I think your comment of building on Russell Peterson's framework in categorizing the priorities is also a very good idea. The City needs to do the same with positions, assessing which ones are, frankly, overrated, and ones which are of solid value to the organization.
I just read in the newspaper today that Minneapolis Deputy Chief Lucy Gerrold was demoted to an Inspector for statutory reasons, being that the Police Union could not persuade the Legislature to grant another appointed position for the Minneapolis Police Department. The Police Union was disappointed, and so am I because I think Deputy Chief Gerrold is a fine public servant whose experience with CCP-SAFE and her insightful understanding of the needs of citizens are valued qualities which deserve Deputy Chief rank. The City should investigate whether they possess the independent authority to shift appointed roles between departments to augment valued services such as the Police Department so good people like Deputy Chief Gerrold are not lost or shifted elsewhere simply because they do not statutorily "fit in."
Situations such as these cry out to the City to assess positions not simply on statutory rank, but on solid value to the organization. Mayor Rybak has proposed a 90-day plan that engages citizens and employees to be active participants in their future, and has asked City employees for ideas on ways to meet that engagement, citing a $15 million shortfall in Local Goverment Aid (LGA) from the state. I applaud this approach because the Mayor has empowered City employees to be part of the solution, and I can tell you first-hand that, as a City employee, it has really motivated employees to offer their suggestions for change. I cannot speak to single City employee without them saying what their ideas they will offer to the Mayor for change---they truly feel empowered.
But if the City is truly dedicated in end objective of empowering and enhancing quality services for citizens, then it needs to be absolutely real in its approach, starting with arming the City with personnel who will be active, not dormant forces of change within the organization. You know the drill...How many of us serve in organizations or companies where we observe in pain personnel who have the rank simply because the position is there to fill, but fail to add real value or serve a real need to the organization? How many of us have witnessed organizations and companies fail because people were afraid to challenge the status quo? The City has these very same problems needs to break decades-old molds of thinking, and no, I do not mean "models" but "molds" as in mold and mildew.
I, for one, do not subscribe to the notion that nothing cannot be changed. I believe anything can be changed if one is truly motivated and empowered and is empowering to make change. After all, "history is not made by well-behaved people" it is made by people who are not afraid to be engaged.
Denise Tolbert, East Harriet Farmstead, Ward 10
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Russell's preference for finding savings by restructuring service delivery systems is mine and probably alot of resdients' preference. I'd recommend a neutral third-party analysis of the work processes of those departments most likely to produce savings. I wouldn't be afraid to look at the police, too. An analysis of the work processes in the context of a department's mission would be best. Recommendations should be presented with the minimum, medium, and maximum mix of programs -- minimum being defined as what is statutorily mandated and maximum defined as what the department would like to do. This gives the City Council and Mayor the opportunity to select the priorities for the departments. City government staff may not feel comfortable with that, but it is the City Council's job.
The problem is that this type of analysis will be expensive.
Brian Hanninen
Cedar-Riverside
On Wed, 16 January 2002, "Russell W Peterson" wrote:
>
> By far, the biggest savings will probably come from
> reinventing the delivery of services through the MCDA,
> Planning & NRP programs.
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