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03/06/1995 CITY COMMISSION SPECIAL MEETING Strategic Planning Session March 6, 1995 The City Commission of the City of Clearwater met in a strategic planning session at the Solid Waste Complex Conference Room, Monday, March 6, 1995 at 9:01 a.m., with the following members present: Rita Garvey Mayor/Commissioner Fred A. Thomas Vice-Mayor/Commissioner Richard Fitzgerald Commissioner Sue A. Berfield Commissioner Arthur X. Deegan, II Commissioner Also present: Elizabeth M. Deptula City Manager Kathy S. Rice Deputy City Manager William C. Baker Assistant City Manager Pamela K. Akin City Attorney Cynthia E. Goudeau City Clerk The City Manager opened the meeting indicating through the strategic planning process, we are creating the City's future. She stated the Mission Statement to be developed needs to be realistic, not outlandish nor mundane. She reviewed the process that had been followed to this point and stated open issues are: change in the format of the Town Meetings; the manner in which to publish the completed plan; a marketing plan; encouragement of calculated risk taking; a proactive mindset; and special events coordination. She indicated during the values discussion it was found there were not alot of conflicting values among the Strategic Planning Team (SPT) members. She indicated environmental monitoring will continue throughout the process. She reported significant dollars are beginning to be spent for major city projects. She indicated there was a need to have an in depth discussion about technology and she will be asking for a meeting regarding this. The City Manager distributed a Principles of Operation Statement which had been drafted by several staff members (Attached as Exhibit A). She also distributed criteria by which to evaluate the philosophy of the Operation Statement. Commissioner Fitzgerald expressed concerns regarding the term, stakeholder, and people not being aware of the definition of that term. Discussion ensued regarding what term should be used with concern being expressed regarding to whom our primary responsibility is. Consensus of the SPT was to use the phrase, community of Clearwater. Discussion continued regarding the first paragraph with it being decided to delete the word, strive, from the sentences. It was suggested a sentence be added as follows: We will provide high quality service in a timely, efficient, and economical manner. Commissioner Deegan questioned how one could be efficient and not economical. Kathy Rice, Deputy City Manager, pointed out that while being economical could be having one person at the Central Permitting counter, it would not be efficient. A question was raised regarding whether or not the term, high, should be used in describing quality and it was agreed it should be. A question was raised regarding the need for the sentence, "We are committed to our customers", and it was agreed to take that sentence out. Consensus of the SPT was to add the sentence, We are committed to provide high quality service to our customers in a timely, efficient and economical manner. Mayor Garvey questioned the need for the sentence, "We will reduce the barriers to services and information". Ms. Rice indicated this is something the SPT had talked about a great deal. It was the consensus of the SPT to leave the sentence in but to place it before the sentence which is to be added as agreed previously. Regarding the second paragraph, discussion again ensued regarding the terms of citizens and stakeholders. It was agreed to use the phrase, "all in our community", in place of, "our citizens and stakeholders", and to replace "community" with "City". Commissioner Thomas expressed concerns regarding being truly committed to providing all the amenities for the community. It was pointed out the philosophy states that opportunities will be provided. In response to a question from Commissioner Thomas, it was indicated this is not the Mission Statement of the City but the philosophy of operations. Commissioner Deegan pointed out the philosophy of operations will be broader than the Mission Statement. Commissioner Thomas expressed concerns regarding the philosophy of operations binding the City to doing things that it may not want to do. He pointed out an experience with an individual who has made it a profession of going from city to city playing on the heartstrings of the community. It was agreed to remove the phrase, "for our residents and visitors", from the end of the first sentence. Regarding the second sentence, it was agreed to change, "citizen", to "community" and to delete the phrase, "beyond traditional legislative rule making". It was agreed the last sentence would read, "We will provide the opportunity and assistance required to enable individuals and groups to become the actual doers in meeting community needs". Regarding the third paragraph, Commissioner Deegan expressed concern the paragraph should be talking about employees taking pride in their work. Commissioner Thomas agreed the Commission wanted the employees to take pride in their work. Bill Baker, Assistant City Manager, indicated the employees do take pride in their work but they want the Commission to take pride in the employee's work as well. Ms. Rice pointed out the employees are feeling the Commission does not respect them and take pride in them. Commissioner Deegan questioned who is the "We" in the statement and questioned if employees are not a part of the principles of operation. It was indicated if they are a part of this statement, it needs to be indicated. The City Manager suggested taking this section out and issuing a