HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004 02-18 SpecialMeridian City Council Special Meeting/Workshop February 18, 2004
The Meridian City Council Special Meeting/Workshop was called to order at _____
P.M. on Tuesday, February 18, 2004 by Mayor Tammy de Weerd.
Members Present: Mayor Tammy de Weerd, Keith Bird, Shaun Wardle, Bill Nary and Charlie Rountree.
Staff Present: Bill Musser,
Will Berg.
1. Roll-call Attendance:
Charlie Rountree Bill Nary
Shaun Wardle Keith Bird
Mayor Tammy de Weerd
2. Adoption of the Agenda:
3. Discussion
and Review of the Strategic Plan, Missions, Visions, Goals, Objectives, Challenges and Action Issues for the City of Meridian:
Musser: Moving right along then. Something I would like
to do today as we facilitate this and work through and if there is no objection by the members of the Council and the Mayor and the rest of the folks in here, I’d like to do away with
the titles and just move to first names. Make it a little bit more open and we can talk to each other and I think we could do things a little bit that way, if there is no objections
on that approach.
De Weerd: Well, if we can also add to it, you know everyone comes with preconceived ideas. If there is something that you would like to walk away with today; an
idea, a direction, whatever please state that too.
Musser: I know there have been some discussion in a prior meeting too about the facilitating process. I am going to facilitate
today, but also be prepared because if I have something I want to say to interject and go that route, I have got permission to be able to do that too. Most of you know me well enough
and you know that I don’t shut up when I have something to say anyway. The main thing is to kind of move us through the process. I gave you a brief little handout that covers mission,
vision and values to start with. These are taken right off of the worksheet that’s in the strategic planning notebook that you have. It’s the foldout sheet. It was put together back
in 2002, or actually 2001 and was published out in 2002. But, what I did was I broke it down so we could have those to look at directly on and what we are going to do in starting with
this and having a discussion with Tammy on this earlier there are some concerns that maybe the mission is little too long, a little bit too wordy at this point, doesn’t present a focus
for us and I think that’s where I want to start with the discussion
right now. I would ask Council in particular to have a chance to look it over, present their ideas because they are the leadership and they are the ones that are going to push us forward
to where we are at, but we also need input from all of the directors and those assistants or deputies that are here as well in helping us get to where we need to go because one of the
big things that we need to be able to take out of here today is to provide a centralized mission, work in conjunction with the other two elements that we have so that we no longer have
a (inaudible) affect with our individual departments, but so we can go back and reevaluate our missions and make sure that they fall under that umbrella or at least point to where we
are at with the mission today on and with that I will open it up for comments if anybody has anything to start off with. Seeing that nobody wants to volunteer, okay.
De Weerd: Well,
I guess – I did go online to find some ideas and –
Musser: There is a bunch out there.
De Weerd: There really are, but in a nutshell, the mission statement should be a one sentence,
clear and concise statement because who the agency is, what it does for whom and where and so it just is that simple. So, we have a couple of them here. The mission want their elected
officials (inaudible) and staff of the city is to provide quality public services and partnership with the citizens, businesses, schools and other government agencies. Then another
one is our mission is to provide excellent quality services and partnership with our citizens in the highest degree of professionalism (inaudible) that is coordinated by visionary leadership
and planning with fiscal responsibility. Now that’s a mouthful. A mission statement really should be something that we can repeat and that as we make decisions or as we tie our visions
and values to it, it can really tie to what that statement is. Who can say our mission statement right now verbatim?
(Inaudible discussion)
Musser: Tammy is absolutely right. One
of the things that I have gone in and utilized as a resource – just go to Google a research engine and type in city mission statement. You would be surprised at how much you pull up.
I only made it through 80 of the somewhat 100 pages or whatever pages that were in there to look at different mission statements and there is a wide variety. We have some that are
as long as what we have and go into a lot of explanations to try and break it down, but then we have some others that are very, very succinct, short and to the point. But just gives
you some ideas of the things that they are (inaudible) at.
(Inaudible discussion).
Musser: I don’t off the top of my head. I have got some copies and I will bring them in if we need some prompting on it. One of the biggest things that I wanted to point out today
for where we were headed with it, though is number one it has to say who we are. Okay? So, it has to tell that and then it has to give us our purpose – what do we do? Then the other
things that it ties in for whom we are doing them and where. Pretty simple little formats when we look at it and then it goes back to reiterate what Tammy has already mentioned to us
on it. The other key issue that I think it needs to also include on it is it needs to provide a sense of direction; where are we going with it? Those are some of the things that we
have to look at. Now in terms of where we are at with our own mission statement in order to break it down, we’ll have to mention things like leadership, vision, long-term direction,
promoting communities (inaudible) spirit, (inaudible), vitality, efficiency, safety and quality of life. So, we have got some key factors in there and then it bumps up to city departments.
