MSR 2002-2 - Public Service Commission of West Virginia

Public Service Commission — Management Summary Report
The Administrative Division is comprised of 21 employees that oversee the finance, human
resources, information technology, public relations, purchasing, training and facilities
management functions for the Public Service Commission.
Key responsibilities of the Administrative Division includes providing agency-wide
personnel, payroll and travel services; budget preparation and oversight; fiscal control;
acquisition of funding through assessment of public utilities; and securing funds from
government grants and funding programs. This Division is also responsible for the purchasing
and inventorying of supplies; building and grounds maintenance and upkeep; assignment of
fleet vehicles; equipment leasing; and purchase contracts. Another Division responsibility is
to oversee public relations activities for the PSC including communicating with outside media,
preparing press releases, coordinating annual reports and assisting other Divisions within the
PSC with various efforts such as providing information to the general public for educational
purposes. The Division also coordinates and provides educational training opportunities and
maintains training related records for all PSC employees. Finally, the Administration Division
handles all information technology and computer needs for the Public Service Commission.
Duties include providing agency-wide installation and setup of computer hardware and software
as well as the implementation of network security, backup and restoration procedures. Other
information technology duties include upgrades to installed software and hardware,
programming, database design, scanning, web design and maintenance as well as providing
implementation, training, support and technical assistance for all hardware and software.
The Budget and Finance Section has the responsibility for managing the PSC’s annual budget
of almost $21 million dollars. It also collects and distributes E-911 fees for the State of West
Virginia totaling more than $22 million dollars a year. This section led several initiatives in
2006 including a major effort to move financial management and control responsibility further
down into the organization, to the Director level. Key tasks to accomplish this included
developing budget and monthly financial reports to the Division level, giving Directors an
orientation explaining why the change was so important, and training Directors and key
individuals how to monitor and manage their Division’s spending. This section also led a cost
savings initiative for the PSC that resulted in over $175,000 in annualized savings in 2006.
Major savings projects included eliminating vault storage $35,000; reducing maintenance
contractor’s costs by better scheduling & changing job frequencies $40,000; increasing use
of pool vehicles $10,000; reducing number of leased vehicles and related operating costs
$60,000; eliminating unnecessary pagers and telephone lines $16,000; and eliminating the
Beckley office lease $12,000.
Page 25