News Release: New City Manager Outlines Initial Plans
Improving customer service, bolstering economic development and reorganizing city staff for better production and efficiency are among objectives set forth by Pickerington’s new city manager.
After starting the job July 1, Bill Vance has spent the past two weeks outlining his initial goals.
Some, such as improving customer service and relations with regional governments, are a continuation of various city leaders’ longstanding aims.
Others, including a proposal to reorganize city staff and employee duties and promotion of Olde Pickerington Village, represent new directions or renewed commitments from Pickerington’s administration.
“Some of our initial priority efforts, since my arrival in Pickerington, have involved re-examining ways in which city staff can continually improve the level of customer service we provide to those doing business or looking to develop (or) invest in Pickerington,” Vance said. “Taking an optimistic, customer-friendly and proactive friendly approach to the services our economic development and growth management departments take will become the norm in an effort to accommodate mutually beneficial, responsible development proposals, consider the allocation of job-creating incentives and to successfully expedite the application process associated with those pursuing property improvements and job-creating investments.
“Finding additional ways to enjoy and promote Pickerington’s historic downtown as a great place to visit and invest are also among my highest initial priorities as Pickerington’s new city manager,” he said. “I envision staff taking a very active role in providing targeted assistance to historic downtown issues and efforts to serve what many could consider the heart of our community.”
Vance came to Pickerington after serving as town manager of Lady Lake, Fla., from March 2004 to October 2009. He replaces Tim Hansley, who was fired last October after disputes with Mayor Mitch O’Brien and some on Pickerington City Council over personnel and code enforcement issues. Since arriving, Vance has instituted weekly meetings between the city’s development staff and prospective and existing businesses.
He said the sessions are designed to recruit new businesses to Pickerington, as well as encourage growth among existing companies by providing information about the city, development opportunities and rules and regulations related to land-use applications and building permits.
Vance said he also hopes the face-to-face encounters will dispel a reputation Pickerington’s government and its regulations have gained — fairly or unfairly — for being difficult and cumbersome to deal with.
As for reorganizing city departments and staff, Vance said he will propose changes to city council that will address a number of areas. Each, he said, will be designed to improve customer service, effectiveness and efficiency, but he said special emphasis will be given to improving economic development efforts.
Subsequently, he will recommend shifting or increasing city development director Susan Crotty’s role.
“Susan Crotty is going to become the city’s growth management director and economic development director,” Vance said. “She would be responsible for the city’s planning department and personnel, the building department and personnel — which includes code enforcement — and she’s going to be the leading economic development representative on behalf of the city.
“The reorganized chart is to come before council within the next 60 days,” he said. “Its purpose is to maximize the utilization of city employees for the purpose of ensuring the city’s (workers) are as efficient and effective as possible.”
Similar to past city leaders, Vance said he wants to reach out to regional governments, including Violet Township, and renew the city’s partnership with the Pickerington Area Chamber of Commerce.
Those efforts, he said, will focus on maximizing the collected benefits of local tax money, and will capitalize on local ideas and skills.
“In at least 17,000 cases, both the city and the township serve the same citizens and, therefore, finding ways to efficiently use these collective investments for regional quality of life-enhancing (and) tax-based job-creating (and) business-retention improvements make sense,” he said. “Taking advantage of every opportunity where the city of Pickerington can work with, support and utilize the vast talents made available to the city via its energetic chamber of commerce membership is another example of how the city and township business interests (and) resources can be combined to stimulate, serve and protect regional investments.”
Vance said he expects to take “a very active and supporting role in the Pickerington Area Chamber of Commerce.”
Beyond that, he said work on the Pickerington’s 2011 budget will begin next month, and his objective is to at least maintain current service levels. At the same time, he said, each department will be charged with working smarter and more precisely to realize savings.
Lastly, Vance said, he intends to champion small-scale beautification projects.
“Maintaining a clean community and protecting local property values also will be prioritized in the 2011 budget proposal,” he said.
07/27/2010
