HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity of Tamarac Resolution R-97-079Temp. Reso. #7820
March 27, 1997
Page 1
CITY OF TAMARAC
RESOLUTION NO. R-97- 79
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY
OF TAMARAC, FLORIDA RECEIVING THE DOCUMENT
"MAJOR ISSUES" AS PRESENTED BY THE CITY
MANAGER, DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS, AND STAFF;
PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTS; PROVIDING FOR
SEVERABILITY; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE
DATE.
WHEREAS, the City Manager, Department Directors, and staff began a process of
critical assessment of City needs and issues in January 1996; and
WHEREAS, the outcome of this assessment is the document "Major Issues" which
explains the critical needs and issues facing the City of Tamarac today; and
WHEREAS, it is appropriate for the document to be presented to the City Commission
for consideration in the development of goals and objectives for the City, as well as a mission
statement and strategic plan; and
WHEREAS, the City Commission of the City of Tamarac, Florida deems it to be in the
best interest of the citizens and residents of the City of Tamarac to receive the document
called "Major Issues" from the City Manager, Department Directors, and staff.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF
TAMARAC, FLORIDA:
Section 1: The foregoing "WHEREAS" clauses are hereby ratified and confirmed as
being true and correct and are hereby made a specific part of this Resolution.
1
1
LJ
Temp. Reso. #7820
March 27, 1997
Page 2
Section. 2: The document "Major Issues" (attached as Exhibit A) is hereby received
by the City Commission.
Section 3: All resolutions or parts of resolutions in conflict herewith are hereby
repealed to the extent of such conflict.
Section 4: If any provision of this Resolution or the application thereof to any
person or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or
applications of this Resolution that can be given effect without the invalid provision or
application, and to this end the provisions of this Resolution are declared to be severable.
Section 5_ This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon its passage
and adoption.
PASSED, ADOPTED AND APPROVED this 41 day of AOkIL 1997.
ATTEST:
4L& ,
CAROL A. EVANS
CITY CLERK
I HEREBY CERTIFY that I
approved this
CITY ATTORNEY
E SCHREIBER
MAYOR
DWI:
DST 2:
DST W
DISTAlk
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
0 CHAPTER PAGE
INTRODUCTION.................................................................. 1
II GOOD GOVERNMENT........................................................ 5
Mission Statement................................................................ 5
Customer Service................................................................. 6
Community Involvement and Citizen Access ........................ 6
Government Orientation....................................................... 6
Service Delivery .................................................................... 7
Charter and Code Review ..................................................... 7
Administrative Policies and Operational Procedures............ 8
Budget Refinement............................................................... 9
III HUMAN RESOURCES....................................................... 10
Alignment of Human Resources and Operational
Requirements................................................................. 10
Attracting and Retaining a Talented Workforce ................. 11
Recruiting, Employing and Supporting a Diverse
Workforce....................................................................... 13
Personal and Professional Development ........................... 14
Creating and Supporting and Participating Work
Environment................................................................... 16
IV COMMUNITY AFFAIRS .....................................................
17
Public Relations..................................................................
17
Government Relations........................................................
17
Legislative Involvement.......................................................
18
Strategic Involvement..........................................................
18
V SERVICE DELIVERY..........................................................
19
Comprehensive Plan...........................................................
19
Service Analysis..................................................................
20
Capital Improvement Financing ...........................................
21
Infrastructure........................................................................
21
Public Facilities.....................................................................
22
User Fee Analysis................................................................
23
Safety Awareness.................................................................
24
Development Review.............................................................
24
OneStop Permitting..............................................................
25
Landscape/Streetscape.........................................................
26
10 Redevelopment Services....................................................27
Expansion/Annexation. .. 27
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAF!TER
PAGE
VI INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ............................................
29
Information Systems..............................................................
30
Municipal Information System ................................................
30
Utilities Information System ...................................................
31
Geographic Information System ............................................
31
Technology, Equipment and Products Innovation .................
31
Training Support Services .....................................................
32
Telecommunications.............................................................
32
Office Automation..................................................................
32
Community Information Access ..............................
33
VII CONCLUSION.......................................................................
34
•
61
• Major Issues
Chapter I - Introduction and Summary
In the past three years, Tamarac government has experienced considerable
change. Steps have been taken to strengthen management, to increase employee
productivity, raise morale, lift expectations, automate by introducing desk top computers
into new areas as well as transitioning from a twelve year old mainframe computer to
modern 21 st century hardware and software. There has been an increased focus on
initiating policies and procedures. In summary, we have tried to operate the
government according to the maxim "If it ain't broke, fix it", until we found that
sometimes it has been more appropriate to operate according to "If it ain't broke, break
it". The organizational culture in the City of Tamarac has changed but it is not yet
where it needs to be substantially.
In order to consolidate the focus of the senior management team, the City held a
retreat for Department Directors, City Attorney and City Manager in January 1996.
During this session many separate issues were identified as requiring attention
including identifying the need to thoroughly overhaul the government and its operations.
Upon completing this session, it was decided to form management teams from every
isdepartment in further defining these issues.
During a series of facilitated discussions which included Department Directors
and their management teams, the issues originally identified were broadly categorized
under the headings of Good Government, Human Resources, Community Affairs,
Service Delivery, and Technology. These we call the "Major Issues" confronting
Tamarac.
In order to further address the issues, five committees, chaired by Department
Directors, and consisting of managerial and professional staff from all departments,
were created to define the specifics in each category and identify the actions necessary
to address the individual issues. Each of the five issues are briefly introduced below
and discussed in detail in subsequent sections. While some of the areas have
solutions more obvious than others, all the issues deserve additional consideration and
discussion.
I hope that this document represents only the beginning of a process to develop
a mission statement and to begin strategic planning activities. I hope this staff
document will help to frame the debate for the new Commission and the community.
The dialogue should be expanded to Tamarac's business leaders, citizens, and
employees in determining "What should Tamarac be?"
0 Major Issues
Good Government
If there is an overall unifying theme to "Major Issues", it is to institutionalize "good
government". The City Commission and Tamarac citizens deserve a well run,
professional administration. This category, to some degree, embodies many of the
other categories in that if the City is providing effective, efficient services, keeping
current with technology, handling its community affairs, and properly managing its
human resources, then it is well on its way to delivering good government. "Good
Government" is a theme for the proper delivery of efficient, effective, and uniform City
For discussion, "Good Government" will be broken into several components that
are considered essential in defining the concept. These address the need for a defined
mission statement, enhancing our customer service, the importance of community
involvement and citizen access, creating awareness through government orientation,
providing for quality service delivery, and addressing Charter and code review issues.
We must ensure that we have in place proper Administrative Policies and Operational
Procedures which are the cornerstone for institutionalizing good government.
• Human Resources
For more than three years, the City has studied and deliberated on critical
human resource concerns. During this time the City has designed and implemented a
pay plan and classification system, acquired an employee appraisal system, identified
training deficiencies, improved employee benefit and insurance programs, and
completed extensive research on employee retirement options. All of these efforts
have centered around the belief that the City's employees are its most important
resource. As such, Tamarac has made a considerable effort to become a competitive
employer which prizes those competent resources with the goal to help each employee
reach his/her full potential so that the organization can reach its full potential. However,
we must install a system whereby every employee is evaluated at least annually and
compensated based on the evaluation.
Proper management of human resources, however, extends beyond those items
mentioned above. Those items, while worthy accomplishments and objectives, do not
fully identify the City's goals in this area. Our goals include: aligning human resources
with operational requirements; attracting and retaining a talented workforce; recruiting,
employing, and supporting a diverse workforce; encouraging, providing, and supporting
opportunities for professional and personal development; and, creating and supporting
a participative work environment which empowers every employee.
