Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

How To Lose $5.2 Million In Your Operational Budget And Still Make It Balance, Tamara Alexander

Certified Public Manager® Applied Research

Some cities experience exponential growth. Some cities experience operating budget shortfalls. Significantly few cities experience both simultaneously and are still able to balance their budgets for the upcoming fiscal year. This is the predicament a small municipality found itself in as it was forced to face unimaginable challenges at the beginning of fiscal year 2022. The operational budget shortfall could happen to any municipality and may have even happened to yours.

This article will explore what happened, how it was discovered, what was done to balance the budget, and what measures were put in place to prevent this from happening …

Developing A Strategic Plan For Municipal Housing Infill, Robert G. Vine

Certified Public Manager® Applied Research

In order for some cities to be competitive for growth, there is a need to emphasize efforts on creating infill. Swapping abandoned, run down houses for new ones benefits the immediate neighborhood and ripples outward through the entire community. Municipalities can proactively work with stakeholders to create a strategic plan to rehabilitate these properties and breathe new life into an existing neighborhood. By stepping into the role of promotor, designer, facilitator, and coordinator, a city can create an environment that is attractive to builders and developers, add housing, and add value to the community. Cities that successfully create partnerships with …

The Importance Of Succession Planning In Local Government, Mendy Davis

Certified Public Manager® Applied Research

All organizations benefit from succession planning. Succession planning is the process used to identify critical roles, skills, and knowledge in your organization and to develop a plan for employees to step into those roles when they become vacant. Due to limited personnel, resources, and budgets, and the belief that succession planning is costly and complex, succession planning is often left unaddressed in smaller cities. Even with limited resources, succession planning adds value to smaller organizations. An analysis of the current talent within a given organization can aid in developing backups and potential successors for any critical roles. Maintaining competitive salaries …

Should Cities Offer Remote Work?, Colleen Martin

Certified Public Manager® Applied Research

In December 2019, the SARS-CoV-2 virus was discovered in Wuhan, China. This highly contagious virus soon spread rapidly throughout the world and brought many countries and cities to a standstill through lockdowns, travel bans, and fear of illness and death. Many employers abandoned in-person work to prevent the spread of what became known as COVID-19, or COVID. Plans were made instead for employees to work from home as employers created modified work environments and moved meetings to online platforms. In 2022, once the virus was considered to be under control and fear began to subside, employers began to reopen for …

The Generational Gap In The Workforce: How Flexible Schedules May Be The Answer, Kelli D. Casey

Certified Public Manager® Applied Research

This article explores the importance of flexible scheduling for smaller municipalities to retain and attract talent and compete in a changing job market. The workforce is evolving, and with each generation that enters the market there is a push for a stronger work-life balance. Smaller cities can meet these generational expectations as well as retain the skills and talents of retiring generations by offering flexible schedules. Flexible schedules may be the answer for small municipalities to stay relevant while staffing their organizations.

Leadership Through Budgeting: Controlling Taxes And Increasing Services, Tony Sims

Certified Public Manager® Applied Research

Local budgets are the key responsibility of elected and appointed leaders, as are ultimate control over how tax dollars are allocated, and which services are provided to the citizens. Nowhere else is leadership more important than during budget preparation. However, local budgeting is typically more an annual event than an ongoing efficient and effective process. By implementing a budgeting process and preparing a budget in accordance with the criteria required by the Government Finance Officers Association’s (GFOA) Distinguished Budget Presentation Award Program and earning the award, local governments can create more efficient and effective operations, improve public trust, and have …

Public Libraries As Community Health Partners, Melinda Hodges

Certified Public Manager® Applied Research

Public libraries are a combination meeting space, educational resource, information repository, and community building organization. As such, they are already positioned to act as a valuable partner in the public health arena. This article researches the basic tenets of public health and identifies areas that public libraries could participate in productively. This article also reviews literature about the potential of public libraries as health partners, as well as what is already being accomplished from the perspective of both library/information sciences and public health studies. This will include the benefits that libraries can bring to public health work and the barriers …

Facebook For Law Enforcement, Stephen Carlisle

Certified Public Manager® Applied Research

This article introduces what some law enforcement agencies have done to mitigate trust issues by utilizing social media as a form of community policing. There is a silent majority out there that support law enforcement. As a pioneer of using Facebook as a platform for community policing, taking criticism from my law enforcement peers was unavoidable. However, these same peers would turn to Facebook shortly after for personal and professional use. The key is to reach out and to educate the public to help gain trust in law enforcement, and using modern social media platforms to reach the masses only …

Why We Should Reuse Wastewater, Bridget Sarver

Certified Public Manager® Applied Research

As population and industry grow, the need to reuse wastewater is growing. Aquifers are often the dominant water supplies to surrounding areas. The levels of those aquifers are declining each year. Water loss affects many things like water wells, lakes, and rivers. Lakes and rivers that are used as water sources are seeing a decline in levels. Low water levels and drought occur because of the changing water cycle. Heavy rain and runoff can help refill lakes and rivers; however precipitation does not always fall back on the area that it evaporated from. By reusing wastewater, we will be saving …

Handling Municipal Case Flow Management During A Pandemic, Jennifer Billings

Certified Public Manager® Applied Research

There is no right or wrong way to create your case flow management process. What works for one court, may not work for yours. The guidance provided by the Office of Court Administration, although confusing, played a major part in the Dayton Municipal Court’s success. During the COVID-19 pandemic, our court shut down all in-person proceedings. What we’ve learned about the pandemic response has provided our court and our defendants with new options in case management. Although we are now open, some of the new processes that were implemented during COVID-19 will continue to be used. Our relationships with peers …

Steps In Building A Successful Resilient Cyber Protocol, Benny Yazdanpanahi

Certified Public Manager® Applied Research

This article aims to help city administrators gain a systematic approach to building resilient cybersecurity protocols. Resilient protocols provide the basic organizational framework that layers employees, processes, and technologies that can address cyber risks to cities. Thus, these protocols provide the solid foundation necessary to protect cities and public institutions from the constant threat of cyberattacks. This article also offers suggestions on how cities can gain information technology (IT) resilience, and discusses boundaries in the layered approach to resilience.

