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Membership/Public Relations Committee
March 13, 2008 -- Archived minutes of Career Management Task Force
TCMA Membership Committee Members of the committee present were: Chair: Bill Keffler, City Manager, Richardson; Vice Chair: David Harris, Assistant City Manager, Schertz; Vince DiPiazza, City Manager, Dumas; Lambert Little, City Administrator, Hico; Jason Little, City Administrator, Melissa; Paul Virgadamo, Jr., Assistant City Administrator, Conroe; Ed Broussard, City Manager, Hutto; Lanny Lambert, City Manager, Leon Valley; Jim Gray, City Manager, Ingleside; Allen Barnes, City Manager, Sachse; Dion Miller, City Manager, Commerce; Bob Miller, Consultant in Public Administration, Cibolo; Pamela Lynn Rambo-Estill, Sr. Management Analyst, Arlington TML Staff: Kim Pendergraft Bill Keffler, city manager, Richardson, and committee chair, called the meeting to order at 10:30 a.m., welcoming and thanking committee members in attendance for their support. The meeting discussion focused on each strategic plan objective and action plan charged to the Membership Committee. 1. Bring focus and clarity to the mentoring program. Bill Keffler opened the discussion with a history of the program and asked the committee if there is enough interest to keep the current program sustainable and help it grow across the state. He also asked if it should be re-defined with new objectives and focus. Bob Miller and Lanny Lambert suggested creating a hybrid of the former Range Riders. A list of volunteer mentors, to include retired city managers, could be placed on the TCMA Web site as a pool of resources. The overall consensus of the committee was that the program with Waters Consulting was an effort to formalize something that was already occurring and more effort at outreach should be made at the region level. 2. Continue including orientation to TCMA Code of Ethics for new members. Kim Pendergraft provided a report on new member applications and renewals. She stated that renewals are typically slow until the end of the year and a hard copy will be mailed to members who have not renewed. Ed Broussard stated that TCMA needs to continue to provide ample opportunities for ethics training and for the training to remain fresh. David Harris stated that other means of delivery should be considered. These include teleconference, webinar, pod cast, and regional meetings. The committee stated there is confusion about whether the two-hour requirement is literal hours or if a member needs to only attend one ethics training to fulfill the requirement. Lanny Lambert suggested that, if the training is a deterrent to new members or membership renewal, the requirement could soften to be voluntary but strongly encouraged. The committee was in overall agreement that the requirement should continue to be enforced, with ample opportunities to fulfill the requirement provided. 3. Continue to encourage/ensure active participation by assistants, women, minorities, and new professionals. Ed Broussard and Jim Gray stated that regional meetings should be a platform for outreach. Pam Rambo-Estill and Jason Little stated that the TCMA Annual Conference is a good opportunity for more seasoned professionals to reach out. They stated that it would be helpful to identify on the educational program what sessions would be of interest to new professionals. David Harris and Lambert Little stated they would discuss with the Professional Development Committee whether there should be some level of Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced designation at TCMA conferences. 4. Provide appropriate in-transition services. Lambert Little stated there needs to be general membership support to contact those in transition. Jim Gray stated that the regions of members in transition should provide support. Lanny Lambert and Bob Miller stated that when they were in transition, the program was helpful. The committee determined that the in-transition program is functioning well. 5. TCMA-ICMA Membership Incentive Program. Bill Keffler provided background information on the program. Lambert Little would like to see TCMA offer a similar program. Pam Rambo-Estill suggested developing a program for one membership fee. This would provide dual membership in TCMA and an assistant’s organization. No further discussion took place on this agenda item. 6. Use of retired professionals in the association. Bob Miller and Lanny Lambert suggested creating a hybrid of the former Range Riders. A list of volunteer retired city managers could be placed on the TCMA Web site as a resource pool. Areas of expertise could be listed beside the volunteer’s name. In addition, if retired city managers be included in a program, travel reimbursement should be provided if there was a need and if requested by the individual. 7. Capture recollections of the most senior retired members for ICMA 100-year anniversary. Bill Keffler stated that Tom Muehlenbeck is compiling a list of members. Bill will send this list to each of the regions for their review. 8. Evaluate awards and scholarship programs. Bill Keffler stated that the charge of the committee is to promote the program and bring credibility to each award. Kim Pendergraft reviewed the awards and the funds available for each scholarship and the internship program. David Harris is updating the list of Texas colleges and universities with public administration and urban management programs. This list will be used to promote future Ridley scholarships and the internship program. Bob Miller suggested that subcommittees be created if several applications are received to handle the application review process. Dates and future locations for the next meeting will be provided following the awards and scholarship program deadline of January 16, 2009. Bill thanked everyone for their participation, and the meeting was adjourned at 2:00 p.m. TCMA Career Management Task Force Members of the task force present were: Chair: Michael Ross, City Manager, West University Place; Vice Chair: Bill Keffler, City Manager, Richardson; Jim Jeffers, City Manager, Nacogdoches; James Thurmond, Retired, Missouri City; Bob Miller, Principal, Consultant in Public Administration, Cibolo; Charmelle Garrett, Deputy City Manager, Victoria; Gabriel Gonzalez, Assistant City Manager, Harlingen; Denny Arnold, Retired, Victoria; Clay Phillips, Deputy City Manager, Coppell TML Staff: Kim Pendergraft Michael Ross called the meeting to order at 1:30 p.m., welcoming and thanking committee members in attendance for their support. 