Page 2 - Introduction and Summary
0 Major Issues
Community Affairs
A repeated concern has been how the City interacts with the community it serves
as well as its intergovernmental neighbors. In many communities, there is a general
perception that citizens are distrustful and suspicious of government. This is not the
ideal situation since the purpose of government is to serve the needs of the very
citizens that are suspicious of it. While there may not be any perfect solution, we
believe that Tamarac should take an approach that emphasizes communication with all
citizens in the community.
For further discussion on this idea of Community Affairs, four components were
identified which include Public Relations dealing with the dissemination of information to
the general public, Government Relations dealing with the development of professional
ties with the state and county systems, Legislative Involvement dealing with the
interaction between the City and those representing its interests in the State
Legislature, and Strategic Involvement dealing with the Administration's communication
with the City Commission..
Service Delivery
Government is a business -- delivering services to a community in accordance
with that community's specific needs and desires. Efficient, effective, and uniform
service delivery is an absolute necessity if the government is to maintain the respect of
the community. In this light, there should be continuing review or analysis of all City
services for effectiveness, efficiency, uniformity, and economy. In other words, in
delivering City services, the right things should get done and things should be done the
right way.
The Service Delivery chapter incorporates discussions on the City's
Comprehensive Plan, Service Analysis, Capital Improvement Financing, Infrastructure,
Public Facilities, User Fees, Safety Awareness, Development Review and Permitting,
Landscape/Streetscape Issues, Redevelopment Services, and Expansion/Annexation.
The chapter addresses many issues directly affecting our citizens.
Technology
The City is committed to operating in the most cost effective and efficient manner
by strategically planning the use of emerging technology. It is important to identify
specifically the benefits of those technologies which can be reasonably assimilated into
the City of Tamarac within the next five years.
Page 3 - Introduction and Summary
•
Technology (continued)
Major Issues
A significant issue that must be considered when planning the technological
future of the City of Tamarac is the rapid speed at which the technology advances and
the subsequent shortened life cycle that accompanies it. This heightens the complexity
in determining the level to serve best the City's needs and whether to be on the leading
edge or at a level to just accomplish the task. Internally, reasonable time tables should
be established when implementing new technologies so that employees can be
properly acclimated and trained, especially since deficiencies in training and
development time will hinder the success of any project. Employee involvement in the
very beginning stages is critical, as is ongoing user support, in order to give employees
a comfort level when dealing with new technology. Finally, the City must have the
resources, both financial and staff, to maintain the systems implemented.
The Technology chapter discusses the emerging issues in this area that will
affect the City and provides suggestions as to how each issue can be addressed.
•
isPage 4 - Introduction and Summary
• Major Issues
Chapter II - Good Government
The term "Good Government" would probably score high as a desirable goal for
most communities. On the surface, the immediate response is one of agreement. After
all, who would be against "Good Government"? Because government is a multi -service
business that serves a citizenry with diverse needs and interests, it makes defining
"Good Government" beyond a general statement, or amorphous concept, quite difficult.
Logically, one approach is to further define this idea by breaking it down into smaller,
more specific ideas and defining those smaller ideas. This is the approach we have
taken in defining Good Government as encompassing a Mission Statement, Customer
Service, Community Involvement and Citizen Access, Government Orientation, Service
Delivery, Charter and Code Review, Administrative Policies and Operational
Procedures, and Budget Refinement.
As will be illustrated, each of these issues are independent ideas that are worthy
goals for an organization. However, the real challenge of "Good Government" is the
ability to merge each concept, good, new or improved, into one cohesive effort. What
this first entails is a clear sense of mission.
0 (Mission Statement
The mission statement is one of the most critical components in furthering a
community's goal of "Good Government". It should encompass vital concepts in pursuit
of attaining ultimate goals. In developing the mission statement, a ground up approach
is essential. The mission must make sense and provide the required guidance in the
combination of efforts. Developing a successful mission statement is a process that
includes input from citizens, employees, and policy makers.
An encompassing mission statement provides a sense of purpose for everyone
in the organization. Besides explaining the overall goal of the organization, a mission
statement should also be the driving purpose behind the City's activities. In other
words, those activities not related to the City's mission should be deleted while those
activities related to the mission are added. Several case studies, including cities such
as Tampa, Florida, Phoenix, Arizona, and Visalia, California, have shown that mission
statements - the embodiment of purpose - are effective in moving a City toward a goal
of "Good Government". It is essential as a beginning element in this process.
0 Page 5 - Good Government
0 Major Issues
Customer Service
A City government is a multi -service business that serves citizens, businesses,
and employees, each with diverse needs and interests. The mission of "Good
Government" is to provide quality services utilizing resources effectively and efficiently.
Customer focused government is based in the premise that recipients of service are the
primary concern. Open communication with customers and professional commitment to
meeting needs through well designed services and products are key strategies of
Customer Service. Improving quality in government services involves the same steps
as in the private sector. It means paying attention to the process, involving employees
in the process, paying attention to the customer and letting decisions be made at the
lowest practical level.
Community Involvement and Citizen Accgss
"Good Government" should be the guiding principle for the community of
Tamarac. A shared vision of effective and efficient utilization of resources for the
benefit of all citizens in the community is essential to create a fully functioning and
committed work force. In his book T g Fifth Disci line Art & Practice of the
Learning Organization, Peter Sange states "Visions spread because of a reinforcing
process of increasing clarity, enthusiasm, communication and commitment."
Community Involvement is offering opportunities for all citizens to make their needs
apparent and to foster understanding of the process. Partnerships must be encouraged
to achieve the optimum utilization of resources. Community Involvement promotes and
strengthens the stability, development and preservation of Tamarac through
communication, community based problem solving, neighborhood services and
public/private cooperation. To be most successful, citizen access to the governmental
processes must be achieved including access to government by technical means.
Innovations such as remote access to the government via satellite city halls,
computerization, the Internet and other telecommunication media are bringing citizens
closer to their government.
Government Orientation
While most agree that the mission of Good Government is to provide quality
service utilizing resources effectively and efficiently, this mission falls directly into the
hands of the agents of the government. Orientation to creating a specific awareness of
City services provides a method of ensuring that all employees have the requisite
knowledge to perform their respective functions. This includes all governmental
resources from the Commission, who sets policy, to management personnel and
Page 6 - Good Govemment
0 Major Issues
Government Orientation (continued)
employees who carry out those policies. An effective orientation can bridge the gap for
the governmental players but must also include a continuous exchange of information
and ideas. A positive image projected during public contact will play a big part in the
City of Tamarac being a City where businesses and homeowners want to come and
stay. The Governmental organization must ensure through proper education and
training that its ombudsmen (the employees) are well prepared to follow through on
responsive and professional service delivery.
rvice Dgli. very
Effective service delivery is yet another key objective for achieving Good
Government. Professionalism germinates and interlinks delivery strategy to produce
processes which are efficient, effective, and which are continuously refined. Such
delivery of service is often thwarted by forces which impact on the governmental system
to create a culture of apathy, political expedience, and reactionary service. The best
service delivery is achieved in an honest manner, relatively independent of external
factors, based upon thorough analysis and coupled with a futuristic vision. Strategies to
achieve those service deliveries include the following: hiring and retaining competent
managers and employees, creating a congenial working atmosphere, encouraging
active participation at all levels, encouraging and accepting constructive criticism,
encouraging employee ownership, encouraging and supporting decisions based upon
needs, and encouraging support and rewarding creativity and innovation. Of course,
strategies are not achievable if not solidly based.
Charter and Code Review
Good Government should begin with the legal document on which the
government is founded, its Charter. A charter is "a written instrument that creates and
defines the franchises of a city." City charters within Florida are adopted in accordance
with the Constitution and Statutes of the State of Florida.
