09/26/2011 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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I. BACKGROUND In May 2009 the City Council held a strategic planning and goal- setting session, which was facilitated by Jim and Lisa Lynn. In a report prepared by Lynn & Associates, a key strategic goal was to "study, measure, and improve core work processes to deliver effective and efficient services and programs." The following objectives were included as strategic goals: 1. Complete an organizational assessment to identify opportunities to improve organizational effectiveness. 2. Implement process improvement efforts to ensure continuous effectiveness and efficiency. In October 2010, the City Council directed City Administrator Jeff Karlson to conduct an organizational assessment of City departments for the purpose of identifying inefficient processes, duplication of services, and ineffective communication. Furthermore, to provide general direction to the Council on where to implement changes in order to improve overall organizational effectiveness, accountability, and decision - making. Following are some of the basic guidelines that were followed, as outlined in a memo to the Council. • Communicate to employees openly and honestly the potential need for change. • Review job descriptions to determine if job duties are accurate and up -to -date. • Get as much employee feedback as practical. • Examine the city internal processes and systems. • Keep the focus on delivering services to residents cost effectively and efficiently. • Include closure in the reorganization plan. • Clearly communicate why we're making any changes and what goals we hope to accomplish. Two basic questions that were considered throughout the analysis were: how do we know that resources are being properly allocated and how can we better utilize our limited resources? II. COMMUNICATION In December 2010, the City Administrator held three staff meetings at the city hall, police department, and the public works facility to inform employees that he would be conducting an organizational assessment as directed by the City Council. Staff was informed that the first step of the review process would be to identify inefficiencies, redundancy, and other organizational 1