USPS Publication Number 16300
T h is C o m mu n i t y N ewsp a p er is a pu bl ica t ion of E sca m bia / S a n t a Rosa B a r Assoc ia t ion
Se r v i ng t he Fi r st Jud icial Ci rcu it
Section A, Page 1
Vol. 19, No. 17
Visit The Summation Weekly Online: www.summationweekly.com
April 24, 2019
1 Section, 8 Pages
Mayor Grover Robinson's roadmap to make Pensacola a better place by Will Isern
As he approaches six months as Pensacola’s second strong mayor, Grover Robinson now has his roadmap for how to make Pensacola a better place. As one of his first acts in office, Robinson established a 12-member transition team to study and make recommendations to improve both the internal and external operations of the city. That team, helmed by Quint Studer, worked through the start of 2019 and hosted 14 public input sessions to produce the 86 page report covering areas like governance, finance, neighborhoods, walkability, public safety and economic development. As the transition team presented the report on March 4, Studer said it would stand up to any report his former company, The Studer Group, had completed for major organizations. “I would put this against any report that I have put together for any large company over the years, that’s what this is” said Studer. “We didn’t look upon this as, ‘Let’s do a great government report,’ we said, ‘Let’s do a great report for a company that’s in the government business.’ Not, let’s create a great government, let’s create a great organization that happens to lead and manage city government.” After receiving the report, Robinson committed to putting it into action. Given its scope, he said, it will take time achieve all the goals the plans sets out and prioritization will be key. “Some of the things we’re already working on, we’re already beginning to implement some of these things,” said Robinson. “Some of them will take some time, but we can do all of them. I don’t think we can do all of them tomorrow, at one time, but as we move through this we’ll have to figure out how we prioritize and I think we can do that. … I’m not going to say we’re going to get to everything tomorrow, but we’re going to work to get everything in this report moved forward in our community,” In addition to more than 50 specific recommendations, the study stresses the importance of overall strategic plan. “As it sits today, the city has no clear, defined strategic plan. Our city’s unified strategic plan is long overdue,” the report states. Studer, likewise, stressed the importance of establishing a vision and culture at City Hall committed to good governance. “It’s all about having the right mission, vision values,” said Studer. “ If you get the strategy right, the structure right and the people right, you’re probably going to be OK.” Other priorities identified by Studer included modernizing the city’s organizational structure, creating a online dashboard of measurable goals, conducting an employee engagement survey and unifying messaging with the City Council.
Connie Bookman, founder and CEO of Pathways For Change, studied crime and safety and recommended a comprehensive review of compensation, equipment and staff levels at the police and fire departments Bookman also pointed out the need for more training and development of police and firefighters. “In the past 14 months alone, PPD officers have seen a combined 62 training requests denied,” Bookman wrote. “The value of all those trainings denied, combined, was a mere $37,139. This does not factor in the many officers who expect a “no” and don’t even file a request for training as they expect a denial. The entire training budget for more than 150 officers is about $131,000 – less than $1,000 per officer in the field each year.” Bookman also called for the creation of a committee to address panhandling and for a solution to be delivered by June 15. Robinson said he doesn’t expect to hit the June 15 deadlin, but said he’s committed to addressing homelessness first and then finding some type of solution to reduce panhandling in the city. Robinson has proposed creating a “come as you are” shelter to get the city’s homeless off the streets. In economic development, Brian Wyer, president and CEO of the Gulf Coast Minority Chamber of Commerce recommended that the city set clear goals for its Economic Development Department. “I recommend all potential economic development projects that come to the city have a clear and defined standard procedure to eliminate mixed messaging and provide clear expectations to potential business owners,” Wyer wrote. Wyer also recommended that the city commit to the “Covenant for the Community,” which would require that 70 percent of workers on public construction project be local residents. Drew Buchanan, who campaigned against and later for Robinson in the 2018 election, studied walkability and pointed to the numerous pedestrian deaths in and around Pensacola over the last year as evidence for the urgent need for safer streets. Robinson undertook two of Buchanan’s recommendations – committing to the Complete Streets initiative and hiring a staff position responsible for pedestrian safety – before the report was complete. The full transition report can be found online at the city’s website. MAYORAL TRANSITION TEAM RECOMMENDATIONS EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW • Create a mission, vision, values and an employee code of ethics for the City of Pensacola. • Conduct and follow a strategic plan for the City of Pensacola. • Modernize and publicize a city organizational structure.
