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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-GPA-2012-01-18GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY COMMITTEE CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK Regular Meeting 6:00 p.m. January 18, 2012 PRESENT: Alderperson Mohlenhoff - Chair Alderpersons (2) Murtagh, Rooker Mayor Myrick OTHERS PRESENT: Alderperson Brock City Clerk — Conley Holcomb Human Resources Director — Michell -Nunn City Chamberlain — Parsons EXCUSED: Alderpersons (2) McCollister, Proulx Call To Order Review of Agenda and Committee Charge Chair Mohlenhoff reviewed the new agenda format, noting that it was designed to keep the committee on track and to ensure that the number of agenda items were appropriate for the amount of time allotted for the meetings. She stated that she open to other ideas and being flexible with the time allotments for topics. Chair Mohlenhoff reviewed the committee's charge: (1) Will foster greater government accountability by setting priorities for and analyzing the efficiency of city government operations; (2) Will promote and encourage increased citizen participation and involvement in government through an enhanced public information system; (3) Will develop an infrastructure that will move the city towards a performance management system and a city report card. Chair Mohlenhoff requested feedback on an article she distributed from The Innovation Journal entitled "Improving Performance and Accountability in Local Government with Citizen Participation ". Discussion followed on the floor regarding: • Increased use of the council of neighborhood associations to increase citizen engagement on issues • Finding ways to receive feedback in meaningful ways such as the city -wide phone survey • Potential revisions to the city's board /committee structure to ensure that volunteer time is well spent • Tapping into the vast amount of experience, expertise, and knowledge in the community GPA Committee January 18, 2012 Novak Report Implementation Chair Mohlenhoff distributed a condensed version of the Novak Report recommendations. She explained that the committee's role in this initiative is to prioritize items and identify those that could be implemented in the short -term. The items that will require a longer term solution will be assigned to the appropriate committees and /or departments for implementation. Discussion followed on the floor regarding having Common Council work on this prioritization at their retreat scheduled for February. It was suggested that each item be prioritized with established time frames, staff /committee assignments, associated costs (staff hours, internal /external resources), affected stakeholders, feasibility consideration, and cost benefit analysis. The committee will work to further define this structure at the February 15, 2012 meeting. City Survey Results Chair Mohlenhoff reported that the data has been received from the city -wide phone survey but has not been released to the public as further analysis was required. She noted that it is a priority task to release this information upon completion of the work. She stated that she would like to invite Yasamin Miller, Survey Research Institute, to attend the February 15, 2012 meeting to explain the process that was followed for the survey and analysis. Hard copies of the survey were made available to city residents who requested them. The results will be tabulated and included as an appendix to the phone survey data. Discussion followed on the floor regarding what would be the best format for the open - ended questions that were asked during the survey. These items will be compiled for review. Public Information 4.1 Basic Overview of Current Process City Clerk /Public Information Officer Julie Conley Holcomb gave an overview of the City's public information efforts. She noted the changes that were made to her job description and to a position in the IT Department to create a cross -team approach to public information. She highlighted the major tools the City works with: • E -mail distribution list of all contact people for the city's neighborhood association listservs • City website • Community newsletter • On- demand video streaming of Common Council and Standing Committee meetings Soon to come: digital television channel live video streaming of meetings use of social media tools GPA Committee January 18, 2012 She explained that a Public Information budget exists and there is funding available to hire an independent contractor as a writer. This position was not filled in 2011 due to budget concerns; however, the funding was approved for 2012 and Mayor Myrick has confirmed that he wishes to fill the position. Discussion followed regarding the need to update the job description to include writing for a multi -media platform. The job description will be sent to committee members for review and feedback. Mayor Myrick arrived at the meeting at 7:00 p.m. He shared his vision of the committee's work: • Develop ways to provide better and more effective communication with the community • Develop and monitor methods to increase performance as a city • Continue the Charter and City Code revision work that was started in 2010 • Work on prioritizing, delegating and implementing (if appropriate) items from the Novak Report 4.2 Discussion and Brainstorm Ideas for Improvement to the Public Information Process • Mayor Myrick stated the GPA Committee would take the place of the former Public Information Officer Team. The City Clerk /Public Information Officer would execute the standards created for the public information program. He stated that he would like to see the development of a comprehensive, multi - pronged, communication plan that would include standardized communications across multiple platforms. • Mayor Myrick also suggested that he would like to use the archived videos of meetings to capture discussion of meetings and have staff produce condensed versions of meeting minutes that comply with Open Meetings Law. Agendas and minutes can be posted with the videos, and the videos can be indexed to those documents. Mayor Myrick reviewed the new provisions of the Open Meetings Law that requires complete agenda packets to be made available to the public in advance of meetings. A suggestion was made that a public information sub - committee be formed. This sub - committee would provide updates at each GPA Committee meeting. 