The Charter of The City of Tamarac was originally adopted on May 19, 1971. Its
preamble describes what the citizens feel to be necessary and expected from
government: "...protect the general health, welfare, and safety of our residents and
promote honest, efficient and responsive government." Emanating from the Charter
are more specific rules and laws that regulate how things are to happen in the
community, and thus codes are promulgated to assist in the fulfillment of the City's
preamble. However, the City's Charter and Code require substantial updating to meet
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0 Major Issues
Chartgr and Code Review (continued)
the changing needs of the City. As time progresses, the needs of the City change as
communicated by its populous and determined by its political leaders. Charter and
code updates are consistent with a government meeting the needs of its residents and
preparing for the future. The Tamarac Charter needs major work.
Administrative Policies and Operati.4nal Procedures
Beyond the City's Charter and Code, another important component of "Good
Government" is the development of Administrative Policies and Operational
Procedures. In its simplest form, the development of policies and procedures are the
development of rules by which the organization will be operated. In today's litigious
society, municipalities are becoming more and more the object of legal actions.
Policies, such as A Drug Free Workplace and Violence in the Workplace, serve to
protect the organization's constituencies and limit the City's legal liability by providing a
safer and more productive work environment. The important issue behind policies and
procedures is determining the level to which regulation is productive.
Operationalized, this means that while policies and procedures are necessary,
they should not be so detailed or consuming as to cause the organization to become
rules focused as opposed to mission focused. It is also important to distinguish .
between policies and procedures. Policies, generally, should deal with higher level
issues that effect, or have the potential to effect, any employee in the workforce. In
other words, these issues usually center around defining what is needed to make the
work environment productive, safe, effective, and efficient. As such, policies do not
explain to an individual how a job should be done, but instead explain what behavior is
expected and appropriate in executing the job.
Procedures, as opposed to policies, are more definitive and process oriented. A
part of "Good Government" is being able to coordinate efforts of several different
departments toward the City's overall mission. In order to do this effectively and
efficiently means that departments need to interact as smoothly as possible. Smooth
interaction is significantly aided when others know what is expected. For example,
purchasing supplies is made easier when operating departments are aware of what the
purchasing office requires in order to meet its obligations.
The main purpose of procedures is to communicate to others what is needed to
carry out a specific function. A procedure is not meant to constrain an employee to a
Page 8 - Good Government
• Major Issues
Administrative Policies and QPerationall Procedures (continued)
rote set of rules that cannot be revised or modified. Finally, procedures also build in
accountability to a process. The flip side of communicating what is expected is the
originating department's ability to follow through and meet the obligations it has made
by printing its procedures. In short, administrative policies and operational procedures
are nuts and bolts that define how an organization goes about providing good
government.
Budget Refinement
Underlying any governmental organization is the funding and/or planning
mechanism for achieving organizational objectives. The budgetary process is at the
heart of governmental decision making. As "budget is to government" must "good
budgeting be to good government." What is "good budgeting?" To turn-of-the-20th-
Century reformers, a budget and its procedures enhanced the popular control of
government by providing formal, open procedures for the exercise of financial authority.
A concept which would command much attention from budget makers 50 years later, in
the 1960's, was an idea from the predated bureau of municipal research which
recommended that municipal budgeting be designed to facilitate policy planning and
decision making.
In the City of Tamarac's recent history, the budget has evolved from a strictly
incremental line -item format to incorporate goals and objectives to a
program/performance format to the most recent budget process which examined the
base by setting non -incremental budget targets and prioritization of program functions.
These changes to and evolutions of the budgetary process provide yet another
opportunity in the pursuit of "Good Government."
0 Page 9 - Good Government
• Major Issues
Chapter III - Human Resources
Providing quality services to Tamarac citizens hinges on the City's ability to
create and support a work environment which recognizes that people are the City's
most valuable resource. The ideal situation is one where employees work in a
supportive environment, each individual committed and empowered to provide quality
services to citizens and/or customers. The ideal workforce should be encouraged and
challenged to reach its highest potential, toward the goal of maximum productivity,
creativity, and job satisfaction. In this manner, well trained and well qualified
employees work together to achieve the goals and objectives of the organization.
Alignment of HpMan Re ourc s and Operational Requirements
In developing an ideal work environment, an overall assessment of the existing
capabilities of the City's workforce is necessary. This assessment would also identify
the needs of the City and how well the City meets these needs. From this, the City
would be able to make recommendations that modify and improve its existing policies to
better align the needs of the workforce and the needs of the City. Part of this process
would be the establishment of a systematic and continual assessment of current and
future workforce requirements.
The major components in this process begin with a formal review of the many
different factors that have a significant role in the make-up of the City's human
resources and how these resources are utilized. This includes examining the
relationship between labor and management, pay, benefits, other compensation, the
work culture and environment and working conditions. Equally important to evaluate is
the external environment which includes all the various opportunities available in the
labor market for which existing and potential Tamarac employees are eligible.
Once the environmental review is completed, the next step is to prepare current
and future service delivery plans in all program and service areas. This component
takes an objective look at how the City delivers its services from a human resource
point of view. The purpose is to determine how the human element fits with the City's
service delivery plans and requirements. Measuring this fit includes an analysis of the
knowledge, skills, and abilities required to provide programs and services. This places
the City in a better position to meet the needs of its employees as it would have a better
understanding of what is available in both the internal and external workforce and how it
compares with future organizational requirements.
0 Page 10 - Human Resources
• Major Issues
Alignment of Human Resource and Operational Re irements continued
Logically, the final component in this process is the establishment of action plans
to ensure that needed human resources are available to accomplish the City's goals
and objectives. Establishing these action plans includes two components - developing
individual plans for assessing, developing, and rewarding those employees who
possess, acquire, or develop required knowledge, skills and abilities; and developing
Citywide and departmental recruiting and training plans to acquire and develop required
knowledge, skills and abilities.
Attracting and Retaining a Talented Workforce
Essential to quality service delivery is attracting and retaining a talented
workforce prepared and committed to achieving its maximum potential. City service
delivery will be only as good as the employees providing the services. The first area in
this chapter dealt with matching necessary skills and abilities to program and service
requirements. This area, while related, deals with how to attract and retain employees
who either possess the necessary skills and abilities coming into employment with the
City, or develop these skills and abilities while employed by Tamarac. Components of
attracting and retaining a talented workforce include establishing and maintaining a
compensation plan, offering a competitive benefits package, and recognizing and
rewarding superior performance and productivity.
The issue of compensation has received much attention in the City in recent
months. The City has already made some progress in establishing a compensation
plan. While the compensation plan has been established in terms of direct
compensation, the City needs to put considerable effort into the implementation of this
compensation plan and making/keeping it competitive.
Maintenance of the compensation plan includes separate parts such as
reviewing internal equity, external competitiveness, accurate job descriptions, and the
prevention of high turnover. Addressing the first part, it is necessary to develop and
implement a regular review process to ensure internal equity in the City's classification
and pay system. Simply put, ensuring internal equity refers to the idea that similar jobs
within the City organization should be compensated at similar rates of pay. This does
not mean that every office specialist or every operations manager should be paid
exactly the same; allowances should be made for job related factors such as
experience and ability. It does mean, however, that there should not be excessive
compensation discrepancies between similar jobs and there should not be situations
Page I I - Human Resources
• Major Issues
Attracting and Retainin a Talen ed Workforce continued
where lower level positions are compensated at higher amounts than higher level
positions without absolute justification.
A significant part of retaining good employees is maintaining external
competitiveness. While an annual salary review comparing all the City's positions to
the external market is prohibitively expensive and time consuming, an annual salary
survey of selected positions from different levels in the organization is plausible and
would serve as an acceptable barometer. Based on this salary survey, compensation
can be adjusted to ensure that the City's pay system is competitive in the region.
