications Consultant will maintain the publications database on the MTAS website and ensure that new publications are posted on the website.
d. Orders are filled by the Data Integrity Clerk.
e. Inventory - The Data Integrity Clerk maintains the inventory of publications and notifies the Communications Consultant prior to depletion of the publication stock. The Communications Consultant will consult with the MTAS Management Team to determine whether to reprint.
f. The Data Integrity Clerk will notify via email those cities with known email addresses when new publications are posted on the MTAS website.