2014 Administration Department Annual Report

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V. City Hall 2014 Annual Report · Administration · St. Anthony Village, Minnesota 15 Intranet The City of St. Anthony continues communication with employees through the intranet site. This site hosts an assortment of information for employees and is accessible only through the city’s network. The intranet site supplies the most current information regarding the Employee Resource Guide, Health Insurance information (including portal for renewals), health & safety information, W-4’s, and staff announcements. CITIZENS ENGAGEMENT Guided by our goal to “foster and encourage civic engagement,” we partnered with the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota to develop a proposed community engagement initiative. The initiative was informed by a “citizens’ academy” model that emphasizes capacity building and enhancing ongoing engagement with residents in the community. The initiative focused on a variety of goals: 1.) Engaging a diverse range of residents over an extended period of time through a series of activities, 2.) Informing residents about the functions and structures of the local government, 3.) Building skills, capacity, and leadership experience of participants for ongoing engagement, and 4.) Exploring key community issues to begin setting a vision for the community. The engagement initiative is proactive, and promotes engagement with the intent of building strong relationships between government and residents. The student had the opportunity to learn about our community and government, and participated in activities focused on key local issues (e.g. infrastructure, schools, amenities, redevelopment). The outcomes of the initiative will be informative to our next comprehensive plan update, providing information and building a strong base of participants who understand the community and are motivated to play a leadership role by promoting engagement among our fellow residents. The initiative was intended as a visible, high proﬁ le effort that emphasizes the participatory opportunities available to St. Anthony residents. The initiative accounted for existing engagement efforts (e.g. Police Department citizen’s academy) and community events (e.g. Night to Unite), potentially leveraging these and adding others to build out a robust, stimulating, and accessible community engagement initiative. There was a focus in the initiative on engaging diverse set of residents.