City manager presents new initiatives to council

The following are exerpts from a report written by Mark Deven that was included in the city's December eNewsletter. To download the complete document, click the title of this post.

New Organizational Initiatives for the City of Woodland

On December 11, the Woodland City Council met in a Study Session to review new organizational initiatives proposed by the City Manager and Senior Staff. Representatives of Woodland’s employee associations were invited by the Mayor, City Council and City Manager to attend the meeting and all were represented. Other managers, supervisors and various employees at all levels of the organization and from all departments were also in attendance.

City Council Support for New Initiatives

The City Council has expressed interest in supporting a transition that will move the City of Woodland to an outcome oriented, customer driven, efficient and effective local government organization. In order to accomplish this transition, comprehensive organizational change must be planned, implemented and sustained. It must be supported by all levels of the organization and led by people who are focused on implementing certain key initiatives that, when completed, will have lasting impact on the organization. As these key initiatives are completed, others will be initiated that build upon the success of the earlier efforts and the organization will be able to sustain positive change.

In order to begin this process, staff has outlined the Policy, Leadership and Management Initiatives that summarize the key elements required to transition Woodland to the organization described above. It is impossible to implement all of these initiatives at the same time; such an effort would not generate comprehensive change because employees do not have enough time to devote their efforts to everything at once. However, certain initiatives should be implemented in advance of others in order to lay the foundation for future success. Therefore, Senior Staff have developed a transition that focuses on the critical first steps that will facilitate comprehensive change and allow the City organization to create a foundation for future, long term success.

What are Policy, Leadership and Management Initiatives?

The Policy, Leadership and Management Initiatives provide a framework that will guide the City organization in conducting the public’s business. There are several ways that these Initiatives will positively impact the operation of City programs and services. First, the Initiatives seek to align the City Council’s policy direction with the day to day activities of the organization. Second, the Initiatives establish the foundation for what staff seeks to achieve by conducting the business of the City. Third, the Initiatives define the organizational culture which guides how staff interacts with the City Council, the community and each other. Fourth, the Initiatives provide the leadership and management tools that will be used by all employees in order to conduct the public’s business. Finally, the Initiatives provide the means for the City organization to evolve and change in a manner that meets the present and future needs of Woodland.

How Will These Initiatives Be Implemented?

Communicate with Employees. The very first step will be to discuss the program with staff throughout the organization. It is critical for the Initiatives be presented as a positive step and for the City Manager to learn through the dialogue what some of the potential obstacles may be that could require a course correction either at the beginning or at some point in the future.

Vision, Values and Mission. Recognizing the need to establish a firm foundation for this process, it is critical to define the City’s Vision, Values and Mission. With the understanding that broad involvement is needed for this element, Senior Staff has committed to appointing a Task Force composed of 1-2 representatives from each department. Progress will be monitored by Senior Staff and status reports will also be available to the City Council. Woodland’s Vision, Values and Mission must be approved by the City Council before it is implemented because it will be integrated into the organization’s day to day business. Once approved, the Vision, Values and Mission will be used to guide recruitment and training, support policy actions that may be considered by the City Council and define various aspects of employee performance. It is important to note that the City already has a Strategic Plan and a Vision, Values and Mission statement. This document will serve as the starting point for the process. Other Vision, Values and Mission statements for high performing organizations will be reviewed as well. The challenge of the Task Force will be to develop a statement that is unique to Woodland; a carbon copy of a statement used somewhere else will not be acceptable to the entire organization.

City/Community Goals. Concurrent with Vision, Values and Mission, Senior Staff believes that the organization needs to define City/Community Goals. This belief is based on the need to understand the Woodland community’s highest priority outcomes which is the first step in aligning the day to day business of the City and the allocation of resources in order to address the needs and expectations of Woodland residents, businesses, citizens and customers. While it may be argued that staff should already have a solid understanding of these goals, the lack of a document with clearly stated outcomes strongly suggests that the opposite is true. The City Manager and Senior Staff will work closely with the City Council in order to define the first draft the City/Community Goals. By working closely together, the City Council, City Manager and Senior Staff will apply their collective knowledge of the community, familiarity with the organization and understanding of priorities in order to develop the 12-15 draft goal statements.

Economic Development and Development Services. Improvement in these areas is critical to the City’s future development. The reorganization that was implemented last month needs to receive top priority from the City Manager and Assistant City Manager in order to achieve the level of success necessary for Woodland to be recognized as an excellent place to do business. This definition needs to apply to commercial developers, residential builders, national corporations, small businesses, local and regional trade and business organizations and homeowners seeking permits to improve their properties.

Downtown Specific Plan Update. Council and staff have discussed the need to update the City’s Comprehensive General Plan. However, the interest in downtown development associated with projects such as City Center Lofts and the Courts modernization and expansion suggests that it may be more appropriate at this time to focus on updating the Downtown Specific Plan. The focus on economic development and redevelopment requires staff and the Council to understand the infrastructure needs of the downtown area and the resources required to address any deficiencies. If Council is supportive, resources are available to begin the update in early 2008. Completion of an updated Downtown Specific Plan will support the future update to the Comprehensive General Plan. Staff will provide more information regarding this issue at a Study Session planned for January.

10 Year Planning. Senior Staff has already committed to developing 10 Year Financial Plans for all major funds. The Finance Department has already developed 10-year assumptions and will continue to refine revenues and expenditures as part of the FY 2009 budget process.

Senior Staff Management Achievement Plans. One of the first steps in demonstrating a commitment to Outcome/Performance Management is implementing Management Achievement Plans. Senior Staff recognizes this fact and has committed to implementing Management Achievement Plans in mid-January. These Plans will guide the City Manager’s assessment of each Senior Staff member’s performance and may be the first step in engaging all managers to make a similar commitment when appropriate.

Performance Based Budget. An effective implementation plan for organizational change needs to recognize the significant challenges associated with the organization’s current priorities. As the Council is aware, Woodland faces significant challenges in developing the FY 2008-09 budget. Full implementation of PBB may take up to three years.

Restructure/Revising Service Delivery. Similar to the timing associated with PBB, the facilitation of broad employee involvement on restructuring and revising service delivery will be scheduled as a future element.