Looking back: Creating an optimal service delivery framework

The City's Strategic Plan identifies 6 main "vision areas." They are:

• Quality of Relationships - Our City fulfills its commitment to building quality relationships throughout the community.
• Sense of Place - Our Community generates an appealing sense of place and fosters a welcoming, sustainable environment.
• Service Delivery, Resources and Needs - Our City organization maintains an optimal service delivery framework that balances resources with needs.
• Economic Vitality - Our Community prospers in a diverse, self-renewing climate of business, industry and housing.
• Vibrant Downtown - Captivating downtown St. Charles, rich with social, cultural and economic vibrancy, is a distinctive element of our community.
• Mobility and Connectivity - A quality transportation system assures community access, mobility and connectivity.

This week, I am sharing the achievements that I am most proud of in the area of Service Delivery, Resources and Needs. They are as follows:

• In 2008, the City was one of the first communities in the Chicago area to establish competition in the video services business by authorizing AT&T to provide its U-Verse product in direct competition with Comcast for residents’ cable/video dollars.
• The City conducted comprehensive reviews of all City utilities to identify the 10-year infrastructure needs. These reviews have served as the basis for continued investment in utility infrastructure including the implementation of the SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system for the electric utility. This system notifies City personnel almost instantaneously when there is a service outage, enhances the City's knowledge regarding the potential cause, and expedites an appropriate response to repair it.
• In 2009, the City completed the new Fire Station #1 facility that provides our firefighters with an upgraded station that meets today standards and will accommodate their current and future operational needs. Fire Station #1 received recognition as part of the 2010 Station Style Design Award program offered by Fire Chief Magazine.
• In 2010, the City received the Platinum Award (highest honors) for exceptional worksite wellness from the Wellness in the Workplace (WOWie) program, established by the Illinois State Council of the Society of Human Resource Management (ISC-SHRM) and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL) to recognize organizations that strive to create a work culture that promotes physical activity and overall wellness.
• In 2011, the City utilized a committee of City employees to design, test, and implement a merit-based compensation program for non-union employees.
• The number of calls for service for the St. Charles Police Department in 2012 was the lowest it's been since 2001. Police responded to 15,727 calls for service in 2012, a 3% decline from 2011. In 2011, the St. Charles Police Department was recognized by the Commission on Law Enforcement Accreditation (CALEA) with the "Accreditation with Excellence" award, which is presented to law enforcement agencies that display excellence in public safety professionalism.
• The St. Charles Fire Department has been accredited through the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI). CFAI provides for a comprehensive self-assessment and evaluation model that enables fire and emergency service organizations to examine past, current, and future service levels and performance and compare them to industry best practices.
• In 2012, construction was completed on the new radium removal facility to improve water quality from Wells 3 & 4. The facility will ensure compliance with federal mandates regarding drinking water quality and enhance system capacity.
• The St. Charles Sustainability Initiative, developed in 2010 to identify ideas and suggestions to deal with the economic downturn, was a success. In total, the ideas have resulted in over $3 million in cost savings or revenue generation for the City.
• Since 2007, the City has made the pursuit of grant funding a priority and has secured over $14 million in state and federal funding for City projects and programs related to road and utility infrastructure, public safety, affordable housing, riverfront enhancement, land use planning, transit studies, and urban forestry.

The next blog post will share my "Top 10" achievements in the area of Economic Vitality.