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Item 6E Reauthorizing the Community Engagement Committee Item 6E Mayor and members of the City Council, I will be presenting Item 6E, Approve Ordinance No. 1073-A, 2nd Reading, reauthorizing the Community Engagement Committee. 1 Requested Action Approve an ordinance reauthorizing the Community Engagement Committee The purpose of this ordinance is to amend the current Community Engagement Committee (CEC) enabling ordinance to continue their existence as one of the City’s appointed committees until such time that the City Council chooses to dissolve the committee. 2 Background 1993 to 2013 ● 20 years In 2013, the City Council tasked the SPIN Standing Committee to re-envision the SPIN program and further define their role within the program. In November 2013 under the guidance and direction of the City Council, the SPIN Standing Committee ultimately recommended that their group be reestablished as a Community Engagement Committee, defined by Ordinance No. 1073. This new committee was structured to be more streamlined, flexible, and capable of exploring new methods for community engagement.   City Council approved Ordinance No. 1073 at 1st reading (6-1) on November 5, 2013 and requested that language be included to allow Council to review the committee after one year to assess its ability to enhance the City’s community engagement work and determine if the committee serves the needs of the Council. 3 Background Community Engagement Committee: Consistent mission Seven committee members Geographic distribution & diversity Communication plan Quarterly meetings Annual report SPIN Town Hall Forums For your information the Community Engagement Committee was created with the following guidelines: • The mission and purpose was to remain consistent with that of SPIN: "to connect the community to local government," serving as an advisory board to Council on matters pertaining to community engagement and outreach programs. • The number of committee members would be reduced to seven (7), consistent with the size of most other boards or commissions. Doing so would create a more streamlined and effective committee, emphasizing the active involvement of each member. • The SPIN map would still be used for a number of planning and communication purposes within the city, as it is today. However, committee members would not be directly tied to areas of the map. The Council would instead appoint members to the committee with "strong consideration to the geographical location and diversity of committee members.“ This would allow for greater flexibility, more opportunities for residents to serve, and would reduce the number of vacant seats on the committee. • The group would annually review and provide comments on the City’s communication plan that highlights the City’s outreach and engagement efforts for the year, identifies key topics of interest to community members, and identifies tools or techniques to aid in community engagement. • The committee would hold quarterly meetings, instead of monthly meetings. And, in between these quarterly meetings, they would meet jointly with other groups like the Senior Advisory Commission or the Youth Action Commission, as appropriate. The focus for these meetings would be to share information from the City's communication plan, find out what specific interests a group may have, and learn what communication tools are most effective in reaching their group. This information can then help shape future outreach/engagement efforts. • The group would provide an annual report to the City Council capturing the City’s community engagement efforts and the results of the committee's meetings throughout the year. • SPIN Town Hall Forums would not be impacted by these changes to the committee. As recommended at the June Retreat, the forums would move to Council Chambers and be recorded for Video on Demand. The committee members would still participate in scheduling and hosting those meetings, as they currently do, with the committee member living closest to a proposed development assisting with and facilitating that meeting. 4 Appointed Committee Place 1 – Sherry Berman (term expires: Oct 2015) Place 2 – Craig Rothmeier, Chair (term expires: Oct 2016) Place 3 – Randy Robbins (term expires: Oct 2015) Place 4 – Ben Siebach, Vice-chair (term expires: Oct 2016) Place 5 – David Alexander, Secretary (term expires: Oct 2015) Place 6 – Bobbie Heller (term expires: Oct 2016) Place 7 – Monique Schill (term expires: Oct 2015) Here is the initial community engagement committee that was appointed by City Council in April 2014. Note that four of the members have terms that expire this October. 5 Annual Engagement Report Strategic Direction 2014 Accomplishments Communication Plan Recommendations As alluded to in a previous slide the CEC is responsible for providing an annual engagement report to City Council. In your City Council packet you have been provided a copy of this report which provides an overview of the committee’s strategic focus, its accomplishments from the prior year, comments on the city’s communication plan, and recommendations for the committee to pursue in 2015. 