Another significant part of retaining employees is maintaining accurate job
descriptions that match organizational requirements. Obviously, it is important for City
positions to perform needed services. It makes little sense to have employees
performing outdated or antiquated tasks simply because the task has always been
done or that is all they are capable of. Situations of this type are of little benefit to the
City and frustrate other employees. A plausible solution to this is to review and amend
job descriptions during the annual evaluation process in order to ensure that position
requirements and organizational requirements are consistent and updated.
Based on recent trends, the City experiences high turnover in its workforce
compared to other organizations. This is of significant concern to the City because
recruiting, hiring, and training new employees costs the City money. Secondly,
productivity and morale suffers when a vacancy exists and existing employees are
required to help fill the gap represented by the vacancy. Many times this cannot be
accomplished without temporary help or without sacrificing service delivery. While
turnover has been significant, much of it can be attributed to changing the
organization's culture, of raising what is required from employees, of having a more
uniform system of discipline, and the lack of a system to evaluate and compensate
employees. Refinements must be made to the City's compensation and other systems
to improve the City's track record.
As mentioned above, the second component in attracting and retaining
employees is the establishment and maintenance of a benefits plan which is
competitive in the region and internally equitable. The benefits plan should reflect the
needs of a modern workforce and should be continually reviewed to increase flexibility
and value to employees and to ensure that it is competitive in the region. Finally,
significant attention should be given to developing training and wellness programs,
4Peducation and other seminars reflecting a commitment to the health and well being of
Page 12 - Human Resources
• Major Issues
Attracting and Rptaining a Talented Workforce continued
employees
A third important component concerns the importance of recognizing and
rewarding superior performance and productivity. Independent surveys of employees
indicate that individual reward and recognition by an organization of high performance
is consistently rated as integral to job satisfaction. The City needs to do a better job of
recognizing superior performers. The most basic method for addressing this need is to
implement an evaluation and pay for performance system that recognizes and rewards
superior performance and productivity.
Another method to address this situation, which is a supplement to pay for
performance, is to develop employee recognition programs to reward exceptional
customer service, productivity, cost savings, teamwork and innovation. Besides the
benefit to the employee who aided in improving City service delivery, this type of
program also serves as an indication to other employees that the City promotes and
rewards exceptional performance. The result is improved operations and better morale.
• Finally, recognizing and rewarding performance and productivity includes
providing career paths and other developmental opportunities within the City. Many of
the City's employees will, at some point, master the functions required by their
individual position and may want challenges beyond what their position offers them. If
the City is to retain these employees, it will have to offer them the additional challenge
they desire. The most common way of doing this is to provide regular opportunities for
promotion along their career path. In the event that this is not available, appropriate, or
plausible, other avenues concentrating on furthering the development and skills of the
employee may be possible.
Recruiting, Employing and Supporting a Diverse Workforce
In today's work environment, it is imperative that the City recruit, employ, and
support a diverse workforce. The purposes for this range from the most obvious legal
requirements to the less obvious benefits associated with having a workforce that
reflects the diversity of society. In meeting this goal, the City will need to develop
strategies to comply with federal, state, and local laws, to encourage and maintain a
diverse workforce, and to encourage and support a participative and team -oriented
work environment.
0 Beginning with the most obvious issue, the City needs to ensure that it complies
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• Major Issues
Recruiting.- Employing and Suppprtina a Diverse Workforce continued
with the requirements of federal, state and local laws. Failure to do this could result in
serious consequences to the City organization, including severe financial penalties. At
the very least, the City should develop and implement programs that provide
employment law training for all supervisory and managerial employees, ensure
compliance with new laws by providing informational updates to City departments, and
continually scan the legal environment to determine emerging human resource trends
and have resources in place to disseminate this information.
In addition to remaining in compliance with various labor laws, the City needs to
encourage, attract and retain a diverse workforce to deliver City services. As alluded to
above, this has the added benefit of providing a work environment that reflects the
society that the City serves. This in turn helps the City provide services in a manner
that is consistent with societal needs.
The first two methods mentioned above concentrate mostly on recruitment of a
diverse workforce. Other methods need to be developed to maintain that workforce
once it is established. Among methods designed to recruit and/or maintain a diverse
workforce are apprenticeship, internship, and mentorship programs. Apprenticeship
and internship programs are designed to develop and sustain skills and capabilities
critical to current and future operational requirements. A mentorship program would
assist new employees in succeeding.
The last piece to recruiting, employing, and supporting a diverse workforce
involves the encouragement and support of a participative, team -oriented work
environment. Since a diverse workforce involves individuals of different temperaments
and talents, it is important to take advantage of these different viewpoints by allowing
them to work for the system and the City rather than against them. An attractive and
proven method for accomplishing this is to allow input and expression by employees to
various decisions made by the City. Operational strategies for implementing employee
input and expression include establishing inter -disciplinary teams to re -engineer work
processes, encouraging appropriate risktaking, rewarding attempts to operate outside
of areas of influence, and involving employees in the making of important decisions
directly affecting the City and employee interests.
Professional and Perspnal Development
Many of the issues relevant to professional and personal development are also
closely related to areas already covered in this section. A performance evaluation
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Qrofessional and Personal Development (continued)
system, development of skills and abilities, and career pathing are critical components
of a comprehensive Human Resources program. These areas, although discussed in
other sections, must be considered and discussed as they relate to professional and
personal development.
In considering professional and personal development, the implementation of a
performance evaluation system is necessary to provide guidance and feedback to
employees regarding performance and development needs. In order to have the most
productive workforce, employees need to be communicated with in a manner that
explains the things they do well along with those things which require improvement.
Opportunities for training and guidance should be given for improvement. This means
that employees should be formally evaluated on at least an annual basis and each
employee should prepare an individual development plan identifying personal and
professional development needs as part of the evaluation.
Ancillary to this should be the establishment and support of a comprehensive
. training program which reflects the City's vision and values. From this perspective, the
City benefits first from communicating with employees through the performance
evaluation process. The City can further capitalize upon this by providing a
comprehensive training program which aids the employee in improving performance.
This promotion of professional and personal development represents a small
investment by the City which can reap significant benefits to the City since these
employees will possess a higher level of skills and abilities.
Suggested steps in accomplishing a comprehensive training program that
supports professional and personal development include the redesign of the City's
orientation program to convey the City's mission, goals, and objectives and the
responsibilities and benefits of City service, the development of training opportunities
based on City, departmental and individual needs, the establishment of a training library
of books, video tapes, and other training materials for the use of City employees, and
the enhancement of the City's continuing education program to encourage professional
development.
Professional development includes advancement and promotional opportunities.
Providing this to employees involves having a system of career paths and development
in place within the City. While the employee must retain ultimate responsibility for
his/her own career, the City is able to take some actions that provide mutual benefits.
These include a system of career paths with defined skill levels, the establishment of
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r4 Personal ,Development (continued)
_ess�onal and „
•
job sharing and developmental assignment opportunities, the encouragement of skill
development through the establishment of incentives for advanced certification and
training, and the provision of opportunities for employees to be cross -trained in other
functions.
Creating and Supporting a Participative Work Environment
A final aspect to successful management of the City's Human Resources is the
establishment of a participative work environment which empowers employees.
Employees perform at their best when they feel their opinions and input are valued by
the organization. Included with the idea of a participative environment is the need for a
safe environment that is not only safe from work hazards, but also contains open lines
of communication ensuring safety from retribution for speaking out.
As alluded to, promoting this type of environment includes the establishment of a
comprehensive safety program that demonstrates the City's commitment to providing a
safe workplace for all employees. The steps to this are the development of an
employee safety manual, the development of an accident review system to identify
causes, and the provision of periodic safety training for all employees.