separate statement regarding how the SPT feels about the employees. Commissioner Berfield stated we are all employees and that the remaining employees of the City should not be separate from the SPT. Mayor Garvey pointed out the Commission wanted there to be some value for risk taking. Commissioner Fitzgerald indicated that the "our" in the first paragraph needs to be defined. It was agreed the first sentence of the first paragraph would read, Our primary responsibility as elected officials and employees of the City is to the community of Clearwater. Commissioner Fitzgerald expressed concerns with the phrase, encourage risk taking. Commissioner Thomas felt that was a critical component of "getting out of the box". The third paragraph is to read, "We recognize and respect each others dedication, professionalism and commitment and take pride in our accomplishments. We are committed to creating an environment which encourages each of use to respond constructively, creatively and practically to community needs. We recognize the value of calculated risk taking and will encourage learning from mistakes without fear of unreasonable consequences. We are committed to on going training and development to maintain the high level of competence necessary for quality governments and services". The meeting recessed from 10:30 a.m. to 10:42 a.m. Regarding the fourth paragraph, the only change to be made was changing the last word, "citizens", to "community". Commissioner Thomas expressed concerns that delivering more than promised was not included in the philosophy of operation. Commissioner Deegan pointed out a sense of urgency also was not included. Ms. Rice indicated the drafters of the statement felt they had captured what the sense of urgency meant and that was to get things done. Commissioner Fitzgerald expressed concerns that including delivering more than promised would create false expectations. Further discussion ensued with it being agreed this was more of an issue for management and should not be included in the philosophy statement. The development of a Mission Statement was discussed next. The City Manager indicated the primary questions to be answered in the Mission Statement are: what, who, how and why. The what is the primary service or function of the organization; the who is the customer; the how is the technique to be used; and the why is the reason for existence. She stated first what needed to be determined was what was the distinctive competence of the City of Clearwater. A worksheet was distributed. Commissioner Berfield listed Clearwater's strengths as fiscally sound, location, quality of life, profit sharing with employees, goals and objectives, citizen orientation, very open to the citizens. She indicated she took pride in Clearwater listening and allowing citizen input more than other communities seem to do. Commissioner Fitzgerald expressed concern the Commission can not control the location. Commissioner Berfield indicated it was still an advantage and a strength of the City. Ms. Rice listed Clearwater's strengths as excellent employees, clean, well landscaped appearance, quality of life, dynamic leadership, responsible to individuals. Commissioner Thomas stated he felt the organization's strength was in its diversity of leadership and the ability to learn from other people's individuality. Mr. Baker listed strengths as: affinity for traditional values and a family oriented beach. Commissioner Fitzgerald stated he had similar things listed such as concern for our citizens and a sense of well being. Commissioner Deegan listed small to medium size, fiscally sound, help and self reliance, sense of security, willingness to take calculated risk, and competent professionals. Mayor Garvey listed quality of work force, caring of employees, responsiveness to citizens. The City Manager listed employees, fiscal conservativism, involved community, and tourism. Commissioner Deegan asked for an explanation regarding tourism. The City Manager indicated the City has tourism that is not found in Largo and Dunedin and it brings diversity to the community. The City Attorney indicated she felt the employees were the City's strength in that they have experience and continuity. The City Manager distributed the Mission Statement that has been contained in the City's Budget Book for the past few years. She stated the employee reaction to this statement has been "who said we are a model city?" In response to a question, the City Manager indicated this Mission Statement was developed in the 1988-89 time frame. Commissioner Thomas felt that maintaining something is a negative. He felt grow and improve should be included in the Mission Statement. The City Attorney indicated the current Mission Statement deals with reputation, not reality. Commissioner Deegan stated the Mission Statement needs to be future oriented. Commissioner Fitzgerald agreed stating "when" had been left out of the primary questions to be answered. Commissioner Thomas felt a proper Mission Statement was something that was always being worked toward. He felt the number one statement in America today was for family values. Commissioner Deegan felt the Mission Statement should talk about protecting the kind of lifestyle that had traditional values. Mayor Garvey expressed concerns that traditional values depends on the culture. Commissioner Fitzgerald stated traditional values are changing. Commissioner Thomas suggested including, protecting positive, moral, ethical, family values should be in the statement. The City Manager expressed concern that what one individual may define as moral may not be what others define as moral. Mayor Garvey