2007-09-17 - Laserfiche WebLink

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17 On motion by Mr. Norris, seconded by Ms. Hamilton, Police Chief Tim Longo was appointed as the City Manager’s representative on the Albemarle Charlottesville Jail Authority by the following vote. Ayes: Dr. Brown, Ms. Hamilton, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Norris, Mr. Taliaferro. Noes: None. On motion by Mr. Norris, seconded by Ms. Hamilton, Mr. Dave Norris was appointed as the Council representative on the City/County Housing Task Force by the following vote. Ayes: Dr. Brown, Ms. Hamilton, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Norris, Mr. Taliaferro. Noes: None. On motion by Mr. Norris, seconded by Ms. Hamilton, Ms. Karen Parker was appointed to a three-year term on the City’s Retirement Commission by the following vote. Ayes: Dr. Brown, Ms. Hamilton, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Norris, Mr. Taliaferro. Noes: None. This term will expire on June 30, 2010. Mr. Norris announced that Council will extend the deadline for receipt of applications for the Planning Commission by two weeks. Mr. O’Connell said that the position of Director of Customer Care was created in the budget by eliminating a position, with a net savings, in order to find better ways to provide customer service and to create a “one stop” location. Mr. O’Connell said that existing staff is proposed to be reorganized into a new unit, with no staff added. He said the position has been advertised and applications are being reviewed. He said he prefers to go forward, but can slow down the process if Council wants. Ms. Hamilton said she had this position mixed up with the ombudsman position that was not approved in the budget, and had not understood that this position survived. She asked whether one or two of the Assistant City Manager positions are proposed to be eliminated. Mr. O’Connell said the recommendation was to eliminate one Assistant City Manager position and keep one that would focus on the community in an ombudsman role. Responding to a question from Ms. Hamilton, Mr. O’Connell said the goal is to locate the Customer Care Director in the front lobby where they would be able to provide 90% of business to the public. Mr. O’Connell said that City Hall is not a very secure building, and ideally this would help with security. Mr. Taliaferro said he generally supports the position. He said he is concerned that some departments use answering machines all the time, and asked if the initiative would correct that. Dr. Brown said he thinks Council needed to have this discussion earlier in the process, and while there was a brief discussion during the budget and during the City Manager’s evaluation, it was not pointed out publicly as being in the Manager’s work plan. He said he has not heard a complaint from citizens about customer service. He said he agrees with comments made by Mr. Pfaltz about looking at ways to cut the budget, and a new position makes him uneasy. He said he is not convinced it is the right thing to do, but is not completely opposed to it. Mr. Norris asked how Mr. O’Connell would answer the criticism that money was put into the web interface so people do not have to come to City Hall. He said this seems like a step back. He asked how it will help services. Mr. O’Connell said that 80% of City services are still requested by telephone. He said that while there has been growth in web use, it is still less. He said we also need to ramp up our website. He said his opinion is we can do much better with customer service, and he thought that was what Council’s vision statement was all about. He said he also thought that Council focused on customer service in his evaluation.