Reimagining The Recruitment And Hiring Of Police Officers During Tumultuous Times, Shane Burleigh

Certified Public Manager® Applied Research

The defund police movement has created negative consequences as it pertains to the recruitment of officers over the last five years; the author and other police administrators across the country have been presented with the challenges of hiring qualified employees from a quickly dwindling pool of applicants. This situation, now combined with the coronavirus pandemic and the Defund the Police movement, has made the job of simply filling those positions vacated by retiring officers or officers leaving the profession out of frustration almost impossible and has sent some hiring managers into a panic. Officers in some agencies are forced to …

Onboarding: Improving Employer And Employee Relations, Theresa Bell

Certified Public Manager® Applied Research

Onboarding is a process that is quite easy to institute, is used by local municipalities, and is vital for successful employee performance and retention. Municipalities that have an effective onboarding program are better able to prevent organizational failure and disappointment while improving employee performance, productivity, and engagement, and improving the retention of newly hired employees. Municipalities are challenged with competing to hire talented, knowledgeable, and skilled employees, but with a well-established and implemented onboarding process, municipalities can nurture and retain these new hires. This report breaks down four benefits of onboarding in municipalities: longer employee tenure, increased employee engagement and …

Branding: Bringing More Respect And Value To The Profession Of Municipal Clerks In Texas, Laure Morgan

Certified Public Manager® Applied Research

What is in a title? How can Municipal Clerks or City Secretaries in Texas increase awareness and respect for their profession? The office of Municipal Clerk, also known as City Secretary, in Texas, is established by statute, and municipal clerks are the heart and soul of municipal governments. They work with the mayor, the city council, the city manager (when there is one), and a1ll administrative departments. The expertise, service, and information that the municipal clerk possess is needed daily. Despite their realm of expertise and duties, many municipal clerks are still thought of as just secretaries by their city …

Closing The 911 Funding Gap: Increasing Revenues For 911 Emergency Dispatch Centers, Randy Ross

Certified Public Manager® Applied Research

Since their introduction, 911 services have grown both in geographic scope and in the level of service provided. The revenue used to fund 911 services consists almost entirely of fees and surcharges on wireline, wireless, and Voice-over-Internet-Protocol telephone lines. These fees and surcharges generate billions of dollars each year, but 911 service revenues still fall short of estimated annual costs. Expenditures for personnel and for technology maintenance and upgrades have also increased over time. American consumers’ use of telephone lines has shifted from primarily wireline telephone lines to primarily wireless and Internet-based telephone lines with smaller fees and surcharges, contributing …

What’S Shaking In Timpson: Why All The Earthquakes?, Leslie Leathers

Certified Public Manager® Applied Research

They say that everything is bigger in Texas, and that is especially true of the vast oil fields located throughout the state. Today, Texas is the #1 oil producer in the U.S., producing more than a million barrels per day. Since the start of the most recent oil boom, the Lone Star State has seen a huge increase in seismic activity. Although earthquakes have been happening for years, scientific data has proven the recent events in the small town of Timpson can be attributed to oil field practices. However, state regulators and politicians still say this science is far from …

How Has The Implementation Of Body Worn Cameras Affected Law Enforcement In Texas?, John Brown

Certified Public Manager® Applied Research

Since 2011, when the first body worn camera program for police officers in the United States was introduced in Rialto, California, researchers have been interested in how such programs might influence U.S. law enforcement. Studies in the past several years have examined various aspects of the effects of body worn cameras, including their impact on public relations, police morale, and law enforcement budgets. Also of note is the importance of police compliance with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and the unique challenges presented by body worn camera records with regard to FOIA. This article seeks to determine the effect …

Public Improvement Districts: A Worthwhile Investment?, John Whitsell

Certified Public Manager® Applied Research

Public Improvement Districts (PIDs) are a financing mechanism used to fund new developments and infrastructure improvements. PIDs are relatively easy to create and can be done by the local municipality. A majority of property owners within the district may petition a local government to create the district. Bonds can then be issued to fund a development or infrastructure improvements. Through an industry analysis and view of the current political environment, PIDs are certainly a beneficial mechanism to fund projects otherwise not feasible due to constraints on city budgets. Local elected officials will want PIDs monitored and only used in proper …

East Texas Council Of Governments: Gobus Fare Collection, Melissa Cure

Certified Public Manager® Applied Research

The purpose of this research paper is to provide the decision makers at the East Texas Council of Governments GoBus rural transit system with information as a basis for the future of how fares are collected, and to look for ways to resolve problems in our current fare collection method. The main issue involves accepting cash and checks because of the large service region GoBus Transit covers. GoBus depends on the bus operators to collect fares and make deposits, which becomes a major problem with accounting. As listed on the official website of SWARCO, an Austrian technology company, an “Automated …