FY2016
County Manager Work and
Performance Plan
DENA R. DIORIO, COUNTY MANAGER
MECKLENBURG COUNTY GOVERNMENT
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Key Initiative #1
FY2017 County Budget
Description:
Rationale:
Timeline:
Updates/Project
Milestones:
Develop and submit for adoption the FY2017 Mecklenburg County Budget
The County Budget drives the activities that support the community needs. The Manager is tasked
with developing and proposing a budget based on her understanding of the needs of the
community, the organization operational and fiscal capacity and the interests of the Board.
Budget Adoption is June 2016
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Outcome/Measures
Lead/Organize a high quality budget planning retreat for the Board of County Commissioners.
Engage Board members, business partners, community stakeholders and department
leadership in budget development
Lead periodic budget updates and public policy workshops intended to inform the Board and
the public on key budget decision points.
Present recommended budget
Present budget ordinance consistent with straw vote direction
Successful accomplishment of established milestones.
Key Initiative #2
Health and Human Services
Integrated Service Delivery Project
Description:
Provide executive direction and project leadership.
Rationale:
Providing human services is a core function of Mecklenburg County government. Numerous
residents receive services from more than one human service department. There are many
collaborations within the Human Services Agency, however these have occurred at the program
or service level. This project will take a broader look at how the County’s Human Services
Agency can be organized and integrated to serve residents more effectively and efficiently.
Focus will be on the following items:
Improving the health and well-being of Mecklenburg residents, especially people most in
need of support and assistance, emphasizing education and prevention and optimal human
service delivery.
• Seeking more opportunities to involve and integrate Human Services Agency departments
in collaborative service delivery.
• Seek to establish an integrated customer interface to improve both the customer experience
as well as the outcome of the services provided.
This is a multi-year plan with the completion date yet to be determined.
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Completion Date:
Updates/Project
Milestones:
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August 2015 – July 2016: Ongoing meetings of the Implementation Leadership Team - all
Human Service Agency Department Directors.
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Fall 2015: Implementation Leadership Team retreat for plan development including new
Assistant County Manager
• December 2015: Re-engage Work Team
• November 2014 – Spring 2015: Implementation Leadership Team and Work Team
meetings continue.
• Summer 2016: Implementation plan presented to County Manager and Executive Team.
Successful achievement of established updates and project milestones.
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Outcome/Measures:
Key Initiative #3
Bringing Mecklenburg County to You
Description:
“Bringing Mecklenburg County to You” Master Plan Project Implementation
Rationale:
The first phase of the “Bringing Mecklenburg County to You” program includes several key
projects which support the Manager and Board’s strategic agenda. These projects include:
1. The relocation of LUESA from the Hal Marshall Center to Suttle Avenue, which will
improve the experience for customers and employees while supporting the
redevelopment of the North Tryon corridor.
2. The relocation of MEDIC from over-utilized, leased facilities to a permanent
home. This involves the adaptive re-use of a warehouse and distribution facility
central to their service area.
3. The balance of Valerie C. Woodard will be renovated, providing a home for the
balance of staff from the Hal Marshall Center, the Tax Assessor and Tax Collector
offices, and some functions of the consolidated Health and Human Services Agency.
Some renovation will occur to support the work of creating new Community Resource
Centers.
4. The initial phase of work within the Government District will be initiated, with the
relocation of a consolidated Finance Department as a focus along with renovations to
and use of underutilized spaces.
Completion Date:
May 2017
Updates/Project
Milestones:
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Outcome/Measures:
The total program budget for the first phase of this program is $165,000,000. This budget
covers the four projects listed, some of which will run into FY17. As the specs for these
projects continue to be developed and finalized, staff are managing to this budgeted total as
was approved in the FY16 CIP.
March 2016: LUESA Relocation: Construction – 100% complete
June 30, 2016: MEDIC Relocation: Construction – 20% complete
June 30, 2016: Woodard Renovation: Construction – 40% complete
June 30, 2016: Phase I Government District Construction – 30% complete
Successful achievement of established updates and project milestones.