1. Internship Applicants: Bob Miller made a motion that all applications be approved and submitted to the TCMA Board for approval. Charmelle Garrett seconded the motion and the task force approved. Members of the task force were concerned that the applicants not be left in limbo during the approval process. Michael asked Kim Pendergraft to inform the applicants that their applications passed the first phase of approval and that final approval will be made by the TCMA Board on June 26. 2. Application: Clay Phillips suggested that the application be available in a PDF to allow applicants to avoid hand written applications. Currently it is available in a hard copy Word document and a downloadable PDF online. The application will be edited for future use to reflect that only typed applications should be submitted. Kim Pendergraft will research to see what other options are available. James Thurmond and Bob Miller proposed that the application timeline be modified to provide summer internships. It was also suggested that the internship program be moved under the TCMA Membership Committee and coincide with the Ridley and CPM scholarship programs. This would enable the committee to make application recommendations to the TCMA Board by the March board meeting. In addition, it was agreed that the call for city participation be made in advance. This will allow applicants to have a list of Texas cities interested in participating in the program. A recommendation will be made to the Board to modify the deadline for applications and move the program under the Membership Committee. James Thurmond discussed ways to streamline the application process as well as establish an effective means of marketing the program. James stated that, at this time, TCMA is doing all it can to market the program. He suggested that having a personal contact at universities would help get the word out. Another suggestion is to delegate more authority to the TCMA committee responsible for reviewing the applications. If the Board delegates the responsibility of final approval to the committee overseeing the program, the applications process would go more quickly. He also suggested that TCMA could provide the funding and the criteria, but allow cities to be responsible for the entire processing, cutting out the TCMA overseeing committee as the middle man. The cities would sign off on an agreement that they meet the criteria to hire an intern through the program. James suggested this might generate more applications while acquiring high quality internships in city management and improving the quality of the profession in the future. The task force recommended that streamlining the process should be brought to the Boards’ attention. Clay Phillips asked if there was a way to find out which Texas colleges and universities offer internship programs; this would help provide an internship pool. Kim Pendergraft suggested that this be a project for the next committee responsible for the program. Michael Ross asked for discussion regarding students participating in current internships and whether they should be considered as viable applicants to help extend their internship. The task force agreed that they would be considered only after those without an internship are considered and only if funds were available. 3. Review of Intern/TCMA Agreement Form: The task force agreed this should be reviewed by the committee chosen to oversee the program. The meeting adjourned at 2:15 p.m. TCMA Membership Committee Members of the committee present were: Chair: Courtney Sharp, City Manager, Mount Pleasant; Vice Chair: Rick Cortes, Assistant City Manager, Seguin; Terri Johnson, City Manager, Friona; Brandon Anderson, City Administrator, Haskell; Rickey Childers, City Manager, Lancaster; Dion Miller, City Administrator, Mineola; Joni Clarke, Assistant City Manager, Hutto; Mark Israelson, Dir. Customer/Utility Services, Tax A/C, Plano; Mario Canizares, Assistant City Manager, Addison; Elizabeth Reining, Assistant to the City Manager, North Richland Hills; Paulette Hartman, City Manager, Joshua; Lawrence Bryant, Director, Administration and Finance, Azle; David Morgan, Assistant City Manager, Richardson TML Staff: Kim Pendergraft Courtney Sharp, City Manager, Mount Pleasant and committee chair, called the meeting to order at 2:30 p.m., welcoming and thanking committee members in attendance for their support. 1. Membership Drive Non-Renewals. Courtney Sharp gave a brief history on the membership drive that was offered between February 2007 and June 2007. Kim Pendergraft reported that as of December 10, 2007, 100 of the 217 members have renewed. Courtney stated that he will contact the region representatives to ask for their assistance contacting those who have not renewed. He asked those on the Membership Committee to assist their region representatives. Kim will provide an updated list to include contact information. 2. 2008 Professional Awards. Courtney Sharp emphasized that historically there have been few nominations and stated it’s not likely that members will nominate themselves. He asked the committee for feedback on how to motivate the membership to participate, increase the number of nominations, and bring more significance to the award. Rickey Childers, City Manager, Lancaster, stated that the focus should be at the region level to promote and recognize their members. Rick Cortes, Assistant City Manager, Seguin, and Joni Clarke, Assistant City Manager, Hutto, also stated that the region representatives need to encourage nominations from their respective members. It was also suggested that when a member is nominated, it would be worthwhile to ask an elected official for a letter of recommendation. Courtney stated that if enough nominations are not received, the award does not have to be presented. In order to make the award meaningful, there should be several applicants to choose from. Kim was asked to include a historical record of award recipients in the next membership directory, provide a narrative for the TCMA President regarding the significance of the award, and provide a brief excerpt on why the recipient was nominated during the presentation at the Annual Conference. Courtney will contact the region representatives to encourage nominations and he asked the committee members to assist in their respective regions. 3. Scholarships. Kim gave an update on the status of the Barney L. Knight Texas Certified Public Manager (CPM) Scholarship and the Clarence E. Ridley Scholarship. Four applications for the CPM Scholarship have been received. One complete application for the Ridley Scholarship has been received and 3 partial applications. The deadline is Friday, December 14. 4. Kim was asked to schedule the next meeting at Dallas Love Field for February 29. The recommendations for recipients of the Professional Awards and interviews for the scholarships will be conducted. Courtney thanked everyone for their participation, and the meeting adjourned at 3:15 p.m. |
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