Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1986-10-16 Minutes• \,mow. ▪ . . MINUTES OF A CITY BOARD OF DIRECTORS RETREAT MEETING The fifth and final session of a Board retreat (begun on August 27, 1986) was held on Thursday, October 16, 1986, in Room 326 of City Hall. PRESENT: Mayor Noland; Directors Hess, Johnson, Lancaster and Martin; City Manager Grimes, Department Directors Burch, Coates and Linebaugh, City Clerk Kennedy; members of the press and audience ABSENT: Directors Bumpass and Orton The meeting began at 1:30 p.m., with five Directors present. 1987 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES 377.1 The City Manager presented the 1987 goals and objectives (distributed in a packet to the Directors) for Administrative Services, Public Works, Public Safety, and City Manager. 377.2 Director Martin told the management staff they had done an excellent job, and commented that the City will be well served when all the goals and objectives have been met. Director Lancaster agreed, commenting that the final analysis will come out during the budget process. 377.3 Director Johnson stated she disagreed, commenting that it will be extremely difficult for "the man on the street" to understand some of the goals. Johnson suggested there be one simple City goal with every department deciding how to meet that goal. Johnson said she did not think a goal should be something which is required to be done as part of day-to-day operations, but should be either a solution to a problem or an addition to an existing service. Director Martin said he did not think different departments should have the same goal. Director Hess pointed out that was the purpose of the City mission statement. Martin added that there will be another step in the staff's development of strategies to achieve their objectives. Martin said he envisioned the Board as uninvolved in those strategies. 1987 Administrative Services Goals & Objectives 377.4 Director Hess asked how the staff came up with percentages contained in the objectives, and if these were reasonable, or "play safe", figures. Linebaugh said in his department the percentages were reached by deciding upon something which couldn't be easily achieved but yet would be within the grasp of the employees. Director Martin pointed out there has not been a data base which could have been used to determine Board Retreat October 16, 1986 Part V quantifiable figures. Director Hess stated that eventually he would like to see 85%-90% of the objectives with quantifiable figures. City Manager Grimes pointed out that some of the objectives can be quantified, while others serve simply as explanations and cannot be quantified. Director Johnson asked Linebaugh to define "special projects". Linebaugh said these were projects suchas the Arts Center. Director Johnson asked if a five-year projection, (on maintaining the City's current budget and what revenues will be necessary), could be included in Administrative Services's goal "To determine the appropriate number and amount of outside/alternative funding sources to replace anticipated lost revenues". Director Johnson stated she was not sure the goal "To maintain the City's,pay and benefits at the level set by the consultant's report" was a goal she wanted to maintain. Linebaugh said the intent of this goal is to keep the employees aware of the current grade levels and any changes which are made. Director Martin suggested the goal read "To ensure that the City's pay and benefits are consistent with its Pay Plan". 378.1 378.2 378.3 In answer to a question from Director Johnson, Linebaugh explained the 378.4 Safety Program was removed from the Personnel Department and transferred to the Public Safety Department. Director Hess asked that goals "To increase the number of conflict 378.5 resolution training sessions for upper management" and "To ensure that effective skills training is provided to each new City employee" be quantified. Hess commented that these goals were just examples of other goals which he thought should be quantified as well. Director Johnson asked how the Personnel Division proposed "To increase...the number...of qualified applicants". Linebaugh said right now it is felt that although the process being used is operating as best it can, the City does not always get the most qualified applicants because of the methods used by the organization the City uses to obtain applicants. 378.6 Director Martin questioned the objective "to develop a -self-insurance 378.7 program...". Linebaugh said the City presently has some self-insurance and plans to look into what more can be done along that line. Martin said, he would be satisfied with just an analysis being done of the cost-effectiveness of self-insurance. Linebaugh suggested "develop" be changed to "analyze the cost-effectiveness of". j 1 c)=-In Board Retreat October 16, 1986 Part V 379.1 Director Martin suggested the staff quantify the objectives on pages 26 and 27, for the Municipal Court Division. 379.2 In answer to a question from Director Martin, Linebaugh explained that the objective "to ensure that 15% of the City's vehicles and equipment are standardized through replacements" was arrived at based on a 7 -year replacement schedule which has been devised. 