HomeMy WebLinkAboutAugust 29, 2001Management Team Minutes
City Council Chambers
August 29, 2001
9:00 a.m.
New Items:
1. Broad Topic Discussion
(Tom)
2. United Way Special Events
(Peggy C.)
3. Procurement Cards
(Charles)
4. Agenda Planning Calendar
(Tom)
5. Other
1. Broad Topic Discussion : Tom Brymer, City Manager, directed the Team to break into groups
to do a "Blue Sky" exercise a process that is based on creative processes and thinking.
During the exercise each team was to come up with ideas that may help the organization.
The following is a breakdown of ideas:
? Group #1: How can we move away from crisis management?
- Departmental Half-Days - A 1/2 day block of time scheduled each week that
is limited to departmental work. During this time people will not email,
phone, or meet with people outside of their department. This will allow each
department to focus on their work without outside distractions. It is proposed
that all departments have the same day and time for departmental work.
? Group #2:
- RFP to privatize ambulance/EMS service
- Use rental cars in place of pool vehicles
- Assign cars to people and drop car allowances
- Provide people with a cell phone allowance instead of city cell phones
- Provide the public with a single point of contact when calling the City (overall
City receptionist)
- Interdepartmental employee sharing - crosstrain employees to maximize their
usefulness
- City sponsor more small scale festivals (music, art, crafts, etc.) in the
Northgate promenade
- Need to reinforce breaking down barriers and seeing citizen service as the
organizations overall focus; hire the right people; look at the "Big Picture"
(Continuous Improvement); Develop a City "Picture Map" that shows local
destinations (hotels, restaurants, other attractions).
? Group #3:
- Build creativity into our daily work (start with Mgmt. Team and extend to the
entire workforce) and set aside money in the budget for creative
implementation
- Develop a place of peace and reflection: Could include an introspective park
where people could go to meditate (Elements: water, sculptures, bridges,
gardens, no pets)
- Build an upscale RV park outside of town that has full hook-ups, pool,
clubhouse, etc.
- Renew the importance of customer service by reinforcing values, training,
motivation, ethical standards, and high expectations of employees.
? Group #4: Create a High Performance Organizational Climate
- Flexibility: Gain the ability to walk away from the table/issue if negotiations
turn against the City's best interest. Consider other alternatives when
negotiating with others.
- Supportive environment: Empowerment of employees; develop environment
to question ourselves (ask: Do we still want to do this?)
- Rapid response to changing conditions: if conditions change and make our
current plans/ideas useless we should be flexible and able to modify the old
plan to reflect the new environment.
2. United Way Special Events : Glenn Brown, Assistant City Manager, asked the team if they
would like to do the United Way cookout this year. The team consensus was for the Mgmt.
Team to do the cookout. Peggy Caliham will attend a future Mgmt. Team meeting to discuss a
date and time.
3. Procurement Cards : Charles Cryan, Fiscal Services Director, reminded the team of the proper
use of procurement cards. He also stated that each department should have procedures stating
what that departments employees should use the cards for and what action will be taken for
misuse.
4. Agenda Planning Calendar : Glenn reviewed the calendar and items were added, removed and
rescheduled.
5. Other :
th
? Fire : Exxon/Mobil will be sponsoring a luncheon on pipelines on September 27 .
Anyone who wishes to attend can submit his or her names to Ralph Staplin.