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Presentation - Community GroupsStrategic Focus Area: Partnerships Strengthening Our Partnership with Southlake’s Community Groups NOTES: Mayor, Members of the City Council: This presentation has been developed to initiate a discussion on the very important topic of Council’s partnership with Southlake community groups. The purpose of this presentation is to discuss how Council can continue to work with local community groups in a strong partnership to meet community goals in a focused and transparent way, within a process where expectations are clearly defined. 1 Strategic Interest Partnerships: The active promotion of alliances through community involvement focused on giving time, energies or talents to individuals and groups for the enrichment of the Southlake community and its strategic affiliations. Teamwork: Recognizing the importance of working together to meet our citizens’ needs, communicating clearly, sharing resources and information freely. NOTES: By way of framework, it is important to note that City Council has identified “Partnerships” as a strategic focus area, or priority, for the City of Southlake. By forging strong partnerships, Southlake can effectively leverage the many talents of local residents and business leaders, enriching the overall growth and development of our beautiful community. Furthermore, Council has adopted “Teamwork” as a corporate value. All those who work for the city – whether in a paid or volunteer capacity – are expected to work together effectively so that our citizens get the services they want and deserve. It is in this context that Council can and should regularly examine its ongoing relationship with local community groups and make deliberate decisions about the nature of the partnerships with each. 2 Strengthening our Partnership with Southlake Community Groups Identifying partners Defining the relationship Strategy Intersections Community Services Agreements Monitoring results NOTES: A few months ago, City Council asked staff to bring back reports on the work being done by local community groups with which we have agreements, and we committed to pull key information together for you to review. But that conversation has us thinking about the nature of these partnerships in general. Who are our partners and why have we forged formal relationships with them? How will we work with them? In what way does our partnership with a particular community group help us achieve the strategic objectives we have put into place? Are our community service agreements structured to clearly communicate the responsibilities of the City and the group? How do we know that our partnerships are successful and that we are getting the results that we want? All of these questions are the basis for this presentation. Its purpose is not necessarily to answer the questions, but to raise them for consideration as we head into budget season. 3 Who are our community partners? Keep Southlake Beautiful Southlake Historical Society Southlake Sister Cities SafeHaven of Tarrant County Metroport Meals on Wheels Southlake Chamber of Commerce Call A Ride Southlake Bob Jones Nature Center Southlake Community Band ArtsNet Southlake Women’s Club Volunteer Clubs Grapevine Relief and Community Exchange NOTES: Who are our local community partners? This slide shows the list of groups with which we have community service agreements. Many of these partnerships were formed many years ago and have continued as the groups provide services on behalf of the city. Some are newer. Clearly they are all important groups which provide much-needed services. But I wonder if this is the list of community groups you would put on a white board if we were brainstorming a list from scratch; in other words, does this list include all of the groups we would like to work with to accomplish our goals? Conversely, are there groups on this list that you feel need further consideration? Staff will be working over the coming months to provide you updated information so that you can make a deliberate and informed decision about who you will be working with to accomplish your goals in FY 2011. 4 Strategy Intersections as a Guide Ours Theirs NOTES: One good way of figuring out how to work with community groups is to compare their strategic objectives with our own, and to identify areas of mutual interest. It is within these “strategy intersections” that we can find our best options for a successful partnership. Looking at it this way helps us focus on the areas where we can work together for maximum productivity and satisfaction. But in order to accomplish this, we will need to have an understanding of each group’s strategy and how it compares to our own. 5 Defining the relationship Charitable contribution prohibition Financial support Staff support Service capabilities NOTES: A provision in the Texas Constitution prohibits local governments from making charitable contributions using taxpayer funds. As such, any financial partnership we form with a community group must be for the purpose of providing a service that we would otherwise need or want to provide. Think of it as a kind of outsourcing. This is why we only provide financial support in the context of community services agreements, which outline the scope of services to be performed by the group. The agreements also address the role that the city will play, to some extent. The scope and expectations of these agreements should be carefully reviewed each year to ensure that they are still relevant and that they are aligned with the city’s strategy. By looking at our partnerships each year, we can define or redefine the relationship to meet our needs in our contemporary environment. Things change – some community groups grow and become more self-sufficient over time, while others may find themselves in a position of needing additional support due to changing economic conditions or other reasons. By asking ourselves each year what relationships do we want and need to serve our community, we put ourselves in a better position to target our resources to areas of greatest priority. 6 Community Service Agreements Identify public service provided Define scope of work Define terms Reporting Indemnification Payments Independent contractor NOTES: Once we have identified strategy intersections and defined the kind of relationship we want to develop or continue, we formalize the plan and relationship in Community Services Agreements. The agreements are really in pretty good shape, however, I would like to work with Council on reviewing them a little more closely to ensure that they are doing what you want them to do. I would also like to formalize a process to ensure Council is comfortable with their content and with the procedures we have in place to monitor the outcomes. 7 Monitoring Results What specific results are we looking for? How are these tied into our agreements? Who is responsible for reporting? What role should the city play? NOTES: When we think about outcomes, I would suggest that we review the agreements for specificity and results language. In other words, we need to begin with the end in mind by asking ourselves what targets we would like to meet at the end of a 12 month period and ensure that our agreements are clearly supporting those ideas and that accomplishments are assigned so that we know who is accountable for what. 8 Where do we go from here? Discuss current contracts during FY2011 budget process; Determine if changes or clarifications are needed; Modify agreements if necessary NOTES: So, where do we go from here? You will see a suggested course of action on this slide. I would appreciate the opportunity to continue this dialogue with City Council so that we are all in agreement with our go-forward plan and immediately begin to implement it. 9 Strategic Focus Area: Partnerships Strengthening Our Partnership with Southlake’s Community Groups NOTES: I sincerely your attention to this topic and look forward to having a conversation with you all. Please let me know your thoughts. Ideally, we would come up with a plan that would promote a high degree of success for the city, boards, and the people who are involved in the partnerships. Thank you. 10