Secondly, it is imperative and a mutual responsibility for the City and the IAFF
and FPE to establish and support a labor climate where managers and employees work
together to achieve mutual goals. Open lines of communication and teamwork between
managers and employees are necessary for the most productive work environment.
This includes the establishment of a forum for managers and employees to improve
communication about issues of mutual concern, the provision of training to all
supervisory employees regarding union contracts and policies and procedures, and
improved communication with all City employees.
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Chapter IV - Community Affairs
Important to the provision of City services to Tamarac citizens is the proper
awareness and management of community affairs. Community affairs deal with how
the government communicates and interacts with various entities including members of
the governing body, employees, citizens, private interests, and other government
agencies. To be certain, the City has an obligation to have and maintain open and
honest lines of communication with all these interests. The discussion of Community
Affairs has been broken down into four broad concepts of Public Relations,
Government Relations, Legislative Involvement, and Strategic Involvement.
Public Relations
This section comments on ways to improve our public relations, including
suggestions for services and programs not presently provided by the City. Public
relations involves timely communication with the community at large including residents,
volunteers, businesses, other governmental agencies, and the media pertaining to the
City's public involvement, accomplishments and employee achievements. The public
deserves to know about the many things that its government does correctly. Short
newsbriefs of achievements or innovations could be profiled in City publications such as
the Sundial and Tam -A -Gram or submitted to the local media, such as the "Community
Close Up" section provided by the SUO Sentinel. In addition, a new and highly visible
focal point in the City Hall Atrium could be dedicated to profiling City accomplishments
and employee achievements, such as a computerized information kiosk in the City Hall
Atrium. An alternative and more involved method is to provide to the community, by
appointment, on -site tours of all City facilities and operations.
Government Relations
Proper development of interlocal and state relationships is needed to enhance
the City's effectiveness in dealing with other governmental agencies or quasi -
governmental agencies. Tamarac will need to make a concerted effort to maintain
professional and mutually beneficial relationships with its counterparts. The purpose is
not only to represent the interests of the City, but also to keep informed of innovations
and other issues that may be of benefit to City operations. Accomplishing this objective
includes increasing the City's visibility at the county and regional level by dedicating
staff time to interlocal and regional studies and projects, adopting a policy offering use
of the City's facilities for regional meetings, and increasing the City's representation on
policy and technical committees. An additional benefit of promoting government
relations is the opportunity to identify available grants for supplemental City revenues
for special projects. This includes studying all available federal, state, regional and
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Government ReIgtigns (continued)
county programs and financial resources that the City can utilize, and providing
incentives to encourage individual departments to apply for and secure applicable
grants.
Legislative Involvement
An important aspect of promoting communication involves monitoring and
developing relationships with Federal and State legislators to provide positive
opportunities for the City. Several strategies were identified to address this issue, such
as meeting with the Broward County Legislative Delegation for assistance on legislative
issues. City officials should meet with Federal and State Legislators to enlist their
support on legislative and/or funding issues impacting the City. A common method of
communicating with legislative bodies is to work with individuals or groups with
expertise in areas affecting City policy interests.
Strategic Involvement
An important objective for the Administration is to provide effective
communication of government operations to the elected officials. It is imperative that
the elected officials as policy makers are well informed on all issues affecting the City.
Several methods for accomplishing this have been identified. The Administration could
report regularly during Commission workshops on operational issues affecting City
government. These discussions could include dialogue aimed at developing a shared
vision to aid in the planning for future programs and projects. An information manual
for Commission reference could be developed and maintained on the City-wide
network. This would allow elected officials online access to information concerning the
progress of City projects.
As a final note, promoting communication with legislative bodies also includes
the development of public/private partnerships for the efficient and optimal operation of
the City. Suggested strategies include the strengthening of the relationship between
the City and the Chamber of Commerce through Mayor and Commission and staff
participation, as well as encouraging participation by the Mayor and Commission and
department directors with the Broward Economic Development Council, and other
groups.
0
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Chapter V - Service Delivery
Tamarac City Government is in the business of providing services to its
residents, businesses and its internal operations. Service delivery is the defining
element in meeting customers' needs. Service delivery issues reflect current and future
needs and priorities of the City. There should be an open discussion of basic questions
regarding service delivery such as the delivery of the right service, the quality of
service, services utilizing current technology, efficient services, services related to
financial resources, maximizing service and productivity, and examining other service
alternatives. In addition to seeking the answers to these fundamental questions,
Service Delivery philosophy should address the following measurements:
1. Effectiveness - getting the right things done;
2. Efficiency - doing them the right way; and
3. Economy - regulating the use of scarce resources.
The governing body, citizens, and employees of the City, each have a vested
interest in contributing to the value of the organization. The City has felt the impact of a
changing economy, growth pressures, and increasing public service expectations.
Faced with these challenges and the expectation of its citizens, the City must
continually improve its services to prepare itself for the challenges of the future.
The monitoring of our current service delivery performance is important to the
decisions about whether to continue, reduce, or expand programs. Data sources such
as direct observation, service records, and information from program participants are
key variables in the design of an evaluation program. These evaluation systems are
key to ensuring the collection and feedback of data and information relevant to effective
service delivery. The discussion which follows on specific service delivery issues is by
no means exhaustive but rather highlights those felt to be more immediate for
developing an action plan.
Comprehensive Plan
The Comprehensive Plan is an official document which is adopted by the City as
a policy to guide decisions about the physical development of the community. It
outlines in a general fashion how the community leaders would like the City to develop
within the next twenty years. All municipalities and counties in the State of Florida are
required to prepare and adopt comprehensive plans which are consistent with the State
enabling legislation (Florida Statutes Chapter 163). The Plan must be consistent with
•
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Comprehensive Plan continued
the County plan, the Regional plan, and State plan. To ensure consistency with the
State legislation, the Florida Department of Community Affairs (DCA) reviews and
approves all Comprehensive Plans prepared in the State. All of the Plans are required
to contain the following elements: Land Use, Traffic Circulation, Housing, Sanitary
Sewer, Solid Waste, Drainage, Potable Water, Natural Groundwater, Aquifer Recharge,
Conservation, Recreation and Open Space, Intergovernmental Coordination, and
Capital Improvements.
The State of Florida requires that comprehensive plans be periodically reviewed,
analyzed and updated. The City adopted its Comprehensive Plan in 1990 and recently
completed a draft Evaluation and Appraisal Report (EAR) as required by State law.
This report updates the public facility data, land use data and demographics. It also
evaluates the City's progress in achieving the goals and objectives adopted in 1990. It
is important that the City update its Comprehensive Plan to reflect the
recommendations of the Evaluation and Appraisal Report (EAR) to ensure that the
orderly and well -planned growth that has characterized the City continues into the
future. A healthy business climate, redevelopment of declining properties,
environmental protection, and vibrant neighborhoods are all important goals to be
pursued in the new Comprehensive Plan.
Service Analysis
A City government is a multi -service business that serves citizens, business and
employees, each with diverse needs and interests. To serve effectively and efficiently
the needs of the external and internal customers, the administration must employ
continuous service analysis. This includes forecasting needs, developing and
implementing services and monitoring and evaluating services.
The following is suggested to ensure that the needs of citizens, business and
employees are being met effectively and efficiently with proper allocation of resources:
1) develop a service philosophy for Tamarac, 2) implement service analysis procedures
that define, measure and evaluate current and future services, and 3) create direct,
simplified service access procedures that promote accessibility.
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Capital Improvement Financing
The challenges of managing fiscal affairs have changed dramatically due to
Federal and State fiscal policies and other social and economic factors during the last
decade. The establishment of sound financial policies and policy -making techniques
will assist with the capital planning and budgeting processes that support the City's
projects.
