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4.4. SR 03-20-1995ITEM 4.4 ELK RIVER ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORYTY - MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor & City Council FROM: William Rubin, Economic Developme Coordinator DATE: March 20, 1995 SUBJECT: Needs Assessment Report . (City's Review and. Permitting Process) Introduction The Elk River City-Council will be asked to consider the findings and recommendations of an EDA-funded Needs. Assessment Report. at its March 2Q, 1995, meeting. Background In `November, -1994, he Elk River EDA accepted a proposal from Training Networks, Inc:, to undertake a needs assessment of the City's, review and permitting process::. This exercise was.. undertaken to identify the City's .strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities of ts'existing review and permitting process. Participants in the needs assessment exercise included: City department heads and the City Administrator; • City support staff and representatives from Municipal Utilities; • Land developers and contractors which comprised a Task Force established by the Elk River-Area Chamber of Commerce • Land developers and local business operators with recent experiences with the City's review and permitting procedures. Information from these. groups were obtained through a series of confidential ' interviews and/or confidential focus group. sessions.. Specific findings. of the needs assessment-are outlined in the .Report submitted by Training Networks, Inc. These findings begin on Page 3 of the Report and are highlighted under the broad categories of "Developers and Business • P:O. Box 490 • 13065 Orono Parkway • Elk River, MN 55330-1743 • {612) 441-7420 • Fax: (612) 441-7425 Equal Opportunity Housing 'and. Equal Opportunity. Employment Interests", "City Department Heads/Administrators", and "City Staff and Municipal. Utility" A variety of recommendations are also outlined in the Report (see Page 7). ' The recommendations have been categorized under the topics of facilitated planning, staff training, and internal teamwork and information flow. Each topic has been further. subdivided to identify a-clear objective, a rationale,' and the specific content of anticipated sessions to be implemented in the future. To ensure objectivity, these sessions would likely have to be facilitated and coordinated by a neutral party, Therefore,. an opportunity exists for the City to engage Training Networks, Inca, in future exercises to, assist in the implementation of facilitated planning,. staff training, and internal teamwork issues. In addition to engaging a consultant for these sessions, numerous opportunities are available to undertake internal' improvements via the commitment of city staff, Municipal Utilities, land developers, and local business operators. Summary Through its contract with Training Networks, the EDA successfully flushed out various issues`related to the City's review and.: permitting procedures. .While many strengths were identified, an equal number of opportunities exist for improvement. Many of the specific suggestions and recommendations outlined in the Needs Assessment Report can be addressed through. a commitment. by the City to invest in appropriate .training for its employees. At its February meeting, the EDA .reviewed the Needs. Assessment Report and voted to recommend that the Elk River City Council consider implementing the Report's findings and conclusions. Action Requested The Elk-River City Council is asked to solicit a proposal from Sandy Bower of Training Networks, Inc:, to implement the facilitated planning, staff training, and internal teamwork and information flow objectives outlined in the Needs Assessment Report. council:NAR3-20 I C~ J NEEDS ASSESSMENT REPORT FOR THE CITY OF ELK RIVER, MINNESOTA By Lee Colby, Lee Colby and Associates and Sandy Bower, Training Networks Submitted: Feb. 1, 1995 • • NEEDS ASSESSMENT REPORT FOR THE CITY OF ELK RIVER, MINNESOTA By Lee Colby, Lee Colby and Associates .and Sandy Bower, Training Networks OVERVIEW As the City of Elk River becomes an outer ring suburb of the Twin Cities metropolitan area, it faces the normal challenges of any rapidly growing organization --initiating, implementing and adjusting to changes. For cities this often means responding to increasing demands for service without raising taxes. Elk River intends to encourage economic growth while maintaining its attractive "small town" quality, and the municipal services are the primary transmitter of that message. Responding to recent informal feedback from individual developers and the Elk River Chamber of Commerce, the City has undertaken an examination of the internal processes that impact the economic development of the city. This needs assessment is a first step in gaining a broad perspective on the processes that deliver economic development services, such as the applications, Concept Review, inspections, permitting,. regulations, hearings and various communication processes. NEEDS ASSESSMENT PARTICIPANTS The needs assessment involved four groups of people: 1. Individual interviews with six City department managers and the City Administrator 2. Two focus groups with City support staff and two representatives from the municipal utility. 3. Four business developers and contractors from the Chamber of Commerce . 4. Five business people who have worked with the City in the past five years in • developing land, enlarging their place of business, establishing their business in Elk River, etc. This report summarizes the input from each group, identifies the major issues from each group, and offers the consultants' observations . MAJOR ISSUES Both individual and group participation was spirited and covered many topics. Clearly there are many strengths among the City staff, not the least of which is a desire to be proactive in providing service to the community and an openness to suggestions. There are, however, some issues which, if resolved, will contribute significantly to the responsiveness of City government. The following major issues are summarized here. 1. There are two schools of thought about serving business development in Elk River. The differences between the two schools have not been worked through, and therefore present the potential for subtle conflict and uncertain communication. 