4.3 Review of Social Media Policy — Update & Discussion Chair Mohlenhoff led the review of the Social Media Policy noting that it does not cover city committees, or city initiatives such as the Comprehensive Plan or Commons Repair projects. Mayor Myrick noted that this policy would most likely need regular review as technology and human behavior changes rapidly. Discussion followed regarding "official" vs. "unofficial" social media sites, the confusion that could be created for the public, staff resources, and the city's liability if derogatory remarks or personal attacks were made on the site. Alderperson Rooker stated that he thought it would be difficult if each city committee had its own social media presence and suggested that a comprehensive city social media site may be a better solution. 41 GPA Committee January 18, 2012 Alderperson Brock announced that when Time Warner Cable television channels were converted to digital format, some people experienced trouble with their service. During the conversion process, it is possible that the public access channels 13, 15, 16 were dropped from the line -up for some customers. This issue can be quickly fixed by a service call to Time Warner Cable; however, it is possible that many people have lost these channels and don't realize it. There is no way for Time Warner to know which customers were affected by the conversion. Alderperson Brock offered to get additional details from Time Warner so the City could assist with sharing the information through a news release, website posting, newsletter, and neighborhood association listsery notification. Common Council Training & Development 5.1 Common Council Retreat Chair Mohlenhoff announced that the Common Council retreat has been scheduled for Saturday, February 25, 2012 at GIAC. The facilitator for the session will most likely be someone from the Public Administration Masters program at Binghamton University. Discussion followed on the floor regarding the: • Development of retreat outcomes for use by the facilitator • Development of a decision making matrix for the Novak Report • Development of an organizational strategic plan • Performing a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis that concentrates on Common Council (how it operates and communicates, etc.) • Goals /priorities of each of the Council members. A "homework" assignment will be handed out to Common Council members to rank the recommendations of the Novak Report in terms of their priorities. Charter Code Review 6.1 Overview of Work of Charter and Code Revision Ad -Hoc Committee City Clerk Holcomb reviewed the work accomplished by the 2010 -2011 Charter and Code Revision Ad -Hoc Committee: • Review of charter revision processes other municipalities followed • Review of different forms of government and the City's current organizational structure • Determination of what should be in the Charter versus what should be in the City Code, a policy manual, labor contracts, job descriptions, etc. • A Public Works Governance Work Group (PWGWG) was created to explore issues related to public works and the Board of Public Works • Discussions were held with the Board of Fire Commissioners and the Community Police Board as their committee charges are located in the Charter • The Human Resource related items in the Charter were re- written to address omissions, duplications, inconsistencies, and archaic language that no longer reflects city operations Cl GPA Committee January 18, 2012 • The selection process for the Acting Mayor and Alternate Acting Mayor was changed • The 2002 Redistricting Report was reviewed in order to establish the work plan for the 2012 Redistricting Committee. 2010 Census data was reviewed. A meeting with Michael Lane, Tompkins County Legislator, was conducted to discuss Tompkins County's redistricting process • Public education on the city's referendum items • A review of the city's board /committee structure was conducted She reported that there is still much work that needs to be done on revisions to both the Charter and the City Code so they will be reflective of current city operations. Performance Measurement 7.1 Discussion Regarding Performance Measurement Systems Chair Mohlenhoff inquired as to what information committee members need to better understand performance measurement systems. Discussion followed on the floor regarding: • Why performance measurement systems are important • LEAN systems • Methods to: • Identify of what the City is doing now/ data gathering • set goals • Manage expectations / what are standard industry measures • Identify obstacles / how to eliminate or mitigate them • Reach our goals Chair Mohlenhoff suggested that everyone re -read the end of the Novak Report which provides a framework for building a performance measurement system. Mayor Myrick acknowledged the amount of work and dedication that will be required to create this system and monitor its success. He thanked the Committee for taking on this challenge. Adjournment On a motion the meeting adjourned at 7:43 p.m. Julie Conley Holcomb, CIVIC City Clerk '61 Deborah Mohlenhoff Chair