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Key Initiative #4
Human Resources Recruitment Reinvention
Description:
Refine and improve recruitment processes to improve the customer experience of both staff and
applicants; create and offer educational/training opportunities for managers/supervisors and
front line staff; identify opportunities for improved communication.
Rationale:
The County has experienced a significant increase in hiring new employees over the past
several years and internal business processes continue to evolve, which has increased the
complexity of the recruitment process. For instance: the hiring of 10 month employees, various
benefit packages based on hours worked, the PSO reduction-in-force and other variables have
increased the team’s workload. Concurrently, the recruiting team has only two employees (out
of 7) that have been in Recruitment for more than one year. These combined factors have made
it challenging for the recruiters to be as responsive to the competing demands that applicants
and staff place upon them. Process refinement and improvement is essential to improving the
workflow of the team.
Completion Date:
June 2015: Completion of agreed upon phase I strategies/actions
• Fall 2015: Implement a number of key technology solutions in PeopleSoft including
creating a centralized way for hiring managers to submit hiring requests, creating a key
word search to more quickly identify applicants who meet minimum qualifications, create a
grid to view screening criteria for selected applicants and create an automated applicant
status portal that updates where the applicant is in the process (ex. applied to routed).
• Spring 2016: Design and implement second round of system improvements including a
dash board for hiring managers to review (for real time updates) and eliminating or
significantly automating the PAR process. In addition, utilize efficiencies gained from
process improvements outlined above in Fall 2015 to identify strategies that would allow
recruiters to be more proactive in applicant sourcing and to identify strategies for
addressing hard to fill positions.
Project plan should address recommended timeframes and actions to address the following:
Develop/execute County-wide manager/supervisor interview training
Develop/execute County-wide training for interview preparation, including resume writing
• Develop a strategy for sourcing potential applicants
• Develop strategies for addressing hard to fill positions
• Develop strategies for elimination of paper processes (ex. PARs)
• Develop strategies for improving the applicant experience throughout the recruiting process
Outcome/Measures: • Customer satisfaction
• Decrease in the use of outside recruiting firms
• Days to fill (competitiveness with benchmark data)
Updates/Project
Milestones:
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Key Initiative #5
Code Enforcement Service Improvements
Description:
Mecklenburg County and the City of Charlotte are working collaboratively to implement
recommendations from the Gartner Study the Building Development Commission’s special
committee
Rationale:
In August 2014, the City/County contracted with Gartner, Inc. to conduct an independent review
of Permitting, Inspection and Plan Review processes. Gartner completed an initial assessment and
provided seven (7) priorities/recommendations for moving forward:
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Establish Unified Development Services Governance and Supporting Sub-Committees
Improve Customer Alignment
Improve Culture and Foster Partnership
Implement Immediate Process and Technology Improvements
Develop Future Services Delivery Models
Establish Long-Term Permitting and Plan Review Application Strategy and Implement
Establish an Optimization Process Leveraging Enhanced Metrics
Concurrent with the Gartner study/review, the Building Development Commission established a
special committee to address concerns raised (sent via letter to the County Manager) by the
Real Estate & Building Industry Coalition (REBIC), the Greater Charlotte Apartment Association
and the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce.
The committee, comprised of architects, engineers and trades/association representatives, outlined
19 recommendations. These recommendations align to Gartner’s priority areas of focus and are
integrated into the overall project management plan.
Timeline:
The project timeline for completion of all tasks/subtasks is three years (CY2015 – 2017).
However, by leveraging Gartner for assistance in some of the items the most of the efforts are
projected to be completed in two years. City/County staff are working on Priorities 1-4 (see above);
Gartner has been contracted to assist with Priorities 5 & 6. Priority 7 will be initiated once the
new service delivery model has been developed.
The following tasks will be completed by June 2016.