1987 Public Works Goals and Objectives 379.3 In reference to the objective "maintain water storage system at high standards", the Mayor asked Public Works Director Deryl Burch if the City met national guidelines, or was above or below such guidelines. Burch said the intent is to stay with a 1 1/2-2 day storage supply of water at any given time. Martin suggested it would be more clear if it was clarified whether "high" meant "at standards", or "above standards". In answer to a question from Director Johnson, Burch explained that "tap waiting time" denoted the number of days a person waits for a tap. He said in the summer the waiting time was about three weeks, but on an average the wait is presently about 7 days. Burch said the intent is to reduce the time to about 5 days. 379.4 It was suggested by Director Johnson that the objective "increase line inspection program by 10%" be changed to "develop line inspection program" since the program does not presently exist. 379.5 In answer to a question from Director Johnson, Burch stated there have been five fire hydrant line blow outs. 379.6 Mayor Noland said he thought there should be a goal to reduce the amount of water lost in the system, to a standard amount. City Manager Grimes estimated the national average water system loss is about 15%, and he said the City has been close to that percentage over the years. 379.7 Deryl Burch explained that a "double dollar" project was one where street maintenance has to be done more than once, such as in the case of utility cuts which are made at different times in the same place. 379.8 In answer to a question from Director Martin, Burch explained that "pending files" in the Planning Office refers to tracking on items such as contracts. Director Martin encouraged the use of a checklist for builders to follow which would assist them in meeting the requirements of the Planning Office. Director Johnson said the Planning Office is one of the departments about which she receives community complaints more than any other, as far as being responsive to citizens. Burch noted that, although Planning and Inspection Divisions work closely together, they are under separate departments. The City Manager suggested the possibility of scheduling meetings with builders to Board Retreat October 16, 1986 Part V discuss ways to streamline the City's process. The City Manager added that the staff is studying the possibility of placing both divisions under the same department. Mayor Noland suggested the objective to "reduce traffic summons" be clarified to read "reduce traffic violations". Director Martin urged that the City invest in the planning process for the Airport. Director Johnson said she thought the goal to "operate Drake Field as cost effective as possible" was pretty unclear. Director Johnson asked if it was the City's job to "encourage full fuel usage by airlines". Burch said the City encourages this by having the capability to provide full fuel storage. 1987 Public Safety Goals & Objectives In answer to a question from Mayor Noland, Public Safety Director Marty Coates said most of the "Neighborhood Crime Watch Group" signs seen in the City were installed in the past and not very many of the groups are still operating. Coates said it is the intent to make contact with those neighborhoods as well as to set up new groups. Coates told the Board the City's crime rate is below the national average and it is the department's goal to stay below the average. Director Johnson, with Hess and Noland concurring, commented that the department would not know if it is making any progress if its goal is only to stay below the national average when it is already below the national average. Johnson said she thought the City could compete with itself. Coates said he would be a little bit opposed to having a set goal when some crimes cannot be controlled. Coates said he would be in agreement with setting a five-year goal. He added that the department has an aggressive program designed to meet the needs. City Manager Grimes suggested a goal "To maintain an overall crime rate in Fayetteville below the national average and below the Fayetteville five-year average." Director Johnson told Coates that if a "Citizen's Crime Committee" is formed, appointments should be made using—the city's application and nomination process. It was agreed that the function of this committee should be clarified to determine whether the committee should be considered on the same basis as other citizen committees. Director Martin commented that the objective "to purchase a computer for criminal investigation" should be expanded upon to have more purpose. Martin suggested there be more quantifiable information shown behind the objective "to obtain more police cars". U U 380.1 380.2 380.3 380.4 380.5 380.6 381.1 381.2 381.3 Board Retreat October 16, 1986 Part V °Director Johnson commented that the Fire Department should address other injuries in addition to those from smoke inhalation. 1987 City Manager Goals and Objectives Director Johnson suggested a coordinating council of government units be formed, where for example the City's Street Division would meet with the County's Street representative, or where police forces can work together. ADJOURNMENT With no further business, the meeting adjourned at about 3:20 p.m.