stated the statement should include, a commitment to providing the highest level of service to the community. The City Attorney suggested describing the community versus the organization. Commissioner Thomas suggested the statement include, encouraging a free enterprise system. The City Manager suggested, fostering economic diversity in the community. Commissioner Deegan suggested, fostering self reliance, self responsibility. He also stated the statement should be distinctive and not apply to every city in the state. Mayor Garvey questioned the need for a Mission Statement. Commissioner Thomas referred to the Community Consensus project and stated safety was a concern of the citizens. Commissioner Fitzgerald suggested something be included about it being a healthy community and Commissioner Berfield, a caring community. Commissioner Thomas referred to the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence and stated they contained outstanding principles. He felt they should be brought into this process. Copies are to be provided to the Commission. Commissioner Deegan expressed concerns the SPT still needs to determine what they are trying to capture in the statement. The City Manager recommended focusing on the community as the "who" in the statement. Ms. Rice suggested the SPT look at what makes the City of Clearwater unique. Commissioner Thomas again emphasized the City of Clearwater is very open to citizen response and he was unaware of another city that is that responsive. Ms. Rice expressed concerns regarding providing government to those that do not speak. Mayor Garvey pointed out the Commission is proactive to community needs. Commissioner Berfield felt we were both responsive and proactive. Mr. Baker read a statement he drafted as follows: To create and sustain a legislative, social, natural and economic environment conducive to the fulfillment and enjoyment of a free, safe and responsible life. Commissioner Fitzgerald suggested adding the word, opportunity, to the statement. Ms. Rice indicated it was still necessary to determine what the core function of the City of Clearwater is. Commissioner Fitzgerald expressed concern that Mr. Baker's statement could apply to any City and Ms. Rice recommended adding what the team considers to be Clearwater's distinct competencies. Commissioner Deegan stated ideas special to Clearwater are: 1) older citizens, 2) a resort community, and 3) a conservative town. He felt these ideas needed to be added to Mr. Baker's statement. Mayor Garvey stated the diversity of the community and the tourist orientation needed to be included. Ms. Rice pointed out the City of Clearwater does take a great deal of pride in its appearance. Commissioner Fitzgerald expressed concerns regarding the resort community orientation stating 80% of the City is not resort. The City Manager indicated the City still probably has more restaurants and hotel rooms than other communities. Commissioner Thomas stated he would agree regarding taking pride in appearance if all entrances to Clearwater had the look of Memorial Causeway. He stated that should be a goal while he recognized it would be expensive to reach that goal. The City Manager recommended the management team come up with a concept for the Mission Statement that will be distributed to the Commission. Consensus was to agree with this. The City Manager stated there are several meetings that need to be scheduled. She reported Ervin Harris is requesting a meeting with the Commission for the state council on African American Affairs. He is suggesting the date of March 20. They wish to discuss general issues as well as one employee. Commissioner Thomas pointed out there was a town meeting scheduled for March 21 at 7:30 p.m. and recommended setting a meeting on that date prior to the town meeting. Commissioner Berfield questioned the employee issue. Ms. Rice indicated it is a naturalized citizen whose job is being eliminated. She stated the City has been working closely with the individual to find them a position. Commissioner Berfield expressed concerns this is a management decision and the Commission should not become involved. The City Manager agreed but indicated the council wants to come and talk to the Commission. It is her understanding they want the Commission to provide direction to her to find this individual a job. The Commission members expressed concern this was something in which they should not become involved. Direction to the City Manager was a meeting could be set, however, the issues were to remain generic and not be specific to one employee. Consensus of the Commission was to set this meeting for 6 p.m. on March 21. The City Manager reported the need to have a special all day meeting regarding technology. She stated they will be bringing in companies that are dealing with other communities. She stated this will be an educational meeting, not a decision making meeting. Issues needed to be discussed are the police department computers, telephones, and the whole issue of the City's computer system. She suggested the meeting be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Consensus of the Commission was to set a date of April 13 at 9 a.m., the location to be determined. The City Manager requested additional strategic planning sessions be set. Consensus was to set them for March 20, 9 a.m. to noon, at the Solid Waste Facility and April 11, from 9 a.m. to noon, at the same location. Commissioner Fitzgerald suggested a copy of what has been done so far be sent to the candidates and Commissioner Deegan suggested the philosophy of operation be sent to them as well. The meeting adjourned at 12:24 p.m.