Through sound fiscal and debt administration policies, it is expected that the City
will be able to identify short and long-term financial resources. To aid in this effort, the
City should also adopt and implement fiscal policies for the management of debt and
capital improvements, establish measurable financial indicators to ensure that the City
meets its proposed fiscal policies, and communicate progress of capital improvement
projects by issuing a monthly "Capital Project Status Report" detailing information about
recent and anticipated accomplishments on various projects.
Infragtrugture
Infrastructure are the roads, drainage and utilities that provide the residents with
the necessary means of transportation, flood protection, water distribution, and sewer
collection that is essential for quality life in a municipality. This infrastructure requires
extensive maintenance and must be continually monitored to be certain that it not only
meets the needs and regulations of today, but that it will continue meeting the needs
and regulations of the future as the City grows and changes. The City of Tamarac is
experiencing growth and is approaching build -out in the next 13+ years.
Although the City of Tamarac is a relatively young city with the oldest areas
being approximately thirty (30) years old, the infrastructure in some of the older areas of
the City are in need of replacement and/or repair. Unfortunately, the earlier
development of the City did not have the benefit of the standards, designs and
construction controls necessary to ensure that the infrastructure would last the normal
life expected of municipal infrastructure systems. In some instances, the infrastructure
was built by the private sector and was not planned adequately so it lacks the capacity
to meet the City's growth through build -out. There are also regulatory issues in place,
or being considered, that place a burden on the City to maintain the infrastructure
system. A further burden is not one of capacity, but space required for the systems. In
order to support properly the City's infrastructure, the City needs to provide the
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Infrastructure (ggntinued)
necessary studies, evaluations and prioritizing required to address needed repairs and
upgrades.
The City is meeting the daily infrastructure needs by approving budgets,
financing, fees, codes, programs and staffing to maintain the present system. The City
is addressing the future needs of the infrastructure by establishing Capital Improvement
Projects (CIP) in each budget year. This provides a plan that schedules and budgets
these CIPs for periods of up to five (5) years. These CIPs are also part of the City's
Comprehensive Plan. The City has user fees, taxes and impact fees to help pay for the
cost of the infrastructure system.
Even though the City continually maintains its infrastructure, the need to
resurface and landscape City rights -of -way remains significant. Many of the streets
have not been resurfaced in over thirty years and continue to deteriorate with every
passing year. In 1996, the City identified approximately $17,000,000 in resurfacing,
curbing, and landscape related improvements in our rights -of -way. Unfortunately, the
• problems and the costs to fix them will continue to escalate until they are
comprehensively addressed.
A proposed solution is to finance these improvements through a bond issue
pledging revenue from a public service tax on electricity and telecommunications. The
advantage to a bond issue is that the repayment period lasts anywhere from 15 to 25
years, which roughly matches the expected life of the infrastucture improvements. This
means that all residents who use City streets over the next 15 to 25 years would pay an
equal share as opposed to today's residents paying for all the improvements. The
public service tax has been projected to have minimal impact on the majority of our
residents and, in the long run, will alleviate pressure on the property tax.
Public Facilities
The City of Tamarac is expected to reach build -out of 60,000 residents in the year
2010. There is limited opportunity for expansion of existing facilities for government
operations and community activities. To supplement the Comprehensive Plan, a Master
Plan needs to be developed to address the future needs of the City. There are two (2)
major areas of concern: A) Community Facilities, and B) Government Facilities.
Community facilities are located where services are provided for residents. Government
buildings are where City operations are housed, such as City Hall, Fire Department, Public
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Public Facilities continued
Works, Utilities. Of necessity, there is some overlap in these functions. Changes in
service, technological advances, population shifts and innovative ways of meeting
customer needs will be major factors in analyzing facility needs.
A. Community Facilities -m The quality of life in a City is directly impacted by
the availability of activities to enhance the physical and mental wellness of residents. The
City of Tamarac recognizes an obligation to ensure adequate facilities are available to
address the recreational, cultural, social and human services' needs of residents.
The City must develop facilities to meet the cultural, social and recreational
needs of a diverse population. A plan addressing this development should include a
survey of existing facilities, a feasibility study of building new facilities or renovating
current ones, analysis of creative methods to finance and develop facilities, and the
pursuit of State/County/private partnerships to plan and develop for future needs.
B Government Facilities - The City is experiencing growing pains. The
• City needs additional and different configurations of space for operational activities.
Many of the innovations explored in this exercise require a look at existing and new
space.
As the City approaches build out, it is imperative that it identifies facility needs in
order to serve the citizens of the City and to ensure the proper and timely maintenance
of all government property. Important to this task is the performance of annual
inspections of existing facilities to identify maintenance, security, safety and needs for
expansion, regular surveys of employees to determine needs, utilization of census or
customer service data to indicate need for additional government facilities, and the
preparation of a maintenance schedule for all public facilities.
User Fee Analysis
Local municipalities are feeling the need to access nontraditional forms of
revenue to support service delivery efforts. With reductions in Federal and State
revenue, and the demands for property tax relief, the importance of nontax revenue
sources increases as municipalities seek to maintain service levels.
DMG has recently completed a user fee study for the City, which is ready to be
presented to the Commission . The City should adopt a policy of annually updating the
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City's user fees and also develop revenue policies so that the Mayor and Commission
can know what subsidy is being provided to each program.
Safety Awareness
Tamarac is a diverse community with many health and safety issues impacting
upon the quality of life experienced by its residents. Though many of these issues
occur nationwide, the demographics of Tamarac compel us to deal with many of these
issues earlier and with greater frequency. In some ways, Tamarac serves as a
barometer for future concerns at the national level. Innovative methods need to be
studied, adopted, and implemented to reduce future costs. The City has departments
and businesses involved in addressing health and safety issues. The City can serve in
a coordinating role to bring health and safety issues to the forefront, and to facilitate
the education of the public.
The City will utilize innovative methods to protect life, property and the
environment while emphasizing public awareness as a key preventative measure.
Achieving this involves supporting public/private partnerships that provide community -
based prevention, enforcement and training in all areas of health and safety while
ensuring accessibility at all levels, involving citizens in developing and implementing
safety initiatives, and developing and distributing an emergency preparedness plan to
all City departments annually.
Development Review
The City of Tamarac has placed an emphasis on customer service necessitating
changes in the organizational structure of the City. The City's Development Review
Process is one area where City staff provides customer service to the development
community. The first step for many developers proposing to develop property within the
City of Tamarac is the Development Review Committee. Through this Committee,
developers work very closely with City staff from various departments ensuring that all
applicable codes are adhered to prior to the Planning Commission and City
Commission review and approval. The efficiency of the review process and the staffs
attitudes should convey a positive experience to the applicant. If the City of Tamarac is
to continue the recent trend of providing this higher level of customer service to its
residents and the development community, then the City staff should revise the
development forms and application procedures to ensure the most expeditious review
of the applications through the Development Review Process while ensuring that all
development standards are properly met.
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Develo m nReview continued
An update and modification of the Development Review Process is needed to
ensure orderly and professional review of development applications in an expedient
manner while protecting the health, safety and quality of life of the citizens of the City of
Tamarac. This can begin by having the Development Review Committee (DRC) update
all application forms and procedures in writing to assist the development community in
obtaining the pertinent information necessary to file a development application.
Second, the Community Development Department can coordinate with all affected City
Departments to create the forms and procedures in a clear and concise form. Third,
application packages containing all appropriate forms and procedures should be
available to the development community through the Community Development
Department. Finally, the City should promote expeditious review and approval of
development applications by having professional, customer friendly personnel available
to assist the development community and City of Tamarac residents.
