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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-GPA-2012-04-18GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY COMMITTEE CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK Regular Meeting 6:00 p.m. April 18, 2012 PRESENT: Alderperson Mohlenhoff - Chair Alderpersons (4) Murtagh, Rooker, McCollister, Proulx Mayor Myrick OTHERS PRESENT: City Clerk — Conley Holcomb Superintendent's Office Executive Assistant — Gehring 1. Call to Order 1.3 Approval of the Minutes of the March 13, 2012 Meeting By Alderperson McCollister: Seconded by Alderperson Murtagh RESOLVED, That the minutes of the March 13, 2012 Government Performance and Accountability Committee meeting be approved as published. Carried Unanimously 1.4 Special Presentation from Alex Colket: Alex Colket, presented his proposal for an Internet based communication tool named "Swidjit ". He identified this product as a potential new platform for City /community communications. Mr. Colket explained that he could create a "super account" for the city to use and would be able to post priority information items, such as emergency messages into a "government feed ". This product would be similar to popular social media sites such as Craig's list or Facebook but has the potential to reach a broader audience. Mr. Colket requested that the City agree to make an official endorsement of his product, or agree to a joint collaboration in the development of this tool. He requested time to meet with City officials to discuss a city government account, design elements, etc. Chair Mohlenhoff thanked Mr. Colket for his presentation and suggested that the Communications sub - committee include this presentation in their discussions of other public information tools such as the website and Facebook. 2. Performance Measurement: 2.1 Discussion and Reactions to Presentation from Tompkins County: Chair Mohlenhoff requested feedback from the Committee on last month's presentation of Tompkins County's Performance Measurement Program. Alderpersons Murtagh and Rooker commented that he was impressed with the overall presentation and the use of CIPA (Cornell Institute for Public Affairs) students on the initiative. GPA Committee April 18, 2012 Alderperson McCollister noted that she was impressed with how far the County has gotten with their program but felt that the City would need a similar position such as a Chief of Staff to move this type of program forward within the organization. Alderperson Proulx suggested that in the absence of having staff to dedicate to this initiative, the City could do a "reverse" procedure that may allow staff to embrace the system more easily. One of the first steps would be to figure out how we measure success, and then build a smaller scale system that employees are comfortable with. This approach may make people realize the need for resources to enhance the program. Chair Mohlenhoff questioned whether there was merit in resource sharing with the County. She further suggested that we identify the items that we are already measuring as a starting point. Mayor Myrick stated that he was impressed with the County's software program but agreed that the City should start on a smaller scale, perhaps with one program or one department. It was suggested that if approved, the Department of Public Works new parking program would be a great place to start measuring performance. Further discussion followed on the logistics of starting the program and which staff person might have time to take the lead on this project or work with students for a semester project. 3. Novak Report Implementation: 3.1 Report from the Mayor on Senior Staff meeting Mayor Myrick reported that Senior Staff was only able to discuss half of the recommendations at their March meeting but is scheduled to complete the conversation at their meeting next week. He explained that they want Common Council to have all of the information that they have on all of the recommendations and noted that he would provide a write -up of staff's reaction to the report. 3.2 Report from the Tri- Committee Meeting Chair Mohlenhoff reported that there was a meeting of the Chairs of the three standing committees of Common Council, and the staff members assigned to those committees. The following issues were discussed: • the Chairs agreed to meet every other month • committee agenda structures may change to improve efficiency and accountability (ex. Having standing items on the agendas for regular status updates) She explained that the goal of these meetings is to improve communications between Common Council members and the committees. Mayor Myrick noted that he has decided to work on the Chief of Staff recommendation until all of the necessary paperwork (new position duties statement, etc.) is complete 61 GPA Committee April 18, 2012 and the recommendation is ready to be forwarded to the City Administration Committee for funding purposes. He will be working to create this position in 2012. 