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Home My WebLink About2000-08-07 City Council (19)TO: City of Palo Alto C ty Manager’s Repor HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL FROM:CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT= CITY~MAb~GER CMR: 350:00 DATE: SUBJECT: AUGUST 7, 2000 CITY MANAGER MEETINGS REPORT ON COMMUNITY/EMPLOYEE BACKGROUND As one of his first initiatives, City Manager Frank Benest held a series of "Educate the New City Manager" meetings with City employees, Palo Alto residents, and the business community. The purpose of the meetings was to introduce himself to Palo Alto, to begin a two-way conversation about local priorities, and to carry out the Council’s expectation that he identify and honor community values, concerns and expectations as he began his employment as City Manager. The City Manager held a series of 12 meetings with all City of Palo Alto employees from May through June 2000, at the Civic Center, the Municipal Services Center, the Palo Alto Art Center, and Fire Station 6. The community meetings were held on June 8 at Juana Briones School, June 22 at Mitchell Park Community Center, and on July 15 at Lucie Stem Community Center. A forum for the business community, sponsored by the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce, was held on July 12, 2000. The meetings followed the same format: a short intro~duction by City Manager Benest; the filling out of "Tell Frank" cards by the participants, with the responses forming the basis of a group conversation; and an outline by the City Manager of his top priorities. The "Tell Frank" cards asked participants to complete three sentences. The questions for Palo Alto residents were as follows: CMR:350:00 Page 1 of 6 "What I value most about Palo Alto is ..." "An issue or concern that I want Frank to address is ..." "Frank can be a great City Manager by..." The questions were modified slightly for City employees and businesses. DISCUSSION Following the meetings, the information gathered from the cards was tabulated to identify common themes among the responses. Because participants named more than one value or issue, up to two answers per card were counted for each of the first two questions and one answer per card was counted for the third question. City of Palo Alto Employees A total of 437 "Tell Frank" cards were submitted by City employees. Value most about organization Quality of Staff High Level of Public Se~ce Benefits Progressive City/Region Flexible Schedule Training Sound Financial Condition Other 50 100 150 200 250 number of responses City employees overwhelmingly cited their colleagues as the thing they value most about the organization. (See figure, left.) In second place was the high level of public service that the organization is committed to provide to the community. Other items highly valued are employment benefits and the progressive nature of the City of Palo Alto. When asked what concerns or issues they wanted the City Manager to address, City employees mentioned that they are concerned with excessive "process" that gets in the way of doing their jobs. Nearly one in four employees listed pay as an issue, mentioning its relevance to hiring and retention, also a major concern of City employees. Other issues noted were lack of communication and teamwork among City employees. Fire Department personnel were specifically concerned about the City’s Emergency Medical Services. (see figure, next page.) CMR:350:00 Page 2 of 6 Problem or Issue in Organization ~rocess Pay equity Hiring & Retention Lack of teamwork Lack of Communication Other Need for 9/80 Low Morale Workload Workspace Affordable Housing EMS issues 40 60 number of responses 80 100 120 The third question brought a Variety of answers, with communication issues at the top of the list. (See figure below.) Other City employees expressed the wish to have the City Manager be more Frank Can a Good City Manager by ... Listening/Communicating Being Visible/Accessible Being Honest & Strai Leading Rewarding Risk-taking Providing Clear Direction Other 20 40 60 80 number of responses 100 120 visible and accessible, particularly to employ- ees at outlying facilities. In addition, employees want honesty, clear direction and a vision from the City Manager. Cutting red tape was a popular response, with a desire to be allowed to take risks. CMR:350:00 Page 3 of 6 City of Palo Residents A total of 81 "Tell Frank" cards were submitted by Palo Alto residents. Value Most About Palo Alto City Se~ces &I Facilities ~~~~~~ Neighborhoods ~~~~ Public Engagement ~ ~ ~ ~ Schools ~ Diversity ’~ Trees ~ 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 number of responses Palo Alto residents who attended "Educate the New City Manager" meetings were clear in their expression of what they value most about their city: quality of life. The variety and quality of City services and facilities were top-ranked, with Palo Alto neighborhoods highly valued as well. Third on the list is the high level of public engagement by Palo Alto residents. (See figure at left.) Not surprisingly, the concems that Palo Alto residents have are the factors that they feel threaten the quality of life that they value. The number one issue is traffic. The second highest concern is "over-development," expressed as a feeling of crowding and nostalgia for "how it used to be." Some participants expressed a concern that North Palo Alto was favored over South Palo Alto in terms of public projects and services. Echoing City employees’ concerns,communica- tions was mentioned as an issue.(See figure, right.) Issue or Concern About Community Traffic "Over-development" South ~s. North Cost of housing Communication with go~emment Monster homes 10 15 20 number of responses 25 30 CMR:350:00 Page 4 of 6 Communication issues came up again when residents were asked how Frank can be a great City Manager, with nearly a third of respondents expressing their wish to have the City Manager keep listening and communicating. Second on the list was a desire to have the City Manager work with the community as a whole, helping opposing groups reach compromise, and making sure that all sides are heard. Frank Can Be a Great City Manager by ... Listening & Communicating Working with the community as a whole Moving things along Addressing my issue 5 10 15 20 number of reponses 25 30 The "Palo Alto Process" was mentioned by several " residents, who added that they hoped the new City Manager could move issues forward faster. Finally, a number of respondents thought that Frank would be a great City Manager if he solved their specific issue, such as traffic on their street. Palo Alto Business Community Twenty "Tell Frank" cards were filled out at the City Manager’s meeting with the business community. ~- ~ Palo Alto business owners value the ambiance of the city above all, also mentioning the diversity of the population and the high degree of civic involvement. (See figure, right.) Ambiance Diversity Public Engagement Schools Other Value Most About Palo Alto 4 6 8 10 12 14 number of responses CMR:350:00 Page 5 of 6 Cost of Housing Factionalism Parking Process Tra~c Business Issue or Concern 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 number of responses The rising cost of housing concerns business owners, as it affects their ability to recruit and retain employees. Participants were equally concerned about what they perceived as an "us vs. them" attitude of residents toward business. Parking issues, red tape (particularly the building permit process) and traffic were mentioned as well. (See figure, left.) Participants in the business meeting look to the City Manager to help unify groups with apparently competing interests, and be decisive in moving forward. Listening and communicating was highly valued, as it was with the other Finally, business owners would like the City Manager to encourage staff to take calculated risks. (See figure, right.) Frank Can Be a Great City Manager By ... Unifying Factions ~ ~~ ~ ~ Listening & Communicating ~~ ~ Being Decisi~ Other Encouraging risk-taking 2 3 4 5 number of responses 6 7 NEXT STEPS The City Manager has committed to continuing to meet with City employees, residents, and business owners. He has begun a second round of employee meetings to report back the results of the "Tell Frank" cards and seek additional input. The next round of meetings withthe community will be conducted in November. Prepared by: Mary Hanna, Public Communications Officer CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: ~/~(~7"~ FRA"N I~" BENEST, CITY MANAGER CMR:350:00 Page 6 of 6