One-§tQP_ Permitting
Local governments in Florida are now required to prepare comprehensive growth
management plans which address such issues as the provision of adequate
infrastructure to service new development. The Florida Legislature has required local
governments to address the adequate infrastructure issue by establishing concurrency
management systems which evaluate planning, zoning, building and other land use
permits to ensure that infrastructure and other government services are adequate, or
planned, to service the anticipated development. The review of such plans and permits
involve a number of City departments and divisions including Planning, Zoning,
Engineering, Water and Wastewater Utilities, Stormwater Utilities, Building, Fire and
Law Enforcement. One way to ensure that concurrency management requirements are
met is to establish a one -stop permitting system in the City of Tamarac.
Many government administrators have found that most permitting systems are
viewed from the perspective of the individual departments. However, it is clear that
most permits cut across departmental lines. In Tamarac, there is no one organization
or department which coordinates the entire permitting process. As a result, applicants
go from department to department to receive the permitting they need to begin
construction of their project.
The solution to this problem is to establish an integrated (one -stop) permitting system
which eliminates "the customer run around", while at the same time producing an
improved technical review of the application. The establishment of this system will
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One -stop Permitting (continued)
assist the City's economic development efforts because a more efficient permitting
process saves time and money for businesses seeking to relocate to Tamarac. The
creation of a one -stop system will result in increased customer service, a more
comprehensive permit review, improved interdepartmental coordination, improved staff
efficiency, and reduced costs to the City and the consumer.
Accomplishing this involves studying each individual permitting process and
determining the most effective way to integrate it into a One -Stop Permitting System,
a review of the current fee structure, making appropriate adjustments to ensure that
permit fees adequately cover the cost of reviews without excessive costs to the
applicant, co -locating the development review function and the permitting function to
avoid overlap and unnecessary duplication of staff resources, identifying an adequate
physical location for the establishment of a One -Stop Permitting System which has
enough space to accommodate staff, the public and the equipment, and authorizing
training for staff in the computer software required for the establishment of the
integrated permitting system, and for enhanced customer service delivery techniques.
Landscape/Strgetscape
The City of Tamarac is actively involved in landscape and urban forestry master
planning for the public lands in Tamarac. A Master Landscape Plan has been drafted
by the City's landscape consultant CCL Consultants, Inc., that incorporates the
development of model median, model swale and model entryway design programs as
well as identifying various areas in the City for landscaping themes, entryway designs
and streetscapes.
The Master Landscape Plan will help the City establish a planting program into
identifying a uniform look and feel for the City which is consistent with the goals,
objectives and policies of the City's Comprehensive Plan. This project will help the City
to improve the appearance of trees in public spaces, compliment the existing
landscaping on public property and emphasize a new and improved aesthetic quality
that will positively impact the City's tax base. Ideally, the plan identifies themes for
various neighborhoods and communities within the City, promotes the need for proper
future placement of individual trees and trees and plantings by recommending only
certain landscape materials within certain areas, and coordinates the Master
Landscape Plan with the existing street tree inventory.
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Major Issues
Redevelopment Services
The recently updated City of Tamarac Comprehensive Plan anticipates build -out
of the City by the year 2010 with a population of 60,000, As the City grows older, and
our housing stock and local business centers reach a mean of twenty-five years old, a
strategy must be developed to start dealing with decline in the neighborhoods and
businesses throughout the City. The future must then include methods of redeveloping
an aging community which is known as "community redevelopment". Techniques
which may be utilized include, but are not limited to more aggressive code enforcement,
repair and maintenance of facilities throughout the City, housing assistance, economic
development, business assistance, and Community Development Block Grants. The
community redevelopment process thus promotes an ongoing effort of identifying areas
throughout the community in need of improvements, and enhancing the quality of life
for our citizens by participating in a consistent effort to retard decline within the
neighborhoods.
The City should prepare a Community Redevelopment Program which will
enhance the quality of life of our citizens by identifying neighborhoods and businesses
. in need of improvements or maintenance. From this point, assistance may be
necessary to address the ongoing effort of promoting the health, safety and welfare of
the community. This means that efforts are needed to obtain funding to implement a
Community Redevelopment Program for identified areas in need of improvements.
These efforts should establish and implement a Community Redevelopment Plan within
the next five (5) years, enter into the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
Program, prepare a Housing Study which includes strategies to preserve and enhance
our aging housing inventory, and identify key business areas in need of improvement
and assist them by providing expertise and other governmental resources in order to
encourage economic development by retarding community decline.
Expangign/Annexation
Broward County is a highly urbanized county with approximately 90 percent of
its residents residing in municipalities. Many of the approximately sixty (60)
unincorporated neighborhoods are small pockets scattered throughout the county
making the provision for municipal -type services to many of these areas both inefficient
and expensive for the County. Therefore, the County has mandated that by 2010 all
unincorporated areas must be annexed into some municipality.
The Broward County Legislative Delegation created an Ad Hoc Committee to set
forth recommendations and policies which could serve as a guide for the Delegation in
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Ex ansion/An a ation continued
deciding future annexation questions and proposals. The Committee's
recommendations were found to be more general than specific with the understanding
that each of the various unincorporated areas of the county present unique
characteristics, circumstances or problems. The conclusion of the Ad Hoc Committee's
report was to encourage municipalities to review the possibility of annexing all of the
remaining unincorporated areas of Broward County adjacent to the City Limits by the
year 2010.
The City of Tamarac is reviewing the possibility of annexing some of the
remaining unincorporated areas of Broward County adjacent to the City Limits by using
a variety of methods and inducements acceptable to both the County and the City. In
doing so, attention should be paid to preserving the geographic integrity, character and
unique lifestyle of various neighborhoods through the use of legal provisions found in
the municipal charter or Special Act provisions. Secondly, it is important to prepare, in
advance, financing arrangements via interlocal agreement between the County and the
City to ensure adequate service delivery.
Other considerations include making sure commercial properties are not isolated
from neighborhoods to which they would logically or geographically belong, that tax and
fee information comparing all charges by the County and the City or cities involved to
the residents of an area to be annexed is provided, and that incentives and
inducements to unincorporated areas to encourage them to be annexed (i.e., Charter
amendments to preserve lifestyle, or to phase in ad valorem tax adjustments or
infrastructure or service improvements) are considered, where appropriate.
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Chapter VI - Information Technology
The City recognizes that information has become a vital resource for planning,
decision making, employee productivity and delivery of services. The City is committed
to operating in the most cost effective and efficient manner in order to serve the citizens
by strategically planning the use of emerging technology. It is important to identify
specifically the benefits of those technologies which can be reasonably assimilated into
the City within the next five years.
The most significant external issue that must be considered when planning the
technological future of the City of Tamarac is the rapid speed at which the technology
advances and the subsequent shortened life cycle that accompanies it. This heightens
the complexity in determining the level to best serve the City's needs and whether to
be on the leading edge or at a level to just accomplish the task.
Internally, a reasonable time table should be established so that employees can
assimilate new technology. Adequate training on new systems is required for all
affected employees. Employee involvement in the very beginning stages to ensure
acceptance is critical. Both external and internal ongoing user support is important to
give employees a comfort level when dealing with new technology. And finally, the City
must have the resources, both financial and staff, to maintain the systems
implemented.
Significant change is underway. Over the past two years, massive changes in
technology and personnel have begun to shape the future of the City. This experience
will play a positive role in the technological future of the City.
For all the advantages provided by technology, there exists the significant
challenge to organizations in the management of technological issues. The complexity
of the technology and speed of its change make it difficult for an organization to keep
abreast of emerging technology, plan appropriately to seize opportunities, and adjust to
technological implementations. To be successful, an organization must carefully
evaluate the goals and processes of government and have a clear vision of the ways in
which these goals can be met effectively and efficiently. There must be a solid
understanding of what needs to be done, why it should be done, and how it can be
streamlined and done better. Technology gives us the tools to carry out the
reengineering of government, not by simply applying technology to processes, but by
understanding and managing the issues of technology.
