LTC 057-2007 Communication Protocol
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IV\ I A;\/\I BEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
NO. LTC # 057-2007
LETTER TO COMMISSION
To:
Mayor David Dermer and
Members of the City Commission
Date:
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Subject: Communication Protocol ~ c.:r
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Due to the number of new hires in the Mayor and Commission Offices, I wantecfto taRe
the opportunity to both welcome your respective new staff members, as well as provide
an initial guide to the established communication protocol between our respective offices.
Successful and timely communication between the Administration and the Office of the
Mayor and Commission is paramount to providing residents, visitors and businesses with
the information and service they need and require. My purpose in this communication is
to further my goal of meeting your expectations of providing timely and accurate
information on issues important to you and to also assist your staff in being effective in
collecting timely and accurate information from the Administration.
Jorge M. Gonzalez \ <L/
City Manager 0 ~ D
March 2, 2007
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I established a communication protocol upon my arrival at the City, and it has now been
in place for the last six years. My communication protocol with the Commission has
always been based on openness and full access to departments, with a request that my
office be included in all communications. I strongly believe that including my office in all
requests made to the Administration allows me to track and ensure that each of your
requests receives appropriate attention as well as a timely response that includes all of
you so that all of you are kept up to date and apprised of City activities and actions. I am
confident the Commission understands the importance of having my office included in
communications, and to date, all of you have personally made sure to include my office in
your correspondence to departments.
Moreover, in response to feedback provided by the Commission regarding the timeliness
and amount of communication between your individual offices and the Administration, at
the 2003 Commission Retreat an additional position was approved and funded for this
purpose. Currently, the position is filled by Ms. Dolores M. Mejia, Special Projects
Administrator, who as part of her duties is charged with assisting me with tracking and
routing requests for service and complaints from the Office of the Mayor and
Commission. I have made Ms. Mejia the point of contact for my office since it is difficult, if
not impossible, to track items if they are not being received centrally, and then routed and
flagged for response to the appropriate departments.
I want to make clear that as dedicated City employees, we are all committed
professionals, who fully intend to continue providing all of you with all of the information
you require in order for you to fulfill your respective duties as elected officials. To this
end, I want to take this opportunity to review the protocol for submitting requests for
information and requests for service from the Office of the Mayor and Commission to the
Administration, and kindly request that each of you share this information with your staff.
If the Mayor, Commissioners or their respective offices have a question which is
informational in nature, such as dates for particular meetings, etc. each of you and your
staff should feel free to contact the appropriate Assistant City Manager or Department
Director either by telephone or e-mail, directly to ask the question. A simple question is
entitled to a simple answer. Please note that the appropriate department director is your
best source for this type of information and that employees below this level may not have
access to information that is complete and/or up-to-date.
If your respective Aide and/or Executive Assistant have a request for service or a
complaint which they are sending on your office's behalf, such as requesting staff support
or attendance at a meeting or referring resident's complaint for a response by the
Administration, I would respectfully request that these requests be routed through my
office via Ms. Mejia and the appropriate member of my Leadership Team (i.e., specific
department issues should copy the Department Director and their ACM or Executive Staff
Member with oversight responsibility). This would also include requests that will
necessitate research by staff.
If there is any uncertainty as to who might be the appropriate staff member, Ms. Mejia
should be contacted and she will ensure the issue is routed appropriately and receives a
timely response. If the request comes via telephone, please make the request to the
appropriate Assistant City Manager, Ms. Mejia, or me.
Recently, on several occasions staff'in the Office of the Mayor and Commission have
contacted departments directly for requests for service as well as complaint referral. In
addition, many times employees below the department director level are being referred
these issues for their input or resolution. This type of behavior is generating redundancy
of work as well as additional research for my office as well as the departments in trying to
sort out where the complaint originated; what, if any, party has responded; the
completeness and accuracy of the information provided; and more importantly, whether
or not the information was shared with the full governing body.
Departments are instructed to work through the City Manager's Office when responding
to requests for service and complaints received from the Office of the Mayor and
Commission. Employees are placed in an uncomfortable position trying to provide
excellent customer service to you while at the same time, being cognizant that they are
expected and required to observe the policy established to have the City Manager's
Office route these requests.
In turn, it is my expectation as well as that of my staff that the appropriate staff member
for the Mayor and Commissioners is concurrently tracking items and issues sent to the
Administration by or on behalf of their respective elected official in order to facilitate and
expedite responses. As always, copies of all responses will be shared with all members
of the City Commission in order to keep all of you informed, as well as to ensure that
information is provided equally.
I appreciate your understanding and anticipate your continued cooperation in this matter.
Should you have any questions, or need additional information, please feel free to
contact me.
C: Executive Staff and Management Team