• Create a city dashboard with measurable goals across all departments. • Conduct an employee engagement survey with all city employees. • Strive to unify the mayor’s office and city council in a working relationship and messaging from city hall. • Invest and budget for training and development of city employees. PUBLIC SAFETY • Make a dedicated investment in training and development of first responders. • Complete a comprehensive compensation, equipment and staff level study. • Create a committee to address panhandling with a solution by June 15. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT • Adopt the covenant for the community. • Increase awareness of the city’s “OneStop Development” meeting that currently takes place. • Clearly define the functions of the city’s Economic Development department. • Create an objective measurement protocol for Economic Development. • Create monthly startup fairs for local businesses. EDUCATION • Create an Education Leadership Council for the city, county & school district. • Clearer communication about education on city platforms. • Create a mentor program for city employees. • Create a more accessible, consistent and affordable Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for nonprofits to the various community centers. ENVIRONMENT • Plant more street trees, specifically targeting the city’s west side. • Create form-based standards for key commercial areas to create more environmentally-friendly spaces. • Complete a greenhouse gas inventory of city operations. • Set an aggressive renewable energy goal for Pensacola. • Form an additional crew to clean stormwater inlets. FINANCE • Engage open discussion about the budget with city council, city employees and citizens. • Create a succession plan for seasoned city finance employees. • Establish goal setting and measurement throughout the organization. • Evaluate city assets and create a capital improvement plan. • Consider a referendum to permanently maintain the local option sales tax. • Create a citizen’s review committee of the Urban Core CRA District. GOVERNANCE • Accountability: Create city-wide mission, vision and values that drive a more deliberate culture. Create standards of
behavior that align with the mission, vision and values. • Collaborative Communication: Implement quarterly leadership and employee forums. • Engagement: Implement an annual employee engagement survey and provide a leadership academy for emerging, new and seasoned leaders. • Performance Management: Create a consistent disciplinary process and implement the Korn Ferry Hay compensation analysis. • Reward and Recognition: Expand recognition programs to be more department specific, institute incentives through performance-based bonuses and review current benefit plan against competitive options. GOVERNMENTAL EFFICIENCY • Implement a user-friendly software program. • Streamline inconsistencies in the land development code. • Implement a tracking system and upgraded tech for inspection services. • Evaluation of current city boards and term limits. LEGAL • Independence and adequate staffing/ funding for our city’s legal needs. • The City Attorney’s Office should provide legal counsel to executive mayor, city council, city boards and commissions, city departments and city enterprises. • The Office of the City Attorney should provide appropriate representation for the city in all legal proceedings and should supervise and manage all outside counsel and any special counsel which may be utilized for their specific knowledge and expertise. NEIGHBORHOODS • Create an office/department for neighborhoods. • Open key community centers on weekends. • Increase police presence in neighborhoods. • Improve neighborhood infrastructure (flooding/lighting/reduce speeding). TRAFFIC & WALKABILITY • Adopt complete streets. • Improve the user experience of parking. • Create a position solely responsible for bike/pedestrian safety. • Formulate the Pensacola Bicycle Blueprint. • Make walkability and livability a regional effort. TRANSPARENCY • Separate and create two clear, defined roles for Public Information and Public Affairs. • Trust our city department leaders to share expertise. • Mandatory public records training for city staff. • Website upgrades.