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HomeMy WebLinkAboutVII(M) Volunteer Board Survey Agenda 8-15-2000 • Ocoee City of Ocoee. Item VII M ° Jean Grafton v At. 0 150 NORTH LAKESHORE DRIVE City Clerk `may y OCOEE, FLORIDA 34761-2258 Of 000 (407) 656-2322 FAX(407) 656-5725 MEMORANDUM To: The Honorable Mayor and Board of City Commissioners From: Jean Grafton, City Clerk: Date: August 9, 2000 . Re: Volunteer Board Member Survey The items you marked for discussion have been extracted from the survey and are copied according to boards -just as in the original survey. Commissioner Parker submitted comments instead of returning the marked survey. We await your direction. "PRIDE OF WEST ORANGE" Hug um UU u4: 46p g 4072980068 p. 1 N. Parker—Board Survey Comments: GENERAL COMMENTS: - I want to say that I appreciate each and every volunteer that serves on any of these boards. They play necessary and important roles in our City Government. - My view of the individual board function vs. my function as a City Commissioner. Many of these Boards exist to provide advice and recommendations to me as a City Commissioner. When I attend their meetings it is not as a participant or to influence their decisions, but to hear the entire process of their review to give me a better understanding of the decision or recommendation they pass along to the Mayor and Commissioners. I do not think that the elected officials should be encouraged to"stay away"from any meetings that involve the decision making process that is necessary for us to function as a well-oiled machine, especially when we are given the task of making the policies,giving the final approvals,enacting the programs and allocating the budget funds. - Any Board to which I may serve as Liaison, I believe the purpose is to facilitate communication not to influence decisions. Any Board on which I serve as a voting member(ie,the Education Committee)I believe I do so as an equal to every other board member who serves on that committee, not as a controlling member or with any intent of subverting the way a normal committee of equal voting members should work. - I believe that every new board member should have some sort of orientation including Robert's Rules of Order,Basic overview of the function of the Board on which they serve and give them an opportunity to ask questions. - I think that we should begin by having a"refresher" seminar for every board to go over how Robert's Rules work, sunshine law &Board functions. - I find it disappointing that so few respond to being asked their opinion and wonder why they would not like the opportunity to give their input. - I find it disappointing that so few would be interested in additional training when available, especially in light of changing laws, codes and overall growth and change within the City. I would commend those who seek out additional training and believe that the City should encourage and pay for such training. - I trust our Board members and believe in the system. I have pushed for having some more active, especially the Board of Rug 08 00 04: 46p g 4072980068 p. 2 Adjustment which was basically not meeting at all until last year. I also believe that the CACOPD has some adjustments to make to meet,the needs of the changing community. I would like them to have more opportunity to participate, not in the day to day running of the Police Department,but in meeting the needs of the community. I believe they would benefit by doing more and varied ride-alongs as approved by the Department to get a fuller picture on what is going on in the community. I know that more and more members are interested in something like the Citizen Academy that is so popular in Orlando. I basically want to see them be able to conduct an organized meeting, communicate effectively with the PD and their neighbors and be able to see their efforts pay off instead of having the same subjects discussed each meeting to no avail. I don't want to force anyone to participate in any activity, but I would love to see opportunities for members to voluntarily participate in activities such as assisting at events, manning informational booths, approaching the commission about needs the department has and recommending the meeting of those needs as appropriate. BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT 1. On the Board you serve, what do you see as its primary need and function? c. It fulfills an important monitoring function particularly in a fast growing community. 5. Do you feel your Board is effective? Please help us by responding with an explanation of either a yes or no narrative. a. Yes b. Yes, it takes the burden off of the city staff, in having to make all the recommendations. c. Yes, as long as its decisions are supported by the corresponding Commission. 6. Can you describe anything that a department that serves your Board or the Office of the City Clerk could do to assist in your Board process? c. Yes: City officers who provide reports to the Board need to do a more complete job. In some instances the data is incomplete or inaccurate. 7. Can you describe anything the City Officials can do to assist in your Board process? c. Encourage and facilitate interaction with board members who may need to secure information on a case. Investigating staff should be available to discuss case matters with any board member. 8. Are there any comments you would like to add regarding the boards? If so, please use the space below. c. Improvement on the support the Board gets from the City in terms of the flow and accuracy of reports it receives to make decisions. Although I have been tempted to do it, I have restrained from abstaining in a vote because of lack of accurate information from staff. This is particularly important since our decision is scrutinized not only by a City Commission but also by the petitioner who has the right to ask for reconsideration or appeal to a City Commission. CITIZENS ADVISORY COUNCIL TO THE OCOEE POLICE DEPARTMENT 1. On the Board you serve, what do you see as its primary need and function? a. As described in Bylaws; to cause, increase and maintain communication and cooperation of the citizens of Ocoee with the Ocoee Police Department. f. Better communications between citizens and police officers of Ocoee. 2. What training do you feel is necessary for members to effectively participate on this Board ? a. To become familiar with the police staff and procedures. This can be done by: meetings, ride along program, and volunteering in other ways. As approved by Police Chief. f. Have board members ride with officers to learn procedure to help make Ocoee a better place to live. 8. Are there any comments you would like to add regarding the boards? If so, please use the space below. a. Just a reminder to the City employees, Commissioners, and all staff. - We don't do it for money. ******** b. Meeting start on time and ending on time. I hate to sit and listen to someone go over and over the same thing. c. Would like to see progress reports. d. I am soon leaving the Board. I have served for about 12 years and have enjoyed my time on the Police Board. I would be willing to serve on some board in the future if the City needs me. e. No comments. f. I am satisfied with the "status quo". CODE ENFORCEMENT BOARD 1. On the Board you serve, what do you see as its primary need and function? a. Our primary function is to ensure that our City Codes are enforced fairly and without discrimination. We need better training and education. 