Consulting and Technical Assistance Projects
Methodologies and Estimating the Fiscal Impacts of New Developments
and Annexations for the City of Aberdeen
Experiencing growth over the last 10 years including both new developments as well
as 10 annexations during that period, the City of Aberdeen expressed concerns about the
impacts of such growth on their capital services and existing infrastructure. IGSR developed
a prototype model for estimating: (1) the appropriate development impact fees based on the need for
capital facilities to serve new development; and (2) the impact on a jurisdiction’s
operating revenues and expenditures. The scope of project work included the analysis of what
the cost of growth was assuming that existing infrastructure did not have excess capacity and
estimating potential levels of revenue from new growth. IGSR proposed different ways to
offset growth using impact fees, taxes, bonds, and other funding. Designed to handle
commercial, residential, and mixed-use development, the model was applied to five proposed
developments then under review by the City of Aberdeen.
Principal Investigator:
Jeanne Bilanin
Analysis of Potential Zoning Changes and the Impacts on Property Values in
Carroll County
Facing growth pressures under its current zoning scheme that would include an
additional 40,000 residents, Carroll County’s services and infrastructure would be
severely strained by such an increase in population. Carroll County began exploring
zoning changes that would ease the impacts of such growth and development. Working
closely with the Planning Department, IGSR conducted a peer review of the Department
of Planning’s analysis of the impact of development under several potential changes
to current land use and zoning designations, then disclosed findings and offered
suggestions on key issues. The investigation began with an analysis and review of a
pre-decisional working draft and a critique of the fiscal impact analysis using
various scenarios that involved changes in zoning within the jurisdiction. In an
effort to explore the zoning changes that would decrease the level and impact of new
development, IGSR also developed an estimate of the impact on property values
associated with the potential zoning changes.
Principal Investigator:
Jeanne Bilanin
Fiscal Impact on the Town of North East of the Proposed Annexation of the Futty
Property
The Town of North East in Cecil County proposed the annexation of a 210-acre property
for the development of single-family homes with set-asides for stream buffers, storm
water management areas, open space, and recreational facilities. IGSR conducted the
fiscal impact study of annexing the property addressing three major concerns:
(1) whether the revenue of the proposed annexation generated to the Town would be
sufficient to offset additional operating costs to service the area; (2) the fiscal
impacts incurred by the Town during the build-out period; and (3) estimating the
additional capital costs faced by the Town to accommodate new residents to the area.
The analysis used various fiscal impact and computation models as well as historical
development information to generate estimates and support findings.
Principal Investigators:
Jeanne Bilanin and Monika Thompson
Strategic Planning Process Design and Facilitation for the Town of Bel Air
The Town of Bel Air enlisted IGSR to design and facilitate a strategic planning
process to implement changes to their 2006-2011 Strategic Plan. A three-step process was
designed that included pre-planning phases to the draft review and approval phase by the
Town Board of Commissioners. Facilitation included conducting focus groups, goal setting,
designing implementation strategies, developing a Strategic Plan Steering Committee, and
the development of a draft plan for public review and approval.
Principal Investigators: Philip Favero and Nan Booth
Analysis of Potential Zoning Changes in Carroll County
IGSR reviewed and critiqued an analysis conducted by Carroll County of the fiscal
impact on the county of several scenarios involving major changes to zoning within the
jurisdiction. IGSR also analyzed the impact on property values of these proposed zoning
changes.
Principal Investigator:
Jeanne Bilanin
Changing the Organizational Culture for Juvenile Offenders
The Division of Pretrial Detention and Services at the Baltimore City Detention Center
(BCDC) is an adult facility that at any given time also houses approximately 100 juvenile
detainees in a specialized unit. The juveniles are both male and female, range in age from
14 to 17, and have been charged as adults for serious criminal offenses. IGSR assisted with
the development and implementation of the program, which is a coordinated effort between BCDC
and the Eager Street Academy of the Baltimore City Public Schools. It provides a daily
structured schedule during the period of the juveniles’ detention, which lasts an average of
six months.
