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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-GPA-2012-02-15GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY COMMITTEE CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK Regular Meeting 6:00 p.m. February 15, 2012 PRESENT: Alderperson Mohlenhoff - Chair Alderpersons (2) Murtagh, Rooker, McCollister, Proulx Mayor Myrick OTHERS PRESENT: City Clerk — Conley Holcomb Human Resources Director — Michell -Nunn 1. Call To Order: 1.3 Approval of the January 18, 2012 Government Performance and Accountability Committee Meeting Minutes — Resolution By Alderperson Rooker: Seconded by Alderperson Murtagh RESOLVED, That the minutes of the January 18, 2012 Government Performance and Accountability Committee be approved as corrected. Carried Unanimously 1.4 Possible Date Change for the March Meeting: Discussion followed on the floor regarding the need to change the March meeting date as Chair Mohlenhoff will not be available. Tuesday, March 13, 2012 was selected as the alternative meeting date. 1.5 Possible Selection of a Vice Chair: Chair Mohlenhoff noted that there may be occasions when she'll need assistance with committee duties and suggested that a Vice Chair be selected to act in her stead if necessary. Alderperson Proulx was nominated by Alderperson Murtagh and the nomination was seconded by Alderperson McCollister. Alderperson Proulx agreed to serve in this capacity. 2. Novak Report Implementation: There were no updates this month. Discussion on this topic will be held under Item 5 regarding the Common Council retreat. 3. City Survey Results: 3.1 Review Data and Discussion on Next Steps: Chair Mohlenhoff introduced Yasamin Miller, Survey Research Institute of Cornell University. She explained the history of the project and discussed the survey methodology that was selected by the former Departmental Performance Management Working Group. She noted that the goal of the survey was to collect data that would establish a benchmark so the city could create a "report card ". Ms. Miller presented the survey results to the committee and explained that a phone based instrument was used to control the randomization of the process. Land line phone numbers were randomly selected and a cell phone sampling was included as GPA Committee February 15, 2012 well because 18% of households in the city exclusively use cell phones. There were 360 completed phone calls out of 2,200 numbers dialed. Only 55 households refused to participate in the survey. Ms. Miller noted that this response rate was within the normal range of other surveys that have been conducted. There is a 5.1 % margin of error related to this survey. Discussion followed on the floor regarding the sorting and weighting of results based on different criteria such as agree /disagree combinations, age, ethnicity, neighborhood, etc. Ms. Miller recommended that the non - weighted results be used for decision making purposes. Ideas were shared regarding ways to present the data and additional ways the data could be sorted and reviewed. Chair Mohlenhoff stated that she will be assembling portions of the data into a report so it can be released to the public by March 1St. Ms. Miller and committee members shared their thoughts on the different categories of data that should be included in the report. 3.2 Sorting of Data from open -ended questions: Alderperson Proulx explained the work he's completed on sorting the information from the open -ended questions / comments received as part of the survey. He noted that the topics most people commented on were: the budget and taxes, condition of streets, the Commons, and economic development. City Clerk Holcomb reported that she sorted the data from the 20 paper surveys received and will forward them to the committee for review and inclusion as an appendix to the scientific phone data. 4. Public Information: 4.1 Review of Public Information Writer Job Description: City Clerk Holcomb presented the revised Public Information Writer position description to the committee. She explained that additional funding has been secured from the Department of Public Works to include temporary duties related construction communication. The person in this position will be responsible for collecting information from project managers for multiple projects (both public and private) and preparing it for regular updates to the public. Alderperson Murtagh suggested that the position qualifications include social media proficiency as well. Alderpersons Murtagh and Rooker agreed to participate in candidate interviews. 4.2 Preliminary Conversation on City Communication Plan: City Clerk Holcomb reviewed the draft of the City's Communication Plan that was last worked on in 2006. Committee members noted their appreciation for the work but thought that a shorter document with goals and implementation strategies for a single year would be more effective. The plan would be reviewed annually to reflect current challenges and opportunities. 61 GPA Committee February 15, 2012 Alderpersons McCollister and Murtagh volunteered to work with the City Clerk and other staff members to develop a 2012 Communication Plan for the review and consideration of the GPA Committee. 5. Common Council Training and Development: 5.1 Finalize Details and agenda for Council Retreat: Chair Mohlenhoff stated that the Common Council Retreat would be held on Saturday, February 25, 2012 from 9:00 am — 3:00 pm at GIAC. David Campbell, Chair of the Binghamton University Masters Public Administration Program will be the facilitator. She stated that the primary focuses of the retreat will be to create a strategic budget direction and prioritize the 15 recommendations of the Novak Report by working through a criteria matrix. Mr. Campbell will utilize small group discussions and a "clicker system" that will allow participants to indicate their preferences on several issues such as tax rates, staff reductions, capital project funding, fund balance levels, fee /revenue enhancements. Mayor Myrick noted his desire to develop a phased approach toward a new budget process that will be focused more on programmatic budgets. Alderperson Proulx noted that another approach could be to have Common Council guidance on the development of goals and priorities for 2013, and then make budget decisions that support them. Chair Mohlenhoff reminded Council members to bring the Novak Recommendations, with their individual priority rankings, to the Retreat for discussion along with any other items that are not currently on the list but should be added. She also requested that Council members bring their budget priorities to the Retreat for discussion. 6. Charter and Code Review: There were no updates this month. 7. Performance Measurement: 7.1 Quick discussion on inter - municipal cooperation Alderperson Mohlenhoff stated that there is an opportunity for the GPA Committee to hear from Tompkins County officials on their performance measurement program at either the March or April meeting. She noted that the County is slightly ahead of the City in terms of tracking data and implementing programs. 8. Meeting Wrap Up 8.1 Adjourn: On a motion the meeting adjourned at 7:45 p.m. Julie Conley Holcomb, CIVIC City Clerk '43 Deborah Mohlenhoff Chair