Within city departments we provide essential public services, you know guided by customer service principals and community-wide partnerships reflect our commitment to protecting, preserving
the public trust. We actually have two separate mission statements there when you think about it. You can break that into two components. Yes sir?
Rountree: When I read the mission
statement I find it devicive and not a cohesive statement of what it is the City of Meridian is all about. I also have a sense that a mission statement should not direct what the government
is going to be because quite frankly the government is going to be what it is going to be. The electorates is going to elect folks and occasionally they are going to elect a bonehead
and somebody might think I am one. But the mission statement should be for the city and it should be something that the elected official and/or the department heads and their respective
partners can read and understand and it sets the mark out there for them to go to. So, I guess my first comment is that it shouldn’t be the Council or the governmental and the administrative
piece, it should be one.
Musser: Thank you Charlie that’s all I was waiting for to come out of the group and that’s what we have to do. We need to be able to attack it today. We
need to look at it and say that we can make it better and make it work for us. I whole heartedly agree, I think it’s devisive. First off it has two separate components – go ahead Anna.
Canning:
I just wanted to say something (inaudible -------------------). I wanted to point out that there are some great phases in there and then one of them that’s lacking. I think the communities
progressive spirit is a great phase, which could remain. There is a lot of stuff in here that is hidden that if we pulled it together it is the same fashion (inaudible ------------------------------
---), but the communities progressive spirit and a community-wide partnerships. I think that that is also a good phrase. The phrase deep commitment I think is a good one too. The
one thing that I think is missing is what I say the concern for citizens instead of
efficiency, safety and quality of life, it’s really concern for citizens and I think that that could be something (inaudible ------------) as well.
Musser: Anybody else?
Wardle:
I would like to just touch on two of the examples that Tammy read that were a little bit shorter. We talked about partnership with the community and I think that there is a difference
between those communities and what we have in Meridian is our government, our departments and everything in the city is geared towards service to the community. Certainly doing things
in partnership with them, but the focus that I feel that this community from city government and all the agencies is that we are focused on serving our community and to add another word
there, Meridian is a growing community and so I think that’s one of the major differences between our community and a lot of others.
Musser: Okay. The next ten minutes what I would
like to do is look what Shaun just pointed out. There are some key words and there are some things that reflect that community and we need to write those down so we can start a list.
In order to build it and make that focus come out for us that include those positive elements that Anna talked about and get rid of some of the devisiveness that we have right now.
We need to kind of think about what it is we are doing, jot down a few key terms and when I am saying a few key terms, we already mentioned growing community, concern for the citizens,
service okay? You also have words in here, too and these shouldn’t go away. You have promoting the community in progressive spirit, essential public services, principal of customer
service, fiscal accountability. I have got to bring one in for at least Stacy so she doesn’t feel alone on it, okay? But, we also have that issue on public trust. Because ultimately
the mission statement will also provide some mechanism towards accountability, so we have to step up to the plate a little bit and take it from there. So, take the next ten minutes
on your note pad and focus on some key words. Don’t make phrases, focus on key words or a group of no more than three words that would allow you to express some of those ideas. So,
in ten minutes I will be back with a couple of examples.
Canning: If you only want us to write three words, Bill, don’t leave us for so long.
Musser: I said no more than three
words for a phrase. You can go to town on these.
De Weerd: Hey, Bill, you might also distinguish what kind of (inaudible) would be appropriate for a vision statement verses mission
statement.
Musser: Alright. Anna has asked if I had some examples on it. I have got some talks coming up. I will run this one around. Provo City mission statement was probably
one of the most succinct that I have found as I went through on it. It just simply says employees who care building community, pride and quality of life
with integrity and excellence. That’s their mission statement and that pretty much sums it up and carries in some of those key words that we are talking about and build on them. A
guide that I have mission instruction includes the following criteria, okay? Short and sharply focused. Clear and easily understood defines what we do, why the organization exists
that does not describe means. Now we are talking more of a vision statement when we get into describing means. How we are going to do things, why we are doing it in more detail; provides
direction for doing the right things. It’s efficiently broad so while we are being focused we are also using words that have a tendency to expand for us; addresses opportunities. One
of the opportunities that we already talked about is the growth; matches our competence. Are we fair? Are we adequate? Do we excel? Do we want to fly with the eagles or do we want
to run with the turkeys? That’s the way you have got to kind of have to approach that on your competence level. Most people set the bar high. That’s why you see the word excels in
there most of the time on it or excellence; inspires the commitment and says what in the end that we want to be remembered for. So, those are basic construction elements that we are
looking at as we run through on this. Most of you on this (inaudible ----------------) strategic planning exercises that we went through can remember that that was
(TAPE ON FILE
OF THESE PROCEEDINGS)
APPROVED:
/ /
TAMMY DE WEERD, MAYOR DATE APPROVED
ATTESTED:
WILLIAM G. BERG, JR., CITY CLERK