2. What training do you feel is necessary for members to effectively participate on this Board ? a. We need to develop a new member training package that includes a meeting video, administrative and hearing rules, a copy of F.S. 162, sunshine info, and Roberts Rules. A current board member will spearhead contact and help. 8. Are there any comments you would like to add regarding the boards? If so, please use the space below. a. I think the weakest point in our city is the total lack of connection between our Police Department and virtually every other part of our city process. Perhaps one member from every board should be a member of the Citizens Advisory to the Police Department. Also, one member of the City Commission should attend every Board meeting. b. c. d. It might be useful to provide training to board members on inclusive communication. Many times someone will make a comment that can be offensive to someone. For example, when a board member says, "I can't pronounce those kinds of names." an individual from a certain ethnic background may feel discriminated against. EDUCATION COMMISSION 4. Do you feel your Board is heading in the right direction? What suggestions do you have to improve the direction of the Board? d. Yes - I have learned more about Orange County Schools in the 1 year I've served on the Education Commission, than in the 18 years I've been an employee of Orange County. 5. Do you feel your Board is effective? Please help us by responding with an explanation of either a yes or no narrative. b. Although OCPS limits a lot of what our board is able to accomplish, I do think that we have maintained a positive working relationship with OCPS. I do think we need to improve our communication with residents of Ocoee. c. We have been effective in facilitating communication between our group and the local public schools and the county system. We have not been effective in communicating information to the public. 7. Can you describe anything the City Officials can do to assist in your Board process? a. There should always be a member present at our meetings. They should keep us informed of their concerns. d. Continue to support us! e. Just continue to support us. f. Yes; support our efforts. 8. Are there any comments you would like to add regarding the boards? If so, please use the space below. a. It is a pleasure to live and work in a city that identifies concerns and includes its citizens in the decision making process. b. I have, thus far, enjoyed serving on this board. My husband and I moved to Ocoee one year ago to try and get that "hometown" feel. We very much enjoy residing in this community. We feel proud and honored to be able to serve this city and want to see Ocoee maintain its hometown pride and spirit. PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD 2. What training do you feel is necessary for members to effectively participate on this Board ? b. An understanding of parliamentary procedure. Be aware of what Parks and Recreation do and can do. Know how things are funded and what all is funded from the same monies. 4. Do you feel your Board is heading in the right direction? What suggestions do you have to improve the direction of the Board? b. The members of the board are very professional and bring many varied ideas of what types of recreation are needed. There is good discussion and sharing of ideas. It is also okay to disagree. 7. Can you describe anything the City Officials can do to assist in your Board process? b. Just remember when we support an item it means it's been discussed, researched and we have come to a fact based decision. It's not just something we casually do. 8. Are there any comments you would like to add regarding the boards? If so, please use the space below. a. Please try to understand my thoughts as presented - good luck. PENSION BOARD 2. What training do you feel is necessary for members to effectively participate on this Board ? a. A background and general knowledge of the investment process, terms, conditions, etc. The pension funds can be used for specific training of trustees. 4. Do you feel your Board is heading in the right direction? What suggestions do you have to improve the direction of the Board? a. Yes, we've begun dialog on a regular basis with affected employees and we're investigating the records of investment managers whose total return record is better than our current manager. 6. Can you describe anything that a department that serves your Board or the Office of the City Clerk could do to assist in your Board process? a. We desperately need a recording secretary to take and transcribe our meeting minutes. PERSONNEL BOARD 7. Can you describe anything the City Officials can do to assist in your Board process? a. On this Board, I feel the Officials should stay out. 8. Are there any comments you would like to add regarding the boards? If so, please use the space below. a. The HR staff is always very willing to help and up on everything. As stated above the Mayor and Commissioners should stay away. PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION 3. If the City of Ocoee is willing to pay for training sessions for all Board members as the need arises, would you be willing to participate in training sessions that the City will provide? Would you have the time available to participate in training sessions ? a. The programs we have attended, so far, put on by the Local Planners Association, have been extremely informative. And I'd like to see these continued. Also, keeping us aware of our legal requirements is mandatory. 5. Do you feel your Board is effective? Please help us by responding with an explanation of either a yes or no narrative. a. Yes; I feel the more people with a tangible interest are involved with a decision, the better chance that a concept will be adopted and will work. And this does not mean that the staff is deficient in any manner. b. Yes c. I think our board could be more effective if the decisions made were considered important. Sometimes, I think we are just there to go through the motions, since we have no real power to change anything at our level, only to make suggestions. 6. Can you describe anything that a department that serves your Board or the Office of the City Clerk could do to assist in your Board process? a. The Planning Staff deserves much credit for `muddling' thru the grind of the processing and negotiating with developers, etc. And if there were more of them they could possibly handle our requests for research and initiative questions. 7. Can you describe anything the City Officials can do to assist in your Board process? c. Limit the terms!!. Including myself. 8. Are there any comments you would like to add regarding the boards? If so, please use the space below. a. I think that no one should be restricted to what, which, how many volunteer boards they choose to serve on. Or even, where they live in the city. Those people who will be self-serving will definitely show their intentions and can be not asked or approved by the Commission to serve.