My first report from the CityWorks Academy was more like a meeting report, and in my own opinion maybe not all that lively and interesting. This, my second report, will talk more about what I have learned in general in the second and third academy meetings.
The big take-away for me at this point is that the city of Austin employs smart, dedicated, and involved employees. I haven't heard from a single department head who sounded burned-out or bored with his/her job. It is clear that they are aware of what is happening in other cities around the United States (and sometimes further away in Europe and Asia) and they are always looking outside Austin to find innovative solutions to the problems they need to solve.
On September 14th we heard from the department chiefs of our library system, economic growth and development office, and small and minority business resource office.
The big news is that planning is beginning for a new main downtown library near Lady Bird Lake. The hoped-for completion date is 2015, so keep your eyes and ears open on news about that. The current main library will become the Austin History Center which has needed expanded space for some time. The old Austin History Center (once our main library) will become a venue for meetings and exhibits.
The economic growth and development department works to bring new business to Austin without giving away the bank. The cultural arts division within the economic growth and development division works to promote the arts in Austin. I was not aware that for instance the Mueller airport redevelopment program was part of this department. Also the local success of the Mueller project has brought people from around the United States and Europe who want to learn more about how Austin succeeded in this cooperative effort between city and private business interests.
The last presentation on Sept. 14th was from the Small and Minority Business Resource department. The are many ways this department can help Austin residents. If you want to start a small business or own a small business that you want to improve, get in touch with these people. They will help you! Also if you know anyone who owns a minority business, this is the department to contact. They'll tell you how to become qualified for city, state, and federal projects.
This week, on September 21st, we met in south Austin near the intersection of Ben White and I35. That's the site of one of seven public works facilities. While we munched on pizza and cookies, we viewed a spiffy, cheerful, short video on what the public works department does. This is a huge department with over 400 employees. The department manages over $300 million dollars in large capital projects, for example the new City Hall or the new library. It also takes care of all the streets and bridges in Austin, works to integrate bicycles into the transportation system, and works to see that sidewalks are built. This budget is around $60 million per year. The public works department tries to see that at least 10% all roads in Austin are repaired and/or upgraded annually - no small task! They are trying out surfaces that will weather better and last longer.
The public works department works closely with the Austin Transportation Department. This is a new department for the city - but it is working hard to become the best transportation department in America. I don't need to write about congestion in Austin - that is a fact of life in our city. I can say that the department is working to develop relationships with the county, Texas Department of Transportation (our beloved TxDOT) and federal enteties to see that our traffic problems can find solutions. A good example is the new fly-overs that will be soon under construction at Ben White and I35 and Mopac and 71. Watch for those! Oh, and by the way, all the parking meters downtown have been replaced and are working well. And the department is also upgrading traffic lights.
Please let me know if you have questions about any of the areas I've covered. I'm barely scratching the surface - but I can tell you, I don't regret a minute I've spent at the CityWorks Academy.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Our first CityWorks Academy meeting took place at the Austin at city hall on Tuesday, September 7, 2010 at 6pm. It was a dark and stormy night - yes! Everyone came in looking a little wet since our city was in the throes of the effects of hurricane Hermine. Non-stop rain had fallen all day.
Soon all thirty of us were assembled in a large conference room where we sat around tables. As we entered we each received a large notebook with the syllabus and handouts for our ten weekly meetings.
Our class is an interesting mix of people of all ages from all parts of Austin. There are more women than men in the class and some minorities. Everyone is outgoing and friendly and brings a different outlook to what we're hearing.
The best part of the class was hearing from the city employees who are in charge of their departments. I was impressed by the fact that they were all articulate about their work, well-informed, good presenters, and genuinely interested in questions from the class. They brought life to the bureaucracy that helps to make our city work.
The City of Austin is a home rule city, operating under a city charter. Our city charter establishes a council/manager form of government.
The Mayor and the Council are responsible for:
- Setting policy
-Approving the budget
-Determining the tax rate
The City Manager is responsible for:
-Preparing and implementing budgets
-Implementing council policy by directing day to day operations.
The fiscal year for the city runs from October 1st through September 30th.
The emphasis of the first class was on functions which report directly city manager's office: the head of the Integrity Office and the Law Department. The head of the human resources department also made a presentation. The Office of the City Auditor reports directly to the City Council. The presentation from that office was quite enlightening.
The rest of this blog goes into detail on the information from the individual presentors. Read what interests you and skip the rest.
I was surprised to learn that the city has an Integrity Office. The office is headed by John Steiner, formerly of the city law department. He is an articulate and passionate champion of the activities of his department. The city office has formally existed for just a few years, and has worked steadily to bring the city ethics code and philosophy to all the employees.
To be sure that this happens, the Integrity office trains city work groups, looks for best practices to be sure ethical behavior takes place, and is the agent for a proactive and strong ethical culture in the city. Of course all this is easier said than done. But the way I look at it, the program must be working. When has there been a news item on "bad, unethical" behavior on the part of a city official or employee? Here's a link a video which will tell you more about ethics training:
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/elearning/downloads/ethics-training.htm
We heard from Karen Kennard, Acting City Attorney. The City Attorney's Office has eight divisions with specialized lawyers in each area:
1. Austin Energy - all issues relating to Austin Energy.
2. Land Use and Real Estate - issues relating to commissions, water utility, housing department.
3. Employment and Public Safety - Police, Fire, EMS
4. Municipal Operations - Finance, Contracts, Tax Rate etc.
5. General Litigation - Defends city when it is sued.
6. Affirmative Litigation - will initiate litigation where necessary. For Example: The problems
with the Budget Lodge in NE Austin.
7. Criminal Prosecution - Class C misdemeanors and traffic violations. Day and night court.
That office has a budget over $7.4 million and 83 employees (FY 2010).
