2013-07-10 Committee on Citizen Engagement MinutesCOMMITTEE ON CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT MINUTES
July 10, 2013
After determining that a quorum was present, the Committee on Citizen Engagement convened
in a meeting on July 10, 2013 at 10 a.m. in the Council Work Session Room at City Hall.
PRESENT: Council Member Roden, Council Member Gregory, Betty Williams (CMO), Bryan
Langley (ACM), John Cabrales (ACM), Ethan Cox (Customer Service), Abra
Nusser (Planning), Brian Lockley (Planning), Katia Boykin (Planning), Michelle
Berry (Planning), Michelle Cunningham (ED), Barbara Ross (Community Dev),
Kiersten Dieterle (PCO), Robby Stengel (PCO), Kevin McGinnis (PCO), Tonya
Demerson (Reprographics)
ABSENT: Council Member Engelbrecht
1. Consider approval of the minutes from the meetings of May 20 and June 27, 2013.
Council Member Gregory motioned to approved minutes; Council Member Roden seconded.
Minutes approved.
2. Receive a demonstration of the Granicus software.
Kevin McGinnis gave a presentation of the Granicus software and a demonstration of the
current enhancements. Upgrades will allow for a machine-readable format. Old documents
will be maintained but will not be searchable. Roden suggested training video be made
available for citizens/users.
3. Hold a discussion regarding a six month update on EngageDenton.
Kiersten Dieterle and Abra Nusser gave a presentation on the status of EngageDenton. Kevin
McGinnis demonstrated how the site is used. Abra stated that trends and recurrent themes are
being tracked. Council Member Roden suggested that council members be added to the
"Who's Listening" section of the site.
4. Hold a discussion regarding the current status and potential implementation of a 311 or a
Citizen Response Management (CRM) system.
Betty Williams and Ethan Cox gave a presentation on the proposed implementation of a 311
system. Williams stated that the biggest challenge is ensuring that the 311 system will work
with all of the city's legacy systems (7). A package for a five-year phased implementation
system has been submitted as a supplemental package in the 13-14 budget process.
Ethan Cox explained the implementation plan and costs over the five-year period. He stated
that the costs are from the "high-end" vendors. Implementation of the system would not
reduce staff; more staff would be needed.
Council Member Gregory asked if all of the legacy systems are needed and have they been
reviewed.
Cox stated that there would need to be some re-engineering of processes and there will be no
immediate cost savings.
Langley stated that the work order process is only one portion of those systems, but those
systems have several functions. There is not one system that could perform all of the
processes across the city.
COMMITTEE ON CITIZ�,N ENGAGEMENT MINUTES
July 10, 2013
Page 2
Council Member Roden stated that those companies may update those systems to integrate
with 311 systems or may become obsolete.
Council Member Gregory asked if legacy system costs go away in year 6.
Council Member Roden stated that the workload will likely increase. Roden suggested that
this item be included as a work session item for the entire council.
Langley stated review of the project is included in the budget review process. All of the
supplemental packages will be reviewed and prioritized.
Council Member Gregory asked if their questions be included in those discussions as well as
call volume data and people who handle the calls. Council Member Gregory asked if there is
a way to find out if budget items are "public communication" related items (salary and other
items used to reach out to the public). How is it evaluated for continued use?
Williams stated that some of the areas of public outreach have more than one function.
Langley stated that we could get a summary report.
5. Hold a discussion regarding an update on the Neighborhood Empowerment Grant Program.
Brian Lockley gave a presentation on the Neighborhood Empowerment Grant Program.
Lockley stated that $50,000 is allocated for the program costs and an additional $10,000 may
be requested for additional marketing. Program funding has currently been used for
marketing efforts.
Council Member Roden stated that one of the obstacles seems to be the 50% of
neighborhood approval requirement. The matching component is labor intensive. Possibly
use volunteer hours to use as a match.
Council Member Gregory asked why neighborhoods are not applying for existing funds. Is it
due to marketing or the program requirements?
Lockley stated that the obstacles may be different for each neighborhood. Staff will need to
go out and get feedback from those neighborhoods and re-evaluate the process; possibly have
a sliding scale.
Council Member Roden asked if a service agency (financial component) can use internships.
Roden discussed a Better Block program used in other areas and if unused program funds
could be used for other neighborhood-type programs.
Langley stated that the funds could be re-appropriated if not used.
Lockley will check and report back in the next cycle.
6. Hold a discussion on the basics of Open Data and what other cities are doing. (Tabled)
COMMITTEE ON CITIZr,�J ENGAGEMENT MINUTES
July 10, 2013
Page 3
7. Management Report
a. Topic Matrix Update — no new information added.
b. Board and Commission Communication and Youth Representation — Williams
provided a report on board responses to youth representa.tion.
8. Set next meeting date and topic for discussion.
Meeting will be set for sometime in September. Council Member Gregory asked that the
council e-mail process be reviewed.
9. With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 12 noon.
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COMMITTEE CHAIR RECORDING SECRETARY
CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS