2008 MDA Annual Report - Maryland Department of Agriculture

| Office o f t h e Secretary |Office of Administrative ServicesThe Office of Administrative Services manages all technicaland support services for the department. It is comprisedof three sections – Central Services, Fiscal Services, andthe Human Resource Office.The department has approximately 460 permanent and seasonalemployees and the Human Resource Office facilitates therecruitment, training, appropriate compensation, and retention ofqualified individuals. Programs and services for employees includerisk management and total quality management, employee leavebank, teleworking, wellness, blood drives, training and employeerecognition.Central Services manages facilities, records, inventory,telecommunications, warehousing, the agency motor fleet andthe distribution of supplies and mail. The office also overseesdepartmental procurement and is responsible for the maintenanceand repair of 340,000 square feet of facilities on 44.5 acres ofowned and leased facilities throughout the state. The maintenancestaff implements energy-saving projects wherever possible. Acomposting program transforms organic waste into mulch, whichis utilized in landscaping projects at MDA. The motor poolprovides quality maintenance and repairs of the department’s 285vehicles in addition to semi-annual inspections on all vehicles.The MDA fleet traveled more than 2.7 million miles last year.Central Services provides procurement assistance throughout thedepartment; continues to improve management practices andautomate data concerning motor vehicle operating costs, telephonecosts and billing, inventory control and minority procurement.The office also incorporates the financial management informationsystem to improve monitoring, ordering, and delivery of goods andservices.In FY09, MDA will initiate an energy efficiency performancecontract that will save more than $4.36 million over 14 years. Allproject costs will be funded through guaranteed energy-relatedsavings as MDA’s headquarters building implements the O’MalleyAdministration’s goal to reduce power consumption by 15 percentby the year 2015.Fiscal Services handles all centralized accounting transactions forthe department. This encompasses all phases of the budget, grantsmanagement, accounts receivable, accounts payable and leavemanagement. The office has continued its fine record of paying99 percent of MDA bills on time as defined by state “on-time”guidelines.7