2. Although each individual strives to service customers to the best of their ability, there does not seem to be an articulated and consistent philosophy about customer service in the City staff. 3. The City needs to define its relationship with business developers so that there is better understanding and cooperation between the two groups and a positive business climate in Elk River. 4. Teamwork could be improved internally, both intra- and inter-departmentally. 5. Support staff sees opportunities to improve procedures at their level. This step is contingent on No. 1 above. • ~ page 2 NEEDS ASSESSMENT FINDINGS DEVELOPERS AND BUSINESS INTERESTS Since the impetus for this project started with feedback from business developers to the Economic Development Committee, we will examine the concerns of the developers first. Feedback from developers indicates that they have observed a significant unprovement in the Review and Permitting process in the past year. Although there are different perceptions among developers, and even with the improvements, developers want to feel more of a partnership with the City through increased communication at various stages of the Review and Permitting process. This will reduce costly last minute surprises for both the developers and the City planner. 1. Specific concerns a. Both groups of business people expressed a strong desire for more dialogue and problem solving with the City Staff during the review process. They understand the City's position that a closed Review meeting is more efficient for everyone, but feel there could be more formal conversation either before the Review meeting to outline the requirements for a successful Review, and/or after the Review meeting to go over the City recommendations. There • should be enough tune to respond to these recommendations before the City Planning Commission meeting. b. Timing is critical for developers. Any official documents need to be delivered to the developer as quickly as possible. c. The issue of better teamwork between the City and. the municipal utility was brought up by several people, although it may represent only one incident. d. Fees have increased dramatically in the past few years. Some developers question why, others accept this as the cost of doing business. An explanation would alleviate much skepticism. e. Business people strongly feel the need for the City to take an impartial "Just the facts, ma'am" position rather than. strongly advocate the City's recommendations with the Planning Commission or Council. They suggested that the tone of the Review process should be one of choices and explanations, rather than adversarial. • page 3 f. Developers would welcome user-friendly written materials, with no jargon, clear explanations, and consistency between documents. g. Developers find it difficult to work effectively with the Planning and City Councils because Commission and Council members appear to .act on personal preferences rather than from a consistent plan or philosophy for the City. 2. CITYDEPARTMENT MANAGERS AND ADMINISTRATORS Interviews indicated that the Concept Review process is sound and only. needs only a little fine tuning. Participants appreciate the opportunity to critique the plans together and gain insight into the inter-relatedness of various city functions. They like the opportunity to analyze the plans honestly without having to debate with the developers. There are some indications, however, that there does not seem to be total buy-in on the Concept Review process, as evidenced by insufficient preparation for the meetings, a basic philosophical difference about the City's role vis-a-vis the developer, and last minute "surprises" that should have been identified in the Review meeting. 1. Specific concerns a. The people involved in the Concept Review process (Chief Building Official, City Engineer, City Planner, Economic Development Coordinator, Building and Zoning Administrator, Fire Chief) are generally satisfied with the Review and Permitting process. They like the opportunity to analyze proposed plans together in private, without having to defend their opinions to the developer. They spot problems early in the building process which helps the developer. b. They perceive two quite different schools of thought represented at the Concept Review meeting: one approach seeks to provide a fair and predictable process to every customer; the other approach seeks to provide personalized service to make development and business expansion in Elk River easy and attractive. This difference of values may make the Concept Review discussions strained. c. Some people mentioned a perception that there can be political ramifications to the Review process, intimating that people with political influence might be treated differently from "ordinary people". • page 4 • d. Several people mentioned that although the City staff tries to be very cooperative and helpful, they believe that business people find the Review and Permrttmg process too cumbersome, slow, expensive, and ngid. e. Building inspections require more time than there is staff to provide it. More timely and thorough communication from developers to Inspections could eliminate some last minute "Oh by the way's". f. A few people commented that the Concept Review meetings could be improved with better preparation for the Review meetings, .more open, two-way communication and problem solving, and more group ownership for the recommendations in the final document. 