Committee of the Whole: Monday, July 25, 2012

Common Council Special Meeting as Committee of the Whole Monday, July 25, 2011, 6:30 p.m. Creekside Place, 102 Maple Street, Evansville, WI MINUTES 1. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. by Mayor Sandy Decker. 2. Roll call. Members present: Mayor Sandy Decker, Alderpersons Mason Braunschweig, Jim Brooks, Todd Culbertson, Cheryl Fuchs, Floyd Hayes, Barb Jacobson, and Dennis Wessels. Absent: Tony Wyse. Others present: City Administrator Dan Wietecha, Police Chief Scott McElroy, EMS Director Mary Beaver, Librarian Kathi Kemp, Water and Light Superintendent Scott George, City Attorney Mark Kopp, and Library Board President Eloise Eager. 3. Approval of Agenda. Braunschweig made a motion, seconded by Culbertson, to approve the agenda. Motion approved 7-0. 4. Deferral of Minutes. Brooks made a motion, seconded by Hayes, to defer the reading of the minutes of the July 12, 2011, regular meeting to the next regular meeting. 5. Citizen Appearances. None. 6. Purpose. Index cards were distributed with each asked to provide a brief answer to the question, “What is the purpose of The City of Evansville as an organization?” Common themes among the answers included: top-notch, quality service and quality of life to the citizens (residents and businesses) in a positive, courteous, and cost-effective manner. 7. Public Value. People have high expectations, and we need to meet them. From the resident’s viewpoint we provide a tremendous value, but often there is a disconnection about all the conscientious effort behind the scenes. It was noted that a several of the “purpose” answers referred to the importance of quality of life. With the referendum for the lake dredging and the fundraising for Creekside Place as examples, people are willing to support cost-effective projects despite being expensive. There are many little things, such as the tree planting, that make Evansville better; these would be missed if we were to start cutting back. People have come to expect the parks, library, and pool; we should figure better ways to fund these equitably when meeting with Town of Union. A lot of significant infrastructure has been upgraded over the last seven years. We need to look for opportunities to improve. This does not necessarily have to mean increased costs; for example, how we return phone calls. When there are complaints, we should look to build a stronger relationship than before. Continuing education for council and staff is hugely important when we talk about top-notch service. The city clerk received certification last year, she and the finance director are now looking into treasurer certification; the police are undergoing accreditation; and the electric utility is looking into the RP3 program for better reliability, safety, and training. The idea of a citizen survey was proposed, noting that we need to know about problems in order to fix them. The city council said that it mostly hears the negativity and not the praise. They noted that they need to be prepared to hear the negative; 90% of complaints can be taken care of with a phone call; even if it’s not the answer they want, they get an answer. If there is one complaint, it is taxes. 8. Civility and Conduct. It was agreed that you need to have thick skin and a short memory to work in this job. People come to us when they have a problem, and they expect us to fix it. We need to be cognizant of the situation from their point of view; for example, a burst pipe might be routine for us but it’s an emergency for them. It is not all negativity; compliments and appreciation happen also. The importance of passing on public compliments to staff or others was noted. Being visible and accessible in the community also benefits public interaction. 9. Lean Government. Our challenge for the budget is how to stretch the dollars. We need to be both effective and efficient. We need to be effective – from the citizen’s point of view – in providing quality service. We need to be efficient in the process – whether it means eliminating unnecessary paperwork, time and delay, costs, etc. We need to maximize the value of our performance. It was noted that Alan Probst would be speaking about performance measurement at the next City/Town joint meeting. Earlier joint meetings may have been baby steps and not appeared productive, but there is real value in building the relationship for the future. The Fire District was identified as an area of common interest for the city and town, which could be built upon. It was noted that the learning curve can be too slow for new officials. More or better attention to educating new officials can remove inefficiencies and missteps. An orientation program would make the committees and council more effective as governing bodies. There was discussion about balancing the importance of purchasing and budgeting policies without being overly detailed so departments can operate with flexibility. 10. Loose Ends. Due to time constraints, these items were not discussed. 11. Items on the Horizon. Due to time constraints, these items were not discussed. 12. Stakeholders View of Performance. It was noted that the question ”How are we doing from our stakeholders points of view?” was a companion to the opening question about the purpose of the city. Because the perceived quality of our performance is so situational, it is vital to make every transaction count. We need to strive to constantly achieve through all the means discussed earlier; for example training, professionalism, cooperation, etc. Consistent effort for thoughtful and nonbiased reasoning (being fair) is essential. 13. Adjournment. Culbertson made a motion, seconded by Braunschweig, to adjourn at 9:20 p.m. Motion approved 7-0.