Updates/
Project Milestones:
Governance
• Research best practices/existing intergovernmental structures
• Define roles and responsibilities, decision authority, escalation paths, communication
channels of governing body
• Develop charters and/or interlocal agreement
• Examine roles of advisory groups to determine optimal model for ongoing industry input
• Elected Official Input at Key Decision Points
Customer Alignment & Culture
• Define a unified City/County customer service vision and approach
• Rollout Customer Service Center operation
• Pilot test virtual colocation model
Process & Technology Improvements
• Restructure staff to create a Mega Team, an inspection team dedicated to large commercial
and multi-family projects
• Upgrade software, thereby allowing industry identified process enhancements
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Outcome/
Measures:
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Effectively serve as co-lead and partner in overseeing implementation of City/County
actions to improve service delivery systems
Successful accomplishment of established milestones
Key Initiative #6
Veterans Hiring and Apprenticeship Pilot Program for Code Enforcement
Description:
Create a targeted recruitment and apprenticeship program for qualified veterans to fill available
vacancies in Code Enforcement.
Rationale:
The candidate pool for filling available vacancies in Code Enforcement has been significantly
impacted by the booming construction industry. Code Enforcement, in collaboration with County
Human Resources, has been working on numerous strategies to enhance recruitment; however, the
efforts to date have had minimal impact to the average daily vacancy rate of approximately 10
building code inspector positions.
Given the availability of experienced veterans in the Mecklenburg County region,
Code Enforcement has been working with the County’s Veteran Services Division to design a
program to offer apprenticeships to veterans with experience in the construction trades as well as
direct recruitment of qualified veterans. This pilot is aimed at meeting current staffing needs as
well as prepares potential employees for future staffing.
Timeline:
Project to be completed by January 2016.
Updates/
Project Milestones:
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Review existing veteran database for potential prospects
Develop apprenticeship program curriculum in collaboration with key business partners
Present pilot program design to County Manager and Board of County Commissioners
Initiate Recruitment Drive and Apprenticeship Sign-Ups
Outcome/
Measures:
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Effective executive oversight to ensure Land Use & Environmental Services’
successful accomplishments of established milestones
Key Initiative #7
Effective Deployment of Critical IT System Implementations & Upgrades
Description:
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Make needed changes to the IT organization and structure to improve project delivery
and service
Effectively deploy critical IT solutions with a focus on fixing the IT foundation and
system stability
Utilize a quarterly executive governance and project steering committee to
communicate progress and to ensure alignment with operating strategies, system
performance, and data security risks
Rationale:
Develop an IT organization and project delivery structure capable of maintaining the County’s
core IT systems, successfully deploy the FY16 IT reserve projects, and provide the framework
for the future IT success.
Completion Date:
Per project milestones
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Updates/Project
Milestones:
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Outcome/Measures:
Quarterly - Leverage IT Executive Steering Committee Governance processes to provide
status on project portfolio delivery
FY16 Q1 - Grants Management System – September 2015
FY16 Q2- Advantage Upgrade (October 2015)
FY16 Q2 – AT&T Legacy Circuit Migration - (system security / data security and
stability)
FY16 Q2 - Data Loss Prevention (November 2015) (system security / data security and
stability)
FY16 Q3 – Library Network Infrastructure Upgrade (system security / data security and
stability)
FY16 Q3 – County Data Network Core Upgrade (system security / data security and
stability)
FY16 Q3 – Long-Range Financial Planning System
FY16 Q3 – DNS Domain Name System Upgrade (system security / data security and
stability)
FY16 Q2 – Advantage / BuySpeed Integration (October 2015)
FY16 Q3 - PeopleSoft - Upgrade to PeopleTools release 8.54 during FY16 Q1-Q3.
FY17 Q1 - PeopleSoft - Implement the 9.2 upgrade starting Q1 of FY17 and roll out
critical updates and new business capabilities.
