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MD.330.9.1, MGT - Field Office Management Priorities FY09

Maryland Bulletin: 330-9-1
Subject: MGT - Field Office Management Priorities FY09
Date: October 30, 2008

Purpose. To inform employees of priorities for FY 2009.

Expiration Date. September 30, 2009.

Explanation.

In order to transition smoothly into the new fiscal year, I am providing you with some guidelines to follow for FY ‘09. The items listed below should help guide you in your day-to-day work, and I encourage you to print out the attached poster as well, and use it as a road map for success in prioritizing your work schedule.

  1. Conservation Planning
    • Whether you are helping customers with Farm Bill programs or providing them with general conservation technical assistance (CTA), be thorough in your conservation planning work.
    • Are you actively listening to customers to make sure you fully understand their conservation objectives?
    • Are you helping customers move toward a Resource Management System (RMS)?
    • Read and understand the National Planning Procedures Handbook (NPPH) Title 180, Part 600, especially Subpart A, Section 600.11 – The Planning Process.
  2. Contracting
    • All applicants understand their obligations, paying special attention to Cost Recovery procedures in the Appendix.
    • All applicants provide you the proper tax ID number and business type for the entity receiving payments.
    • All contract participants receive timely follow-up to stay on schedule. Contract folders show complete documentation of progress in applying practices. Complete documentation includes:
      •  Waivers to delay starting a practice beyond one year
      • Contract Reviews with thorough explanation of the situation
      • Conservation Assistance Notes describing conservation objectives and conversations with the participant
  3. Conservation Application
    • All practices planned, designed and installed meet NRCS Technical Guide Section IV Standards and Specifications whether the practice is cost-shared under a Farm Bill contract or non-cost-shared under Conservation Technical Assistance.
    • Customers are provided with the necessary information to implement their practices correctly (e.g. job sheets, designs).
  4. Resource Assessment
    • Resource assessment is fundamental to applying sound conservation practices. The completion of county soil survey updates and the implementation of the Major-Land Resource Area (MLRA) Soil Survey reorganization are of upmost importance. Providing technical soil services this year will be dependent upon progress achieved in meeting our commitment to county soil survey service agreements.
  5. Office Management
    • Office management encompasses the application of sound business practices. There are a number of operations efficiencies that can be realized with a few office management procedures.
    • Scheduling work -- The monthly schedule will help to ensure that work is being completed on office priorities and can be used to verify timesheet certification. Coordination this activity with staff and partners will also help in deploying staff as workload dictates and clearly defining performance expectations
    • Timely progress reporting -- Review progress in PRS biweekly by program to make sure PRS accurately reflects your work. This also ensures the work you are doing is helping satisfy the goals in the NRCS Strategic Plan.
    • Training -- Technical excellence is one of the overarching strategies for NRCS. A number of schedule training activities are planed for this year. Employees need to schedule time to take advantage of training opportunities.
  6. Empowerment
    • NRCS has developed a number of manuals, technical guides, handbooks, and other policy and procedure documents that provide you with the needed guidelines for field office operation and program management. I am empowering you, in your current capacity as accomplished leaders and managers, to use these documents, make an interpretation, and take action to get things done. I am committed to supporting your efforts to streamline the delivery of services and programs to partners and customers.
    • By providing feedback and suggestions to state office personnel, you can help to streamline the delivery of services and ensure that you have the necessary tools and resources to be effective.

I sincerely appreciate and applaud your efforts in the field, and encourage you to continue the good work which is helping people protect and improve natural resources in Maryland. I am looking forward to an exceptional FY ’09 and I am eager to visit the field to see the results of your success.

/s/

JON F. HALL
State Conservationist

Attachment: See email dated 10/30/2008

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