Some functions of the City Auditor's Office overlap with that of the Integrity Office. But whereas the Integrity Office has a strong emphasis on training employees in ethical behavior, the City Auditor's Office actually audits city finances as well as operations, often under the direction of city council. For instance, the current effort to improve the parks and recreation department stems in part from a City Auditor's Office report.
For me the most interesting presentation from Mark Washington, the articulate and energetic director of the city's Human Resources Department. That's probably because I understand employee hiring and evaluation from my own work experience. Mr. Washington is definitely a champion of the city of Austin. He wants the city to hire the best and brightest for the jobs that are available. That's a big job. The city has about 11,000 employees, of which around 8300 are non civil service employees and over 2500 are civil service employees (police, fire, EMS).
The only city employees who are unionized are the civil service employees (police, fire, EMS). All other city workers work at will.
Each year the city receives over 100,000 resumes for a job with the city. At any one time around 1,000 positions are open. The average annual turnover of city employees is between 7 - 10%.
We viewed several interesting charts and graphs regarding the make-up of the city's work force.
47% of city employees were born between 1945 - 1964.
45% of city employees were born between 1982 - 2001.
92% of city residents were born between those years.
The lowest paying city job pays $11/hour, higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. City benefits amount to about $10,000 per year per employee.
Before I knew it, the three hours were over. I felt a bit overwhelmed by all the information I had been given - and was certain that there was much more to understand. Still - I know 100% more than I did before I entered the classroom that evening. And I am already looking forward to next week when we will meet at the Austin Public Library.
Soon all thirty of us were assembled in a large conference room where we sat around tables. As we entered we each received a large notebook with the syllabus and handouts for our ten weekly meetings.
Our class is an interesting mix of people of all ages from all parts of Austin. There are more women than men in the class and some minorities. Everyone is outgoing and friendly and brings a different outlook to what we're hearing.
The best part of the class was hearing from the city employees who are in charge of their departments. I was impressed by the fact that they were all articulate about their work, well-informed, good presenters, and genuinely interested in questions from the class. They brought life to the bureaucracy that helps to make our city work.
The City of Austin is a home rule city, operating under a city charter. Our city charter establishes a council/manager form of government.
The Mayor and the Council are responsible for:
- Setting policy
-Approving the budget
-Determining the tax rate
The City Manager is responsible for:
-Preparing and implementing budgets
-Implementing council policy by directing day to day operations.
The fiscal year for the city runs from October 1st through September 30th.
The emphasis of the first class was on functions which report directly city manager's office: the head of the Integrity Office and the Law Department. The head of the human resources department also made a presentation. The Office of the City Auditor reports directly to the City Council. The presentation from that office was quite enlightening.
The rest of this blog goes into detail on the information from the individual presentors. Read what interests you and skip the rest.
I was surprised to learn that the city has an Integrity Office. The office is headed by John Steiner, formerly of the city law department. He is an articulate and passionate champion of the activities of his department. The city office has formally existed for just a few years, and has worked steadily to bring the city ethics code and philosophy to all the employees.
To be sure that this happens, the Integrity office trains city work groups, looks for best practices to be sure ethical behavior takes place, and is the agent for a proactive and strong ethical culture in the city. Of course all this is easier said than done. But the way I look at it, the program must be working. When has there been a news item on "bad, unethical" behavior on the part of a city official or employee? Here's a link a video which will tell you more about ethics training:
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/elearning/downloads/ethics-training.htm
We heard from Karen Kennard, Acting City Attorney. The City Attorney's Office has eight divisions with specialized lawyers in each area:
1. Austin Energy - all issues relating to Austin Energy.
2. Land Use and Real Estate - issues relating to commissions, water utility, housing department.
3. Employment and Public Safety - Police, Fire, EMS
4. Municipal Operations - Finance, Contracts, Tax Rate etc.
5. General Litigation - Defends city when it is sued.
6. Affirmative Litigation - will initiate litigation where necessary. For Example: The problems
with the Budget Lodge in NE Austin.
7. Criminal Prosecution - Class C misdemeanors and traffic violations. Day and night court.
That office has a budget over $7.4 million and 83 employees (FY 2010).
Some functions of the City Auditor's Office overlap with that of the Integrity Office. But whereas the Integrity Office has a strong emphasis on training employees in ethical behavior, the City Auditor's Office actually audits city finances as well as operations, often under the direction of city council. For instance, the current effort to improve the parks and recreation department stems in part from a City Auditor's Office report.
For me the most interesting presentation from Mark Washington, the articulate and energetic director of the city's Human Resources Department. That's probably because I understand employee hiring and evaluation from my own work experience. Mr. Washington is definitely a champion of the city of Austin. He wants the city to hire the best and brightest for the jobs that are available. That's a big job. The city has about 11,000 employees, of which around 8300 are non civil service employees and over 2500 are civil service employees (police, fire, EMS).
The only city employees who are unionized are the civil service employees (police, fire, EMS). All other city workers work at will.
Each year the city receives over 100,000 resumes for a job with the city. At any one time around 1,000 positions are open. The average annual turnover of city employees is between 7 - 10%.
We viewed several interesting charts and graphs regarding the make-up of the city's work force.
47% of city employees were born between 1945 - 1964.
45% of city employees were born between 1982 - 2001.
92% of city residents were born between those years.
The lowest paying city job pays $11/hour, higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. City benefits amount to about $10,000 per year per employee.
Before I knew it, the three hours were over. I felt a bit overwhelmed by all the information I had been given - and was certain that there was much more to understand. Still - I know 100% more than I did before I entered the classroom that evening. And I am already looking forward to next week when we will meet at the Austin Public Library.
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