o FY17 forward - Utilize PeopleSoft Upgrade Manager (PUM) to position the County
for a quarterly release strategy for PeopleSoft
Completion of milestone deliveries
Customer satisfaction
Key Initiative #8
Upgrade Financial Reporting and Forecasting
Description:
Refine monthly financial reporting and annual forecasts and implement an integrated, longrange planning model
Rationale:
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Provide the Executive Team, BOCC, and County management with decision-making
reports and analysis
Create a long-range planning system to dovetail with the County’s FY16 strategic planning
process and to address Rating Agency analytical requirements
Improve accuracy of revenue, expenditure, capital planning projections
Evaluate opportunities to accelerate County investments
Completion Date:
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Monthly financial reports to ET, BOCC, and Department Directors
Quarterly financial update reports to BOCC
Long-Range Planning System – Specifications (October 2015); Completion (March 2016)
Updates/Project
Milestones:
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Successful completion of monthly, quarterly reports
Procurement and implementation of a Long-Range Planning System (3Q completion)
Continuous support for addressing pending Legislative revenue contingencies
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Outcome/Measures: Successful completion of reporting milestones
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Q1 – Agreement on Long-Range planning system specifications (IT / Finance)
Q2 – Procurement of Long-Range planning software (begin programming)
Q3 –Completion of Long-Range planning system
Key Initiative #9
Countywide Reappraisal
Description:
Effectively schedule and plan for the next countywide reappraisal
Rationale:
NC General Stat. 105-286 requires each county to appraise all real property in accordance with
the provisions of G.S. 105-283 and G.S. 105-317 as of January 1 of the scheduled year. The
department will begin implementing the required steps for the revaluation which includes the
approval of a schedule and the performance analysis.
Completion Date:
The department anticipates getting an approved revaluation date from the BOCC. Will build a
schedule of tasks and processes, conduct performance analysis, and evaluate staffing needs to
effectuate a successful countywide reappraisal.
Updates/Project
Milestones:
Include the following:
• Complete 1/6 of field canvassing during the calendar year.
• Continue the neighborhood delineation and sales analysis for next countywide
reappraisal with sales tracking starting in January, 2016.
• Open revaluation files in AssessPro and begin entering the field canvassing results.
• Conduct a feasibility study for offsite informal and BER appeals
Outcome/Measures: Successful completion of project milestones
Key Initiative #10
Department of Social Services - Child Welfare Consultant
Description:
Youth and Family Services (YFS) did not achieve substantial conformity in all outcomes of the
federal Child and Family Services Review during Round 1 (March 26, 2001) and Round 2
(March 26, 2007). In an effort to improve outcomes and improve practice, YFS has secured the
services of Eckerd Youth Alternatives, a national child welfare consultant to provide
Mecklenburg County with an in-depth analysis and evaluation of service delivery in YFS. The
review will provide recommendations to improve system efficiency and effectiveness, reduce
risk, and improve the quality of services to and outcomes for, the children and families of
Mecklenburg County.
Rationale:
YFS strives to provide the best services possible to vulnerable children and families in
Mecklenburg County. Our mission is to keep children safe and strengthen families to encourage
each to reach their greatest potential.
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Completion Date:
The expected completion date of this initiative is July 2016.
Updates/Project
Milestones:
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December 2014 –Request for Proposals. COMPLETED.
March 2015-Eckerd Youth Alternatives, Inc. was selected for the consultation engagement.
COMPLETED
May 2015- Data file submitted to Eckerd COMPLETED
June 2015- Kick-off meeting ON TARGET
September 2015- Final report and recommendations will be presented to Department
Leadership. Department will review recommendations.
December 2015 - Action Plan will be developed in alignment with Department Strategic
Business Plan
March 2016 - Implementation of the Action Plan and recommendation of the consultant’s
report as resources allow
April 2016 – FY17 budget proposal will reflect any resources adjustments needed
Outcome/Measures: Successful completion of the project and implementation plan for the agreed upon
recommendations. The review will provide recommendations to improve system efficiency and
effectiveness, reduce risk, and improve the quality of services to and outcomes for, the children
and families of Mecklenburg County.
Key Initiative #11
Health Department - Implement Clinical Operations and Revenue Improvements
Description:
Improve efficiency of clinic services and revenue collection rate.
Rationale:
With the change in availability of medical care as impacted by the Affordable Care Act and the
transition of public health clinic to direct county administration, it is necessary to re-structure
our strategies for clinical prevention services.
Completion Date:
June 30, 2016
Updates/Project
Milestones:
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Outcome/Measures:
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Maximize revenue through implementation of more efficient revenue collection processes,
procedure coding maximization and fee schedule optimization.
Increase productivity through establishing and managing to productivity benchmarks.