Principal Investigator: Jayme Delano
Department of Juvenile Services: Developing an Integrated Assessment System
This project deploys web- and network-based applications and solutions in conjunction
with existing IGSR and state Department of Juvenile Services (DJS) technology to compile
accurate statistics and reliable information on several aspects of the state juvenile program.
IGSR’s role is to design, program, and implement software and technical solutions to capture,
track and share data for screening and needs assessments, treatment planning, case management
and other functional areas as a supplement to the existing ASSIST system.
Principal Investigator:
Stephan Sherman
Estimating the Fiscal Impact of New Developments and Annexations
IGSR developed an Excel model for estimating (1) development impact fees based on the
need for capital facilities to serve new development and (2) the impact on a jurisdiction’s
operating revenues and expenditures. Designed to handle commercial, residential, and mixed
use development, the model was applied to five proposed developments under review by the City
of Aberdeen.
Principal Investigator:
Jeanne Bilanin
Facilitating Large-Scale Cultural Change in the Division in BCDC
Together with the Center for Human Capital, Innovation, and Technology at the Robert H.
Smith School of Business, IGSR assisted the Division of Pretrial Detention and Services
(DPDS) and the Baltimore City Detention Center (BCDC) to execute and sustain their
long-term plan for organizational change. This initiative provided a comprehensive
strategy to address cultural change through various complementary approaches, including
organizational assessment and feedback, leadership development, personnel and staffing
changes, organizational restructuring, improving decision making processes and procedures,
organizational communication, and redesigning and training for new roles and
responsibilities.
Principal Investigator:
Jayme Delano
Implementing and Institutionalizing CompStat in Maryland
The project team for this IGSR-led project is a combination of researchers and
practitioners with experience implementing and working with the important components
of CompStat supervision and management, crime mapping and analysis, and problem solving.
The team has developed a multi-phased plan designed specifically to assist Maryland law
enforcement agencies in implementing CompStat and institutionalizing it into their
organizational structures. The overarching purpose of this project is to extend CompStat
to as many Maryland police agencies as possible by providing tailored assessment, training,
and technical assistance and making available to these agencies standardized systems for
accountability and crime analysis. The web site www.compstat.umd.edu is maintained as a
part of this project, as a means to provide CompStat resources to Maryland law enforcement
agencies. (The Maryland Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention has funded this
project with a grant of $185,696, representing 100% of project costs, through the
Byrne-Justice Assistance Grant Program.)
Principal Investigator:
Laura Wyckoff
Co-Principal Investigators:
Jeanne Bilanin,
Rachel Boba, and Jon Shane
Maryland Office of Problem-Solving Courts and SMART
IGSR is providing, operating, and maintaining software and hardware, as well as
providing the training and technical support required for the implementation of the
Statewide Maryland Automated Record Tracking system (SMART) as the case management
automated tracking system for all drug courts in Maryland.
Principal Investigator:
Stephan Sherman
Co-Principal Investigator:
Kathleen Lester
Statewide Maryland Automated Record Tracking System (SMART)
IGSR, with funding from the Maryland Alcohol and Drug Abuse Administration (ADAA),
is customizing, programming, enhancing, implementing, supporting, managing, and
maintaining a Statewide Maryland Automated Record Tracking system (SMART) based upon
the federal Web Infrastructure for Treatment Services (WITS) project. SMART programming
includes additions and modifications to existing WITS screens, database structure, and
functionality necessary to meet ADAA data and outcome tracking within Maryland. The
WITS project is a federally developed software package that has modules that aid states
receiving Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT) Federal Block Grant Funding in
the collection and coordination of treatment episode data. The data are needed for ADAA
reporting to the Health and Human Services/Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA), which is the SAPT Block Grant funding source. The SMART software
and system are designed to track data the state collects in the federal Treatment Episode
Data Set (TEDS) format and allow ADAA to meet federal data submission requirements from the
Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration.
Principal Investigator:
Stephan Sherman