Revenue Rank: 14
Form of Government: Mayor-Council
Mayor: John A. Delaney (took office 1995)
City Council: 19 members (14 elected by district, 5 at large)
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT: B
Jacksonville’s budget is solidly in balance, and there is a growing rainy day fund, now at 3.9 percent of general fund revenues. Debt policies are fine, and financial reports are accurate and thorough. The city sends out a 16-page budget-in-brief to any citizen who wants to know the details.
The city controls expenditures effectively. In fact, maybe too effectively. Contracts take overly long to execute, thanks to multiple review steps, waiting periods and sign-offs. Finalizing a janitorial services contract can take three months. Managers frequently complain that they’re on too tight a leash, and some have coined the word “administrivia” to describe the system of rules and constraints under which they operate.
Jacksonville projects its revenues and expenditures for a period of only one or two years ahead. City leaders argue that economic volatility makes longer-term projections very difficult. Fortunately, the short-term ones have been pretty much on target.
HUMAN RESOURCES: C+
In some areas of personnel policy, Jacksonville is resourceful and innovative. In others, it’s not so hot. The whole system seems to be in a state of flux. “There are no sacred cows,” says Adrienne P. Trott, the chief of human resources. “Everything is up for grabs.” That’s good. In a 1999 survey, more than half the city’s workers said they weren’t being properly rewarded or praised for good work, or that their concerns weren’t promptly addressed.
Hiring flexibility is one of the strong points. For new hires, the HR division produces an unranked eligibility list of all applicants who meet minimum qualifications. The choice is entirely up to the agency.
When it comes time to make promotions, however, most decisions are made under an incredibly restrictive “rule of one,” in which all applicants are tested, and the agency has to promote the person with the best score. “It seems strange to outsiders, but for people who work here, it’s the norm,” says Trott.
The city is above average in training. Every employee has an individualized training plan, established at the start of each fiscal year and integrated into the performance appraisal process. The city attempts to establish objective criteria to help it recognize exceptional individuals.
The single biggest weakness here is formal work force planning. Very little of it takes place. That could change as future upgrades in information technology permit better use of data.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: C
Jacksonville has a solid financial management system, but managers cannot access the data easily from their own desktops. They must go to the comptroller’s office to put together reports. The human resources information system isn’t strong, either. It requires various manual steps and delays the hiring process. A new system is scheduled for introduction in January 2001.
On the positive side, the city is making dramatic strides toward obtaining real-time information from field-based staffers immediately available for analysis. Police, for example, carry laptops that feed into a central system and produce useful reports about public safety.
There is a chief information officer in Jacksonville, technically called “chief of information technologies,” who reports to the director of the Department of Administration and Finance. There is a city Web site, but it is short on financial information and allows users minimal ability to conduct governmental transactions.
CAPITAL MANAGEMENT: B
As with much of Jacksonville’s government, the city’s capital planning process provides much opportunity for public input.
The five-year capital improvement program is updated annually, coordinated by the Planning and Development Department with input from the city’s departments, independent authorities and agencies. The planning department prioritizes projects and submits them for public review through six Citizens Planning Advisory Committees. The planning document offers a good overview of the process but lacks clear explanations or justifications of the projects.
Jacksonville relies heavily on contracting for its construction needs. It’s considering “design-build” contracts to bring continuity to its projects and reduce the bickering between architects and builders. This past year, the city inaugurated a prequalification process for construction contractors on large projects.
Jacksonville is now working on efforts to decrease the number of delays in construction projects. The quality of information on building conditions could also use improvement. And there are weaknesses in the quality of financial data on street maintenance costs (although a new pavement management system was inaugurated in July).
MANAGING FOR RESULTS: B
The city has a quality-management orientation that began in the early 1990s and is based on criteria used for the Baldrige and Sterling Awards in managerial excellence. The emphasis has been on customer service, giving front-line staff the ability to make key decisions.
Particularly impressive is the linkage between the city’s high level goals, business plan, agency objectives and objectives for individual employees. Jacksonville uses multiple measures to mark progress and ties them in nicely with its strategic plan.
Two significant weaknesses, however, have marred Jacksonville’s approach to managing for results: The effort has been disconnected from the budgeting process, and the city council has not been involved. There’s now an effort to tie objectives in with budgeting, but that is in an early stage. As for the council, “they’re not plugged into it,” says one official.
AVERAGE GRADE: B-
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