Increase breast and cervical cancer control program (BCCCP) clients through increased
recruitment and engagement efforts.
Increased # of BCCCP clients
Increased # of family planning clients with long-acting contraceptive availability
Increased patient revenue
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Description:
Key Initiative #12
Three-Year Department Strategic Business Plan (FY17-FY19)
Create a 3-Year department strategic business plan that incorporates department initiatives
(including those aligned to Mecklenburg Livable Communities Plan), identifies upcoming
business imperatives and links initiatives to the budget process.
Rationale:
Department strategic business planning is essential to outlining departmental goals, strategies and
measures that will serve as the guiding document for budgeting from FY17-FY19.
Completion Date:
January 2016
Updates/Project
Milestones:
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Outcome/Measures:
Successful completion of a 3-Year Strategic Business Plan for FY17-FY19
August 2015: “Train-the-Facilitator” training
September 10, 2015: County Manger’s Strategic Planning Retreat
September – January 2016: Departments Draft Strategic Business plans
New Leadership Initiatives for FY2016
Organization
Role/Purpose
Goodwill Industries of Southern Piedmont
Community Engagement Council
United Way of Central Carolinas
Board of Directors
Executive Committee
NC City/County Management Association
Lake Norman Economic Development Corporation
Board of Directors
Charlotte Regional Partnership
Committee to oversee creation of regional economic
development plan
Individual Development Plan
Development Goal: Professional development opportunities local government management and human resources will be
identified and completed within the fiscal year.
Planned Actions/Resources:
Attend meetings of the NC City/County Management Association
Attend meetings of Women’s Executives
Attend Rotary Club meetings
Attend CCOG Regional Manager meetings
Attend meetings of ICMA and NACo
Work with mentor Tom Lundy from Catawba County
Develop and maintain relationships with local managers in and around Mecklenburg County
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Leadership Competencies
Competencies
Strategic Thinking
Definitions/Key Actions
Formulating vision into action
Builds, communicates, and promotes a shared, long-term vision
Formulates strategies, objectives and priorities, and implements plans consistent
with the vision
• Identifies key issues based on logical assumptions, facts and data
• Capitalizes on opportunities and manages risks
• Understands the interdependency of the working, structure and culture of the
organization as well as the social and economic issues/trends affecting the
organization
Optimizing talent management and financial health
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Executive Excellence
Attracts, develops, engages, and retains people
Creates a learning culture that encourages ownership and accountability by
providing ongoing feedback and opportunities for continual learning for self,
employees and teams
• Assesses short-term and long-term fiscal condition; uses cost-benefit thinking to
set and balance short-term and long-term priorities
• Determines cost-effectiveness of programs and compares alternative strategies
• Exemplifies good financial management
Innovating through change and creativity
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Change and Innovation
Identifies, communicates and drives changes needed to adapt strategically to
shifting demands, business conditions, technology, and internal initiatives
• Questions conventional approaches; develops creative and innovative solutions to
situations
• Creates a shared responsibility among team members/staff and encourages others
to seek different ideas/approaches to address organizational problems and
opportunities and then embraces them
• Rapidly adapts to changing conditions and communicates frequently and candidly
during times of change
• Designs, communicates and gains the acceptance of and leads the implementation
of optimal, new or cutting edge ideas/processes to manage problems and
opportunities
Collaborating through alliances and relationships
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Collaborative Relationships
Identifies opportunities for, initiates, and maintains strategic relationships and
networks in and out of the organization
• Promotes openness and trust and builds confidence in one's intentions to achieve
goals
• Fosters an inclusive workplace by working effectively with individuals and groups
of diverse cultures.
• Utilizes the capabilities, insights, and ideas of individuals and groups to ensure the
accomplishment of common business goals/improve results
Serving with integrity and respect
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Values and Integrity
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Models high standards, acting in accordance with moral, ethical, and professional
standards, policies and regulations consistent with the County’s Values and
Guiding Principles
Demonstrates honesty, fairness, openness and being forthright, consistently, in
words and actions, treating people with courtesy and respect
Respects the confidentiality of information and concerns shared by others
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