3. CITY STAFF AND MUNICIPAL UTILITY The staff members in these focus groups are dedicated to providing good customer service to business developers (any customer). They respond as quickly as possible to questions and requests. They found, however, that the internal processes could be improved with six . strategies. a. They could better serve their external customers if there were a complete, user- friendly and packet of materials to help developers move through the City's Permit and Review process. b. They could provide better service if they were better informed. They perceive that developers see a lack of teamwork and then complain to the City Planner. There was strong opinion that short, well-run staff meetings would benefit communication, problem solving, teamwork and morale. Better communication between department heads would also improve inter-department teamwork at the staff level, especially if information moved downward. c. Staff is also impacted by the philosophical division in the City. Participants noted that communication between the Planning and Building/Zoning departments could be improved. d. There is a general need to clarify roles and expectations with clear, written job descriptions. e. Staff feels stretched beyond capacity in terms of work load and customer service. They find it difficult to respond to their customers as quickly as possible when the page 5 • workload steadily increases. While recognizing the need for balance between low taxes. and sufficient staff, they commented that some of the new technology is irrelevant because staff has no tune to learn the technology or to input data. A part time technical support position would help all departments become more efficient. f. Although .they are very busy with their jobs, the focus group staff members expressed areal interest in being part of the solution to the above problems. • page 6 • RECOMMENDATIONS To address the issues identified in the assessment, the following recommendations are catagorized into three areas: planning, training, and internal teamwork. We believe that solutions should be created by the people who deal with the situation everyday. Their ideas will be more appropriate, there will be consensus on action steps, and there will be more ownership for the solutions that are generated by staff members. Our recommendations therefore are for processes that generate solutions and build skills for the future. 1. FACILITATED PI.~~NNING Objective: To address specific concerns identified in the needs assessment, i.e. the philosophical differences about customer service, the need for better communication tools for economic development, and to fine tune the the Review and Permitting processes. Rationale: People closest to the problem are best suited to identify the issues and develop solutions and implementation plans. Facilitation by a neutral party keeps the process on track, provides clarification and resolution of different opinions, and ensures follow through. Cross functional and multi-level participation is recommended. Planning sessions are held at least monthly, on-site or off-site. Content: Three separate planning processes, starting with Behavioral Style Awareness training (see Pg. 8) to facilitate communication. Facilitated Planning process addresses: 1) Developing consensus on customer service philosophy for the City 2) Responding to input from the business community about ways to improve the Concept Review and Permitting process. 3) Communication strategies for better information flow with developers, the Municiple Utility, and among City departments. • page 7 • 2. STAFF TRAINING Objectives: To build skills that enhance teamwork and service to external and internal customers To signal a commitment to a proactive, service-oriented City staff. Rationale: Skills training gives all city employees the tools to implement the decisions made by the Facilitated Planning sessions. The following workshops also address issues identified in the needs assessment. They are listed by priority. Content: • 1. Behavioral Style Awareness ("the DISC") 2. Communication Skills for Conflict Management 3. Customer Service Skills Helps individuals understand their work style behavior and learn how to deal with internal and external customers more effectively. Teaches effective, non-blaming communication skills that strengthen teamwork and problem solving when dealing with internal and external customers. Teaches how to communicate with customers and understand their needs in order to give the best service. Helps implement decisions about City's customer service philosophy. 4. Teamwork Skills Shows all staff members how to be valuable members of the City team and share responsibility for team effectiveness. 5. Effective Meetings Especially for supervisors and people in leadership positions. Shows how to conduct meetings with both internal and external customers that encourage participation and results. Supports commitment to continuous improvement. • page 8 • 3. INTERNAL TEAMWORK AND INFORMATION FLOW Objective: To enhance teamwork within departments and between departments so that information and processes flow more smoothly and quickly, providing better customer service and less internal frustration. Rationale: Team planning applies the Facilitated Planning Sessions decisions made at!, the day-to-day level. With staff members' ideas and suggestions, information flow is improved and processes can be updated to serve thie current work load of the City. Interdepartmental teamwork is strengthened, which further adds to the efficiency and service of the City. Content:. The following short term strategies are recommended. 1. Interdepartmental problem-solving task forces, to remove barriers and improve work process efficiency. Staff has already expressed an interest in doing this. 2. Brief interdepartmenttraming sessions on City forms and language. __ 3. One-on-one coaching to support individuals and develop skills. • 4. Coachin on effective staff meetings that will generate optimum staff g participation and ideas for continuous improvement. SUMMARY In a rapidly growing organization, processes and positions will need to be adjusted. These changes are inevitable and healthy. The City of Elk River has recently examined some of its procedures that impact economic development, and found areas that need modification. Elk River is at a cross roads. City government can facilitate the growth and prosperity of its community or, conversely, reinforce negative stereotypes and alienate people from their government. We suggest that the City address these economic development concerns by drawing upon the considerable experience and talents of its employees to solve present and future problems. A proactive, service-oriented City staff communicates the City's vision more effectively than the best written policy or ordinance. As is true everywhere, "the medium is the message", and with its excellent staff, Elk River can send the right message about the city's growth and development. • page 9