MAYOR-ELECT BROWN RECOMMENDATION FORM

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Committee: Personnel

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Presented to Mayor Brown on August 8, 2011

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Recommendations:

The following recommendations have, in part, resulted from conversations with many Jacksonville citizens all of whom have had considerable experience with the city government either as employees or as non-employee users of municipal services. Attached to this report are notes that reflect representative comments and observations made by the people with whom we conferred. Overall To effectively drive the mayors agenda the relationships among his staff must be characterized by trust, cooperation, openness, and mutual respect, starting with, but not limited to, the relationships of the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and the Chief of Staff (COS). The CAO, COS, communications director, city council liaison(s), chief economic development officer, and chief education officer are the early priority jobs to fill. Given the focus the mayor directed towards both economic development and education, these positions should either report as solid lines to the mayor with strong dotted lines to the COS, or as solid lines to the COS with strong dotted lines to the mayor. With regard to the chief economic development officer, the existing position, executive director of the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission (JEDC), is officially a direct report to the CAO but functionally reports to the mayor. The recommendation of this committee is to formalize the reporting relationship to the mayor either via a direct reporting or strong dotted line relationship. In the opinion of the committee members, the ideal arrangement is for these positions to report directly to the mayor with a strong dotted line to the COS. Since a positive rapport with city council will be critical to the mayors success, the city council liaison(s) must either report directly to the mayor, with a strong dotted line to the COS, or directly to the COS with a strong dotted line to the mayor. This is to insure that the liaison(s) are positioned to speak on behalf of the mayor without the filter of a

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 The communications director must work diligently to proactively drive the mayors message rather than primarily reacting to outside influences. Along with the CAO and COS, he must work to ensure that citizens/taxpayers and representatives of the news media have appropriate access to the mayor. The communications director must also put a structure in place to insure that the mayors message is aggressively communicated via all forms of media, including social media, thereby allowing the administration to have direct and meaningful communication with Jacksonville citizens. Starting in the mayors office and extending throughout city government, there must be an on-going and concerted effort to attract, develop, and retain high caliber professional talent, based on expertise as opposed to political consideration. The idea of recruiting the best and the brightest should pervade all levels of government. City stafffrom the top to the bottom of the organizational chart--should reflect the geographic, racial, age, and gender diversity of Jacksonville. Short-term (First 100 days) In partnership with the human resources team, staff the administration in a cascading fashion. That is, the COS should be involved in hiring his/her direct staff. Likewise, the CAO should be involved in hiring his/her departmental directors, the departmental directors should be involved in hiring their division chiefs; and the division chiefs should be involved in hiring their staff. Conduct a comprehensive review of compensation and benefits for all appointed positions to determine general salary range guidelines, including 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles. Review all departments for possible restructuring or consolidation. Emphasis should be placed on enhancing productivity and efficiency. CAO should review each open position to determine the cost/benefit of each. CAO should review each deputy director position to determine the cost/benefit of each. CAO should review each appointed employee position to determine the cost/benefit of each. Communications team should implement an aggressive and continuing social media initiative. Consider designating a single point of contact for all pension issues. Ensure appropriate staffing and expertise for upcoming labor negotiations. Consider creating a Parks & Recreation Department as a direct report to the CAO. (See draft organization chart.) Consider making the Director of Planning and Development a direct report to the CAO. (See draft organization chart.) Consider making the HR function a direct report to the CAO. (Not reflected on draft organization chart.) Consider creating three groups to report directly to the Director of Public Works: (1) Capital Projects (construction and engineering), (2) Regulatory and (3) Operations and Maintenance. (See draft organization chart.) Mid-term (1 year)

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 Appoint people to boards and commissions who possess a big picture view of their roles to insure their decisions reflect what is good for the entire community, not just what is in the best interest of the board or commission. Implement a robust performance appraisal system that targets desired work objectives and demonstrated behaviors, and consistently use the system throughout city government. Long-term (2 years) Collaborate with local colleges and universities to develop a comprehensive internship program. The program should expose young people to areas of interest within government that will help students consider careers in municipal government as viable options. Implement a succession plan for key positions to ensure there are well-trained and prepared professionals who can fill key roles as the roles become available. Such an initiative would not only aid in identifying high performers, it would also help the administration in identifying key personnel gaps where local, national, or international talent should be recruited. Build upon the current professional development program to reinforce such essential topics as diversity, teamwork, presentation skills, and time management. Ensure that training and development program is aligned with behaviors evaluated in the appraisal system.

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Budget Implications: Every effort should be made to ensure appropriate staffing levels to maximize productivity and efficiency, which will have significant budgetary impact. Immediate cost savings can be gained by: Commissioning an organizational assessment, perhaps by way of a loaned executive and/or in combination with assessments recommended by one or more other transition committees, to identify potential efficiencies in the staffing structure of the approximately 200 political appointees.

_____________________________ Adam Herbert Committee Co-Chair

___________________________ Wally Lee Committee Co-Chair

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