3.3 Discussion on Items Assigned to GPA: Chair Mohlenhoff led a review of the Novak Report recommendations that have been assigned to the GPA Committee for development. Discussion followed on the floor regarding the following items: E -gov Services: it was decided that government communications should be included in this recommendation and that a review of available e -gov tools should be conducted. A suggestion was made that the Communication sub - committee be expanded as different elements of the recommendation were being developed. Organization -wide Strategic Plan: it was suggested that a joint session of Common Council and Senior Staff be scheduled and facilitated by David Campbell (facilitator for the Common Council retreat). This idea will be developed further at the next meeting. Analysis & Assessment of City Departments to organize services programmatically: it was decided that this recommendation should follow the development of the organizational strategic plan and be coordinated with the implementation of a performance measurement system. Performance Measurement System: it was decided that the City should start small and add on when possible. The new parking program was identified as a pilot program. The committee will review the departmental measures recommendations at the next meeting and identify items that could be measured easily. Analyze all City Boards and Committees: Committee survey data should be reviewed. The focus should be put on what the City's needs are, and whether they are being filled by the current committee structure. Have some of the committee procedures mapped to identify where there are redundancies or gaps. Revise Process for Handling Matters before Common Council: GPA Committee will review the current Common Council Rules of Procedures and recommend changes. Discussion followed on the floor regarding how the Committee should approach these initiatives. Should the Committee meet more often to do work in the committee setting vs. creating multiple sub - committees? Should the meeting structure be changed so that one meeting is a business meeting and another is a working meeting? The discussion broadened out to include Common Council when issues such as the re- districting plan are under consideration. Further discussion followed on how the proposed redistricting plan may impact the analysis of all City boards and committees as it is possible that fewer Council members will be available for liaison assignments, etc. 41 GPA Committee April 18, 2012 4. City Survey Results: Will resume work on this issue in August 2012. 5. Public Information: 5.1 Report from the Communication Plan Working Group — Alderpersons Murtagh and McCollister Alderperson Murtagh reported that the Communications sub - committee did not have any opportunity to meet prior to tonight's meeting, but will be meeting within the next two weeks. He noted that the sub - committee is interested in developing a holistic communication plan that will include many elements such as e -gov services and social media tools. The sub - committee will create a timeline for the implementation of the various improvements. City Clerk /PIO Holcomb showed the Committee the e -gov tools that are currently available on the City's website (Action Line, On -line Documents, Community Calendar, Subscription Service) and described some of the training issues that need to be resolved with staff before the tools can be completely effective. The Committee suggested several ways to improve the presentation and use of the tools. 5.2 Update on hiring of Public Information Writer: City Clerk /PIO Holcomb introduced Jason Tucker who has been hired by the City on contract as a Public Information Writer. Jason will be writing the community newsletter and developing information for various venues such as the website, Facebook page, and television channel. During the summer season Jason will also be contacting construction project managers on a weekly basis and will develop regular construction updates for the public. Jason shared information about his previous newspaper experience and presented his ideas about the community newsletter, noting that he has mocked up several versions of a new template for the Committee to review. 6 Common Council Training and Development: 6.1 Update on the Status of Common Council Orientation City Clerk /PIO Holcomb stated that she has not had an opportunity to work on this project; however, she did reach out to Planning & Development Director JoAnn Cornish regarding the inclusion of information on land use laws in the orientation based on feedback received from the last meeting. She further noted that she distributed information to Common Council about the upcoming New York State Conference of Mayors (NYCOM) training opportunity for newly elected municipal officials. 7.1 Charter Code Review Chair Mohlenhoff reported that the City Attorney will be providing an update on the re- districting process at the May Council meeting. Depending on the options Council decides, there may or may not be a public referendum involved. This item has not been assigned to a Committee yet but it is possible that it will be assigned to the GPA Committee as it involves a Charter change. Cl GPA Committee April 18, 2012 Meeting Wrap Up: Review Agenda Items for Next Meeting: Begin development of a facilitated session with Common Council and Senior Staff to discuss an organization -wide strategic plan. Review departmental measures recommendations and discuss which ones could be implemented easily. Review Common Council Rules of Procedures. Adjournment On a motion the meeting adjourned at 8:10 p.m. Julie Conley Holcomb, CIVIC City Clerk '61 Deborah Mohlenhoff Chair