6 City Focus Areas: Partnerships & Volunteerism Quality Development City of Southlake – Community Engagement Committee Strategy Map The Community Engagement Committee provides channels for Southlake City government to inform, involve and collaborate with residents and businesses. C5 Promote opportunities for partnerships & volunteer involvement C6 Enhance the sense of community by providing excellent customer service and citizen engagement opportunities CECC1 Promote timely, accessible, meaningful and inclusive engagement tools (C5) CECC2 Encourage active public participation in City’s planning and decision-making process (C6) B6 Optimize use of technology F1 Adhere to financial management principles & budget City Corporate Objectives Serve Our Customers Provide Financial Stewardship Manage the Business CECL1 Build community motivation to engage on issues, trends and best practices (L1) L1 Ensure our people understand the strategy & how they contribute to it Promote Learning & Growth CECB4 Overcome participation barriers through technology utilization (B6) CECB2 Facilitate open, fair and constructive dialogue (B4) Performance Management CECF1 Recommend innovative engagement methods that are cost effective and fiscally sustainable (F1) CECC4 Raise awareness of involvement opportunities (C5) CECB1 Continuously seek better ways of informing and engaging the community (B2) B4 Provide high quality services through sustainable business practices CECB3 Evaluate effectiveness of current engagement strategies (B6) CECC3 Seek to understand public concerns and interests (C6) B2 Collaborate with select partners to implement service solutions One of the initial efforts of the CEC was to develop its own strategy map, consistent with the Committee’s establishing ordinance and aligned with the City’s overall strategy map, that would define specific expectations that the group felt embodied the purpose of the committee itself. The proposed strategy map is show here. An interesting fact about this map is that the CEC becomes the City Council’s first appointed board or commission to have it’s own strategy map that is aligned with that of the City Council. 7 CEC 2014 Accomplishments Developed a strategy map & accompanying metrics Established subcommittees to focus on key priorities Learned about City’s use of technology and social media Hosted a candidates forum and mobility forum Planned 2015 forums regarding water Made improvements to the SPIN meeting experience Evaluated current engagement efforts and made recommendations 8 SPIN Town Hall Forums 9 City of Southlake Strategy Map Critical Business Outcomes CBO1 - Continue to implement Southlake 2030 Plan by focusing on short-term initiatives. CBO2 - Become an employer of choice by developing a plan to recruit, develop and retain employees committed to excellence. CBO3 - Develop long-term strategies to address future financial uncertainties and challenges. CBO4 - Improve mobility by proactively completing traffic analysis of key areas. CBO5 -Optimize resources through collaboration and partnerships to reduce costs and add service value. The City of Southlake provides municipal services that support the highest quality of life for our residents, businesses, and visitors. We do this by being an exemplary model of balancing efficiency, fiscal responsibility, transparency, and sustainability. Deliver on Our Focus Areas Performance Management & Service Delivery C1 Achieve the highest standards of safety & security C2 Provide travel convenience within City & region C3 Provide attractive & unique spaces for enjoyment of personal interests C4 Attract & keep top-tier businesses to drive a dynamic & sustainable economic environment C5 Promote opportunities for partnerships & volunteer involvement Serve our Customers Manage the Business B1 Achieve best-in-class status in all City disciplines B2 Collaborate with select partners to implement service solutions B3 Enhance resident quality of life & business vitality through tourism B4 Provide high quality services through sustainable business practices B5 Enhance service delivery through continual process improvement B6 Optimize use of technology Provide Financial Stewardship Promote Learning and Growth F1 Adhere to financial management principles & budget F2 Invest to provide & maintain high quality public assets F3 Achieve fiscal wellness standards F4 Establish & maintain effective internal controls L1 Ensure our people understand the strategy & how they contribute to it L2 Enhance leadership capabilities to deliver results L3 Attract, develop & retain a skilled workforce L4 Recognize & reward high performers L5 Empower informed decision-making at all levels in the organization C6 Enhance the sense of community by providing excellent customer service and citizen engagement opportunities L6 Foster positive employee engagement Reauthorizing the CEC is aligned with our city strategy. This proposed ordinance aligns with the City Strategy Map under the Focus Area “Partnerships and Volunteerism” and Corporate Objectives “C5 Promote opportunities for partnerships and volunteer involvement” and “C6 Enhance the sense of community by providing excellent customer service and citizen engagement opportunities.” 10 Community Engagement “Civic engagement is a leading and trending practice for local governments and is critical to quality local decision making and community building.” -International City/County Management Association In closing the Community Engagement Committee has completed the specific items noted in Ordinance 1073, and has fulfilled its responsibilities for calendar year 2014. Since April of last year the CEC has been dedicated to creating a sustainable engagement program that gives tools to the community to help them take a leadership role in deciding what issues are worth investing in. Opportunities for involvement abound and every member of this committee has been working tirelessly over the course of the last year to provide extra value to this new program. It is the Community Engagement Committee’s recommendation that this committee be reauthorized and become a permanent committee under the City Council’s stewardship. 11 Questions? Ben Thatcher at 817-748-8005 12 For questions regarding this item, please contact Assistant City Manager, Ben Thatcher.