0 Proper management of information technology involves maintaining the
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CHAPTER VI-- Information Technology (continued
Management Information Services (MIS) Advisory Committee. The Committee is
responsible for the direction of technology use in the City organization and community,
the development of a technology master plan which provides a decision making
framework and defines emerging technologies in providing government services, the
research of emerging technologies, the identification of the resources required to
maintain new technology before implementation, and the creation of a list of emerging
technologies such as bar coding, imaging, high speed connection to the Internet, web
site, satellite/video program, use of ATM cards and Electronic Funds Transfers for fee
payments.
Additionally, the City must provide continuous education and training in use of
new technology, maintain reasonable timetables to implement technology projects to
prevent overwhelming staff, expand the use of network and other technology resources
to improve employee productivity, and provide incentives to employees to utilize
technology in their personal lives.
Inform?tion Systems
As a part of the
City's continuingcommitment to customer service,
advancements in technology and automation will be used to reduce delays in all
aspects of service delivery. In transforming the City into a City of the future, greater
care will be needed to maintain, rehabilitate and replace aging infrastructure. Collecting
accurate data on the existing infrastructure will allow managers to make more informed
choices to maximize the City's resources. Current technologies can provide a
Comprehensive Municipal Information System, a Utilities Information System, a Bar
Coding System, improved Field Reporting and information access, and a Geographic
Information System and maps. A program that actively researches innovations in
technology, equipment and product improvement, and provides complete training and
support in the new information systems will greatly increase the City's productivity while
reducing costs.
A suite of Municipal Information Systems will be utilized along with
communication capabilities to the rest of the world. The following outlines the City's
Municipal Information Systems' needs.
Munipipal Inform Ation System
The. City should implement comprehensive Municipal Information Systems that
will handle departmental automation needs. These systems should be integrated,
eliminating duplicate data and manual updating of one system to another. Software
and hardware should easily allow employees to access and enter data concerning all
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Municipal Information System (continued)
City departmental operations. It should be possible for data entry resources to convert
existing historical data into the Municipal Information System, eliminating manual entry
where practical.
Utilities Infor_Mplign System
Implementation of a Utilities Information System, compatible with the City's
Geographic Information System (GIS), is recommended to provide accurate
information about the City's utilities and infrastructure which will increase employee
productivity and reduce service costs. As with all municipal information systems, this
system should use software and hardware that allows employees to easily access and
enter data about the City's infrastructure and the City should consider providing data
entry and conversion resources to populate the Utilities Management System's data
bases.
Geographic Information System (GIS)
The City is implementing a City-wide Geographic Information System (GIS) that
can be integrated with future Municipal Information Systems, reducing the time needed
to research property and utility locations. GIS is a computerized system for managing
the full range of geographic information used by local governments. It is state of the art
computer technology that brings together computer generated maps and database
information. For example, a GIS system combines items that would normally be on a
map (such as water and sewer lines) with information that is traditionally stored in a
database (such as the size and type of the lines, installation dates, and maintenance
history) into a single software program. Secondly, a GIS system allows for several
different maps and databases to be displayed concurrently. This means that water and
sewer information, stormwater information, fire system information, building permit
information, and more can be combined together on the same system and displayed at
the same time. Presently, each of the above exist on separate systems and must be
researched separately.
Technology. Equipment, and, Products Innovation
If the City is continually to increase its productivity and effectiveness, then a
comprehensive program evaluating automation needs and matching these needs with
state of the art technology is recommended. There are several ways to approach this
process, including utilizing the MIS Department to explore additional methods for
technology integration and improvement and utilizing innovations groups and other
technology resources for innovative solutions.
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Major Issues
Training Support Services
A long-standing issue that has hampered the introduction of new technologies is
the dearth of technical training required for employees expected to use the new
equipment. The City needs to make a concerted effort to improve the quality of
technical training provided to the City's employees. Several strategies are
recommended to address this issue including the provision of certified or trained
software instructors to teach large groups of City employees, adopting a "Train the
Trainer" approach to certify or train key employees as trainers in software packages
and hardware platforms; maintaining a well -stocked inventory of multimedia tutorials;
encouraging the use of self -directed multimedia tutorials; ensuring Directors are aware
of all training alternatives and train them to identify the need for additional training; and
identifying and overcoming the obstacles preventing employees to be self -motivated to
learn software.
Telecom munigatigns
Telecommunications, as one of the fastest growing technology segments, will
play a major role in the way governments and businesses operate as well as in the daily
lives of our residents. The recent Telecommunications Act of 1996 has created further
opportunities for competition among local phone companies, long distance carriers,
cable providers, wireless service operators and other service providers by breaking
down the legal and functional barriers between these formerly distinct industries.
In this environment, the City of Tamarac will manage public rights of way to
create an open and fair environment for the delivery of a variety of telecommunications
services to its residents and businesses and utilize its regulatory, zoning and taxing
authorities to generate new revenue sources. The City of Tamarac will also employ the
latest telecommunications technologies to improve the way it operates, the delivery of
its services and to promote free flow information.
The goal for the City is to manage public assets in a manner that generates new
revenues from telecommunications service providers and to utilize emerging
telecommunications technologies to improve the delivery of government services and
flow of information.
Kt0-7'
New technologies are continuously providing more efficient and cost effective
ways to collect, store, distribute and retrieve increasing volumes of information. Making
information available through office automation in the most efficient and effective
manner and to the greatest number of people possible will ensure that the City realizes
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Major Issues
Office Automation - (continued)
maximum capabilities in order to deal with ever increasing demands in the future.
Through the utilization of emerging technologies, the City will reduce the amount
of paper generated, distributed or received in day to day operations. This will result in
savings of paper costs, document storage costs, and time as well as maximize the
efficiency of daily operations. Furthermore, it will increase the availability of information
and data and be more accessible by more people.
Community Information Access
The City should begin the process of creating a Community Information System
linking the public to the every day workings of their local government. This involves
using present and future technology to provide all customers of the City of Tamarac an
information network which will increase the public's access to all City government
information. Some exciting proposals that deserve discussion and consideration
include a smaller, revamped Tam -A -Gram mailed each month with the utility bill,
utilization of the Internet to provide access to the City and City officials, establishment
of a home page on the Internet which will provide twenty-four hour access to public
information, utilization of the Government Access Channel (Channel 19 & Kings Point
TV) to relay information to the public, provision of kiosks at strategic City locations to
allow public access to information, utilization of counter access terminals for the citizens
to access and enter information, and the development of public access areas.
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Major Issues
0 CHAPTER VI - Conclusion
The preceding pages have discussed the Major Issues facing the City and which
touched virtually every area of the City government. An obvious concern is how to
prioritize each of the Major Issues.
The opening of this document spoke about the importance of institutionalizing
Good Government. I believe that a necessary part of this process is focus. If we are to
be successful, the governing body, administration, and citizens generally need to agree
on "What Tamarac Should Be." The beginning of this process is defining a mission
statement for the City government. From this statement follows the prioritization for
addressing the City's needs. As stated in Chapter II, the City should pursue only those
activities which directly contribute to its mission.
Although I have condensed the need for prioritization and a mission statement to
two paragraphs at the end of this document, I want to make clear that moving forward
with this is a difficult task. I expect that discussing and acting on the items presented in
this document will take months and years to accomplish. In order to make the best
decisions, I recommend that the governing body, the administration, and residents
undertake a strategic planning exercise in developing a mission statement and action
plan to address the Major Issues presented above.
Page 34 - Conclusion