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 Through
the RUBA Program, management assistance and financial training related
to water and wastewater utilities is provided to cities and villages.
The Program began in FY94 with assistance being offered to 16 communities.
The demand for RUBA assistance increased and now over 40 communities are being
provided with direct administrative and utility management training. Regional
workshops on financial record keeping, utility management,
and utility planning are offered to many communities, in addition to the
on-site visits by RUBA staff.
The RUBA Program's
approach to assisting communities:
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Identify
communities with sanitation utility management issues |
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Assess
community interest in dealing with management issues |
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Visit
community for fact-finding
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Assess
the issues and identify management problems |
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Develop
a proposed work plan |
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Present
the assessment and work plan to the community |
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Finalize
the work plan with the community's council and agree on their responsibilities |
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Provide
technical assistance |
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Assess
progress and adjust work plan if necessary |
How RUBA works
RUBA staff
provide assistance to small rural communities statewide that are preparing
to receive new or upgraded sanitation systems. RUBAs are supported
by the division's Local Government Specialists (LGSs), Project Engineers from
Alaska's Department of Environmental Conservation, community administrators,
regional health corporations, and regional non-profit corporations. The
RUBA person assesses a community's ability to provide management and administration
of sanitation utilities.
Based on the assessment,
a work plan and budget are developed to deal with the problems. The work
plan is revised periodically to reflect changing conditions. Efforts to
bring communities up to an acceptable management performance standard
are tracked. Continued RUBA assistance to these communities depends on
the community meeting a baseline level of progress towards improvement.
Councils in all communities must sign a RUBA Agreement that outlines the
services the division will provide and stipulates the actions the community must
take and continue to provide in order to receive the RUBA assistance.
RUBA Information Systems
RUBA Publications
Online
For more information
about the RUBA program, contact:
Elizabeth Manfred
Division of Community and Regional Affairs
Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development
550 West 7th Avenue, Suite 1640
Anchorage, AK 99501
Phone: (907) 269-4556 FAX: (907) 269-4563
e-mail: Elizabeth.Manfred@alaska.gov
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